deviantART: a Website Review

Deviant Art.com
A website Review by Lauryn Seering
October 14, 2009

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-Introduction

The website DeivantART is an international art gallery that allows any user to freely submit art or writing without fear of discrimination or ‘flames.’ The website, founded in 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens, and Angelo Sotira now boasts over 1 million users with nearly 11 million pieces of artwork. The artists on the website are referred to as ‘Deviants’ and the artworks submitted as ‘Deviations.’ Becoming a member of the website is free, but you can pay a small fee for special features that will be discussed later.


-Usability

Befitting an artistic website, the opening page is filled with graphics, particularly the most recently submitted works. You can also find here the most popular works and a mainstream menu on the right of the screen. This menu helps you find images in categories that interest you, and give you a hint to the wealth of images this site contains. For easier searching you can type into the Search bar at the top of the site, and filter your search using a side menu. To get some of the better search filters, you must become a member of the website, and in cases of sheer size and accessibility, you can pay $4.95 a month for an upgraded membership. The membership includes 120 Deviations per page while browsing, elimination of ads and pop ups, and special journal functions such as adding images to your blogs which would be text based normally.



-DeviantWATCH

There are several features that are unique to this site. DeviantWATCH is a program that all free members receive, where you can favorite artworks and therefore make them appear in your profile. From your profile you can organize them into folders. I found that a great trick to finding good art is by going on your favorite artist’s favorites.) You can also friend fellow artists to create collaborations, be updated via the in-website e-mail system (that won’t clog your regular inbox) when new artworks are created by your favorite artists, and read blogs by other people. Beware though; if you become a fan of many artists you can end up having a flood of inbox messages daily.

-User Profiles

Like most profiles, basic information is submitted about your username, and your country. On DeviantART however, several special features have been added. You can ‘describe’ what kind of artist you are such as; Painter? Sculptor? Green Alien? And you can blog freely. In addition you can create a deviantID. A deviantID is usually a picture, not necessarily of your self, with a few tidbits of information about them. I found that because of the creativity of the deviants on this site, some are very amusing to look at. Also, when uploading a deviation, you can write a message to the people who are viewing it and make it as silly or as serious or as you want. These features allow users to make their profile more personal, and therefore make them more excited to express themselves using it.

-Print Shop

One of the most useful things about DeviantART is undoubtedly its online print shop. For one fee of 24.95$ users can use the print shop for a lifetime. Currently, there are only about 1,000 users actively adding art (with over 10,000 prints), but it is a great way for artists to get their work out there, and to create publicity on a large-scale basis. It also allows artists to have a full portfolio of their work without creating an individual website. This saves a good chunk of time, something many people seem to be in desperate need off. This is also the source of revenue that keeps the website with a seemingly endless bandwidth alive. The prints are priced according to the size of the purchase, and the popularity of the artist. Some prints can also be purchased for ‘Wall Size’ though those get a little pricy. You can also purchase DevWEAR that includes t-shirts, hoodies, bags, collectibles, hats, and deviantSKINS with their logo on it.


-Other Features

A few other features this website offers are forums for discussions, polls, “Stamps” to put on your page signifying things you like and don’t like, and a section called “Deviantness” which shows featured artists. People can also go into a category known as “Daily Deviations” where they submit work everyday, therefore making a huge catalog of their works. One last feature that I will talk about is the DeviartMEME. A Meme is a set of drawings where there are categories that define what you draw. Like for example, you could have an “Introduction Meme” where you would draw things about yourself, what you like to do, and what you don’t like to do. The last feature that I will talk about is the online portfolio. Like a real portfolio, the site offers a free program that can make the art in your gallery look professional. Much easier than taking pictures and making a slideshow presentation.

-Comparison Sites
Besides sites like Flickr, or Yahoo/Google Images, there are not sites on the web that are quite like deviantART. One I found that was similar but didn't give the contrast of so many different artworks was elfwood.com, an art site for fantasy works.

-Categories of Art

The shear amount of artwork on this website is unbelievable. A person viewing this website could literally take weeks just browsing through categories and categories of art. You can type in any keyword on the search bar and get unlimited choices in unlimited categories. Because of the free access to all users, some of the art isn’t very good, but others are simply so stunning users will find themselves amazed at the sheer beauty of what’s created on an amateur art site. My lasting impression of deviantART is not only its girth, but the content. Usability is straightforward and uncomplicated, and though sometimes the amount of art is too much to sift through, you will always find a gem here.
Total Website Rating: 4.5


MLA Cited Works
McKay, Lisa. “DeviantART; A website review.”
Blog Critics Sci/Tech. 29, Mar, 2005. 14, Oct, 2009.