If you are a creative person, then you must have a website for showcasing your artwork.
There are several different websites that allow artists to upload their work and share it with the world.
These include places like ArtStation and DeviantArt, which both provide great opportunities of being seen by millions of people worldwide.
ArtStation and DeviantArt are two of the largest websites for digital art.
While both platforms do more or less the same thing, there are a few key differences between them.
In this article, I will explore these differences in depth so that you can decide which site is best for your needs.
Or to make it easier for you, let me announce the verdict right away. ArtStation is better than DeviantArt. Now, read the post till the very end to find out the rationale behind it.
What is ArtStation?
ArtStation is a platform for sharing and discovering artwork online.
The platform was founded in 2013 by the co-founder of Pixologic, a company that makes digital sculpting software called Zbrush (the first real competitor to Autodesk’s Mudbox).
It has over a million users and reaches around 150 countries worldwide, making it an ideal place to share your artwork with the world and to get inspiration from other artists.
ArtStation is a great place for both seasoned and amateur artists, with different levels of membership that let you share your art in any way you want while giving you access to amazing tools like the ArtStation Forums.
ArtStation mostly targets creatives who are interested in the gaming industry, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t share other types of art too.
If you’re a fan of games, this is the place to be. Other than that, a lot of artists have found out that they could get jobs through ArtStation.
This is because the gaming industry is always looking for talented artists, and it’s easier to be found through this platform.
Moreover, recruitment companies like Riot Games and Blizzard often notice artists through the ArtStation platform.
This means that your chances of finding a job are higher on this site than on DeviantArt, which targets people who like to share their art with others.
ArtStation also has an amazing community filled with talented artists who want to help and support each other by sharing feedback on pieces and participating in contests together.
What is DeviantArt?
DeviantArt is an online gallery for artists and art enthusiasts. It has over 42 million members, so it’s a really great way to get your work out there while getting inspiration from other people’s artwork.
DeviantArt was created back in 1998 as a place where people could share their artwork with the world and get inspiration from other artists.
In 2008, it was acquired by a company called Wix.com for $36 Million in cash and stock options. As part of the deal, DeviantArt is still run as its own company within Wix’s portfolio of web services.
DeviantArt uses an email-based registration system with regular emails about site news and updates.
It also features an optional “notification” system where users can choose to get notified when someone comments on their work or sends them a message which they can configure in their account settings.
The community is very supportive of both amateur and professional artists alike, with contests for amateurs as well as features on some of the best new artwork every week.
DeviantArt also has forums where you can discuss stuff with other artists and engage in conversations related to different things about creativity.
User Interface
ArtStation
ArtStation user interface was truly made for digital artists. Artists can upload their original artwork and share it with the world, as well as view interesting works from other artists on the same site.
Users subscribe to specific users they like and follow them to see new art pieces that appear in their feed daily.
When an artist creates something you think is interesting, you can give them a ‘Thumbs Up’, which is similar to a Facebook-like.
You cannot comment on artworks or communicate directly with other artists through ArtStation.
However, there are numerous tools and features that allow for easy sharing of your work, such as share buttons at the bottom of each artwork page and an option to embed your artwork on any website.
ArtStation is currently available in English, French, German, and Spanish with plans to roll out more languages throughout the year.
The site also has mobile apps for both iOS and Android that allow you to upload artwork or browse through your feed anywhere at any time.
DeviantArt
DeviantArt user interface is very simple and easy to use. You can create your own account, and upload artwork easily with the drag-and-drop feature.
It is also possible to edit other people’s artwork if you follow them or vice versa.
You can find interesting content on DeviantArt because of its huge user database where artists post their illustrations, drawings, paintings, and sketches.
DeviantArt differs from ArtStation as it focuses mainly on fan art and the home page is full of it.
There are also a number of deviations that can be commented on, voted for, and summarized in lists like “daily top ten” or “the week’s most interesting.”
The design has stayed pretty much the same since its launch with very little change to the layout but some additions such as groups (which are very similar to ArtStation’s “Communities”).
All images uploaded have their own pages with the ability for other users to comment and rate.
There is also a chat system built into DeviantArt which can be accessed through the toolbar on top of every page.
Verdict
ArtStation has a slight edge over DeviantArt here because of its professional user interface which makes it friendly for artists as well as art enthusiasts.
