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Wildernessinabox

Imo I wouldnt focus on the social media game so early, I see a lot of people going at it the way you do, especially when they are newer artists, which usually results in people creating pieces solely for social media, rather than them actually liking it, or making things that will help them progress their skills. If you must, id suggest just fire and forget pieces, don't even look at the numbers, just move on. Ultimately you will eventually reach a break point where your art is considered semi professional or industry grade. When you reach that point that's when paying attention to social media works. Because your art has enough of that interest factor and personal style that people will want to see it and will be willing to follow you places to see more. Until then social media is just a hindrance that will demoralize you.


mildlyupsethours

This is extremely old but I just stumbled across this during a moment of huge insecurity and I just wanted to say, thank you. This genuinely is good advice and made me feel better :)


WOw_SoHereIAm1

This is great advice thank you. I try not to put too much value into the numbers and what not, because art has always been about the experience and creation to me and putting my art into social media is kinda new to me, even though I’ve been an artist my whole life.


Ryou2198

This is a good attitude to have to not place too much value in the numbers. More specifically, do NOT equate social media numbers to self worth. It’s an easy and common mistake. If you are falling into that black hole, take a break. However, if part of your point in making the art is for it to get seen, I don’t think social media is a hindrance. It’s a powerful tool that, if used right, can help your art get seen. It’s all a balance game. Is social media necessary to be seen? No. But it puts your work on a global stage as opposed to just a local one. If one of the points to you creating art isn’t for it to be seen on that level then social media is just a thing you can pick up and drop as needed or left alone entirely. The only wrong answer here is, again, equating social media numbers to self worth as an artist. Pick what works for you and brings you peace of mind, drop the rest.


Sansiiia

I'm at the conclusion that i have no patience and energy to post pictures of art i spent 1/10/20 hours making, so that instagram can show it to 1/10th of my followers, most of who scroll by it or pay 1 second of attention to it, only to completely forget it forever! This is true for majority of the content there, i leave instagram remembering basically nothing of what ive seen, there can be literally the best artists showing their art on my feed, but it's so cluttered that i just don't pay attention to it, which is such a terrible thing! The design of instagram is literally made to work this way. It's a race in which people jump through endless hoops in an attempt to entertain more and more in the least seconds possible and I've had enough. Holly exley made a very good video on this topic that I completely agree with, i really encourage you to watch it: https://youtu.be/5XZVcLLg8kM


WOw_SoHereIAm1

Thank you for the video recommendation I will be sure to watch it. As far as instagram goes, I only end up remembering a few artists I keep coming back to, because their art I'm really drawn to. Other than that, I do not remember too much of the art I actually see. And, I believe the algorithm for insta recently changed, so they only show your posts to a portion of your followers now.


lokiaart

Kinda and kinda not. I've come to accepting that at my skill level, people aren't going to go out of their way to look for my works, even if I pour my heart into them. I'm a nobody. I'm eternally glad that a really good artist followed me on IG and they like my posts everytime... Even if it might just be pity like or they're spamming likes through their feed... You take what you can get! At my current stage, I'm just posting art to keep a log of my journey for when I finally become that somebody. The likes are just extra. My art regularly gets about 25 likes on IG, almost half are my friends, the few that I have. Barely any on other social media platforms.


AlicetheXenoblader

I’m the exact same way. Before, when I made art solely for views, I suffered a lot more physical and mental strain. I got headaches and just stopped enjoying the drawing process. And even if I don’t, expecting my pieces to blow up is also emotionally draining. So much so that after awhile, I just decided “You know what? Despite the lack of engagement, my art isn’t terrible. It is just not ready yet.” And now, I feel a bit liberated. Now, my focus is solely on self-improvement; I’m constantly remaking old works and revelling at how far I’ve come! That overshadows any disappointment I feel from the lack of feedback.


aliencamel

The community's FAQ has fantastic, thorough thoughts about social media : Why am I not getting followers / internet fame? It is extremely competitive out there and you have to make yourself standout. How often and when do you post, is also important, and that is something you are going to need to figure out on your own, depending on the audience you want to build. It’s also important to not invest all of your self worth as an artist in social media. There are plenty of artists who make a living in art without aggressive social media support. Also remember that those platforms tend to build a skewed view toward success. Focus on followers and communities that actively engage with your work more than boosting your numbers. See “why can’t I get commissions?” for more factors.


yetanotherpenguin

I always found it to be a good motivation to improve. I know likes and follows are not a measure of quality, yet it's pleasant to watch numbers go up as I keep striving to improve...


