Is Deviant Art worth it?

[brendala]

I have a question for all my fellow (fan)artists here: Is it worth it to get a Deviant Art account?
I've thought about getting one (mainly to follow some of the awesome artists there), but I've hesitated because I've heard bad things about trolls and art thieves and whatnot. So I wanted to ask the people who already have one...have you had bad experiences there? And is getting an account worth it for someone like me who isn't all that interested in garnering fans/exposure/name recognition? Your opinions would be very much appreciated!

Comments

[ayarane.livejournal.com]

Where there is the internet, there are trolls. You will never, ever be able to escape trolling, only minimize it.

I also think the art thief thing is waaaay overplayed; you only hear about it so much because those rare few who do get swiped make a ton of noise. (I say rare because it is. Art thieves usually steal from quality artists... and it is especially true on dA that the noise vastly outnumbers the signal.)

All that said, you get as much as you put in. I find that the account structure tends to favor those who contribute content as well as feedback (the registration requirement to comment is really just a minimal barrier for trolling defense).

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Oh I know trolling is inescapable no matter where you go. But some websites are better about it than others. I just wanted to know how good/bad DA is about patrolling it.

As for art thieves...I'm not so arrogant as to think that my stuff is so awesome it'll be snagged left and right the moment I post something. But I've heard tell of even mediocre/unpopular artists having the problem and I just wanted to see if the fear is warranted.

So your experience with it has been fine, right?

[hannahsarah.livejournal.com]

You're way more often to get ripped off on Etsy than you are on DA. Still, once something hits the net, all bets are off. It's the Wild West out there, and property rights are non existent.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

DA isn't perfect, but no place on the internet is. I don't get a million comments or favorites on my artwork, but it is fun to have a place to show it up (in fact I really need to remember to upload more there) plus you're able to comment and favorite on other people's artwork.

In the end, it's up to you, but I would say the hassle is worth the fun.

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

Most people that get trolled and their art thieved are more popular artists (people with at least 1000 watchers). If you're just getting an account to keep up with friends and show off your comics, you'll probably have no problems.

[lunaoh.livejournal.com]

Well, I've mostly enjoyed my stay there so far. It can be really handy, that's for sure. ^^