Deviant Art Nostalgia and Online Art Communities

The caption on the picture reads "Here are some of ma old drawings from 2006. It amazes me how much I have improved." Oh Hazel... you're so modest! 

Who here remembers Deviant Art? I ask as if it is part of the past alongside sites like Bebo, Piczo and Freewebs but to my surprise the site is still up and running, with people still posting and taking part in the community. I only fully realised this recently when I decided to upload better quality images of some of my #sketchaday2016 to my abandoned Deviant Art page after figuring out how to work my scanner.

For those who don't know, Deviant Art is the original social networking site specifically for artists where people can post their work and update fellow artists with journals about exhibitions and so on. It was also where you can find inspiration and comment or critic other people's work. I always found it to be a friendly and positive environment, especially for those who where just in the beginning stages of learning what they could do (I make it sound like a place where youth learn of their magical powers... it's not unfortunately).

Currently I have two profiles on Deviant Art. My recent one - click here to view its wonders - and my original account which I don't have the heart to delete because it reads like a time capsule - Cuteasabutton-xo.

It was one of the first places where I uploaded my work online back in 2008 when I was fifteen. After my Bebo profile of course. I loved it! It was where I found artists to look up to. In some ways they where my teachers and taught me what was possible if I kept practicing. One of the first artists I followed was Zindy Nielsen. Most of her art consisted of fan art or portraits of random girls on clouds with butterfly wings. I was so impressed with her shading. She introduced me to the idea of blending and smudging. I tend not to do that anymore because personally I think it can often make things look too flat, especially since I wasn't great with varying my tones like Zindy was.

Deviant Art was also the place where I discovered the green eyed monster. I would see drawings people of a similar age to me had done and they would be so much better than me and I would simmer with jealousy. At least with older people they had years on me so logically I saw no reason to be jealous of them. But with my peers it was a different story. In my classes in school I had always been the best at art but online I wasn't. It was a harsh reality to face at first. My ego really took a bruising! My first journal entry makes me cringe so hard! Is English even my first language? I think this illustrates my point about jealousy quite well.

The journal entry after this one is me breathing a sigh of relief that I finally recieved comments and celebrating. Me... insecure? Never! Also it is important to note I am only listening to music while writing that journal entry and doing NOTHING else. However in a later journal entry I am eating smokey bacon crisps so it's all good!

Despite my jealousy of other artists skills, Deviant Art was always a positive environment. I never received any negative comments and since everyone on the site was an artist in some way we all understood each other and tried to build each other up. If a critique was to come your way it would be constructive unlike in popular social media. It felt like there was more of a relationship between you and your commenters. 

I bring this up because I have noticed quite a shift in the online art community. Even though people are still on Deviant Art the larger audience are on sites like Instagram and Tumblr where the conversation between the artist and followers seems to be a little stilted. Even though I still get nice comments they are less frequent, due to the love button, and less thoughtful.

The small community I do have on my social media are wonderful. They mainly consist of my family, friends and online friends I have got to know over the years (mostly through the Aly & AJ fandom - shoutout to violet buds!) There are a few new additions but it is very hard to expand your reach outside your own social circles. I'm not one to strategise and over advertise myself but I feel like that's what social media is now. Branding and marketing. I just can't shake the feeling it's not genuine. 

The popular format doesn't accommodate conversation very well, at least in my opinion. Now its not that I need complimentary comments, even though it feels good to get them. It's more that previously I felt like I was getting to know people on my social media before whereas now it's just a passing "nice" or "cool" and there is very little I can say back without sounding like a twat. 

I guess it is just the world we live in now where social media has become more of a scrolling activity instead of something you engage with. I guess I just have to adjust my expectations and join the bandwagon but I will miss the hay day of Deviant Art where I felt like I belonged to a community instead of being one of a million. Who knows, eventually I might be able to foster a community but for now I'll keep shouting into the wind. 

Nostalgia rant over! :)

Hazel, xoxo