WHAT'S THE POINT OF ART IF NOBODY SEES IT? (How Social Media Hurts Artists) || SPEEDPAINT+COMMENTARY

[@RoiiRose]

Social media will either boost or crush your confidence as an artist...best thing anyone could do is keep a positive mindset and work towards small goals until your audience grows.

[@Unoriginal_SpamtonFan]

Yes, like starting a channel, for say. Don't immediately go for something big like 1k subs. Start small, like 50-100. Something that seems reasonable until you get to a point where it's more likely you can accomplish the bigger goal. _(P.s. Sorry if my explanation sucked.)_

[@iliketheblueturtle7480]

yep! i used to aim for 100 likes and i would get sad if i didnt hit it, so i just aim for a few likes, even one is nice as long someone other than me likes it

[@MRG666]

For me, it crushed it. Now I don't give a fck about my reach and stuff

[@kamikitaryuu2634]

4 years I have instagram and I have 470 followes xD So I got TIKTOK.... My views can't get even on 1 000. And those 14 yo artists who draw cupcake have 30K views. I'm mad really mad, but I just go and draw anyway cuz I love it.

[@ayback183]

@@MRG666 I got crushed too. Watching everything I submitted just vanish into the ether was demoralizing and I ended up cancelling all my accounts. I still draw for myself but it just seems like there's no room for me out there.

[@sirjokiti350]

As an hobbyist, while its nice getting likes and such on my art online, I think its more important that I enjoy drawing for myself before anything else

[@popenieafantome9527]

I use posting more for seeing progress on my skill. If i like something, i’ll post it. So its like seeing what i considered good at the time.

[@leafyishereisdumbnameakath4259]

yeah same but my content is garbage

[@ostdraws]

For me, social media has amplified the self hate that I bring upon myself. The amount of high quality art not only makes it harder for my work to get out there, but also makes me feel as if I'll never get noticed. It's especially worst since I've suffered under the mentality that my work is the equivalent of likes I get when I post it

[@PowerBottomText]

Yeah it does suck when you see people who are amazing and just leauges better than you and then thinking "damn well I'll never be on that level. So I don't have a chance" but its important to remember that you can get huge followings even if your skill isn't the most impressive. It really just depends on luck sometimes. Just keep at it and then a following will eventually find it's way to you

[@jimjimson6208]

@@PowerBottomText also thinking 'I'll never be on that level' is an incredibly self defeating mentality. Maybe you won't, but you'll never know if you don't give it everything you have. No one who is good at art got there overnight and lamenting your lack of talent is a toxic and useless waste of time. If you want to get good at art, then do art, don't sit around complaining that other people are ahead of you. There are always going to be people who have been drawing/painting/whatever for longer than you, or who got good faster than you, it is an unavoidable fact that every artist who has ever lived has had to overcome. Every artist you admire was once in the same position as you, if you think their art is amazing then use that as motivation, not the opposite.

[@PowerBottomText]

@@jimjimson6208 yeah it absolutely is. I've been trying my best lately to kick the mindset. It's just the unfortunate thing of being hard on myself comes naturally unlike thinking positive and understanding about that. The main artist that I admire actually told me that exact thing too. They felt the same starting out and just eventually got to where they are now and they were even younger than I am now when they started. So I have been trying to use people like then as an inspiration to improve and understand that you just don't know what will happen unless you try. In the end even if I never get anywhere at least I tried

[@karkovb1522]

Yeah the numbers really hurt for some reason no matter how many times I reassured myself that it doesn't really matter. Another thing to add. I tend to post fan arts of a certain franchise but then the moment I posted OCs or characters from other franchises, it doesn't perform as well as the stuff that I usually posted. I suffered from this constant thinking of posting the stuff that my followers liked, but then I thought to myself do I draw for my own sake or for others? the result of that was me procrastinating and not getting anything done.

[@PowerBottomText]

@@karkovb1522 yeah a couple people I know have fallen into that slope. I definitely think it's better to just draw what you want to. If you make fanart and it does well I think it's fine to draw more if that's what you want. But you have to be careful since if your following is gained mostly through fanart (especially if it's the big thing at the moment) then most of those people will ignore your posts if its something like your ocs. It sucks but that's just how people are. Even tho you'll grow much slower I think you should only draw fanart occasionally just so most traffic to your art is from your own works (if that makes sense, sorry I'm not very concise)

[@FifthRobin]

If you really love art, don't let no views hurt you. Drawing should be about your love for art-not for views. No views does not equal bad art, in fact they are nothing to do with each other! Stay with a good mindset and don't let your confidence fade away, no matter what! Edit: I'm not saying it's wrong to post for views and I'm not trying to say it isn't valid to have confidence crushed and there are of course many, many exceptions to this.

[@rubyred6608760]

Posting for views is fine. Although you’re more likely to get views if you post for your love of art.

[@rose-fs2qu]

i love art but the only art vids i have are memes 🧍‍♀️

[@s0me_Weirdo]

What confidence? 🧍‍♂️

[@michemicalromance]

but it can be crushing to spend hours upon hours working on your art, only for nobody to see it when you post :( I've learnt to deal with that feeling because I really like drawing and would rather persevere, but I'm not confident yet.

[@justsaraki6593]

Except when you share your arts in a discord server and you're the only one being ignored there. Then another milf share an animation, and get praised. Immagine working months on a animation, only for some random, doing the exact same thing as you stealing your spot.

