In-progress render of the Sienar Fleet Systems Aleph-class heavy starfighter. Original depiction by AtolmAzel (https://www.deviantart.com/AtolmAzel). Commissioner artwork by Adam Kopala (https://www.deviantart.com/AdamKop).

why do artists still use DeviantArt if they keep all of the good content on paywalled sites like Patreon/Boosty? it feels like DA is just an advertisement board rather than a hosting site. the ban on hard NSFW is definitely not helping, but it's rare to even find full-res/unmarked pngs of SFW art. don't get me wrong, monitizing your art is your right as a creator. if i ever opened up a patreon, i'd definitely just use it for tipping from fans and not as a content gate. i really like gumroad's model of business better: paywalled download but without a reoccuring membership fee or tier levels. a few times i've subbed to patreons and found that the older art i wanted was shelved on gumroad anyway, or the artist takes mental health breaks for up to a month where they don't produce anything mostly what i do is preview an artist's work on kemono and then if i find something i like, i sub to their highest tier for one month and immediately cancel an hour later. i don't have a stable flow of income to consistently fund all of my favorite artists just to access their content. i wish patreon let you preview an artist's page before subbing, i don't want to pay for watermarked art.