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Artists, where do you share your art?

cafenurse

Still misses Anri Rune
Apr 8, 2018
1,803
22
USA
Back when I felt comfortable posting my art online DeviantArt and Tumblr were my go tos. But Tumblr is known for controversy and drama with its userbase, and of course when they banned all R18 content it sparked massive outrage. DeviantArt has been on the decline for years I feel, I feel like it's associated with a negative reputation and all the changes they've been making have not gone over well with their userbase. Their newest venture of changing the entire lookout of the site is...eh to me. Personally I hate dark themes and second of all I feel like it looks so cluttered. I've been wanting to get back into posting my art, but I don't have much interest in using these sites again.
So...where do ya'll post your art these days? What websites work best for you?
 

___

Oct 8, 2019
1,546
Most people usually post on instagram and twitter. I think twitter is probably one of the worse sites for artists, it's interface is just...not designed for sharing art but if you're looking to post quick pictures you drew for funsies and show them to your friends then twitter is just fine.

If you want to be little more serious and interact with other artists then I would recommend instagram.

If you're super serious and want to build portfolio go to Artstation

Edit:
I also agree on your opinion on Devintart, it now looks so cluttered and it's hard to navigate.
 
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Wario94

Passionate Fan
Jan 5, 2019
207
29
For me, I put my own art on my DeviantArt account. Years ago I used to put my own art on Miiverse before it shuts down on November 7, 2017.
 

razelberii

Bless the Lord, O my Soul
Apr 8, 2018
423
雨リカ
razzyru.com
Most people usually post on instagram and twitter.
This is what I commonly use. Twitter and Instagram.

For more serious work, an illustration that has more effort in it for example, I use Pixiv or Piapro. Those two sites are aimed more for the Japanese community, however, I'm not too sure what's common for Western communities.
Social media seems to be a lot more common now for artwork than portfolio websites it seems, but that's only by observation. Hopefully this helps
 

hamano

ミクさんマジ天使
Staff member
Moderator
Apr 8, 2018
1,789
31
mobile.twitter.com
I post my stuff on Twitter and pixiv, and on some rare occasions Piapro.

When it comes to pixiv, it's more of a gallery than a social media service, meaning you don't really get much interaction with others. But personally I like pixiv, since my main intention is to share my works (likes are nice to have too, it's great to see that others enjoy your art). Also since pixiv is the number one site for Japanese artists (of all levels of skill), it's natural for me to be there also as a fan of my favourite illustrators. Pixiv is getting more popular among western anime artists as well.

Twitter is not the best way to share my art, but I use it too. The problem with Twitter is that it's hard to reach a larger audience outside your followers, and the artworks eventually get lost in your timeline. But Twitter is more social.

Piapro is Crypton's site for uploading your Vocaloid-related creations, like music, art etc. and find partners to collaborate with. I have mostly used Piapro just to enter a couple of design contests, but that's about it. Piapro is only available in Japanese. I've kinda felt that uploading something on Piapro isn't worth it unless it's for a contest. (Also perhaps if you're looking to collaborate with someone, I've never looked into that really)
 

cafenurse

Still misses Anri Rune
Apr 8, 2018
1,803
22
USA
Edit:
I also agree on your opinion on Devintart, it now looks so cluttered and it's hard to navigate.
I seriously don't know how but every change they've decided to make in like the past 10 years has been awful. I can't remember the last time they announced a change and it was actually innovative and good.
 
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___

Oct 8, 2019
1,546
I seriously don't know how but every change they've decided to make in like the past 10 years has been awful. I can't remember the last time they announced a change and it was actually innovative and good.
Oh agreed! I'm weirded out by that new logo of theirs to this day :gackpo_lili:

By the way my friend pointed out that their new interface seems to be copying Artstation and I can't unsee it. It seems weirdly unfitting seeing as most of DA's members are people who make strangely specific stamps and stuff.
 
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Reactions: lIlI
Sep 21, 2019
1,401
I use Pixiv. I used to really like DA, but the community kind of got toxic after a while and some of the art that was starting to show up in the search was just... um... no... :len_lili: I didn't want people like that following me, so I left. Also, DA sucks a** at handling issues involving stolen art and it's pretty much left to the community to handle that. It's trainwreck, tbh. >~<

The only thing I hate about Pixiv is the lack of community. Nobody really favorites or comments on anything so it's kinda discouraging. I don't like insta or twitter very much either 'cause everything just kinda gets buried underneath piles of different posts. I wish someone would make an alternative similar to DeviantArt; it used to be a fun website.
 

