Comic Fury Webcomic Hosting - Deviant Art - Worth it?

In relation to promoting one's web comic, a question - Is a Deviant Art account a must have? Or worth having? I have to admit that my Olde Dude impression of DA from afar is that it's terrifying world of rampaging 12 year olds posting furry porn and insulting each other and everyone else. (And yeah, I'm pretty sure this is probably incorrect, but, well... That's just the impression I've gotten) But I also know DA is a huge thing in the online art community, so I'm asking CF folks what they think - Is it worth setting up an account there or not? And if so, any tips on what to expect and what to post/not to post?

Thanks in advance for any advice & help!

yes, it is VERY helpful. There are some furries and porny stuff and stupid teenagers, but those aren't the only ones. (besides, those stupid people may actually end up reading your comic)As of insults and conflicts, I never really go into any conflicts on DA with anyone. It should be fine. :)

If you can stand the community, certainly. If you can't stand horrible communities, avoid it like the plague.

It's probably the most mature and popular art site, as of now. There are a lot of idiots, but if you just keep to yourself and certain people, you should be drama-free.

I've gotten a few followers on there, I guess, so it's worth a shot. And there are a lot of talented artists on there, but even some really talented people barely get followed. It seems like the easiest way to gain any kind of following on dA is to draw fanart because otherwise, your stuff gets almost no views.

It's a pretty good site, as long as you can tolerate the front page drama. My initial base started from there, and at the very least, it's a good networking tool for artists.

I..... Yeah. My tolerance for deliberately immature people is not that great. I should be more forgiving, but after the daily stresses of running my own business for 15 years plus living and traveling internationally, I'm just not that into being yelled at by an insulting 12 year old who thinks my work is "GAYZ". I would enjoy DA if it was a source for useful criticism, and really love it if it produced good exposure, but I have to admit that the comments in this thread are not greatly improving my enthusiasm for signing up. :D

Yeah, see, that's my other issue. I draw a lightweight silly comic that's designed to appeal most to older SF geeks who spent their 70's childhoods watching Tom Baker Who. I am not at all sure this would be enjoyed or even understood by an audience that wants naked fan art of Cowboy Bebop characters having sex with squirrels. Hmm.

I do, however, very much appreciate everyone's thoughts and opinions. Thanks for responding!

Depending on what you post on dA, and the amount of work you're willing to put into networking, it can be very helpful.

When I was a teenager, most of my watchers were people who were into the same fandom as me. I didn't get much constructive feedback from them, although I did make some good friends.

Nowadays, my art is a little better, and I get a lot of GREAT constructive feedback from even greater artists. I don't post (much) of my comic there, but I do post related art that gets a LOT more lovin' than my comic usually does. And after a few years of this, I have a VERY encouraging following.

dA won't give you instant fame, obviously. And subscribers are much easier to come by here on ComicFury. So really it just depends on what you're willing to put into and get out of it.

Uhmm no need to get involved with the community AT ALL.
Because it makes it more tolerable that way.

Just post up your art, watch people's art you think is great, maybe be friends with 'em and ignore everything else on the front page.

Then you're set.

So it's worth it if you want to show off your artwork to people who have the same tastes.

I would say that depends too, Doomy.

If you art is exceptional, and/or if your art is anime, you won't really need to do anything at all. True.

Otherwise, you'll have to return comments, thank for fav's, return watches if you're forming relationships, give away "llamas" ... all those silly things that give people incentive to come back for more.

Depends. The community is pretty bad, I wouldn't go on those forums if you paid me. The staff are pretty annoying, they don't deal with art thieves and just ban whenever people dare say something against the community and it's large amount of angry 12 year olds. There are good people, of course, but it depends what you draw, it seems.

I only use it for posting unrelated art and maybe getting some hits. I've gotten a few more fans/readers from there. Some people can get a huge audience there, and it really boosts their readership, but as I said, it depends what you're doing.

Draw ponies? Hello DD
Draw Fanart of a hugely popular fandom? Hello another DD
Draw Yaoi? Maybe not Hello DD, but hello huge following
Draw big titties? Why, my friend, you already have another DD to add to your collection.
Draw overly sexualised material? Hello DD
Draw anything else? Hello Art Thieves.

But, if you watermark, look after your stuff and conduct yourself well, you can get some really nice long term readers and friends, I still have a few friends from when I first joined DA 4 years ago. But yes, it's kind of difficult to get anywhere fast, it'll take a few years. :L

Yeah, I once dared to post a comic there and some jerk quickly claimed it as his own and threatened to sue me. I never use it anymore. The only community that's worse is Scratch. Really, it's not good for much more than a start. As soon as you know any people on there, any people at all, get out of that hell-hole of a site.

I will say I have never had art stolen from me, as of yet, so I'm quite thankful for that, but I know a few who have. It's very difficult to do anything about it, apart from contacting a $taff member, but well, they will either not do anything or take forever. The only thing that you can do is confront them, or hope that someone will recognise it as your work and confront them as well. :L

I don't wanna start a war (again), but can you please not lump furries into a category that makes them seem terrible? Just as a nicety, please? Opinions are opinions, but I wanna like you!

ah sorry, then. It it was on the KFP's list of why he is reluctant so I just included it :/

Disliking furry porn: OK by me.
Hatin' on dem furries: Not.

Ish cool though! *Hugs*

Why not Conceptart? If you're looking for maturity (relatively speaking) that's where you'll find it. dA's pretty good I can say, if you're willing to deal with people you might not like.

On dA, I used to be popular...






But then I quit.






I'm back now, though. I run a group called ComicallyComical. The BEST WAY to get your art seen is to submit it to groups guys, it's the BEST WAY.

Yeaaaahh submitting to groups is ok,but if you're asked to have your art featured in a group, always check it out first, just in case they're like crazy or you don't want your art associated with whatever the group specialises in.