[@christinschneider3690]

If you have a friend or a small group that you share art with, it's a lot more casual. I basically draw whatever I want and we exchange ideas and critiques and that's awesome! I used to be asked why I didn't turn my hobby into my job. And I replied that I would then no longer have a hobby. Instead, I looked for a job that does require me to be creative, but in a different way. And that makes me happy.

[@apollofateh324]

That's smart, finding a job that lets you be creative. That's a great way to think about it!

[@kokuten9458]

yeah true, that's why i like to post my art more in discord communities than on instagram, if you are in a server with friends and people you are comfortable with, you don't have to stress about likes or views just the fact of sharing and talking about the art is fun and we all support each other

[@ozioni2553]

Even in small discord chats my art often gets ignored, it’s so demotivating I haven’t drawn since like February

[@kokuten9458]

@@ozioni2553 i think this might be because your discord is inactive, in small discord unless all of you know each, it's hard to get active people, also you could start to comment on other people arts and people will notice and they will do the same, so i would say wait a little to get comfortable with everyone and people will comment on your art naturally, also not all drawings need comments or opinions. idk sometimes you can post just to post and knowing you did something

[@djjimmaster8261]

think i may have to utilise small friend groups more, thanks for the tips!

[@yandereskitty]

what I've found sadly is many don't want to see your original art. they want their fandoms. so unless you push out a lot of fandom art, you're not gonna flourish too well. especially on twitter I've seen. That's what I'm learning right now. (not saying not to draw original. cuz I love oc art but I'm saying that if you're wanting to boost your view count then its best to find a fandom that's popular and draw for it.)

[@privernd]

Yeah, it's really tough to get original art out there and I feel for artists trying to share their ocs with no easy way for them to be seen without a pre-established following. For me personally I struggle with coming up with my own ideas so fanart is what I like to do most, but I do think it's unfair how it's seen practically as necessary to prioritize time for fanart just to build an audience.

[@yandereskitty]

@@privernd I have come to terms with it the past year, it is sad but that’s how the art world is.

[@neko_my_cat]

i have that on most social media but on deviant art my original art actually does better on average

[@Silburific]

Not only that- they want the popular characters from their fandom. The characters you enjoy drawing aren't the main ones or most popular ships? You might as well be posting blank pngs for all the attention it will garner, the same with fanfiction. Fandoms are like high school cliques- if you don't like the "right" thing, you're a nobody.

[@MrERJ1992]

@@Silburific "Fandoms are like high school cliques- if you don't like the "right" thing, you're a nobody." Holy crap, this! ^

[@olliep0pstar]

“The algorithm will forget you like a distant father figure if you don’t” LMAOA

[@screamingladybug6006]

I had to stop posting art and left the community for a few years because I was so frustrated. I started comparing myself and my art to other artists who were drawing extremely crude fetish drawings. I don’t know if you guys know this but they have a staggering community and no matter their level they still get views with positive comments. Their drawings are imho a disgrace to the art community, yet they are insanely popular. Seeing that garbage get attention really hurt my pride and confidence as an artist. It’s like, “Why should I spend 10 hours on an OC that’ll get a few views and maybe 1 like when I can just draw an inflated Lola Bunny in 5 minutes for 10k views?”. That is just… so disheartening. That’s not why I became an artist. But seeing my hard work going to waste like that just makes me so mad.

[@coffintears5821]

Yeah well deviants roam the internet and people only care about something if it caters to their sick and twisted needs. People will never give you attention if you don't cater to their primal urges or give them what they really want. It's a sick sad world in the art community online. Nobody likes talent they just like their sexual fantasies being met. Even if the artist in question is slowly losing themselves doing this type of crap.

[@dragonicbladex7574]

Calling that kind of art a disgrace is.. an interesting point of view and not really fair

[@screamingladybug6006]

@@dragonicbladex7574 KZbin deleted my response, so, I need to rewrite it. Let’s have a conversation. Why do you think it’s unfair for me to call this type of art a disgrace to the community when it’s usually made by younger people with no experience or skill?

[@dragonicbladex7574]

@@screamingladybug6006 it's just kind of.. unnecessarily mean and judgy, they're just people out there doin their thing, if people like their work they like it that's not really on the artist... Also saying that something is disgraceful because it's made by young artists or ones with less skill is just so vitriolic..

[@screamingladybug6006]

@@dragonicbladex7574 So you think young people who are under the age of consent should be allowed to make this type of art, and that shouldn’t be a problem?

[@gaysonorthotdaughta]

no views ≠ “bad art”. there’s *no* such thing as having a bad artstyle, or being bad at art. the thing about being an artist is, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to drawing. traditional art, digital art, painting, there’s no wrong steps when it comes to art. what most people tend to think is that people should draw one specific way, and somehow maintain that artstyle for the rest of their career. for those who draw for themselves and family personally, keep improving and draw what you love! flowers, birds, cats, dogs, people, hair, clothes, anything that makes you feel good about your art is something that can help you improve a lot. for those who post their art in public places, (the internet, museums, stores, etc) if nobody seems to pay attention to the work you make, that DOES NOT mean it’s bad art. everyone’s artstyle is beautiful in their own way, and artstyles are as unique as yourselves. the number of views (high or low) or attention you get on one post doesn’t reflect on yourself as an artist, or a person. art should be something that makes you happy. getting views? that’s just a bonus. but the true purpose of art is to express yourself. vent art, comfort art, fanart, anatomy art.. they’re all about how you want to feel. not how other people should feel. drawing is a way to visually express yourself in ways that you can’t put into words. it’s a way to cope, to entertain, to comfort. most importantly, it’s a way to communicate.