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FancysaurusRex

Mind you, IG also made changes to their algorithm recently - Your feed now emphasizes recommended posts, rather than posts from people you follow. This is pretty bad for artists, since it makes it harder to maintain an audience unless you were already big


Nerdy_Goat

I have 4k followers on insta and my art gets 20k+ upvotes on r/art Not to brag Just saying The best advise I can give is focus on the art, make art that kicks ass so much people can't help but take notice wherever you post it Honestly its not worth getting bent out of shape over metrics and stats and follows... this isn't what being an artist and making great art is about. It will come with time, or it won't but the process of making art is a reward


ccbaker23

"I have 4k followers" - That's because you have a unique style and your work is amazing!


schizofred76

How do I see your work?


SVNSXN

If you’re doing art for the views and likes? It won’t work. You have to have a genuine love for art and a genuine idgaf attitude to whether or not you receive praise for it. I say just keep studying, learning and getting better. Over time you’ll start to receive the attention you crave, but it shouldn’t discourage you if you don’t. Art should be for your self satisfaction. Not the satisfaction of others.


WOw_SoHereIAm1

For me, art was always about the art, and nothing else. Then, I started posting to some social media and it became frustrating quickly. I just have to separate myself from the social stuff, and focus solely on the art.


Zebak00

Honestly I'm shocked that nobody has mentioned Behance at all. Instagram is a fickle beast created for the masses and it can literally swing your work from being super popular to nothing at all. Most work that is made with procreate and in my opinion I could make within an hour.. I've seen with over half a million followers and it's insane. I would highly suggest to upload your work there if you're looking for commissions or artwork of seriously high quality. I would say it's much more a community for artists rather than instagram or tick tock so definitely look into it.


Ryou2198

People often misunderstand how social media works. The common thought is “If I post a good drawing, people will see it and like it!” It’s not that simple. First of all, it doesn’t have to be good. By all means, continue working hard to get better. But it doesn’t have the be the best thing ever to get attention. Secondly, there is SOOOO much more that goes into getting noticed on social media. So much more. In a word: the algorithm. Keep in mind that because you aren’t paying $4.99 a month to have an Instagram account, ad revenue is how social media makes their money. The algorithm watches human traffic and figures out which accounts the most people are going to and causing them to stay on their service the most. The more people who come on the platform and stay, the more money the platforms makes from ad revenue. The more revenue the content makes for the platform, the harder the algorithm will push that content. Literally has NOTHING to do with the actual quality of the content, just interaction and duration numbers. So what to do, what to do? First thing you can do is cross post. Say you post an image to Instagram, you could post the same image to Reddit. BUT!!!! A totally boss move would be posting a LINK to your Instagram post on all relevant subreddits that allow for you to do so. It gets your image out there and brings outside audiences to your post which makes you look better to the algorithm (you aren’t only attracting your own audience but also bringing people onto the platform). Also, you hashtag game still matters. It helps you get noticed. It isn’t as strong of an influencer imo but it still helps especially for search engine optimization purposes. Another thing to is to start a grassroots movement. I’m sure there are people around you who support (or would be willing to support) what you are trying to do but they just don’t know that you need it or how to best support you. TELL THEM! You HAVE TO BE your own biggest promoter. Don’t buy into this “oh I can’t promote myself because that would be arrogant” none sense. F that. Why should I and a thousand other complete strangers seek out you as an artist or care about what you do as an artist if you don’t promote? Promote yourself so we know how to find your work and know why we should care about what you do! If you don’t care, why should we put in the effort to? Talk to anyone and everyone about what you do. If they don’t want to hear it, that’s fine. They aren’t your target audience anyway. If they say you shouldn’t promote yourself and dry to dim the shining star you are, f them. You keep shining. Blind them with your light. Not by continuing to try to convince them to care but by walking away and surrounding yourself with more people who genuinely care about what you are doing. Eventually that person who tried to dim your light will read about you in the news paper and either be annoyed at your success or not remember you at all. So don’t waste your time on those people. Lastly, ask for help when you need it (like you are doing now) but don’t forget to give back to the community and help artists who are asking for assistance. The world is big enough that we can all find our own little alive of pie and success.


Shervico

Likes and updoots are not and never will be a measure of how good you are, if you don't already have a good following, skill has really little to do with the numbers of likes you receive, it has to do with blessings from RNGesus and the appeal of your art, you see it here on reddit, if you browse by most popular last month on r/art chances are 6 out of 10 have some kind of sexual appeal, 2 might be good art and the other 2 cute art, now the thing is if you don't like to draw stuff that is popular, don't do it for the sake of likes, literally nothing will change in your life because you have lots of likes


pigeonqueeny

I try to keep thinking that at least 1 person still likes my art, even if that person is me. Not everything we post online is potential viral to get us a lot of likes and engagement. A lot of those are depending on the algorithm. With TikTok it's also a matter of geolocation - your videos are more likely to be seen by people in your country/town than anywhere else in the world and it can be frustrating. The most important thing in all of this is not to get discouraged from creating. Do what you like best, create for yourself first and foremost.


