So DA friend or enemy?

[Iregyura]

Well, I don't think that DA is a really bad site, because some artists like to read the comments on how to improve, and also, the artists can choose whether to allow comments or not. To make them into prints are also the artists choice. But really, some of the artists do post inappropriate comments, but mostly they don't, especially in the really popular artists work. However, I think in DA you can take off comments or delete artwork, which is really nice.

[dreamer676]

Yeah, dA is very good in that you can delete and edit your deviations easily. The community can be both helpful and unhelpful, it depends on who you come across and who finds you.

Thanks fo ryour contribution

[Sev en Ester]

An enemy if no one comments, though people will usually only leave kind comments *never came across a bad one* so if anything it's a morale booster to keep on working and figuring out what's wrong on your own. Everyone likes praise, so they are usually willing to work for it.

Though, a lot of people on there aren't serious about drawing at any level...just made an account because everyone else has one and they scribble something random and pointless on their math homework for it.

That kinda clogs the system...

Yet it's also a friend for budding artists. You can sell prints, get people interested in your art and find inspiration.

[dreamer676]

Yeah sev, I do see what you mean, alot of ppl there also take private commisions using their journals, which I must say I have always been interested in, but in comparason with all the amazing artists on there I'm a bit like 'o.o prehaps not...'

Maybe a little unrelated but I haven't submitted something to dA in ages...I have a feeling my dA is just going to consist of fanart

[tavis harts]

I don't mind DA much. I just consider it one of my many alternate galleries. It just comes with a fun bonus of people leaving comments and favorites... unlike my main website. XD

I know a lot of people like to visit deviantart accounts so I tend to update it with close to the amount of art I have on my main website.

Overall I think it's a site where you can't be expected to be treated like a fragile snowflake. Theres so many different artworks submitted per minute that it's really easy to be overlooked. As long as you aren't the type of person to judge your own self worth based on your page views in comparison to someone else it's fine.

With that said tho in a lot of cases if you are upset that no one ever visits you might want to consider remaking your tags to see if you can pull in more viewers. In a lot of cases people find your art by searching, so spending some time figuring out what your target audience is searching for will do wonders for getting people to your art.

[dreamer676]

yeah, I know what you mean

I always think that maybe the tags are the problem, but I put everything down that I can think of that relates. I don't like putting in random tags like 'red' just because there's the tiniest patch of red in a random corner y'know?

Also I think I am like that I'll be like 'how come I have this much and they have that many. We're at the same skill level...*pout*' lol really it does depend on whether I'm having a confidence crisis

[JLtd]

I love dA. It took me a LONG while to get noticed, but now I have over fifty watchers. I've JUST moved accounts, so people are still moving over.

I started late 2007, and quickly found my mediums. Then I found my number one idol. Shinerai. Ilu, hon.
He and Moro are my favourite couple and artists in the world.
I started to advertise my art on all the sites I was on, gained some watchers, and it spread from there. People will only want to steal your work if other people think it's good. So, when my work was stolen late 2008, I had all my watchers to send them down the craphole.

There will always be theives. Just play smart, help others, and gain more friends. Most of the people who watch me are the sweetest. <33

When you know how to handle the crap that flies at you, dA is the best.

[dreamer676]

To be honest a lot of people there do seem to whine about the 'dA drama' but I can't say that I have come across any personally. I have seen a friend go through it all but apart from that, nothing.

I only have like ten or so watchers? Maybe not even that many and I do asppreciate their interest and whatnot but I only really get feedback and contact with two of them. It's fine if they just like to observe etc but I still end up being a lil' paranoid and self-concious about it.

I also don't think I could ever promote myself lol, I would feel like one of those people that push their dA link in others faces and goes watch me, watch me, watch me. Even if I did something subtle like put a link in my sig in a site like this. IDK I think I'm just paranoid

I have been on dA for like two-three years maybe? Not sure but I put links in my freebie threads and stuff and they help get me pageviews but never watches. :/ I don't mind too much, but it still can be a bit of a let down.

[aerieyena]

I like DA, but there are a lot of things I don't like about it.

Within my community (the dolling community) there's A TON of drama, to the point where recently a lot of dollers have been quitting to get away from the drama... which is pretty sad.

I've been a member of DA for years and I've always liked it. There were times when submitting stuff was ridiculously complicated because of the categorization system, but it's not bad at all any more.

