dA is an art site with personality, it’s never been a Fine Art America or what not. The users are deviants, and post deviations. There is a quote/chat feature called dAmnit. If terms like these offend people they certainly need not sign up. But in the process of avoiding said deviants you will miss out on a ton of art, stock resources, tutorials and artists themselves.
Yes there is a lot of traffic in dA but that’s because it attracts a lot of non artists and casual artist, so you can get some exposure there.
It’s hard to read a digital art magazine that doesn’t reference deviant art because it’s such a good resource.
To people outside of art perhaps the site name is an eye opener, but at least it’s an honest depiction of what you can expect there. dA is not exclusively about fine art, it’s about all kinds of stuff including webpage design.
Some people don’t consider things like pottery,tats, jewelry, webpages and dolls art. The purpose of the site has always been to be more encompassing than other places, but if you want to find a niche and stick to it you can. I have two accounts, one for my topless elves, and another for my dog photos.
So even if you don’t consider yourself a deviant you can still have a good time if you can get past the name.
