Like all other galleries, the Digital 3-Dimensional gallery suffers from misplaced and miscategorized deviations, ie, deviations that should either not be there at all, or should be in another part of the gallery.

Artwork should only be put in the Digital > 3 Dimensional Gallery if it was made with a 3D program, eg, 3DSMax, Poser, Maya, Blender etc; which lets you arrange items in 3D (x, y, z) space before rendering.

Here is an overview of common mistakes people make in submitting deviations to the 3D gallery.

Screenshots of Games

Most computer games are 3D, so it's understandable that you might think that if you make a screenshot of a game, for example the Sims or Secondlife, it should go in the 3D Gallery somewhere. However, deviantART policy only allows you to put unedited screenshots of games in scraps, not in the 3D or any other gallery. For more information, please see FAQ #578: What does deviantART consider to be a proper desktop screenshot?

_{Please note, that when you devwatch a deviant, you may tick the box to watch their scraps as well, so if you like looking at someone's screenshots, you can still see them.}

Photographs

In the real world, you're 3D, right? In fact anything you take a photograph of is likely to be 3D, right? So you should put it in the 3D gallery, right? Wrong. deviantART has a wonderful and extensive Photography gallery, so you should put it there instead

Sculpture

You have spent ages toiling over an intricate sculpture. What could be more 3D? Well, sculpture maybe the closest traditional discipline to 3D modelling, but it has its own category in the Traditional gallery, where your deviation will get the attention it deserves.

Artisan Crafts

From flower arrangements to pumpkin carvings to custom dolls or papercraft, none of these are digital, and all of them belong in dA's Artisan Crafts gallery. Once again, just because your art is 3D, doesn't mean it is Digital 3D.

Digital Drawings/Paintings

If you didn't make it with a 3D program, ie, you didn't have a 3d Object which you could manipulate in 3D space on your computer, you shouldn't put it in the 3D gallery. Not even if you shaded it in photoshop really carefully, or if you gave it a realistic looking drop shadow - it should still be elsewhere in the Digital galleries.

Others

Some of these can fit into Digital > 3 Dimensional, but often have a more appropriate home elsewhere.

Fractals - While 3D fractals are 3D, they should still go into the Fractal Art gallery.

Manga/Anime, Anthro, Cartoons and Comics - Each of these galleries has a 3D section, and if you make art in any of these styles, you should consider whether you would rather post it in 3D, or in the 3D section of the relevant gallery. These deviations are more at your discretion, although they may be moved.

Wallpaper - If you make 3D wallpaper, you should consider uploading it to the 3D section of the Wallpaper gallery. This is your choice, however, as 3D wallpaper meets the criteria of the 3D gallery too.

Gaia Online Avatars - Why anyone thinks these are 3D is completely beyond me, but they often crop up in the gallery. They should, however, go in scraps, as per FAQ #502: Can I submit 'Dolls' or 'Characters' which I made on certain websites?

How to avoid miscategorizing your artwork

Every gallery has a description to say what should be in it. For example, 3D's is:

3D digital art created through the use of cartesian coordinates (X,Y,Z) on a 2D digital canvas.

There is a tutorial to help you find descriptions here:
If you read the descriptions, and submit your art accordingly, it won't be moved, and people browsing will love you.

What to do if you find miscategorised artwork

If, as you're browsing dA, you find artwork that you don't think belongs in the category it's in, click the 'Report Deviation' link on the right of the Artist's Description. Choose 'Misplaced Deviation' and suggest a more appropriate category. Please note that at this time Miscats are handled by the helpdesk; while Gallery Moderators can move the miscats they find, they do not get your reports.

Previously In 3D

DDs in 3D
The Third Dimension : Volume 21