What Social Media Should I Post My Art on

The Upsides of Social Media

If you're anything similar me, you probably have a love/hate relationship with social media. It tin exist an amazing tool with huge benefits, specifically for artists like u.s.a.. I use Instagram the near, and it'due south helped me in numerous means:

• Improved Productivity: I draw something every twenty-four hour period and post it on Instagram.
• Accountability: I'm more likely to post a drawing each twenty-four hour period (and thereforemake a drawing every solar day ) knowing that I've committed to information technology publicly on Instagram.
• New Connections: I've met amazing artists from around the world through Instagram.
• Inspiration: I see inspiring work created by other artists on Instagram, and information technology gives me ideas, influences me, and drives me to brand more art.

Overall, I think we're lucky to take this method of connecting with other artists around the earth. Imagine how tiny our artistic world would exist without it! Just the benefits of social media tin can quickly dissolve and gave mode to the darker side of social media.

The Downsides of Social Media

Instagram—and whatsoever other platform—can become a harmful, stressful, and stifling space for artists with detrimental furnishings to our art. As much equally Instagram has helped me, it'south also hurt me:

• Decreased Productivity: I become on to Instagram to scan "just for a minute", and suddenly an hour has gone by and I'm nonetheless staring downwards at my phone instead of cartoon.

• Pressure to Perform: Knowing I should post my work adds extra pressure to not merely the act of drawing, merely also in what I choose to describe, and I tin autumn into the trap of wanting external validation.

• New Comparisons: Seeing so many new and astonishing artists tin can often morph into the comparison game, leading me to believe my piece of work isn't good enough.
• Bad Intentions: I can draw something in my private sketchbook for the love of it, but if I depict something with the sole intention of posting it, the art can endure. I begin creating work for others, instead of for myself.

Take it from beau Might Could Studiomate and super-inspiring artist, Linda:

"It could be merely me… Instagram is a great identify for inspiration and connecting with similar minds merely if you are not careful it tin be highly addictive and derail you from why we're here in the starting time identify. I'thou glad I've found IG (sort of) and can say with certainty I've fallen in those pitfalls… but I now consciously know that but even that still takes free energy that could all used elsewhere."

Information technology's not but Linda. And it'southward non only y'all or me. It's all of us. We all struggle with how to play the game of social media and not lose our minds—and our art.

The Game of Social Media

We get and then caught up in the game of social media, nosotros first assertive we have to play by the rules given to united states. Instagram is built to concur your attention for as long every bit possible and grab your eyeballs as often as possible. They want you coming back once more and again, for longer and longer. They tell you in lodge to win this game, yous just have to mail more, go more likes, and get more followers. The more you lot sign in, the more than you post, the more than y'all go, and the more than y'all win.

More than, more, more.

But I'thou not here to tell you lot to delete all your accounts, requite upwardly social media completely, and start protesting the tech world. Social media can be benign to united states of america artists, call up? I still desire all those upsides!

The claiming is to keep the upsides, just become rid of the downsides. We can end letting social media lure us in and rule the game, and instead we can take charge. Nosotros can exist in command. We can make our own rules.

So I'd similar to share my social media philosophy with you. It's not perfect, and I definitely still sideslip-upward from time to fourth dimension, but hopefully it can assist you begin to have back control of your social media tools. Because retrieve, these are tools that nosotros apply—we don't have to let them use us.

Make Art for Y'all, Non for Likes

Social media and I are already at odds on one major front: Social media does non like mistakes and imperfections. And I love mistakes and imperfections. Social media likes squeaky-clean-polished work, gallery-ready art, and mag-photoshoot-set up desk-bound shots. I like wandering procedure work, quick doodles, and my desk-bound is always a mess.

So what practise we do? Practice we modify our work to cater to the stranger-filled-mass of Instagram? Do we erase all the stray marks, make clean upwardly our desk, and captivate over photo editing every time we post a drawing? Do we change who we are to win the social media game?