[@jimjimson6208]

while I acknowledge the argument that there is no such thing as 'bad art' or 'bad art styles', I also think it is fair to say that basically the entirety of doing art professionally is meeting other peoples' standards. To do that, you are going to need to understand your fundamentals and have at least some knowledge of artistic theory. If no one pays attention to your work, maybe it isn't 'bad art', but it is art that no one wants, and if you want your art to be noticed you might want to think about why and take that into consideration for the future. Maybe for you, art is about making what you want, and if you don't care about views that is fine. But it is also completely fine to think about your audience when creating. There is nothing wrong with drawing 'for views'. I'm also pretty that literally no one thinks that people should maintain an artstyle for the rest of their career. I'm pretty sure most people don't even think about art styles, they are just a natural result of doing lots of drawing.

[@gaysonorthotdaughta]

@@jimjimson6208 spoken with true words! ❤️

[@LT-jr3yb]

@@jimjimson6208 I have to disagree with your last statement, a lot of young artists who grew up with social media think that they have to find an art style and keep that style so they can stand out from the sea of artists. I know I was one of them, until I eventually learned that you can’t grow unless you try new ways to draw, even studying other styles (cartoony, realism, semi-realism.. etc.) It’s something you learn as you get older. But you’d be surprised by how many artists go through this phase.

[@jimjimson6208]

@@LT-jr3yb ​ @Lila Toy Maybe I just have boomer thoughts because I didn't grow up with social media lol, I really did not think this was a common problem but I guess I stand corrected. Although I can see why young artists who want to follow it as a profession would want to try to find a way to stand out. I stopped drawing in high school and have only really gotten back into as a hobby in the last couple of years so I guess that might be why I never really had this phase/

[@greendog8884]

If I’m the only one who’s going to see it it’s not worth the effort. I can look at it in my mind and have the same effect without the waste of time and money and all the frustration in failing and starting over again and again over something nobody gives a damn about except me. I only have so much time and resources. If it’s not going to improve my position in life in any upward way it’s dragging me down.

[@mudita4449]

This hit close to heart. For the past 2 years since I started taking art seriously , I started posting on social media . But after getting little to no engagement , I disliked creating art . I started procastinating, I stopped drawing for 6 months . I felt terrible . But these days I started a drawing journal and honestly it's more fun to just doodle in it rather than having to post fully finished art peices on Instagram every single day .

[@Weissily]

When I first made my social media account, I didn’t really care for the likes or the attention since I draw something just for fun. Then around in 2020, when I was actually being seen by one fandom just to test it out, and it honestly shocked me. At first I was happy that I was being seen, until it became more of a chore than something I do for love. I was drawing for a specific audience who just only want to see that one specific art of the fandom more than the work and effort I put on the rest of my art. I started to feel less proud of putting in my art and compare myself more to other artists around me. And I have to admit, I almost give up on drawing- that is until I have to sit down and relax and started exploring other art outside of the content I used to produced. Just by seeing other artist just relaxing or enjoying the content they made because they can (such as shitpost art) made me think of why I draw in the first place; compassion and expression. Now I have been able to draw the things I love without caring the likes or how many people who saw my art. And it makes me so happy that there are people and-even my mutuals- who still support my art the way it is. As long as you’re drawing because you’re inspired by other artist or want to express it or do it out of love, that’s more than enough to know that your art is worth something. Well, that’s what I think since maybe I experienced something different to other artists.

[@crossbowss]

I used to be a semi-popular fandom artist. It was the first time a piece of media interested me so much I wanted to draw a lot for it. I would put out art for it EVERY DAY for about half a year, I loved the engagement but my interest in the fandom was slowly going away, and at some point I only drew for the engagement. That, unsurprisingly, burnt me out quickly and I left. I just.. can't be an active social media artist. Doesn't work for me, and I've tried many times. I have no clue how people manage it. Now pretty much all I draw is my own OCs or do commission work, only sharing with friends, and I'm the happiest I've been with my art. Having an art friend group helps so much, because posting on twitter for example can feel so impersonal when you put so much of yourself into your artwork.

[@rika1416]

Your experiences mirror that of mine too! So glad other people are feeling this way - been feeling like I'm the weird one for not walking down the the social media artist path. The artist friends close to me are unfortunately still focusing on social media engagement, so I show my art to my significant other nowadays :)

[@VikkiVibe]

This hit kinda hard since I actually have a social media dedicated fully to my art and my own creativity. I've only posted one digital piece of my own and everything else is traditional. So it's harder because I want to post more often but then there's life things to worry about. Thanks for bringing this to light, Celestia

[@REDLINEROADS]

I never liked social media, I see alot of corruption, gossip, arseholes, and people quitting... Honestly I wouldn't care if social media was over

[@ple8379]

At some point, I was really crushed by the fact, that I really spend so much time on my drawing, paid huge attention to the smallest detail so that the quality of what I'm making is the best it can be. I was so happy with the end result, so proud with myself, but no one cared. With each new drawing I was beating myself up, creating yet another new thing I wouldn't be able to create and I got better. But no one cared. I feel awful for being like that, but I was so damn jealous of my friend. She was just making some simple drawings, nothing special, bad anatomy, poor quality, but got so much attention. I feel bad for feeling superior. She ended up falling out of drawing, no one gives damn about my art, but one now I myself don't really want to bother myself and care about recognition and now, I'm just peacefully drawing my own shit posting whenever and whatever I want. It's a bit bad, because if I want to make my own comic book I need to have at least a few people to see it, but oh well, at least it'll be there :p

