Also remember to join IRC, learn about it here.
DeviantART
The largest website for amateur and professional artists, but mostly amateur.
- Founded By: Angelo Sotira, Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens
- Blog: DeviantART blog
- Twitter: DeviantArt
Summary
deviantART is a community for artists of all media. Although it was originally populated by professional starving artists, it has come to be the definitive art-dumping ground for furries, fanfiction writers, and anime fans. Because all submissions are approved as long as they adhere to the Terms of Service, deviantART contains a colorful mixture of professional and amateur art, as well as an astounding amount of drama and infighting.
deviantART can be useful for young, aspiring artists who are just getting started, but it alone is not a good path to becoming a successful artist.
Ways to become a successful artist
- Read about art history and artists.
- Experiment with different forms of media and styles. dA can be part of this.
- Get a degree in your field of interest: first a BA (Bachelor of Arts), then an MFA (Master of Fine Arts).
- Network IRL at gallery openings, gallery crawls, parties, special events, etc.
- Get your foot in the door with a part-time job.
- Art shouldn't be just a hobby.
- Meet and remember potential employers or clients.
- Get a residency.
- Find grants.
Ways to not become a successful artist
- Waste your time screwing around on places like deviantART and do little else.
- Drawing crappy pictures "on commission" for your friends on dA.
Origins
deviantART was created and launched on August 7, 2000 with the intentions of making an application skinning community, but on Stephens' suggestion they expanded the site to include all forms of art.
Current status
With over 14.5 million members and over 100 million submissions, deviantART is an online behemoth and a font of petty squabbles and name-calling.
Facts
- Has a robot mascot, named Fella. He kind of looks like a cat.
- The origin of Trollface.
- Snapesnogger, Bleedman, DisneyFan01, Nick Simmons, Soulja Boy, Chris-chan, Sonmanic and other Internet people have or had accounts there.
- A lot of professionals don't like deviantART very much. See: ConceptArt.
- Some professional artists exhibit their works on dA, but no self-respecting professional artist would spend much time participating in the community or lapping up the praise.
Images
Related Pages
You can find additional websites here.
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