Groups aren't doing it for you, the thumbshare forum isn't doing it for you, the sharezone dAmn chat isn't doing it for you... You want someone to look at your art. After all, that's why you post it.

How many times has each of us thought that our postings are getting buried by others? Let's face it: there are over 32,000,000 accounts on this site, and 160,000 pieces are uploaded every day.

One thing to consider is where you're putting your work.

Don't I want to put it in the most popular section of the site?

Not really. I know that the first impulse is to put your work right where you think everyone's going to see it immediately. But with 160,000 works posted per day, if everyone posts it all in "digital" or "traditional" or even "literature", it's going to get bumped back very quickly.


It's true: if you use the tags system, or if you make sure your title or description include certain keywords, yes, someone can search for it. But, even if you do that, your stuff might not turn up in my search.

As Tudalia-Hex showed us, browsing can be done easily with search terms. Say I'm looking for digital, three-dimensional art of Sora from Kingdom Hearts. I'm going to search in Fan Art > Digital Art > 3-Dimensional Art > Games.

But some people upload theirs to other areas: TV & Movies, Other, Digital (main)

Notice in that last one it's not even in the Fan Art category. If I'm looking for Fan Art, then logically that's where I'm going to browse for it. And with a popular topic, if I'm looking for something specific, I'm going to narrow it down as much as I can.

Placement can be difficult.

Not every section is clear cut. For example, "Assemblage" under "Traditional Art". If you just look around that category you'll find things that should be placed in "Artisan Crafts". Assemblage is defined as


And then there's the issue of the site recommending something to you when you upload - even if that has nothing to do with what you're posting.



Poetry in Digital Art? Or Cartoons & Comics? Who's going to look for a haiku in Manga & Anime?

If you're new to the site, you might not realize that the system isn't looking at the exact content of your work to give you an idea of where to place it. And if you looked at FAQ #78: Where do I submit to if I'm not sure?
you probably found yourself a little lost since that's not very detailed. And if you looked for info on category descriptions, FAQ #163: Where can I find the description to a Gallery that I want to submit to?
that might not have helped much either. So here are some basic considerations:

If it's a fan work (e.g.: My Little Pony, Kingdom Hearts, X-Men, Despereaux), it should be under either

• Fan Art
• or Literature > Fan Fiction

Though there are a few exceptions (motion books, artisan crafts, and body art), other than cosplay, fan works should generally be submitted to these two sections. As of right now "Fan Art" and "Fan Fiction" aren't in the best condition and need more sub categories so that they're more easily navigable. But, that's where fan works should be placed.

User tip: If you see that there's a need for another category on DeviantArt, you can always suggest one.
A suggestion has been submitted for Fan Fiction: Suggestion for Revision: Fan Fiction sub-section.

If you intend for someone else to use it as a guide, as part of their own work, etc. AND you own all rights to what you're uploading (it's not fan art, or a celebrity image), then it should go into "Resources & Stock Images". I cannot stress enough that these need to be your original works.

If you have created characters that you want to sell to other users for "adoption", then you would place those pieces under "DeviantArt Related > Devious Fun > Adoptables".

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So you have a name for where you want to submit your work.

But you're not sure where exactly it is, and you don't want to spend several minutes navigating through the labyrinth of categories to try to find the right sub category. So you use the search bar, and you type in what you're looking for...



You'll notice that everywhere the site found even a partial match within a category or sub-category name, it returned a listing. Journals themselves have their own portal. Unless the system reads what you're attempting to post as a text document - with or without images, it won't show those options, as above. If you do have a text document, then you should be provided the following options:




Be careful in reading over those choices returned. If you choose the wrong one, someone can report your deviation for being misplaced. No one wants to be reported for site abuse.


If you make a mistake, though, it's easy to fix - just edit the deviation and change the category! After all, as they say in real estate: "location, location, location!" Having the right one will get you the best views for your hard work.

Have fun posting new art!