[@kokuten9458]

Yeah same, I want to draw a manga but I don’t want people to steal my characters or ideas so I don’t post online, also it’s so hard to grow an account on Instagram now, I decided to just not post but it’s like what you said, if I want to make my manga I will need people to see it, so I don’t know if I should just post or not

[@ple8379]

@@kokuten9458 Ah, yeah, I rather have a manga in mind more, but I just use term comic book because most of the people I talk to they don't really know what manga is so I kinda got used to calling it that way, but yeah, I do plan to make it a manga rather. Do you mind sharing a bit what is yours about? Like the genre or the initial idea for it? I'm curious ^^. I cannot really give you any tip at all, because I'm not even anyone to do so, so I'll just say keep up your good work, don't lose your goal, and make it! I kinda stopped worrying about getting people to follow me, I'll worry about it later, now I have to make my story come together. There are many people in the world so, I'm sure either for your story or my story, there will be at least a few that's going to like it - if not, I always dreamed or making my own manga, so even if no one will like it, that's fine too, at least I made it. It helped me to chill out about it a bit, so maybe it would be the case for you :D!

[@kokuten9458]

@@ple8379 I don’t really have a big story in my head right now, I’m just drawing short stories to practice. 1 day I could do something about magical creatures and another day I could do a story about someone trying to get a job in a prestigious company, it’s all practice but I would say my favourite genre is shonen, magical story or things with creatures, when my art will be ready I will start to do longer story. But yeah I think I should just post without caring about people seeing my stuff, we can’t let the world stop us, I wish you luck in your journey too

[@ple8379]

@@kokuten9458 Usually if I like an idea for a story, but at first, it seems like it's not quite going together very well, I'm trying to find a way to combine the two together. I have hard time with getting inspiration and it's rare when I get some really good ideas, so I cannot let them waste because they don't fit. Who knows, maybe you could make another Dragon Ball-type success ;D. I wish you luck. Maybe don't post stuff that's going to reveal the plot points though :D. Hang in there!

[@kokuten9458]

@@ple8379 haha yeah thanks, honestly the hardest for me is to come with cool character design, I really want to create nice characters but it’s so hard to come up with good design, it can take me months to create a good design and honestly I think it’s too long I need to do better, the main reason I don’t like to post my art online is also because I don’t want people to steal my ideas or character design, it’s hard sometimes because I want people to see my stuff but I don’t want them to steal from it

[@rubyred6608760]

There’s nothing wrong with posting for views, although you’re more likely to get views if you post for your love of art. That being said, you shouldn’t tell artists why they should post their art. If someone wants to post for views I think we should leave them alone. Not everyone wants to post just for ”the sake of art” and we shouldn’t be shaming them or acting like those who do are superior.

[@MrERJ1992]

That's a pretty fair assessment, I'd say.

[@kokuten9458]

they didn't tell us how we should post, at the end of the video, you can clearly hear them say, you just have to find the right thing for you with the right balance between art as a passion and art as a career, this video was just about sharing awareness, people should just do what makes them happy

[@rubyred6608760]

@@kokuten9458 Not this person in particular, just in general. There are a lot of people who try and make it seem like those who post for views are shallow. Just because you want to post for the sake of art doesn’t mean others should

[@kokuten9458]

@@rubyred6608760 ohh i see, my mistake, and yeah you are right, it's not about which type of artist is better, we are all just trying to find happiness in our arts or even for those who do art for a living, likes count, there's nothing wrong with that, at the end of the day all artists just want to fill that void inside them so i agree

[@lunayen]

@@rubyred6608760 I mean those who post for views *are shallow*. It's a necessary trait if you want to gain recognition for your work, and the endorsement that comes with it. I would definitely leave them alone if it wasn't for the fact that they will whine, pout and complain whenever their stuff get little engagement.

[@lilaniloxi]

as someone that's tried (and has stopped) posting daily art and is now attempting to post every other day, this video kinda hits hard. im honestly glad to finally hear that im not lazy for not meeting the impossible standarts that the algorithm places on artists. i like to think i don't base my art's value based on how much attention it gains, but then again i like attention *alot* so maybe im not exactly the most unbiased when it comes to juding my own art ;)

[@aspenmp4222]

Same I stopped posting art and sometimes post them As a perfectionist it’s a lot to take in for me i just need to be “perfect” but again I end up not posting it bc it’s not good enough for myself and others Others may seem pleased but I don’t feel content I do love art and I’m very passionate I couldn’t help myself to expect higher standards of myself

[@jimjimson6208]

@@aspenmp4222 As an artist I don't think we will ever be 'content' with what we create, we will eternally be trying to inch closer and closer to whatever it is that inspired us to create. I think that its not only normal, but probably a good thing to not be 'content'; obviously we shouldn't beat ourselves up and not be miserable, but looking at our art and not being happy just means that we still have room to grow. Every artist friend I have is like this, and as a fellow artist I often look at their works and think they are good even if their creator doesn't think so. Its the same the other way around, too. The eye of the artist looks at their work and sees all the flaws because they are comparing it to what they envisioned in their mind. Other people don't see that comparison, so it's normal that they won't notice all the things that we hate about our work. In the end, all we can do is keep improving, and acknowledging the flaws in our work is the first step towards that.

