[10] DeviantArt was loosely inspired by projects like Winamp facelift, customize.org, deskmod.com, screenphuck.com, and skinz.org, all application skin-based websites.

Sotira entrusted all public aspects of the project to Scott Jarkoff as an engineer and visionary to launch the early program.

Many of the individuals involved with the initial development and promotion of DeviantArt still hold positions with the project.

[18] As of March 1, 2017, Syria was banned from accessing DeviantArt's services entirely, citing US and Israeli sanctions and aftermath on February 19, 2018.

[19] In autumn of 2018, spambots began hacking into an indeterminately large number of long-inactive accounts and placing spam Weblinks in their victims' About sections (formerly known as DeviantIDs), where users of the site display their public profile information.

[21] Some members of the community have been the victims of copyright infringement from vendors using artwork illegally on products and prints, as reported in 2007.

CoolClimate is a research network connected with the University of California, and they held a contest in 2012 to address the impact of climate change.

The winner had their art made into an official print sold internationally at the Tomb Raider store and received cash and other prizes.

[36] Members of DeviantArt may leave comments and critiques on individual deviation pages,[37][38] allowing the site to be called "a [free] peer evaluation application.

"[39] Along with textual critique, DeviantArt now offers the option to leave a small picture as a comment.

[41] Some artists in late 2013 began experimenting with the use of breakfast cereal as the subject of their pieces, although this trend has only started spreading.

[42] Individual deviations are displayed on their own pages, with a list of statistical information about the image, as well as a place for comments by the artist and other members, and the option to share through other social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

In order to communicate on a more private level, Notes can be sent between individual members, like an email, or direct message, within the site.

[46] The other opportunities for communication between members are DeviantArt's forums, for more structured, long-term discussions, and chat rooms, for group instant messaging.

[citation needed] In early November 2018, DeviantArt released a promo site showcasing a new update, titled 'Eclipse'.

[59] On March 6, 2019, DeviantArt officially released Eclipse to all users, with a toggle to switch back to the old site.

Giant projection screens displayed artwork as it was being submitted live to DeviantArt, which was receiving 50,000 new images daily at the time.

[61][62] Occasionally, DeviantArt hosts a meeting for members to come together in real life and interact, exchange, and have fun.