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Heya, and welcome to dA. Well done on getting here
If you have a creative mind, your at the right place. This is deviantArt, the biggest and for me the best Online Art Community.It's creation was a long and complex thing, spyed gives a very good account <a href="spyed.deviantart.com/journal/6…>here
There are some very indepth guides available in the FAQ section, here I just hope to briefly go over some basics and some more complex things.
What is dA
dA (deviantArt) is a massive community of artists and art lovers. A user (deviant) can submit deviations (literature, images, animations, layouts etc.) and receive feedback based on that, thus developing as an artist. Also as a user of deviantArt, you get to see a huge range of different styles, (from traditional ink-drawings to 3D renders) and become influenced by them.
How do I submit my Art?
A finished piece of graphic, code, or literature is called a deviation. You can submit yours by first clicking on the deviantArt logo near the top left of your screen (to the left of your username), then clicking submit deviation. From there things shouldn't be too complex, just make sure you place your deviation in the right category (E.G. just cos it looks 3D doesn't make it a render).
After that the deviation will be added to your gallery for all the world to see. For a more in-depth guide see FAQ #79: How do I submit art? :faq615: :faq286:
Deviations, Favorites and Watchers
You can comment on a deviation, and if you like one, a lot, you can add it to your favorites, this means the image in question is added to a sub gallery on your main page containing all your favorites. Other people can browse through it, as can you. People can then see what art you like, and you can do the same to other devaints. You can remove images from your fav's by going to the deviation and clicking ‘remove favorite’.
Now, if one deviant has a wealth (lots) of images you like, you might want to see his or her new deviations as he or she produces them. To do this, click on the ‘watch this deviant’ button, which is on the right of a deviants profile page. To navigate to a profile page click on a deviants avatar. Very simple!
That deviants new images will then appear in your message center, where you can go to view them at your leisure. They won’t go anywhere unless you delete them!
Thumbs
Once you’ve submitted a few images, you will probably want to share your art.
You do this using thumbs, no not on your hands idiot like this;
Very simple to do, simply type “:thumb” then the number of your deviation.
This is found in the web address of your deviation, or underneath the image, on the left, where you see a box saying ‘thumb’. So you end up with this, :thumb1234567: though that number is just an example. These can be used in chatrooms, forums, and your journal is you’re a subscriber (i.e. you pay for many extra features).
Deviant Links
Now you can also create a link to your Profile page like you would with a thumb, in my introduction I gave spyed his lovely link. I did this my typing :devspyed:. You could put any deviant’s name in place of spyed. I.e. :dev then digital--ice: would make digitalice
Profile and Identity
Your profile page is very important, it is your display page on deviantArt. From there other deviants can go to your favorites, your journals, your deviations, anything you've submitted. You can customize your profile page in lots of ways.
Avatars, these things
, are a very important customization as yours follows you everywhere! Display yours in the same way you would Digital--Ice but use :icon instead of :dev to create :iconDigital--Ice: . If you have not already, then make or find an avatar (don't steal one!). It’s how most people will recognize you at a glance. You can add your avatar through your profile page here. There are a range of different customizations in your Profile Page and your Settings Page so that you can use dA better.
The Front Page and Navigation Bar
There are lots of things to see just on the Front Page. Including things you might miss initially. For one the Daily Deviations. These are images chosen by the staff and gallery directors for your viewing pleasure. Popular images and Newest should be fairly obvious.
Now, up along the top of any dA web page, you can see Browse, Shop, Chat, News, Today and Forum. Chat and Forum we'll get to later, Shop if for purchasing prints of deviations, we'll also get to that later.
Browse is a way of navigating all the deviations pouring into dA, also you can use the Search bar. The News section is where you can keep up-to-date with what's going on around dA. You can add a story to you loved news section just like your favorites, and you can submit news if you want. But be careful, as everyone can read it ^__^
And then there's the Today section, I love that section! It tells you what's going on right now, and it contains a load of fun stuff; popular journals, deviants, forum threads, polls, etc. Also peoples moods, who's online, and new deviants and deviations. Basically a fun place to waste time and get involved.
<div class="A1>Prints and the Shop
Becoming a Community Member
i.e. well known
Getting More Involved
Just do, make friends, join a club, go in chatrooms, look in the today section (see above), just go! There are clubs for everyone and many deviants advertise clubs they are members of in their journals, so look out. Don't be afraid to make friends either, many people may seem strange, but most deviants are kind and friendly. That said, don't forget that anyone can join dA, so don't act as if All deviants are perfect. Still, the more you join in the more you'll learn about the community, and the more developed you'll become as a deviant.
Chatrooms
Thumbshare is a great place to spread your art. There are plenty more dA chatrooms where artists can talk, discuss and develop ideas, and make friends. Find the chatrooms list by clicking the "chat" link up on the top navigation bar. However, try to read a chatroom's FAQ, otherwise you could get kicked/banned from the room.
Forums
A few things, one, think before you write. Something in a forum will be there a lot longer than in a chatroom, so don't say anything you'll regret. Also if you're thinking about starting a thread, make sure you know what section of the forums to submit into! I.E. If you were going to ask for help with a guide for new deviants make sure to put it in the projects section!
Ideas
Don’t keep em bottles up!
If you have a great idea for a club or movement, any idea really, try and do it. But, be warned, if you're just trying to become famous and don't care about what your actually doing, you won’t get anywhere.
Don't Be A Fool
some things you might want to avoid
Big headedness
Popusness
Cocky Foolery
Basically, don't act a prick, it never ever pays off, act genuine and helpful, sorry, don't act, BE genuine! And things will go well, or should do.
For example, If someone is amazing at what they do, as many many people here on dA are, don't be jealous, or downhearted, be happy that you get to see something that beautiful. It’s a major part of dA you know
Do not attack someone, critisise them for no reason, don’t be rude to them, try not to suck up to them, or anything like that. For example do not cause deviants to do this.
Comments
After a little experiment I discovered that;
50 good comments = 3 watchers and 5 fav's. As well as 15 comments, for my deviations, and tones of page-views.
A good comment is NOT simply 'nice' or 'cool colours' or 'I don't like it'
By all means comment like this but it’s not very useful and a deviant’s less likely to view your page based on the comment. A good comment would be some advice or criticism,
- Say something you like about the dev or something about it that
deserves praise, what it makes you feel and say why!
Offer some helpful critique, if there something you don't
like, don't just say "I don't like X" say “I don't like X because..."
Also explained, in more depth, <a href="leodadominico.deviantart.com/j…>here
Some advice on comments from people around dA;
"I'm getting tired answering to posts like , sweet, cool and so on. I try to put much weight on answering constructive crittique because in the end it's that critique which will evolve u as an artist."
"comment for commenting"
i.e. put thought in
Some Other Advice
Support the Staff
They’re here to help, and if you don’t you’re only making dA that little worse instead of better.
Keep you Head above Water
Try not to let your message center just fill up and overflow, it’ll just become more and more difficult to deal with. If this does happen don’t be afraid to erase Everything and build up from there.
If you do Leave
I'm sure you won't, but some people do. Basically, delete everything, just leave an e-mail for an enquirer wanting the account to contact you by.
But, with any luck, you won't go anywhere, enjoy dA,
Olivier Butler
If you have any further questions please comment or send me a note