Website Review: deviantART

From the deviantART FAQ: deviantART is an online art community for artists and art lovers to interact in a variety of ways, ranging from the submission of art to conversations on a number of topics. In its purest form, deviantART is a means for expressing yourself in a variety of ways.

deviantART, commonly abbreviated to dA, is an online art community (as stated above). It is the largest art community on the internet (that I've seen, but I'm pretty sure it's the largest).

So, what's good about deviantART?

1. It's a place to upload and submit art and writing. deviantART is set up to handle millions of submissions, and it probably has that many, too. There are hundreds of categories you can submit your art to, so that people who like a specific type of art can find it. deviantART also has recognition programs such as Daily Deviations where they pick out certain artworks and showcase them on the front page.
2. You can connect with your friends. dA is home to thousands of users. You can find your friends on there and even make new ones!
3. You can take commissions and earn money. dA has its own currency; "Points". You get these points either by buying them with real money, or by being given them by someone else. People often take advantage of this and will draw pictures (or other art) in exchange for Points. dA even has a widget set up so that you can draw pictures for real money that can be cashed to a credit card.
4. dA has its own drawing program, dA muro. While it's not as good as some programs such as Paint Tool SAI, it has some cool brushes and things and can be used for some unique stuff.

As for the downsides:

1. Not everyone on the side is nice. Jerks and spammers abound on dA. Although dA has a blocking system, and they faithfully ban spammers, you will run into nasty illogical people who just like yelling.
2. It's not all free. Although you can happily own a free account, some of the nicer features require a Premium Membership, which costs roughly $5 per month (or less if you buy the membership for a longer period). It's not required to have a Membership (I don't) but if you want all the features, it will cost you. (One perk is that you can use Points to pay for a Membership, therefore you can theoretically buy a Premium Membership with your commission earnings.)
3. There are tons of little bugs. Not literal bugs, computer program bugs. Every week there are small glitches you run into, and they can get irritating after a while. dA does its best to fix those bugs, but there are always more that you'll run into.
4. deviantART allows almost all art submissions, including nasty ones. This means that nudity and violence are totally okay on deviantART, and of course, there are those who have galleries full of adult content. One silver lining is that dA has a "Mature Content" system, in which people must put a Mature Content tag on any adult pictures. When others view the art page, they see the tag and can choose whether or not to see the picture.

In conclusion, deviantART is a nice art site. It has its issues, and I wish they wouldn't allow certain submissions, but otherwise, it's a pretty good site.

Disclaimer: This article is not a paid endorsement. I will receive no money or other gain from writing this review.