I had enjoyed browsing for artworks on DeviantArt ever since my tweenage years. As I progressed through my teens, I had decided to start my digital art portfolio on this very site, just as the end was beginning for some people. A few users took the coward's way out regarding the theme change from DeviantArt Classic to Eclipse, but many other digital artists (myself included) decided to persist through the encroaching tides of AI-generated "artwork", in hopes that we could someday see the storm to its end -- or at least dampen the waves enough such that it wouldn't displace 20+ years' worth of artistic masterpieces.

However, it has come to my realization that DeviantArt no longer has any intentions to support non-AI artists. So long as DeviantArt keeps enshittifying at such a rapid pace, it will only foment the storm it has stirred up with AI "art" and corporate greed. Artists will have two hard choices to choose from: leave the ruins of their old stomping grounds in search for a new place to relocate their portfolio, or stay here and get their galleries nonconsensually scraped for AI use (even if they specifically gave an urgent order to disallow AI training).

And that is why, in light of this post, I have decided to leave DeviantArt indefinitely, as soon as possible.

I had been contemplating on this decision for a few months now, but I didn't have the heart to follow through with it because DeviantArt was practically where I grew up as a digital artist. But now that the enshittification has only grown worse, I have finally decided to make the heavy-hearted choice to sacrifice a core part of my success as a digital artist. As such, I shall keep my DeviantArt page open for one more week to give my DA followers enough time to say goodbye. In the meantime, I shall take the time to make FurAffinity my main art hub!

If you ever need to reach out to me, you can find me on ComicFury, Bluesky or Tumblr!

Sincerely,

Daniel Brito