[@AshenDalia]

Social media really fucked up how I felt about my art for a long time, and I'm still dealing with how those feelings messed with me even now. I started to hate my art and think it was worthless because of no interaction and I almost gave up several times because of it. I used to place so much self worth on if people liked and RTed or RBed my art and it really destroyed me for a long while. I've gotten better about it over time and now just try to draw what I want and just post it because I wanted to. It's still a little discouraging to see things like fanart and things with less effort I've done get more engagement than things I put into original art and put more time into, but I've gotten better about not taking it as a personal jab against me.

[@alyssahasan3939]

I didn't feel like really watching this video much, I only clicked because of the topic, so I read the comments, and I didn't like how majority of the comments below think that posting art for views is a negative thing. What's the point of posting art if no one sees it? I post my art because I love art AND I want attention on my art, is that wrong? Is that a HORRIBLE thing that most people seem to view it as?

[@annadreamsart9756]

Thank you! I'm a relative newb to art, fell in the trap of making things I think others will like, wanting likes as validation it's actually good since all I see is how it's NOT what was in my head. And then friends started telling me that wanting my art seen or liked online made me selfish, attention seeking and possibly bad-hearted in a prideful way. I was baffled since to me art is communication, which requires a second human. (My dogs like all my art the same, lol.) Being told this repeatedly by a few people has made it much harder to draw because it makes me feel like a bad person for wanting to know it was seen or enjoyed.

[@kokuten9458]

It’s not true there’s nothing wrong about wanting people to see your stuff and see people thoughts about it, don’t listen to them

[@annadreamsart9756]

@@kokuten9458 Thank you. I'll try to tune them out. So far it's been hard.

[@kokuten9458]

@@annadreamsart9756 you can do it, don’t give up

[@annadreamsart9756]

@@kokuten9458 Thank you for your kindness.

[@bissboye9631]

I had an experience that caused me to have an artistic burnout. While maybe this is more my experience with a toxic person, it ultimately ties into social media and the pressure it has on artistic freedom sacrificed for relevance. (I'd say this person was sort of a physical representation on the pressures artists have on them online.) - A few years ago I was together with a person (another artist) who was obsessed with posting art on a schedule and drawing what the audience wanted, like what was popular at the time. They would post several times a week. Now me on the other hand, I would post once a month at best, as I'm sort of slow at creating art, but I allowed myself to take that time. This person wasn't very fond of that and put it in my head that I NEEDED to post at least once a week, draw even if I didn't want to - because otherwise I'd lose relevance as an artist, and I would never be able to sell my art. This got to me, and for the whole relationship that would be what I did. This caused me to almost hate creating and would leave me with anxiety. It still sort of sticks today, as I still have a hard time creating for myself. - Moral of the story, don't let anyone (whether that be a person or the internet) tell you what you SHOULD do when it comes to creating and posting. As long as you enjoy what you do, you'll be ok.

[@aun7106]

Holy shit, I can relate to this. I have similar experience of people taught me "do this and this this on Instagram, why do you post something no one will understand?" (I posted my OCs art). Recently something triggered that memory. I haven't drawn anything serious this week, because I feel internally conflicted. Your words kinda.. reminding me

[@amachii_art]

It's a poison that keeps on coming back. Validity that came from other people can also be a trigger for that poison. Since you mind would go "oh yes, my next artwork will garner more audiences" and then it didn't happen and you'll fall on that same rabbit hole again. also is the contest only available on US?

[@pandimandi4037]

I hate how social media has turned into a competition nowadays. And how algorithm is fucking with smaller artists so bad to the point it feels pretty pointless even posting art. Twitters and instagrams algorithm sucks ass, feel like it was so much easier back in the day to get interactions and attention. Now its all a competition that I don’t wanna participate in. Thinking of just quitting social media for good because it drains my energy and mental health.

[@powerlesswafers]

In the beginning of my channel, I struggled a lot with how my videos were doing and had to spend a lot of time re-evaluating what I was making my videos for. I think that when it comes to making and creating art, there's a lot of pressure on artists to do well within the algorithm, and that can inherently make posting and making art exhausting at times because there's a chance no one will ever see it. But at the end of the day, since I've been posting art and videos, I've started to care less about how well it does, and more on how it makes me feel personally. I really love animating, drawing characters, and editing my videos, and at the end of the day it feels so much better to make art for passion rather than only engagement. If you love what you do, and it gives you joy and happiness, then other people liking it should just be the cherry on top of the cake. But I relate heavily to the mindset that it can put artists in, and it can be difficult to overlook how your art may do online in terms of likes and views. Amazing video, I think this topic is so important to bring up in the art community, and it's great to talk about it!

[@Mark_nobody3]

For everyone who do art Don’t get depressed if your art does get noticed or not, the positives are you built a good portfolio and keep going the only you can understand people will notice eventually when they see something of interest

[@pixelpuppy]

I used to chase that "clout" on social media, but then I took a 2-year break, and recently did a piece that I'm super proud of, but *I had no desire to share it on social media.* It's probably the best work my entire life so far, but the only thing I cared about was how good it looked TO ME. I shared that work with a few close friends, not to show my work or get reactions, but to share my happiness. I guess using social media as a validation is fine, but ultimately being proud of your own accomplishments is the best reward you can give to yourself.