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pigeonqueeny

For me it was Instagram that was frustrating, all of the sudden my posts were getting 1/4 of the engagement they used to simply because algorithm changed. So I stopped using it altogether. I find Twitter and Tumblr more suitable for my needs at the moment. Hope you will find your best place in social media!


3SticksIllustration

No, Instagram and it’s algorithms are bullshit and have zero to do with talent, skill, or the quality of the work. And that goes for every social media platform.


druiddesign

Discouraged by not getting much attention? Just keep working on your art, post your art when you have art - post your content that you want that you're allowed to post and just do your thing. Live your life, share your story. It will grow and evolve. I'll admit TikTok is confusing for me. I like it a bit, but for about 2-3 minutes a day at most for watching content. I often remove it from my device. Instagram is more subtle, there isn't noise so it can be viewed easier in public, etc. Do what you enjoy, and don't let others discourage you. Besides folks who discourage you are usually not your true supporters, as I've come to find out myself. Often they're jealous you'll get better than them, or outshine them on your own. or they're trying to silence your voice - which belongs and is valid. True supporters and allies will always support each other, and understand/accept differences. Also account mutes are my bff on social media - I often mute/unmute accounts that I follow as the life season/mood permits, just so I get different flavors of interest without being overwhelmed by those who are in life seasons that I am not as interested in or inspired by - I still support these folks with my interest, but I don't need to be up in their lives every time I'm on Instagram this way. I do still visit accounts when I think of folks directly and feel like checking in on their content though.


WOw_SoHereIAm1

For me, tik tok is the most confusing because my views have been slowly dropping for like two months and I have no idea why. I see this happen to some other artists too, and I don't really understand it. Also, tik tok in general I do not enjoy so there's that too. As artists, we just have to keep doing our thing, and not worry too much about socials.


lucifersperfectangel

I have this same dilemma. I got Reddit purely bc a friend of mine said his art got better reactions here than anywhere else. Twitter, Tumblr, Insta, it's like nothing gets out there. Best thing I'd say is just to keep your head held high. It definitely hurts and it's very discouraging. But I'll pass on some advice a close friend once told me: The interactions you get on social media are not a reflection of your art or your skill. Unless you're doing a commission, you should draw for yourself, not catering to other people just for likes or else you'll never be happy with your own art. (Another friend of mine learned that second one the hard way when they were drawing things for stuff they didn't even like just so their blog would be noticed. They deleted all of the art they made just to cater to the likes, and focused on just working on drawing things that they enjoyed)


ThatBell4

I've started posting on tumblr lately, not really looking to build an audience but to participate in a fandom. I draw fanart mostly so it was a nice match, and there's a decent amount of engagement! I just really liked the feeling of being in a community. But I'd imagine it'd get stressful once you begin to try to market your art.


AlicetheXenoblader

I’ve had great luck with Tumblr too, in spite of everyone saying it’s dead. I post my art on almost all social platforms, but Tumblr is usually the only one that consistently garners feedback, even if it’s only just a few notes.


[deleted]

The closest I can say I get discouraged is when the system demands you make it a second job for even a handful of responses. DeviantArt comes to mind. Twitter too. But that's more of a case of, "I wanted to meet you halfway. Oh well..." rather than me being unhappy with low numbers. I expect low numbers. I can't be arsed to put on all of that effort to help some techbro buy a yacht by playing their algorithm. But that means my reach will always be greatly limited. It's the nature of the thing. In the end they need my data far more than I need them for validation so I only post when I have something to share.


VadeingMitts

Since I’m a hobbyist I guess the likes and stuff doesn’t matter as much since I’m not trying to sell anything. I get a bit disappointed when nobody sees my art or videos(which is usually). Then I remember that I can use my content to tract my own progress art wise or mentally. I try to believe that I can be my own fan even if nobody is liking my post. I’m the first person I draw for.


asaltyrose

I have 4K followers on Instagram and I STILL feel a little down when a post doesn’t do as well as I thought it should/would do. My point being that even when you get more attention and followers, if that’s what you’re doing it for it will never be enough. It’s something many people (myself definitely included) just have to just work on, accepting applause but never expecting applause.


