What Is artbase? Everything You Need to Know

If you’ve seen artbase mentioned and wondered what it actually is, this is the plain-English answer — what the platform does, who it’s for, what it costs, where it stands on AI, and how to join.

The short version

artbase is a community-driven platform where digital artists and writers share work, get genuine feedback, discover other creators and build a portfolio — all in one place. It’s built in Australia, open to creators everywhere, and free to join.

The one-sentence pitch we keep coming back to: built for artists, not algorithms. Most places you can post art today are social feeds where your work competes with everything else on the internet for ranked attention. artbase is deliberately not that. Discovery runs on tags and categories, conversations happen on the artwork itself, and your profile accumulates into a portfolio instead of scrolling away.

artbase started with visual art and covers essentially all of it: digital illustration, traditional painting, photography, pixel art, sculpture, 3D models and more.

As of mid-2026, it also supports written work — short stories, poetry, serialised fiction posted chapter by chapter, and fanfiction — sitting alongside visual art in the same community. If you both draw and write (a very common combination), your whole creative output finally lives in one profile. We covered the reasoning in our announcement for writers.

The features that matter

A profile that doubles as a portfolio. Your username is your identity and your portfolio link. Everything you upload builds it — no separate portfolio site required to get started, though our portfolio guide covers how to curate it well.
Collections to group work — keep a polished “Portfolio” set separate from studies, sketches and experiments.
Tags and categories as the discovery engine, so people who search for what you make can actually find it.
Follows, likes and comments with a culture that leans toward real feedback rather than drive-by metrics.
Groups that gather people around genres and interests, and direct messages for when a conversation outgrows a comment thread — the raw material of actual artist friendships.

Where artbase stands on AI

Three commitments, stated plainly:

AI-generated and AI-assisted work is allowed, but it must be labelled. Nobody browsing should have to guess whether they’re looking at human-made work.
Every viewer can hide AI-generated work with a single setting. Your feed, your call.
Member artwork is never used to train AI models. Not by default, not with an opt-out buried in settings — it simply isn’t done.

For how that compares with DeviantArt, Pixiv, Cara, ArtStation and the social platforms, see our full AI policy roundup.

How joining works right now

artbase is open to everyone. Go to artbase.au, sign up, claim your username, and you’re in. No waitlist, no invite code — the invite-only early access period ended when artbase launched publicly in July 2026.

One thing worth knowing if you’re reading this early: the Founding Member badge is still on the table for the first 100 members, a count that includes everyone from the invite-only days. It’s a permanent badge on your profile plus free Pro membership for life — every feature of the future paid Pro plan, included forever. Once those first 100 spots are taken, artbase stays free to join, but Pro becomes a normal paid subscription and the badge is retired for good.

How artbase compares

Honesty is the house style here, so: artbase is young, and the community is smaller than DeviantArt’s twenty-five years of back-catalogue. What you get in exchange is the thing large platforms can’t offer — a ground floor, where new work is actually seen and new members are noticed rather than lost in volume.

If you’re weighing options, we’ve written genuinely balanced comparisons — the best places to post art online and DeviantArt alternatives — that cover the competition on their merits. Most artists end up combining a community home base with one or two social funnels, and we’d rather you pick the combination that fits your goals.

Final thoughts

That’s artbase: a community-first home for art and writing, built in Australia, free to join, transparent about AI, and young enough that joining now still carries permanent perks.

If that sounds like your kind of place, sign up at artbase.au — no invite code needed these days — and bring your best work.

Frequently asked questions

What is artbase?

artbase is a community-driven platform where digital artists and writers share their work, receive constructive feedback, discover other creators and build a portfolio, all in one place. It is built in Australia, open to creators everywhere, and designed around its members rather than an algorithm.

Is artbase free?

Yes — artbase is free to join. A paid Pro plan is planned, but the first 100 members become Founding Members and receive the Pro features free for life.

How do I join artbase?

Go to artbase.au and sign up — artbase is open to everyone. There is no waitlist and no invite code; the invite-only early access period ended when artbase launched publicly in July 2026.

Is artbase Australian?

Yes. artbase is proudly built in Australia, and it is open to artists and writers everywhere in the world.

Does artbase allow AI-generated art?

AI-generated and AI-assisted work is allowed, but it must be clearly labelled at upload. Every viewer has a setting to hide AI-generated work entirely, and artbase never uses member artwork to train AI models.

Can writers use artbase?

Yes. artbase supports written work — short stories, poetry, serialised fiction posted in chapters, and fanfiction — with the same tags, categories and feedback culture as visual art.

What is a Founding Member on artbase?

Founding Member is the permanent role given to the first 100 members of artbase, a count that includes everyone who joined during invite-only early access. It comes with a badge on your profile and free Pro membership for life. Once the first 100 spots are taken, the role can never be earned again.