Millennial internet users, or those who sit on Gen Z’s upper limit age range – like me – would know DeviantArt.
The platform was the destination for users to browse through designs and illustrations by artists. Fans of any film, TV series, anime character or book can go on DeviantArt, and they’re almost guaranteed to find excellent fan-made art. If you fancy an artist’s work, you’re able to pay to support them.
A decade later, however, DeviantArt has strayed far from what it’s known and loved for. The site recently revealed on X that one of its top artists is an AI artist who made over US$12,000 (AU$18,400) selling their artwork last year.
Deviant ‘AI’ Artist
The top artist, claiming to be a French woman named Sara, goes by the handle “mikonotai” on DeviantArt. As of writing, mikonotai had over 234,000 page views on her profile and had pumped out 2,800 pieces of art.
Mikonotai’s account was created just one year ago, meaning the 2,800 pieces were created at an average rate of 233 per month, or about eight each day.
“Within my profile, you’ll discover an abundance of captivating women depicted in anime style 💋,” Sara wrote in her artist biography.
On the artist’s DeviantArt gallery, thousands of AI-generated art of women are available for perusal, and most are depicted in strikingly similar ways. They’re typically women drawn in the style of comic art or manga, bearing long hair, elvish ears, large breasts and in dresses reminiscent of medieval fantasy-themed video games.
The art is also categorised into folders including “Redhaired babes”, “Blond babes”, “Brunette babes” and “Elf, tiefling babes”. Mikonotai also offers a paid US$5 (AU$7.70) subscription service for “Private Hot Content”.
“… don’t hesitate to subscribe to my premium gallery to gain access to exclusive and private sexy content and to support my work,” she wrote. Is this person even a “she”?
There is not much context for, or explanation about, the art on mikonotai’s X profile. Many are AI-generated art of women drawn in the style of comic art or anime, accompanied by a series of hashtags.
Where did DeviantArt go?
In November 2022, DeviantArt made its foray into AI with the introduction of an image generation tool for users called DreamUp. Liat Karpel Gurwicz, CMO of DeviantArt, said in an interview at the time: “AI is not something that can be avoided.”
DreamUp is powered by popular AI art generator Stable Diffusion, which itself is currently embroiled in a series of copyright lawsuits from human artists. After significant backlash from artists on the site, the platform implemented a new policy that mandated users to disclose AI use on an artwork.
However, the measure was insufficient to quell the artists’ anger.
“Watermarking techniques and other tests for AI might help but, no, I think all such sites now face enormous challenges in managing AI art,” Associate Professor Oliver Brown, researcher at UNSW’s School of Art and Design, tells The Chainsaw.
“DeviantArt leverages user-generated content to create value for the platform. It’s probably a simple calculus then that including AI-generated content widens the scope for additional revenue,” said University of Sydney PhD researcher Conor Spence, who specialises in the philosophy of art and technology.
“On one hand, they can attract artists who use AI as a tool. On the other, pseudo-artists can repackage generic AI-generated images as their own on the platform. In either case, DeviantArt stands to benefit from the sale and circulation of these works.”
“Betrayed our community”
On X, responses to DeviantArt’s original post are largely negative, with artists criticising the platform for amplifying those who use AI art generators to churn out work en masse.
“You betrayed your OG community,” said one artist.
Reid Southen, a film concept artist who has worked on Marvel, DC and The Hunger Games movies, also called out DeviantArt. “Have you considered that maybe it’s time to admit you f*cked up?” he wrote. More creatives who are longtime users are also announcing plans to leave the site.
Founded in 2000 with the intention of allowing users to share their art, connect and exchange ideas, DeviantArt fostered a strong community of artists. In 2020, the DeviantArt community came together to pay tribute to Qinni, a professional artist who found her start and internet fame on the site, and passed away aged 29.
“DeviantArt is no longer a viable or supportive platform for artists and [it] has [been] this way for a while now,” Laura Thiele, a Melbourne-based 2D animator, tells The Chainsaw.
Online art communities
“Art communities usually work [issues] out through a collective process,” said Brown.
“The lazy AI artist who writes one prompt a day and posts it online, is unlikely to become successful. Though let’s pause to consider that for a moment: art’s value has many factors, and the prestige and visibility of the artist can far outweigh the skill in the work.
“But if US$12,000 (AU$18,400) is at the upper end of DA’s [artist] revenues, then we see the bigger problem.”
The Chainsaw has reached out to DeviantArt for comment.