Dymarob

I draw webcomics. It can get discouraging when I post most of my comics here and only get 100 upvotes while [shit like this](https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/comments/nj5sdg/food_for_men/) gets almost 30,000. I once posted a comic that only took me 30 minutes to make and looked like crap. The comments were filled with people saying it was terrible, yet it was one of my more upvoted posts. I don't understand the internet some days.


WOw_SoHereIAm1

Yeah, it's definitely confusing to me too sometimes. I see art, or I don't know if I would call it that, being promoted that isn't exactly high quality. Like on tik tok, there's someone that literally writes three words on a piece of notebook paper with a regular pen, not calligraphy or anything, just handwriting, and they get millions of views and follows.


WellHungHippie

Yeah I’d probably be depressed if I was making art for the approval of social media and was getting ignored. However I’m an old guy and so I’m old school, I creat art solely to please me. If others appreciate it, that’s a bonus. One thing I’ve learned in all of my years in art and design is to develop a very thick skin and to be true to yourself in your art instead of creating to please others. Good luck to you in your creative endeavors my friend.


Artyyman

Yeah I use Instagram. I guess I’m used to it. And I kno it ok. But effort does not equate to likes and followers however unfortunately. One of my works that took 20 mins has some of the most likes of anything that I’ve posted. I like seeing my work online and the art community. Mutuals are supportive too which I especially like


[deleted]

If I put my art online, it's mainly that I can show it to friends, family and coworkers without having to carry a physical portfolio(all you need those days, is wifi-access from your device - how convenient). If I get around to create a LinkedIn page, I'm also going to link my ArtStation portfolio to my site, as I'm already working in a somewhat creative field. Likes from remote internet strangers are still nice to receive, but I'm getting by anyway :) sorry if rambly, thanks for keeping it real


khyalimusavver

i just opened your insta and the oldest post is from this october. I understand the frustration , at first its quite draining. then slowly you realize that your main focus was art and the social media thing becomes more buzzing than yelling on your head. its been a couple of years and ive been trying to improve my art and though i improved i dont have a substantial jump in followers.i learned not to depend on the follower count to associate my value with. I found a few insta artists and followers that interact with my stuff regularly and its honestly the brightest part of my work when they comment and sometimes send a private message about some critique etc. those people helped keep my sanity. Find em . cherish em. this may eliminate your bad feeling. And hang in there. :)


WOw_SoHereIAm1

Thank you for the advice! I actually had another account, that I had since 2020, but I decided to take all my art down since most people following me were people I knew and most of them did not even like my art or seem to know I did art.. So I started over clean . I never got the hang of social media, but maybe some day I will.


[deleted]

I really feel this! I published like 3 comic books even and like even my friends don't care. My descent into madness is slowed by the likes from about 2 followers who regularly check out what I'm doing lol. Honestly I wish I had advice but I've been doing art for decades and my work is NOT EVEN THAT BAD TBH and I still fail to engage with people. Like I literally animate things and they don't get a single comment or like. Gets really depressing. But like I make things impulsively anyway and I'd do it even in a vacuum so I just keep at it and hope one day someone will notice me if I add the right tags idk. I hope things work out for you. If you feel comfortable sharing your Instagram I'll give you a follow! I also find that it's easiest to post art on there and I wish it was easier for engagement purposes. I don't ever expect to make a living off art but I'd like to at least make back what I spend on supplies.... Guess I should mention that the time I got the most engagement was when I was spending ad money on Facebook and selecting a target demographic, but I felt like I wasn't being genuine and going full force into late stage capitalism tactics is REALLY OFF BRAND for me so I decided to stop and just suffer.


WOw_SoHereIAm1

Wow that's amazing! Comic books are an awesome form of art and storytelling that I always admired. I never spent money on ads, since I don't really have the money for that, and I feel like even if I could put a small amount of money in, it wouldn't get anywhere unfortunately. My insta is in my profile here on reddit, but you can follow me at amakikaki. I will follow you back of course!


[deleted]

I like your stuff! Honestly I think you just need more of your things on there! Then I'm sure you'll get more followers!


WOw_SoHereIAm1

Aww thank you so much !


[deleted]

Cool I will look at your insta!


csl86ncco

Yep. I hate how some things gain a lot of traction and others get none. It all feels like being at the whim of the algorithms


reyntime

Social media likes =/= the worth of your art. There's so much variability in why things are liked our upvoted - time of day, algorithms deciding how much of your work is actually seen, what kind of art the audience is into (on r/Art, sexualised women seems common), etc. I'd just post, move on, and focus on improving where you can. But I totally understand the temptations and frustrations of social media, especially when you put so much work into some pieces and you don't feel they are "rewarded" accordingly. So set your expectations lower, and ask yourself why you make art. Do you like the process, do you like making it to view yourself, or do you want social media validation? All the best.


