deviantArt?

[ratcreature]

I was in the mood to look at some fanart and decided to browse deviantArt, also wondering whether it might be good as another place to post my stuff. So I just went to the site, and previously I've always followed links to an artist or a picture, and I wasn't too thrilled with the site design then, but on that level it works okay. But how does

Comments

[devildoll]

I've always followed links to an artist or a picture, and I wasn't too thrilled with the site design then, but on that level it works okay. But how does anyone cope with this site design on a more general level? Or is it just me? It drives me crazy.

It's not just you. I've followed links to really good art, and then attempted to simply look at the same artist's other work, in hopes of finding more good stuff, and even that is a pain. It should be easy! I'm already right there on one of their pages!

[ratcreature]

I'm slowly getting used to it, but the navigation could be easier. Since they introduced the folder option in their artist galleries there is at least some sorting within those if the artist chooses that, but too many don't. Also, it took me quite a while to realize that you can limit your searches to categories.

[madripoor_rose]

Same here. I have never been able to navigate that site. There's been some Avatar fanart posted there, and unless a direct link is posted, I can't figure out how to get to it.

[ratcreature]

It definitely takes some time to get used to it. At first I couldn't find anything, but after a few visits and some hours of browsing it is now easier, if not yet intuitive.

[jimandblair]

okay, I'm glad it's not just me. I've always found navigating deviant art hard work. It's not like the set up on fanfiction.net or wraithbait where the format is hard on my eyes, it's a navigational nightmare. I, personally, probably wouldn't use Deviant art.

[ratcreature]

I'm glad it's not just me too. :) I think the goals as an art site that is original art too are just a bit different from a more specialized archive, and I had ages to get used to how fanfic archives work.

[astridv]

I've been trying the site out for two months (same username) and so far I'm happy with it. The whole account creation and uploading process is intuitive and quick, and fanart gets steady hits even when not freshly uploaded. It's not a bad way to get some additional exposure to LJ. I've uploaded two original pieces to test the water there, and found that they did get viewed, but mainly right after uploading. Whereas I guess the fanart people find via the search engines.

As to navigation, I haven't really explored it yet... the site is overwhelming in its sheer frikking size. Mostly I've surfed artist's favorites to discover other artists, and checked out their galleries. Some fantastic stuff over there.

I'd recommend checking it out. Doesn't take long, it's free, and I think you reach a different audience from LJ, though there's some overlap of course.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, there is some truly awesome art posted there. One reason I'm thinking about an account besides posting there is that I wanted to comment on cool art a couple of times now, so it would be good for that also. And I just checked, and there is no ratcreature at DA yet, so I take that as a sign...

[gnatkip]

The DA user interface is freakin impenetrable for me. I don't understand how to find anything and so I never try.

[gnatkip]

Heh, sorry. I didn't mean to sound all wet blankety. You've figured out more than I ever have.

[ratcreature]

I totally understand. To get even so far that I now know the basic stuff (I think) took me hours of poking around and wasting time there, and the wikipedia article about it for reference because I couldn't even figure out what to search for in the FAQ and you can't easily browse them. (That really was a breakthrough, because it explains the offered functionality, also what all the symbols before the names mean, which baffled me for the longest time.) Thefirst couple of times I visited I just didn't bother for that long