Aia

DDR-tist
Jul 14, 2019
374
20
The Internet™
I just use Twitter for my art! It's the only account I have, but what's cool about it is that I also get to talk about other stuff if I don't feel like drawing. Sure some people can have their opinions, but it's not that bad.
 

cafenurse

Still misses Anri Rune
Apr 8, 2018
1,803
22
USA
I wish someone would make an alternative similar to DeviantArt; it used to be a fun website.
Same!!! I really like a lot of the ideas behind it. It's more casual but there's also professional stuff on there, clubs or groups (can't remember what they're called now) are a really fun way to get your art out there, the idea of it being social media for art as opposed to a social media site that can have art or an art portfolio site is really fun.
Unfortunately the staff checked out years ago and it's horribly run. Not only are the updates messy but they never work with the community at all and just expect everyone else to solve the problems of stolen art, rule breaking art, etc...

It just makes me really sad it's decayed so poorly because it was my favorite art sharing platform.
 

Blue Of Mind

The world that I do not know...
Apr 8, 2018
699
Not an artist myself (I'm actually a stamp-maker), but I do agree that DeviantART is a dumpster fire compared to what it used to be, even ten years ago. I joined the site back in 2010, and I remember that despite it having a reputation for drama and bad fetish art even back then, at least there was some kind of moderation in place to keep the worst excesses of the site in check. (I didn't see so much questionable art hiding in innocent search terms compared to now). But dA sacked a ton of staff sometime around 2015, and now there's not enough moderation available to deal with spammers, trolls, ToS-violating art, art theft, etc. Add in their focus on the Eclipse site redesign (which is still broken in places and kills aspects that the community have enjoyed since the site's inception, such as properly customising profiles with CCS), and the community is increasingly polarised from the staff. I pretty much just see negative comments all the time underneath staff journal updates.

I set up an Instagram account the other day to try and make a much nicer space to follow artists compared to dA and avoid questionable posts. So far, so good, so long as you don't follow or search the wrong tags or accounts. But Instagram isn't as good as dA when it comes to interacting with fans of your work, I've noticed. I wish a proper dA competitor/alternative would spring up, especially if they had solid moderation.
 

Blue Of Mind

The world that I do not know...
Apr 8, 2018
699
Does both Pixiv and Piapro count?
They sort of do but I feel like they both have very different dynamics than DA did. I'd say Pixiv is probably the closest to an alternative but it's still not quite the same.
Plus, both Pixiv and Piapro are specialised for Japanese speakers, and there's not much Western representation in accounts on both sites. Piapro is also limited to Vocaloid art.
 
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hamano

ミクさんマジ天使
Staff member
Moderator
Apr 8, 2018
1,789
31
mobile.twitter.com
Out of the two, Pixiv is definitely a better "replacement" for dA than Piapro. Pixiv at least has an English interface, and I feel like it's slowly gaining popularity among western artists too. So far most western users on Pixiv are "fan accounts" - accounts people use solely for following artists.
 

Eviltreat16

Probably an Artist, Probably a Praying Mantis
Apr 8, 2018
169
I've been posting on Tumblr - though it's been a while since I've done "not for work" art because life. I have a Pixiv I could use...
I don't use my twitter account because my twitter is just there to look at other accounts without being yelled at to sign up for one, and I don't have an Instagram or Deviantart (Used to, lost it, I was like 13 then and didn't post anything anyways)

If Pixiv is a good alternative I'd gladly post Pixiv and Tumblr. Ever since the R18 stuff, no one really reblogs/likes fanart anymore it seems... A bit demotivating to say the least.
 
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YunīC

Stan Yuezheng Longya
Apr 8, 2018
211
I used many different sites in the past but right now my go-to is Twitter, sometimes I also post more polished art on Pixiv because it allows HQ images.

I do agree that we need a new alternative for posting art, though! For me twitter is fine right now but it's not the kind of website that's good for art.

Also personally I think Instagram (since it was mentioned to be good for artists) is bad for art.... why?
1. You have to permantly crop your image (as opposed to just have the preview image cropped)
2. The algorhythm is horrible and there's no way to turn it off
(3. I trust facebook even less than other websites, but that one is just very subjective)
 
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lIlI

Staff member
Moderator
Apr 6, 2018
843
The Lightning Strike
Though it's not quite as obvious at first glance, Pixiv has it's own severe fetish problem. I no longer browse the site for that reason, despite there being many amazing artists on there - and I say that as someone tolerant of sexual artwork. ): Sad times.

But as someone that likes to browse art, I do think it's great when artists have a 'gallery' site! To me, nothing beats the dA/Artstation/Pixiv display format, where you can see all the thumbnails in one place. From a viewer's point of view, Twitter is rubbish because you have to scroll through a lot of non-art to find people's work. Tumblr is similar in that you can only see one piece at a time (although archive view is alright).

If you want a gallery, but aren't a fan of the mainstream options, Wysp is a small but effective platform.
 

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