[@nope6021]

I got really hard into art on social media when I was 13. I've always done and liked doing art but I started *studying* art online, gaining a style as i went and figuring out what subjects interest me (people and fashion and that's abt it lol.) Skip ahead to 18 and I got burnt out from trying to post more of my art but not feeling that my WIPs were worthy of posting, and not being able to finish anything because of burnout. I was also creating based on what others made. I was inspired more by other people's art than my own motivations and inspirations. I was making art that I thought looked pretty, but for some reason didn't bring me joy. So I stopped trying to post and just didn't draw for like a month, and then started drawing just for me, only when i wanted to; no pressure to draw more or post more or even make it look nice. Now I'm 20 and while I still don't post online, I enjoy drawing again. I have found a style that is mine not because I love how it looks finished and think it's infallible (it never will be, I'm a perfectionist with adhd it's bound to change)... but I really enjoy the process. I like how I sketch now, i find it fun because I'm not so set on making it look like X Person's sketches or like a certain style. It's just, look at references or inspo pics of real things, and interpret those shapes however I think looks good, and however feels good. If making a line a certain way is annoying, I try another way until it's less annoying and gets me a good result. I used to like lineart, but now I absolutely love it. My lineart has the weight that it has and the flow that it has because it gives my brain the good chemicals to see a swoosh across the screen that looks and moves the way it does when I line my work. It's like... sensory videos via art. Lineart is the most calming, least thinking part to me, now. It used to be full of anxiety about putting lineweight in the right place to achieve a more Manga style, or thickening certain parts to achieve a sticker style, etc. I was trying to follow rules instead of my own artistic method. My livelihood doesn't depend on my work, so I realize being able to take a break and just do art for yourself for literally 2 years and not post any if it online isn't really an option for lots of people. But for dealing with burnout, trying to draw in ways that *feel* good, amongst all the stress of anatomy, composition, balance, shapes, angles, etc, helps a lot. It makes the whole process a bit less frustrating and makes it more freeing. To force the worry about what style it will look like, and will it look good enough, to shut up for a minute. I use the brush I use cause it feels good. I sketch semi-realistic even if its going to be stylized cause it feels good and makes sense to me. I have a style with stronger lineart because I love making a line go swoosh. It can change from style to style but some things within my style now are near immutable because changing them would make art less fun for me, and therefore not worth it to do so often. P.S I basically only draw my own OCs, my friends if I want to or as gifts, and my own clothing designs. I do occasional fabart but only if i really like a character design, or want to make a varied version; like humanizing an animal crossing character (It was Muffy, she's cute). And it feels a lot better to choose the option I want, not the one I think will do better on social media.

[@coffintears5821]

I really didn't need to see this. Did you really have to type all this out.

[@nope6021]

@@coffintears5821 Why did u read it if it's soooooo long that u don't need to see it? U have the free will to hit read more, see its long, then scroll past; moron.

[@Bseaz]

@@coffintears5821 i enjoy reading it, the comment was not made for you anyways

[@rika1416]

I'm so glad that you've found your way to make art fun again! You've inspired me to make art for fun again too ❤️

[@alishanightshade3270]

@@coffintears5821 Everyone here writing super long comments. Did you tell this to all of them yet?

[@_paixi]

I've enjoyed creating art so much more since I stopped posting it online years ago. It's more fun sharing it with friends too, even though they only see 5% of it at most. I feel like my style still has a hangover from social media but I continue refining it to my liking. And when I do commissions I think of them as a craft rather than art. One captures a piece of my life, the other is to give someone else a bit of what they need. Once I rid myself the idea that art needs to express something, then I was free to simply draw and paint. I imagine by abandoning my likes and dislikes too it would be possible to become a conduit for life to paint through me but I'm not so sure the message would be a painting and I'm still quite attached to my likes, haha. I think about it often though because I'd like my art to be more than just my silly little life, but then I think that is a like too so I just continue painting without thinking and watch what comes up.

[@isuka2312]

How do you make commissions if you don't post your art?

[@eertikrux666]

Honestly, I’d rather have people pointing out the flaws in my drawings than them ignoring my stuffs. Sometimes, it’s the controversy my work conjures up that keeps the conversation alive. I feast on the hatred people have for the concept I chose for my drawings, and my motivation comes from the shortcomings that people see in my work.

[@peterh.7052]

On the quality side of art, one thing I have noticed with myself is that it depends on the platform I engage with art. If I see an amazing image on reddit or instagram I think it look good for 3 seconds and continue scrolling. But when I see a piece in the museum or in illustration/art-books. My mentality shifts. I will look at one artwork for a long time. Taking my time to devour the techniek, style, colour ect. For anyone reading this keep in mind it really maters in what frame you put your art. You and other will respond differently to De Nachtwacht on your phone and in person. Keep this contrast in mind!

[@Queen_Katt]

This is the exact video that I needed to watch right now. I barely get any views, and I doubt my worth and artistic abilities countless times because of this. This video really helped me view things a different way so whenever I get feelings of self doubt about my art and worth, I will remember this video. I really appreciate this video and you have not just made me feel better about my art but countless people in the comment section as well. Thank you so much and I wish you best in life :)

[@sketchyghost_yt]

The way social media conditions artist is really not fun, and it tends to make it feel worthless. I personally am trying to find back that joy over sharing my content via actually talking to other people. Try not to think about the numbers connected to a drawing but how I feel about it, what I do and don’t like. Try to focus more on the love it gets from friends, or the ways I can use it to show them something I have in my head. It really is more fun that way

[@simonebernacchia5724]

When you are -ego driven- externally validated, having nobody seeing your stuff hurts - counterside: having your stuff demolished by armchair critics _also_ hurts

[@botnet7175]

"What is the point of art if nobody sees it?" *Cries in private hobbyist who's never posted my art cus I doubt it's worthy of that*

[@the_sky_is_blue_and_so_am_I]

It is!