I don't really care about how many watchers I have or how many favs or comments I get. I do prefer comments to favs, though. And it feels really good when you get a ton of comments or favs.

I loooove the new groups system. <3

The stuff I don't like about DA is the Daily Deviations and Artistic Nudes. My friends hear me rant about this all the time so please excuse me if I get carried away. XD

About the Daily Deviations, a good chunk of DDs are pictures of naked women or include bare breasts. These pictures usually aren't high quality or artistic. They just have tits. Occasionally they feature quality artwork, but most of the time the stuff featured is, in my opinion, bland.

As for the Artistic Nudes, a good three fourths of the photos in the artistic nude section aren't artistic. I've seen photos of genitals where the artist's comments is their phone number or email address. Seriously? The Artistic Nude section should be renamed Amateur Porn, if you ask me. There are some photos in there that are quality and are artistic, but those are few and far between.

[dreamer676]

I Know partially what you mean about the artistic nude stuff...browseing that stuff, it's just like some of the pictures are very pretty/artistic and some really are just a naked girl that has taken pictures of herself and posted them to dA, but I think what ruins the artistic nudes for me is that the comments mostly include a load of people either saying explicit and inappropriate things or asking for the models contact details. Which is just a shame really and really bare breasts don't bother me, at the end of the day they are just a subject, it's how they are presented that it artistic.

I haven't really found the groups system yet lol

[Helen]

Ah, deviantArt...xD I love the site and hate the site. Though neither of those opinions keep me coming or going, I have an account that I hardly use out of laziness and lack of motivation there, but I have absolutely no intent to quit either. ^^;

I love it because it is a wonderful hub of art and artists, really amazing to see what some people come up with. On the same aspect though, I hate it because certain types of art (fanart namely) tend to get much more attention than others (though that's a user preference, I understand) and it seems sadly focused on attention (also user preference though. xD)

And as for the artistic nudity argument, oh god don't get me started. I am a happy proponent of artistic nudity, but so much of dA isn't nudity, it's borderline porn and often not in any sense artistic. It disgusts me. There is a huge line between tasteful nudity and porn, and much of dA seems not to see that. =/

[ecco]

ive been on DA since i was 12 (am now 19) and ive started falling out of love with it. i have over 100 watchers on my account (the original one, which ive now moved back to after creating 2 other ones along the way... xD)

from back when i used to post fairly often, when i drew for the fun of it and was always pleased with what i made - somewhere along the line my confidence died xD i need to learn to draw for the pleasure of it again.

theres nothing on my account anymore tho, these days i just use it to watch other artists that i like.

it doesnt help that the huge circle of friends i used to have on there have sorta disappeared over time =/ its quite sad really. i think thats why i keep joining new sites in the hopes of finding a new circle of friends from across the world x3

[dreamer676]

eccofaery; I only have a few friends there but they are good people, and we chat relatively often so that's good.
My confidence has died too lol. I draw and draw and draw because I know that if I don't then I won't ever get better but I think I really need to get back into art education to get me happy again.

Helen; I totally see where you are coming from. I don't like that fanart gets all the comments and most of my watchers came from the fanart that I have posted, but yeah, I'm the same really it's through fanart that I find people.

[ecco]

dreamer; yea, i mean i want to do animation at university because im extremely passionate about the subject but the fact is at this rate, i wont get in because my artistic skills arent up to scratch. =/ and of the friends i have left at DA i barely ever see them anymore =/ it suuuucks.

[aerieyena]

Helen and dreamer, I totally agree with you guys on the artistic nude thing. The pictures in that section are just absurd sometimes. My friend actually showed me a picture in the artistic nude gallery, it was obviously of two women masturbating, but the picture got a daily deviation! I reported it as porn and my report was considered invalid even though the woman in the background was visibly (albeit heavily blurred due to being out of focus) touching her genitals, which is against deviantart rules.
aksdna;sdklnvsdafffffffffftttt D:<
That stuff really gets to me. XD

As for the fanart topic. Yeah, it can be frustrating that fanart gets more favs than art of original characters, but at the same time it's totally understandable. People are familiar with characters featured in fanart, they love those characters. Where as original characters, maybe your friends will be super excited to see the pics, but random people visiting your gallery... not so much. They don't know your characters or how awesome said characters are. Fanart is a crowd pleaser. P:
I fav fanart more than original art, for the most part, but all my favorite pieces in my huuuuge expanse of favorites are originals.