The best part about ArtStation is that you can create your own portfolio by following other users or vice versa even without creating an account first unlike in DeviantArt where you have to make an account before following anyone.
Ease of use
ArtStation
When it comes to ease of use, ArtStation is definitely the more intuitive of the two platforms. It’s very well organized, and navigating through it doesn’t take long at all once you know where things are located within it.
The interface may be simple to figure out at first, but that simplicity comes with a price- only one type of media is supported by ArtStation, and it has a limit of only one image upload.
That being said, if you can look beyond the limitation on images, ArtStation is definitely one of the best places to start your art career.
DeviantArt
Once you get used to navigating through DeviantArt’s system, it turns out to be just as intuitive and simple when compared with ArtStation.
It has a similar feel in that sense- an organized, easy-to-use system with no complexities.
However, it does come with several different types of media- images, videos, and GIFs can all be uploaded through DeviantArt’s interface which is definitely something that ArtStation lacks.
So really you have two options here: one will give you the ability to upload multiple types of files while the other is specifically for images.
Verdict
Both have a similar feel in which they organize your information neatly and present it well to users but if you’re looking to upload videos or GIFs, DeviantArt might be a better option here.
Performance
ArtStation
ArtStation is doing a lot better than DeviantArt in terms of performance.
With an average load time of just under one second, they are faster than their competitor by almost half that number.
Additionally, the page size for artist pages on ArtStation tends to be smaller and there are fewer requests required when loading content.
The size of images on ArtStations is also smaller which contributes to their speedy loading time but it’s not just that.
They have a caching system in place which preloads the images of an artist’s work so that when you click on their page, it loads almost instantly.
DeviantArt
DeviantArt is not doing so well in the performance department and it shows.
They take about three seconds to load which can be quite frustrating if you’re trying to get through a lot of pages quickly.
Additionally, they have larger page sizes for artist content compared with ArtStation which makes them more difficult to navigate on slower connections.
DeviantArt also has a caching system but it isn’t in place for all artists.
This is where they completely drop the ball in terms of performance, especially when it comes to images with lots of detail or large resolutions.
I don’t want to say DeviantArt just doesn’t care about this subject but that’s how it feels when I see their lack of response on the subject when artists complain.
Verdict
ArtStation is hands down the winner in this category as they load content at a much faster rate, no matter how deep you go into an artist’s page.
When I’m looking for inspiration with digital art styles, ArtStation is my go-to platform because of how fast they load all content.
Features
ArtStation
ArtStation has some of the best features in the industry and these include:
- Ability to like and reblog other users’ posts, as well as comment on them.
- Forums where artists can share their ideas and expertise with each other; this is a great place for beginners who need help developing skills such as drawing or model building.
- A ‘following’ system where users can follow other artists and get notifications when they post new pieces.
- Ability to subscribe to profiles or tags such as fantasy, sci-fi, etc. which helps narrow down searches for people who have a specific interest in their work.
- There are contests going on all the time with great prizes such as graphic tablets and other goodies.
- There are a lot of tutorials on the site, covering every aspect from sculpting to digital painting or drawing manga characters.
- You can buy prints online that match your own personal style through their ‘Redbubble’ system which makes it easy for buyers to find exactly what they want to buy.
- The forums are very active and provide a great place for artists to share ideas, swap techniques, or simply chat about what’s going on in the industry.
DeviantArt
On its part, DeviantArt equally has some great features that merit the tag of the best art community.
- It is not so easy for beginners to navigate through and find what they want or need, but there are some really good tutorials available online if you know where to look.
- Users can upload their own artwork and sell it on DeviantArt’s website which is a great additional feature that not many other art communities provide.
- Users don’t have to upload their own artwork in order to participate on this site, so it is also a great place for people who simply want to view the work of others without wanting or having something to contribute themselves.
- This community provides an amazing platform for artists with different tastes and backgrounds to share their work and interact with like-minded individuals.
This site is a great place for artists of all skill levels as it provides users the opportunity to learn from those who are more skilled than themselves through tutorials and other helpful content that can be found on this platform.
Verdict
When you compare ArtStation and DeviantArt in terms of features, you’ll find they are pretty similar.
They both have a lot of the same features and tools for artists from digital painting, sculpting, to vector art creation.
