PAGEVIEWS PAGEVIEWS PAGEVIEWS MUST HAVE PAGEVIEWS, I NEEDS DEM.

...No.

For the past few months, I’ve found guide upon guide on becoming popular on deviantART, yet they all revolve around pageviews.

Let’s pause for a second and reflect on the concept of ‘ pageviews ’.

What exactly are pageviews? I’ll tell you what they are – a few numbers on a page. Sure, you can trace until you’re blue in the face or pose for naked photos until your back hurts in order to get pageviews, but in the end, it’s just a few numbers. Wouldn’t you rather know the people behind the computer giving you all those pageviews?

Once upon a time, being popular meant having lots of friends and enjoying the company you kept; now that concept has been corrupted beyond recognition. Therefore, this news article will focus on the other side of popularity – friendship.

deviantART does and always will rely on its community. Friends are made, art is shared etc, but what a boring website this would be if the former didn’t exist. In this guide, I will share my tips on making friends on deviantART, but I will also include tips on what not to do when trying to make friends – this will refer to favouring pageviews over friendship.

I hope you enjoy, feel free to leave comments on the matter!

Tip One: Realise that deviantART is not a game.
If you’re in it for the pageviews, you better get out now or your stay will not be a pleasant one. I’ve seen people treating popularity on dA like some sort of game (no names please), and as I’ve said, they must: a) Be very miserable – or – b) Have no soul. There’s no point staying on a website that is mostly community-based when all you care about is a few digits on your page, is there?

Tip Two: ‘Advanced Critique Encouraged’ – Use it!
There are two ways Advanced Critique Encouraged can be used – by giving critique and accepting critique. (However, you must be strong enough to accept critique before turning this on) If you see a deviation that is marked as Advanced Critique Encouraged and you see a problem in the picture, don’t be afraid to say it. I always mark my art as Advanced Critique Encouraged, yet I’ve still had people saying to me ‘Wow, you’re really gracious, most people flip out when I give them critique!’ Since giving and receiving critique are two different things, I’ve split them into two different sections.

2a) Giving critique
Some people feel that they should not give critique on a certain piece because they feel that the artist in question’s quality of art is better than theirs, but I have this to say: does a film critic have to be a director before they can give critique on a movie? Of course not, so if you spot a problem in a picture that is marked as Advanced Critique Encouraged, don’t be afraid to point it out, regardless of your skill. Chances are you’ll get a big thank you from the artist and they will not only respect your critique, but you as a person. What better way to start a friendship than out of respect?

However, not all people are open to critique, so don’t just critique a random piece of art – they might not appreciate it!


2b) Receiving critique
Even if you think that nothing’s wrong with the picture, Advanced Critique Encouraged is a good way to go regardless. By marking your picture with this label, more senior artists are able to comment with their opinions, quite possibly pointing out something you never noticed before. It’s a great way to both improve and meet new people at the same time. I know if someone gave me critique, I’d check out their gallery, or quite possibly ask them to check out the rest of my gallery for further critique.

NOTE: ‘OMG DIS SUKS’ is NOT critique – disregard comments like this immediately. A simple ‘the arm looks a bit off, it should be *insert location here*’ is an example of critique.

ANOTHER NOTE: It’s also a good idea to include your own personal touch when giving critique. For example, if someone states that they are having trouble with the pen tool in Photoshop and you know of a guide that helped you when you were having trouble, it would be wise to link to the guide in a comment and state that it helped you master the pen tool.

Tip Three: Avoid abusing the fav/watch system.
The fav/watch system is something often abused by deviants that simply want pageviews. (again, no names please) What this is is randomly finding deviants/deviations and faving/watching them. As a result, people will flock to their page in a flurry of ‘THNX 4 FAV/WATCH’ and whatnot. This is not a good way to go when trying to find friends on dA. In my opinion, all this does is either prey on the impressionable or cause a great annoyance to people. This causes the latter in myself – I find it really annoying and I usually report people for doing this. Again, all these people will do is thank you for the fav/watch and leave, there’s nothing to it, only pageviews.

Tip Four: Adopt a newbie.
Do you remember your first experience with deviantART? Do you remember how frustrating it was to change your avatar or create a signature? Didn’t you wish you had the knowledge to use those funny emoticons your favourite artists used? I myself remember this all too clearly, so since I’m a naturally helpful person, I want to eliminate this frustration completely in junior members. To find newly joined members, go to the Today page and there will be a panel on the side named ‘New Deviants’. Comments such as ‘Welcome to deviantART!’ don’t really cut it when you’re trying to advise someone, so make sure in your comment you clearly state that you’re there to help and you’ll do your best to answer any questions they may have. Not only will you have a new companion, but it’s guaranteed to give you that warm fuzzy feeling.

Tip Five: Join clubs.
It’s pretty obvious that people in the same fandom will have a lot more in common with you, so it would be a good idea to join support clubs on deviantART to make new friends. For example, if you’re a Tokyo Mew Mew fan, you’d join a Tokyo Mew Mew club, simple as. However, I wouldn’t really recommend joining ‘anti’ clubs.

Tip Six: Don’t forget your old friends.
It’s true that you can never have too many friends – just don’t forget about your old ones in the process! My best friend on deviantART is the first person ever to watch me, so appreciating your old watchers can go a long way.

Tip Seven: Learn to use ‘Random Deviant’ effectively.
In most cases, Random Deviant is something that is used by those seeking pageviews. They simply click the button, find a random deviant, leave a comment, they visit your page, and presto! +1 pageview.

But where’s the fun in that?

First of all, here is how to use Random Deviant:
Click ‘More’ on your profile, select ‘Diversions’, grab ‘Random Deviant’ and drag it onto the lighter grey spot on the box. This will add it to the quick bar, so all you will have to do in future is click ‘More’ and ‘Random Deviant’ will be there.

Click ‘Random Deviant’ and it will display a user that is currently online. Before leaving a random comment, take the time to go through their gallery (Tip Two could be used in this part) and then comment. If you like what you see and want to see more, then a comment and watch would be a good option (Note: This doesn’t count as fav/watch abuse as you’ve actually taken the time to look at their gallery and you’ve come to the conclusion that you like what you see). The deviant will be thankful that you took the time to do so and, there we have it, another friendship made from respect.

However, if the deviant’s gallery is not to your taste, there’s bound to be something on the page you can comment on (for example: a funny avatar, cool signature, same ‘Favourite Movie’ etc etc). Don’t just leave a ‘Hi!’ comment, that’ll just be too random.

Tip Eight: Use the forums/chatrooms.
I won’t lie, the forums/the official chatroom is a lot of fun, I just wish I had more time to visit them. It’s filled with really nice people, so you’re bound to make a friend there. Just be aware of the rules and try not to make a fool of yourself!

That’s all the advice I have for now – sadly news articles can’t be edited, so if I think of more ideas then they’ll probably be in a follow-up article. If anyone has any more reasonable ideas, feel free to leave a comment with them. If you have any queries, feel free to note me.

Thank you for reading!