Here we bring you the second of our "Interview With An Emoticonist" series, this time with Long Tom.

Long Tom

What is your real name?
Thomas Dedler.
Where are you in the world?
The city of Kempten in Bavaria / Southern Germany.
What tools do you use to create your emoticons?
Paintshop Pro 7 with Animation Shop 3.
What inspires you when making emoticons?
Sometimes postings of other users, sometimes suggestions made by visitors in the guestbook on my site, and sometimes I just can't tell. If I don't use a smiley that already exists, I have a picture in my mind of how it might look like. But don't ask me where these pictures come from.
Have you any formal training in computer art?
I had a basic course in CAD (computer-aided design), but that does not really have anything to do with making smilies. I taught myself how to create animated GIF's when I wanted to create an avatar. I tried it - and it worked.
What got you started?
A thread with the title "Windmills and other conspiracies" That's why I made the German version of the conspiracy-smiley, my first one. It's really a simple one, just one of these standard suspicious smilies you can find in almost every forum, with a sign in its hand. But everyone liked it. In fact, in the first weeks this smiley was almost more often used than any other smiley in this forum. So I continued creating smilies with signs. Soon, I created not only the signs but the smilies, too. Now almost all of my new signs are held by a smiley that was also made by me.
And the hardest part is?
To get these nasty pixels in the right position so they look like the picture I have in mind.
What software did you start with compared to what you use now, and why is it better?
I started with Microsoft Paint and a freeware screen-capture program (ScreenRip32), that was able to create animated GIFs too. Why is Animation Shop better? Well, almost any GIF-Animator would be better than a program that was not originally designed to create GIF-animations.
What do you do 'outside' of the Internet?
Soon I'll graduate with a degree in electrical engineering. After that maybe I will work as a software developer for embedded systems (if anyone knows what this is).
What is your view on people that use your smileys without permission?
Generally, no one needs a permission to use my smilies. When hosting them, credits would be fine, but are not really necessary. The only thing I do not like is, when someone creates much traffic by hot linking them or if someone get them for commercial use. No one should have to pay for smilies.
Who is your favorite emoticon artist other than yourself?
Much of them I don't now, because their smilies have been spread over the net long before I started with it. But of those I know, Fool's smilies are really the best, and I'm proud to be on the same list here on this site.
What is your most favourite thing in the whole world?
At the moment? Hmm, strange, I just can't tell if I have a favorite thing at all.
Can you create a special emoticon just for EmotiPad?
Yes, I can, but I would like to think a while before I do. There are some smilies and animated GIFs in general that I have made for users, sites, or forums. But when I do this too often, everybody will want one, I would not have time for anything else. So it depends on the proposal, because I only create the ones I will like as well. When I started, I made those special smilies mor often, to get some practice. But now I normally try to make smilies that can be used by almost everybody.
And finally, do you have any advice for emoticonists' out there?
Find your own style - and keep it! And if you have fun when creating smilies, no other advice is necessary.