We tin can and then hands become defenseless up in the pursuit of pleasing others, and social media amplifies that trend. Nosotros begin to run across trends in what people like, and we begin to create for that random, cryptic group of people, when we need to exist creating only for one person: ourself.

"Never play to the gallery. Never work for other people in what you lot do. Always remember that the reason you initially started working was there was something inside yourself that, if you could manifest it, you lot felt you would understand more about yourself. I think information technology's terribly dangerous for an creative person to fulfill other people's expectations." –David Bowie, musician

If you brownnose your art to getting likes, y'all'll probably observe them. (Hot tip for the ladies: show some cleavage and I guarantee you lot'll get 500 likes instantly—it's easy! **puh-lease hear my vocalization dripping with sarcasm** ) If yous cater to trends and popularity, you lot'll go the likes you wanted, but you'll also terminate upwardly with art that doesn't experience similar you lot. You'll feel empty and unfulfilled in your work, and your fine art will reverberate that.

Alternatively, if you create the art you want, and you like, and that feels most like you , you may or may non get 500 likes. But which is more than important in the long run? Finding your voice and making art you're truly proud of? Or finding a horde of 15,000 strangers who care virtually work you don't care almost?

Perhaps you're thinking now: 'well that'southward easy for Christine to say, she has almost two,000 followers and regularly gets 100 likes on her piece of work.' But to me honest, that's all new to me just within the last 6 months. I sat at ~200 followers for years, and I honestly don't really know what happened lately to alter that. I've been posting my piece of work regularly on Instagram since 2013 and it's taken this long to get more than 2-3 likes on a post—including my mom.

Let me tell it to you lot straight: likes don't thing. I know it feels so much like they do, merely trust me, having a bunch of likes won't brand you feel any better about your piece of work.Your goal of what is an acceptable amount of likes volition just keep climbing higher and higher the more you become—it's a constantly moving, unachievable goal.

You lot think yous'll be satisfied and validated when you become fifty likes a post. Then y'all decide information technology's 100. Then 500. Then you lot see that creative person over there gets 2,000 likes on every drawing! Why can't I get 2,000 likes on my drawings?! It never ends.

"A goal is something that goes away when you hit it. In one case you've reached information technology, it'south gone. You could e'er set another 1, but I just don't function in steps like that… I approach things continuously, non in stops. I just desire to keep going — whatsoever happens along the way is just what happens." Jason Fried, author + CEO of Rework

And approximate what—information technology makes no sense what people like, and it's close to incommunicable to anticipate! (As well, cleavage and puppies. Those are solid bets.) Sometimes I'll spend 2 hours on a cartoon, retrieve it's amazing, mail service information technology, and… crickets. It gets 15 likes. Other times, I'll spend literally 2 seconds on a drawing, recollect it's terrible, post it, and… out come the thank you and hooplas and 100 likes! What gives?! That matter was terrible!

People's opinions are weird and unpredictable. There'due south no sense or reason to cater your art to what you remember other people like. Y'all'll ordinarily be wrong, and if y'all happen to be correct—cough, cleavage—information technology'll lead you down an even worse path of inauthenticity and deep confusion in your art.

We can't control what other people think of our work or how often they like information technology on social media. We can only control how much effort, time, and thought we put into making our fine art. We can only control how much of ourselves we put into our art. Nosotros can only proceed exploring, continue cartoon, and go on sharing.

Do what you take to do to brand social media work for y'all. Find other outlets for sharing your piece of work if y'all have to. I just want yous to make more art. And I want you to share your art, considering I want to run into information technology.

When you make art you lot love, art that makes you happy to create, other people will see that, and they'll similar it. And I mean they'll actually like it, not only tap an empty eye icon on a screen.

You have to brand art for yous, not for likes. You accept to brand the art that speaks to you lot. You have to make the art you like.

And that's the but similar that matters.

lambertbutcheall.blogspot.com

Source: https://might-could.com/essays/social-media-for-artists-make-art-for-you-not-likes/