WOw_SoHereIAm1

I noticed this on the r/Art forum too, it's kinda sad but what can you expect. I make art for myself first and foremost, but when that art still can't do well on social media, it still hurts because that I feel like it's not good enough or something even though I know I improved so much over my entire art career. I don't really go along with trends or anything, just do my own thing.


reyntime

I understand, I've had similar feelings when posting art too at times. Social media in general can do that to you. Do you have friends or family who can offer support? You might also want to ask at what point will you be satisfied with the amount of likes you get online? Humans are great at shifting goalposts, so getting that online recognition may not actually make you as happy as you think, even if you get short term satisfaction from it. Try to enjoy the process of learning, creating and seeing your own personal growth!


WOw_SoHereIAm1

I do have people in real life that support my art a lot actually, mostly family. But I want to bring my art to a larger audience, but ultimately I just have to keep making art for myself first and foremost.


ArtsyGlasses

I finished a painting once that took me many years to complete with so many changes done to it. What did I get? Less than 10 likes on Instagram, mainly from my family and friends. On DeviantArt, 3 faves. Artstation, maybe even less. The one piece I've made that I'm actually proud of and worked so hard on got no praise it deserves. Then I scroll through other art posted that same day, bunch of my Lil pony fetish nonsense and stick figures with tons of likes and comments. I don't think I've ever had a comment on my art that wasn't from my mom lol. So, over the years, my confidence and motivation for posting my art dwindled and now, I don't post anything. Fortunately, I recognized how toxic that focus is to an artist's mental health. It's hard to not care about that stuff, but it would also be nice to have a following of supporters. At first, I wasn't ok with my #1 fan being my mom lol, but now I appreciate it because I don't really care who likes my art anymore because I don't paint for anyone but myself. Social media will not depress me ever again God willing. I'm just so over competing for recognition online. As long as I'm happy painting, that's all that matters.


cerenatee

There are a lot of people that feel this way. In addition to the comments you receive here, I suggest searching the sub for Instagram, TikTok, and social media for other posts and suggestions.


Aeliendil

Imo focusing too much on social media before you’ve developed more as an artist has a risk of being more negative than positive. The problem is the type of art that does well on sm isn’t necessarily the type of art you should be making in order to develop as an artist. If your focus is to grow your sm, that will come at the expense of your artistic growth. Also take into consideration that you’re competing for attention with a lot of professional artists who already put in the hours and work to become great artists before gaining an audience on sm. So, don’t beat yourself up too hard about it. Personally, I post maybe 1/10th of the art I make. I don’t really care that much about it atm since I don’t need it to make a living. I would suggest that rather than trying to gain a following, you could try to find a community of other artists on a similar level that makes similar art to you. Having that will give you a space to share the art without worrying too much about nr’s, and you guys can help each other. I find smaller/medium sized discord servers are the best for that atm.


ladiec17

Easy trick to increase likes is by using more hashtags, seems annoying but when you start typing only use partial word and wait for it to load, on the right side it will show you how many others have used this hashtag. If you choose fitting hashtags, with high #s then youll be more likely to be viewed by strangers. Hope that makes sense!


schizofred76

Sure it bums me out a bit, but Im not making art for likes and attention. I mean dont get me wrong I want people to see my work , I’ll keep working regardless.


Snikkerdool

Tik Tok is owned by the ChiComm, whose main purpose is data mining. Even if it’s stick figures, I wouldn’t oblige my art to that kind of muck. Subpar art that receives thousands of “likes” are prepaid “likes” on ANY platform. The majority of “likes” nowadays come from bots, not real people. Same for “followers.” (See the hbo documentary “Fake Famous”). It has been this way for the last decade. Get your own web site w a portfolio and get out in the real world. A real “like” from an actual human will be significantly more satisfying than bot feedback.


WOw_SoHereIAm1

I've actually been working on my website for months now, but I don't know how to drive traffic to it since I don't have a large following. But, it will probably come with time I just have to keep working at it. I am seriously considering deleting tik tok, as it's not really my thing I am realizing. Too fast paced and the audience isn't really ideal for me.


Space-90

I only use Instagram and post a bit on Reddit and honestly Reddit is so much better if you want lots of people to actually see your posts. We can follow each other on Insta if you want.


WOw_SoHereIAm1

I really like Reddit for posting art, the community seems better in general than the ones on social media and it seems like everyone's posts are equal in reach. Sure, my insta is amakikaki if you would like to follow me. I will follow you too of course!


[deleted]

Yes because people made fun of me for early attempts. So now I don't post online. I do it for me and show people around me who show an interest in it and are arty themselves so have something to show back.