Type in the URL into your chosen Internet browser and you will see before you an art community that could be described as one of the largest on the web, full of many different pieces of artwork varying from traditional paintings and drawings to digital artwork to poetry and prose to photography.
deviantART was founded in 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens, and Angelo Sotira. It was launched on August 7th of that year. The site is currently headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.
Artists can post many different types of art, even including literature, on deviantART. There are over 100 million submissions to the site, and about 140,000 submissions are made to the site every day. Comments can be made to critique or compliment any piece of artwork, unless the artist chooses to disable that feature, allowing for artists to grow and learn how to improve their art- or else just gain a compliment, which can cause happiness.
Along with submitting and commenting, members have the option to write journals about whatever they like, customize their page with information about themselves or journal “skins” (although they have to be a member for a few features, such as the journal skins).
deviantART is over 1.45 million users strong, which means lots of friends to be made and lots of people to critique and comment on your art. There is also the option to follow artists you like, so you receive messages when they post new pieces or journals.
ALHS Sophomore Laura Piper has had a deviantART account for four months.
“I joined I joined deviant art because I liked the idea of being able to post my drawings and getting peoples opinions on them.” Piper said.
Many experienced artists roam the Internet streets of deviantART, and many companies who are looking for artists hire from there. Some professional cartoonists or artists also have an account on deviantART.
“It amazes me how much talent people can have.” Piper said.
But deviantART is not without its criticisms. Members of the community complain about the number of members who steal art blatantly or slightly edit art from another artist. This is against deviantART’s rules, but since the community is so large, sometimes staff has trouble getting to all the reports. Members also dislike the large amount of effort it takes to post an animated piece and how some features are only available if you purchase a premium membership, which ranges in price from a $4.95 monthly bill to a $29.95 pre-paid 12 month membership.
Despite its criticisms, deviantART is an art website that is running strong, and members don’t think that the site will die anytime soon. All kinds of art can be posted and all kinds of art are posted, no matter what you’re into.
