 Website review: DeviantART
Tallulah Habib
From small doodles of fandom to hundred-dollar artworks, deviantARTis a showcase of every form of visual art you can imagine. And you can add and sell your own work,
for free.
Starting in 2000 as a place for any artist to exhibit and discuss works, the site has become a full-fledged online community, with over 11 million members.
Aside from perusing artwork, there are also downloadable tools such as Photoshop paintbrushes and tutorials provided by the members.
The site is categorised according to the kind of artwork: Digital Art, Photography, Traditional Art, Film & Animation, Cartoons & Comics, Artisan Crafts, Designs & Interfaces, Customization, Resources & Stock Images, Game Development Art, Literature, Manga/Anime, Fan Art, Flash, Anthro, Community Projects, Scraps and deviantART related.
If you submit your work, you have a choice of licensing it under creative commons or keeping all rights. You can also choose to have the “deviation” available on a range of items: mugs, puzzles, wall canvases or just plain prints.
If someone orders your work, the site will make the prints and ship for you and you will get 20% of the retail price.
Aside from making money off commission and advertising, you can also buy deviantART Merchandise and, if you want to feel special, a Premium Account that lets you access “robust” features such as creating Polls, and seeing your Gallery statistics. This privilege will set you back $5 a month. On the bright side, though, if you are accessing the site from South Africa, you may pay in rands (R38).
Despite its vast membership numbers, deviantART retains a feeling of community, enhanced with message boards, commenting, favourites (where you can add the deviations you like to a list) and contests that aim to get everyone involved. It's the kind of place you can't enter without getting stuck there. Definitely worth a visit when you have the time. |
