Alternatives to DeviantArt
Why you should leave DeviantArt for good.
DeviantArt is unfortunately not the amazing hub of artists that it once used to be since I used to have a DeviantArt account — as it has become a cyberbully harbor, allowing AI-generated artwork, the platform’s staff and its volunteers are becoming rude and unprofessional such as not responding to art theft or closing the users’ forum threads too early for violating the forum rules and permanently banning users, removing or relocating submissions (“deviations”) from the platform for copyright and other violations, and the forums aren’t useful anymore. Everyone (myself included) has outgrown DeviantArt, as we are not young artists anymore. Also, hear this: I’m not an amateur, and I’m not a beginner either. I don’t have to have a DeviantArt account.
Most of the DeviantArt staff and its volunteers live outside of the US, as they have limited or no English knowledge and provide less support. You can’t search for anything on DeviantArt anymore unless you’re logged in, and many users have quit DeviantArt because of the staff and its volunteers’ incompetence. Of course, DeviantArt should have received the “Golden Poo” award and should’ve won the “Worst Company in America” if the Consumerist was still active for a few more years. I’m going to give alternatives to DeviantArt that you can try.
Behance
The first order of business is Behance by Adobe. Matias Corea and Scott Belsky founded it in November 2005 and were later acquired by Adobe in 2012. You don’t have to pay to register and upload anything, and it is free to use, which requires an Adobe account. You can upload almost any artwork (including NFTs, which I don’t offer), follow artists and appreciate their artwork, and view the projects, appreciations, and mood boards as long as you read the community guidelines and TOS.
ArtStation
Next up is ArtStation, another art site later owned by Fortnite creator Epic Games. ArtStation is a true haven for illustrators, concept artists, and animation artists with the best profile interface. Everything is mostly free except for ArtStation Plus, which costs US$6.99/month, or US$9.95/month for ArtStation Pro. Also, the site doesn’t have a forum at all. Individuals under the age of 18 are not allowed to use ArtStation.
Newgrounds
The next one up is another American entertainment website and company as you can post art on the site. Art and Audio on the site are processed using a different method called “scouting,” which the site describes as “a way to vet users and weed out spam, stolen works, low-quality submissions, etc.” Nothing special, the then-teenaged Tom Fulp created the company in 1995 and is headquartered in Glenside, Pennsylvania. They call it Newgrounds because … (spins two XP-PEN styluses) … that is its name.
Dribbble
Dribbble doesn’t have a lot of anime or manga-inspired artwork, but it is a self-promotion and social networking platform for digital designers and creatives. Dan Cederholm and Rich Thornett beta-launched Dribbble as an invite-only site where designers shared what they were working on: “The name Dribbble came about from the dual metaphors of bouncing ideas and leaking your work.” You can also post fanart on Dribbble, too!
Pixiv
Now, a Japanese online community for artists is headquartered in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It was first launched as a beta test on September 10, 2007, by Takahiro Kamitani and Takanori Katagiri. Despite my learning Japanese and having no plans for moving to Canada because of the things that the Americans may face which includes not allowing housing or renting for foreigners until the end of 2026, the Japanese art site aims to provide a place for artists to exhibit their illustrations and get feedback via a rating system and user comments. Works are organized in an extensive tag structure, which forms the backbone of the website. In 2009, an English-language version was considered to be the lowest in terms of priority, but was later established in early 2011. Internationalization of the website continued with the addition of French, Korean, Russian, and Thai. Certain European countries with a high number of hits on the website, such as Germany, Italy, and France, will also be considered. The name’s Pixiv and it doesn’t take no crap.
Now we’re waiting for the FBI and Interpol, who are to permanently shut down DeviantArt and its parent company Wix for the site’s corruption and for supporting Israel’s genocide on Gaza, and have its staff and volunteers sentenced to three years in prison and six months of supervised release. The up-and-coming and top artists on DeviantArt faced removals of their artwork due to copyright or other violations and have found alternatives. I’m not recommending Cara or RITF because they are considered underground websites, as they don’t run ads and only have a small number of volunteers. No plans for SheezyArt either. Companies must reconsider AI immediately so the therapists won’t face a massive catalog of long lines. If you are deactivating your DeviantArt account, which is recommended, don’t forget to save your work before deactivating your account.