[@ShidoDraws]

As someone who's experienced some success in making art in my time before I can say to some extent you lose sight of what you want to create. I'm talking about the kind of artists that follow trends, they dedicate most of their time following what the world is doing and never giving themselves spaces to follow what they want to make. It takes you to an empty world where people wants to see what's the next trending post you're going to make and if you make any personal artworks people will look the other way. There's nothing wrong with not completely liking everything someone puts out but every time still hurts. I try to like art that aren't engaged as much, if I see a post that has more than 100 likes I just ignore it. How we can solve this issue is also taking action. Every like counts even if you don't think it.

[@kokuten9458]

true , i also honestly think artists should just gather together and create an actual ART APP, because when you think about it, instagram, twitter are not meant for artists, i'm sure we could create a working app where artists would feel comfortable. i hope one day, us artists get something like this, i know artfol exist but it has a lot of flaws and i heard they team creating it is only 2 person, imagine if we could get a full professional team working on an art app like those big platform like instagram or twitter, we could change things forever and create a good place for artists. what do you think ?

[@aun7106]

you don't need it mate. what artists need is accessible community. if you have friends to talk about art (it's not even about engagement at this point, just genuine communication).. i think it'll just fine. why do you need another app to post pretty picture and nobody respond? we blame algorithm, but with how artfol turned out... yeah i'm skeptical

[@kokuten9458]

@@aun7106 yeah that’s what I’m saying, the new app can be this community, it won’t be like Instagram it would be like a whole new place for artists

[@jimjimson6208]

@@kokuten9458 pretty sure you are just describing artstation right now

[@lotus0lycir]

It was a hard journey, but I managed to stop really caring about my engagement. I'd still love the little interactions I'd get but blowing up and getting hundreds of eyes on me isn't my focus anymore. Singular comments make me smile and gave me enough appreciation to post more whereas I used to be demotivated if I only got a couple likes and one comment. People are just percieving me and I enjoy it, I don't need to be making constant viral masterpieces to enjoy my online image.

[@Gleichtritt]

Before I will watch this video, I provide my personal answer: 1. The journey is important. Sounds very dull and something like we have heard a lot, BUT with everything we enjoy doing, like really enjoy, we do it for its own sake and not because of a goal we want to reach. Same is with art and it provides you with an immense feeling of freedom, once you realize that. I know that, because I earn my living with my artwork and the pressure at some point was so high, that I felt like in a cage, where I could not do anything. But at some point, I managed to just enjoy the process again. 2. I am tired of writing more, and want to watch the video again. Just screw people, make art and enjoy. Nothing changes if people saw your art or not and eventually, some people will see it anyway.

[@mirapark2121]

This hit really hard for me, since I've been constantly contemplating quitting art in general because of how little traction my art gets. This video really helps me realize it's not my fault, and there are others like me. Thank you so much for making this💕💕

[@shadedglade4475]

I used to post art online and, yeah, I agree that the more negative aspects can ruin art for you as a whole. I was obsessed with likes but after nearly a year and barely past a hundred followers, it just felt like I was doing it for nothing. It can honestly be pathetic that someones well being can be affected by something like this but it can. I wasn't in a good place at all, I began hating the idea of posting drawings since it wasn't going anywhere but the validation of likes just kept making me but 2 months before I deleted my account for good, I had spent around 6 months not posting but still drawing and it felt fun to me again. I wasn't focusing on anything, aside from getting better and drawing what I wanted and that just made going back to posting hurt even more. I don't regret my decision to stop posting since it lets me enjoy doing something I like at my own pace without the need to seek what is ultimately nothing of value to me, as harsh as that may sound.

[@nova2560]

I see way less talented artwork gets appreciated so much and nobody cares about my art I feel like giving up at this point

[@rizzolicharming1229]

Wow, this vid really hit me 😅 I've been happily making art for myself (and a few friends) for YEARS before people suggested I post my stuff online... Now I just get discouraged after seeing that same art next to the most beautiful art I've ever seen. I'm cutting back on time on social media now, slowly getting my passion back :)

[@rika1416]

Same, I know that feeling all too well. Best of luck in finding your love & passion for art back, I believe in you! ❤️

[@ari-dynamic]

I struggle with this a lot, honestly. It can be crushing having a passion to draw, and I love to do it - either for myself or paid work - but then I put up my passion project where hours and days was spent on it to make it look as good as I want it... and at times it just feels like there's no engagement, or another artist with a like-minded similar idea swoops in and receives the feedback and commentary I was hoping for. Or I'll ask for feedback and ideas and try to interact with my fanbase and sometimes people act like I'm asking too much: "Look buddy did me clicking the fave button not satisfy you? Here, I'll put 'lol nice +1', there's your feedback engagement." I haven't given up on my passion and continue what I love to do while making money for other art, it can be soul-crushing when people ask me why I don't get any views. I'm just like, "I dunno. I've got a following but the closest I've gotten to conversations with people is 'cute art'."

[@sillycookie]

I've had to relearn to enjoy art again outside the validation of online strangers. Nowadays I make sure I dont post everything, give myself breathing room offline every few days, and make stuff for myself ONLY.