However, there are some key differences that might cause an artist to choose one or the other depending on what is important to their workflow, so it depends on your preference.
Support
ArtStation
In terms of support, ArtStation is great. The staff is very active on their forums and the community forum, where they answer questions.
They’re also on Twitter and Facebook, often giving out freebies for new users or posting about site updates/features/events, etc.
The downside of this support though is that it can be a bit overwhelming.
In my experience, they’ll reply to every question on the forums, regardless of how many other people have asked it.
On top of that, when I was new and didn’t know whether posting in the community forum or support would be best for my case (or even if this wasn’t already common knowledge), there were no clear guidelines about where to post.
Social media is also not the best place to get support, because it’s hard for them to engage in proper conversation there.
For example, if you just tweet at them “I’m having trouble uploading images” but don’t provide any context or screenshots and then leave that thread alone (which I’ve done), they won’t try to help you.
I think it’s better to ask the question in a thread that already exists, which they will then see and reply back with an answer or solution for your problem.
DeviantArt
One of my biggest complaints about DeviantArt is how difficult it can be to get support if you don’t know what exactly isn’t working on your page.
If you want to delete your page, for example, or even just make some changes like updating or adding new artwork (which I’ve had to), it’s very difficult to get any attention from the staff there unless you do so much work as to create a support ticket with all of your request details in it.
There are also a lot of technical issues that affect the site, and most people I know who have tried to get them resolved generally never hear back about it.
Verdict
Again, when it comes to DeviantArt vs ArtStation support, the latter wins the bout hands-down, especially if you are thinking of making money on your artwork.
Similarities and Differences
Similarities
Both ArtStation and DeviantArt are popular for their online galleries, bloggers, writers, illustrators, and painters.
Artwork uploads include paintings in digital format of artists from all over the world who can share any kind of work art including game development concepts through the DeviantArt website.
Differences
The biggest difference between ArtStation and DeviantArt is that ArtStation has a global art community whereas DeviantArt provides an online platform to the artists of all genres.
ArtStation was launched with a focus on game development concepts, movie concept arts, and other digital artwork that can be viewed by millions of people around the world.
It is one place where you will find the most creative works in terms of paintings created using Photoshop, Illustrator, or any other software.
On the contrary, DeviantArt is a place created for artists who are interested in day-to-day lifestyles and paintings of human beings which they create using pencils, pens, etc. There are many categories on this platform including fantasy art where you can find best works based on vampires, witches, fairies, and other creatures.
Pros and Cons
ArtStation Pros
- Lots of interesting projects
- Easy to use
- Great for inspiration
ArtStation Cons
- Needs more structure so that users can easily find work on similar topics or themes, rather than scrolling through pages of unrelated projects.
DeviantArt Pros
- Many artists and users
- Free to sign up and use, no fees or costs
- You can edit most of your profile settings, making it easy to change specific things about yourself or your page.
- You can share all of your work directly on social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.
DeviantArt Cons
- Cannot post images without their own watermark on them (this can get annoying)
- You must be a member to view the art posted only if you are not signed in. This means there is more privacy for the artist.
- Can be confusing for new users
- No way to share art with friends on other social media platforms
- No way for users to post comments on your art
DeviantArt vs ArtStation – Pricing
ArtStation does not enforce any price options yet so you can use it for free as long as you want.
Besides the free plan, ArtStation does have some paid options including a student and individual plan, as well as an enterprise plan.
This will grant you access to more features but also increase the amount of money it costs on a monthly basis.
DeviantArt does not offer any free plans so if you want to use that website for your uploading needs then be prepared to pay $3.95 each month.
This may still seem like a lot but keep in mind that this will get you access to all of their tools and it will be a consistent price.
It is actually cheaper than using DeviantArt but there are some downsides that may make this not worth the deal for every user out there.
For example, if you don’t pay for your membership then you won’t be able to upload any art.
With DeviantArt, every user is allowed one free image per day which can make things very easy if you are just starting out and don’t want the cost of finding a different site that allows uploading images without having to worry about paying each month.
The major difference between both is that DeviantArt offers many different price plans depending on what features you would like to use which is definitely something that ArtStation lacks.
Conclusion – Which is better, ArtStation or DeviantArt?
Both platforms are good, offering useful features.
However, I prefer ArtStation because of how fast it is in comparison to DeviantArt and the amount of content available on their website.
