Welcome n00b, welcome to the wide wonderful world of deviantART!
Now, with over one and a half million members with a combined total of over twelve million submissions, this place can be quite a conundrum to navigate. Here are a few places to get you started:
The site's
Etiquette Policy and
Submission Policy. If you haven't read these yet, spare some time and give them a read; they're fairly straightfoward and knowing the rules will help you avoid making a silly mistake in the future. If you're unclear about any of these rules, feel free to make use of the
Help&FAQ to clarify them.
Since this site is so large, you'll definitely want to get yourself established as an active member as soon as possible to attract the notice of other individuals; there are quite a few ways to go about this:
The Welcome Forum! That's right, now that you've read the rules and have a general idea of how to behave, get going with your community interaction. Introduce yourself to other deviants and find new people just like you with whom to begin devious relationships.
Browsing and commenting! Choose your favourite section to browse, be it
photography,
prose,
traditional art, or
wallpapers, and leave helpful
comments and critiques on work that catches your eye. If you're not much of a browser, then feel free to look through the
Daily Top Favourites and the
Daily Deviations for pieces to critique; alternatively, sort through others' favourites, or hit the
Thumbshare Forum to find a bunch of people looking for comments and critiques! You also have the option of randomizing your deviantART experience by using the
Random Deviant |
Random Deviation tools listed in your Message Centre.
The Fora! With so many boards to choose from, there's almost nothing you
can't hold a discussion about! A few words to the wise, though: lurk, lurk, lurk! Watch the boards for a day or a week to get a feel for how they operate; this helps cut down on errors such as posting in the wrong forum, starting a topic that's already been covered, or any number of other n00b errors.
dAmn (deviantART Messaging Network)! If you're not quite patient enough for the fora, feel free to check out our many realtime chat channels. There's a room for everybody, so hop on in and start making friends!
And that's basic deviantART for you. We're a big community and we're more than willing to accomodate you if you only put a little work into it. Just remember:
Comment to get comments.
Share the kindness, not the hate.
Love the art before yourself.
Thank you and have a nice stay! Remember to check the
FAQ if you have any questions.