
It’s been one week now since CG Hub, the popular portfolio site and social network for digital artists, shut down without warning, leaving its users angry and confused. In an instant, thousands of artists who relied on CG Hub’s free and paid services lost their online portfolios, networking contacts, and years’ worth of bookmarks.
The website, which had been in operation since 2007, began redirecting users last Thursday to a placeholder site called CGHug.com. The site simultaneously shuttered its Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. Many users assumed at first that the site had been hacked or was experiencing technical problems, but after three days of silence from its unknown owners, the website’s Ukranian web developer Shakuro felt compelled to post a message on their Facebook page:
No more CGHUB.
Sad day. Project CGHUB is officially closed.
The reason behind this extremely tough decision is personal and will remain private. It’s absolutely not connected with business or any kind of technical difficulties.
On behalf of development team I would like to apologize to CGHUB users and fans for abrupt project closure and delay with its announcement.
If you have any kind of questions please send them to cghub@shakuro.com . Can’t promise replies to everyone though.
CGHUB wasn’t ideal, but we loved it SO MUCH! :*(
Shakuro issued a follow-up statement explaining that they didn’t actually operate the site and were only responsible for its development. In this lengthier message, they expressed their own frustration for being mislabeled as the people who were responsible for shutting down the site: