artbase is open to everyone now, and early members get Founding Member

Update, 11 September 2026. Founding Member closed at the end of Sunday 6 September 2026 and cannot be earned again. Members who made it in keep the badge and Pro at no cost. artbase is still free to join, and Pro is now a paid plan: what it costs and what is in it. The rest of this post is kept as it was written at the time.

Quick but exciting update: artbase is open to everyone now. No waitlist, no invite code, no waiting around for a spot — if you’ve been meaning to join, you can just head to artbase.au and sign up.

And to say thanks to the folks jumping in early, we’re doing a little something for the first wave: everyone who joins before the end of Sunday 6 September 2026 gets the Founding Member badge and Pro free for life.

The invite-only chapter is done

For a while, getting into artbase meant joining the waitlist or tracking down an invite code from a friend. That was on purpose — keeping things small while everything settled helped the community find its feet, and honestly it worked out really well.

But it feels like the right time to open the doors. Anyone can sign up now. Pop over to artbase.au, grab your username, and you’re in. If you’ve been sitting on the waitlist waiting for your turn — good news, it’s here.

About that Founding Member badge

Here’s the part worth not sleeping on.

Everyone who’s joined so far has the Founding Member role — a little badge on your profile marking you as one of the first artists here, plus Pro free for life (all the features that’ll eventually be part of a paid Pro plan, yours at no cost).

We’d like to keep that founding group meaningfully small, so it closes at the end of Sunday 6 September 2026. Sign up before then and the badge is yours, whether you arrived in the invite-only days or on the last afternoon. After that, artbase stays free to join, but newer members won’t have the badge, and Pro moves to a normal paid plan.

So there is a date on it, and that is the whole of the deadline. If the badge and lifetime Pro sound good to you, get in before Sunday night.

What Founding Members get

In plain terms, joining before that Sunday comes with:

The badge. It lives on your profile and quietly says “here from the start.”
Pro, free for life. Every Pro feature, no subscription, for as long as you’re around.
First pick of usernames. artbase is still young, so most of the short, memorable handles are still up for grabs — and your username doubles as your portfolio link.
A real say. Being early means your feedback actually shapes what we build next.

New here? A quick intro

If you found this post before you found the platform: artbase is a community-driven home for artists and writers — built around feedback and discovery, transparent about AI, and free to join. It’s a place to build a portfolio, get real feedback, and find your people, without fighting a feed for attention.

Being early has its perks beyond the badge, too. On a younger platform, new work actually gets seen and new members actually get noticed — so the first followers and connections you make here can become the foundation of your audience.

So, want in?

That’s the whole update: the doors are open, and everyone through them by the end of Sunday 6 September gets a little something extra for being early. If Founding Member sounds like your kind of thing, now’s a good time to grab it.

Frequently asked questions

Is artbase invite-only?

Not anymore. artbase was invite-only while it found its feet, but that period is over — anyone can sign up directly at artbase.au now, no invite code needed.

How do I join artbase?

Just head to artbase.au and sign up. There is no waitlist or invite code to wait for these days, and it is free to join.

What is a Founding Member on artbase?

Founding Member is a badge on your profile plus Pro at no cost for life. It was our way of saying thanks to the people who joined early, and it closed at the end of Sunday 6 September 2026.

When does the Founding Member badge close?

It closed at the end of Sunday 6 September 2026. Everyone who had signed up by then keeps the badge and Pro at no cost, and it is now retired for good.

What happened after 6 September 2026?

artbase stays free to join. Members who arrived later do not get the Founding Member badge, and Pro is a regular paid plan, priced in your local currency at around five dollars a month.

Is artbase free?

Yes, artbase is free to join and free to use. Pro is an optional paid plan on top of it, at around five dollars a month in your local currency.