I was gifted a DeviantArt Core account through a Diamond Badge and immediately got to work on improving my DeviantArt profile. I uploaded some art I hadn’t uploaded yet and prepared some art to put in my Shop, too. I plan to make regular updates to grow my account as much as possible.
Although I’ve been DeviantArt for a long time – I created my first account in 2003 – I hadn’t been active for years. In the mean time, the website changed a lot. And I mean a LOT. With DA allowing AI generated art (and even creating their own AI generator!) I thought the site was done for. Many human artists left, the site got flooded with images from various AI generators. And although I 100% disagree with DeviantArt’s decision to allow AI generated content on a website once built for (and by) human artists, I discovered that there’s still a spark of life left. In fact, DeviantArt still has an active, friendly community of artists and art-appreciators that I was never able to find on other platforms, such as Twitter or Instagram.
So. I’m back on DeviantArt after many years, giving it another chance to boost my visbility as an artist, motivate myself to draw more and stay part of actually quite a nice community.
As there is a lot to learn, I decided to write down some notes in this DeviantArt Growth Speed Course, to help anyone out there who is also interested in returning as an artist on DeviantArt, or simply if you want to check out any tips for growing your account and reaching more people are interested in your art.
How to Suppress AI Generated Art
First things first. As a human artist, you will probably want to be dealing with AI generated images as little as possible. Luckily, DeviantArt has a setting for that. When you hover over your profile images, a drop-down list appears. It has a setting for “AI Content Settings”. You can click on it to change it and set it to “Suppress AI”.
Just a small hint: it will not filter out all AI images, but it seems to be doing a reasonable job at showing as little of it as possible.
Optimal Posting Times
You’ve probably heard of this before: on social media, there are certain times in the day where your content will likely get more exposure. This is because people are creatures of habit… and are most likely found browsing the internet at specific times, such as in the evening. Now, I always found this confusing because… I live in Europe. Most ”recommended posting schedules” are for North America. But because North America is my main ‘audience’, I will convert the time zones to match that.
Here are the supposed best times to post your art on DeviantArt, if you want to post when U.S. users are most active:
- US Reference Window: 6pm–8pm Eastern Time (ET)
- Europe (Amsterdam): Midnight–2am (00:00–02:00)
- Europe (Sofia): 1am–3am (01:00-03:00)
- Europe (UTC+0): 11pm–1am (23:00-01:00)
- Europe (UTC+1): 12am–2am (00:00-02:00)
- Europe (UTC+2): 1am–3am (01:00-03:00)
- Japan (JST / UTC+9): 8am–10am the next day
- Philippines (PHT / UTC+8): 7am–9am the next day
- Malaysia (MYT / UTC+8): 7am–9am the next day
When people talk about the “strongest U.S. posting times,” they usually mean 6pm–8pm Eastern Time (ET) because ET includes the densest concentration of DA users and overlaps well with Central + Mountain + Pacific. Engagement spikes highest during those evening hours.
Growth Hack: Engage Strategically
The term “growth hacking” basically stands for finding clever, quicker ways to grow your business – or in this case, your DeviantArt account. It does NOT mean spamming or posting irrelevant comments. DA’s algorithm and users respond to genuine interaction. And it would be best for the community to keep this up as much as possible.
Instead of commenting “cool art!” on a picture, try this:
- Ask a question about how the art was made or what brushes were used
- Comment on the composition/color choices of the artwork
- Leave meaningful feedback
Here’s another tip: Comment on new works with few views. Those artists are the more likely to follow back.
Tagging: Less is More
So you can tag your art on DeviantArt. They allow up to 30 tags per deviation. BUT :D here’s the catch! If you use too many tags, this will actually affect your artwork’s visbility IN A NEGATIVE WAY.
Sorry for shouting, but I always find it funny when I learn that a specifically designed system on a website will actually do your visibility harm by using it. For instance, I heard that using hashtags on Twitter is now also a bad thing to do. Dude… then why give me the option to use it?
