Well... I did this wallpaper tonight and I was quite proud of it so I thought I'd share it with ya'll.
I did it on photoshop. Yes... the text is totally random. :D

Does anybody know how most people do these sorts of things normally or what programs they use?

Hey! that is really good! =) -puts it to desktops wallpaper-

I have no idea really. Don't they use some kind of 3d graphics program for that stuff? That's my only guess.

For alot of the things on Deviantart they tend to use programs like Bryce3d, 3d Studio Max, Maya, Illustrator, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc. Basically anything and everything that can manipulate or create images it seems to me.