ray_sullivan•18d agoMost Upvoted

Why does nobody talk about how much art used to be on DeviantArt?

I was digging through old internet archives last week for a project and found a stat that said DeviantArt had over 300 million pieces uploaded before 2015. That number blew my mind, especially since most of it is forgotten now or buried in the algorithm. I remember browsing those early 2000s galleries where everyone used MS Paint or early Photoshop and thought they were pros. Has anyone else gone back to look at their own ancient DeviantArt stuff and cringed or laughed?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmaking18d ago

Wasn't most of it just bad Sonic OCs and traced screenshots anyway?

felixlane18d ago

You ever wonder how many of those traced screenshots ended up in someone's actual fanzine or webcomic back then? I remember a guy on a Sonic forum I used to lurk on who had a character called "Scourge" that was literally just a green recolor of Sonic with some spikes taped on. It's funny how people defend that era as "creative" when most of it was just the same three ideas recycled over and over.

nathankim18d ago

Real talk, I checked some of those old "deviantArt OCs" and half of them were literally just Shadow with Sonic's spine and a different color. I remember one guy who had a character that was just a traced screenshot of Amy but with a scar and they called it "Sonic the Borehog." The Sonic fandom back then was like a factory for cringe, but honestly, I kinda miss how unhinged it all was. So yeah, bad OCs and traced screenshots pretty much sum it up, but where else are you gonna find that kind of raw, unfiltered passion for making a hedgehog with a dragon wing?