*ahem* Anyway…
Back to tagging on DeviantArt.
So, as it turns out, DeviantArt’s search doesn’t reward you for using 20–30 tags on your drawings. If you use too many, the algorithm may:
- de-prioritizes your deviation
- treats it as “broad/uncategorized”
- shows it less in tag searches
Why?
Because DA tries to match art to specific interests, and over-tagging looks like spam to their system. Or the system thinks the categorization is not clear enough, and therefore decides not to show it to as many people as it could.
Best practice:
Use 5–10 highly relevant tags, and maybe 1–2 niche tags.
Example for cute art:
#cute
#kawaii
#chibi
#digitalart
#pastel
#cutedrawing
What you don’t want to do: #art #artist #digital #cuteart #cuteartist #cat #kitten #hat #illustration #anime #kawaiicat #neko #kawaii #pink #animal #oc #painting #cartoon #manga … etc. That’s just too much.
Stick to describing your art as concisely as possible with tags, and try to keep in mind how people might search. Probably not a lot of people are searching for “rubberduckinabathtub”, so you don’t need to create or use such a tag. Use #rubberduck #bath #cuteart instead.
Participate in the Community
Art trades, collabs, and themed events will expose your work to someone else’s audience. So be sure to participate in events of your interest, as DA users follow artists discovered through collaboration more than through random browsing.
Moreover, there are groups or pages specifically designed to help you get attention. Take the 100 Million Points project for example. You can earn a couple of points in return for visiting, favoriting, commenting, watching other users! To become one of the people to receive more watchers, favorites and llamas, you can donate as little as 100 points (about 80 cents USD I think) and you’ll be added to the list of sponsors permanently! You can click on the link to go directly to the 100 Million Points page to learn more.
Bottom Line: Consistency is Key
I believe the key takeaway from this all is consistency. Preferably, a consistent art style (I have to make sure to be consistent myself!), posting a series of drawings in a similar style rather than random drawings at a time, and posting on consistent days and/or at consistent times.
Since most platforms with algorithms reward activity, it is best to start uploading to DeviantArt when you are certain you’ll be able to continue ideally two to three times a week. A minimum of once a week to keep your account (and growth) going.
DeviantArt is not TikTok or Instagram – you do not need to ‘pump out’ art every day to grow. Quality + consistency beats volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Diamond Badge?On DeviantArt, users can award three main “appreciation” badges to deviations (artworks) or comments: Quartz Badge, Hype Badge, and Diamond Badge. The Diamond Badge costs 300 “gems” to give. When someone receives a Diamond Badge, a one-month free Core Membership will start, if they aren’t already a Core Member.
Do you get more exposure with a Core account?A Core account can help a little, but it won’t magically boost your growth. Core allows you to customize your profile, which can make your page look more attractive and convert visitors into watchers more easily. However, the algorithm does not favor Core users, so your reach doesn’t increase just because you pay. It’s useful for polishing your profile, but growth still depends on posting, engagement, and niche consistency.
Why do people favorite but not follow?Here’s what’s likely happening:
- Your gallery looks diverse → they like a piece, not the theme.
- No call-to-action → they forget to follow.
- You post rarely → they don’t expect more content.
- Your profile has weak visual branding → no clear identity.
On DeviantArt, manual posting and scheduled posting are treated the same. For best performance, this is recommended:
If you’re online during peak times → MANUAL. Because you can engage right after posting and ride the “first-hour engagement” wave.
If you’re busy or inconsistent → SCHEDULE. Consistency beats everything and scheduled posts keep the rhythm without stress.
Is there a maximum amount of art to post per day?On DeviantArt, it’s best not to post more than 1–2 deviations per day. Posting more than that makes your own uploads compete with each other, lowering engagement and visibility. For steady growth, most artists get the best results posting 2–4 times per week, spaced out so each piece gets its own attention. Quality and timing matter more than volume.