[@reinaaina6893]

I'm so glad a video that tackles this topic exists. Very small artist here, I've always been stuck with below 110 followers for 8 years on twitter. The last few years was the most frustrating for me. Literal 0 attention even from the irl people I know who follow my account. It was very discouraging and caused a lot of burnout. So I stopped posting my art. And you know what? It was the best decision I've made. I started making art for myself only for almost a year now and it was actually the best self-help I ever did.

[@kopp2663]

Something that I've been doing is that when I post something new, I turn my phone off, and don't check social media for hours, because I'd feel sad for not getting a million likes in the first hour of it being posted. So, I can see the cumulative likes 10 hours later, and STILL feel sad, but less so. And when I check, it's close to when I go to bed. So I can just sleep on it instead of thinking of it all day long. That has personally helped me, though I don't know how much it could help other people I've also developed a more pessimistic mindset towards this kind of thing. Like, I don't expect I'll get a lot of likes or shares or follows, but I'm happy when I do. But being an artist, I feel like you have to have a lot of stubbornness to succeed nowadays. To push through the lack of engagement and continue drawing regardless, no matter how you feels. For me, I'm crazy stubborn, even too much for my own good sometimes, so it's easy for me to continue drawing regardless. But, I don't know how hard it would be for others. Social media and the internet in general is a very toxic place. You NEED to develop some thick skin in order to be able to deal with all the shitty people here. But, that's difficult. Everyone has a different story, different tolerance to insults and shitty people in general, and different abilities to seek help should you need it. And this is even worse when you're young and craving validation from your peers.

[@DulyDullahan]

I have a slight similar but somewhat opposite experience while doing Webtoons a while back and got quite the traction. While it made me extremely happy to see people interested in it, it also came with a bunch of 1 star rating bombs. I started becoming obsessed with asking family and friends to rate it higher to boost my ratings up. I was also constantly worried about seeing negative comments, especially readers asking me to make it longer (note it takes me on average 2 weeks to create one chapter). In the end, I became so burnt out and emotionally exhausted that I just abandoned it completely. I haven’t drawn for years :(

[@watercolourAlto]

In a similar vein to the moderation and boundaries conclusion, I think a big thing is posting because you *want* to post rather than out of an obligation. I understand that this is harder for those who may rely on art for an income, but when things seem like they're a necessity rather than a personal choice the personal happiness gained from them can be drained a lot.

[@coffintears5821]

At this point I don't really care about likes and follows anymore. I just post whatever but since social media makes my mental health decline I only go on Instagram about once a month at most. Then take a long ass break then return again. Will I lose followers doing this? Probably. Do I care? No, because I don't know these people therefore I can't bring myself to care. My audience doesn't give two shits about me either way eventhough they follow me for some strange reason. All and all Instagram is just save file/ folder that i can put my art in in case it gets accidentally deleted. Validation got thrown out the window a long time ago. But seeing people do things better than me gets me jealous so I just stay off of social media as much as possible. The next time I go on IG though my mission is to block and delete people that make me feel uncomfortable so I can have a healthy experience on social media.

[@burmessafox3939]

For me, im currently making a comic and trying to promote my art is hard. I got so unmotivated on sharing my art and not getting views that i rarely post on twitter and insta anymore. I get more views on facebook oddly enough. If art is hobby than getting like likes shouldnt be important, but its different when you want to gainba fanbase so you can have an art career

[@ms.pirate]

Don't forget, the rise of piratcy and Ai is also hurting artists too. Alot of artists are better off working a normal job to feed ourselves than to be a starving artists

[@dumbcomputer235]

A while ago i saw a post on pinterest or something like that saying you should post things on social media if you want to but you should keep a sketchbook/file of drawings that you don't plan on ever showing anyone so I've been doing that for a while and I love it

[@AnnieandNene]

It's gotten especially hard for me to not care about being seen because I have a pretty bad history of experiencing favoritism as an artist, which probably wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for the fact that much of the favoritism was among me and my own friends. It got to a point where I felt so left out like I was the black sheep of my own group since I'm not as successful as them. Before all that though, I was a pretty healthy artist who didn't really care about likes and views and just drew for my own creativity. But then everything I experienced became too much and made me start overworking myself and obsessing over my social media growth. Right now not only am I working on improving my art and expanding more on other things I can do, but I'm also trying to heal from my past that caused me to have all these unhealthy habits and mindsets as an artist. Also great video! The title hit pretty hard for me ;w;

[@EntrerrianoMapper]

I found this video a year and a half later, but I still wanted to comment In my case, it's not that I only see my art as having value if people see it - usually I will love how a piece turned out only to post it and get absolutely no engagement on that piece. It feels like when a small child draws something, they love it, and go running to their parents to see if the grownups love it as much as they do - and if the parents just ignore it, the kid will feel very demoralized about drawing, despite having actually liked the drawing itself. Not sure how to get out of this. Like sure, I still post stuff and will likely continue to do so, but every time this happens it's fucking awful.

[@TylerAO12]

Same. I’ve had at least one account on literally every social media platform and the only times I’ve ever gotten “interaction” were primarily scams asking for commissions for nft’s and other types of scams 😑 I’ve always said social media is anything but social.

[@Fox_in_Thoughts]

I've recently been thinking a lot about my reason for posting my art on social media. I'm mainly doing art as hobby, but I thought I might begin to draw pet portraits for people. Then, I started to lose my way. How serious should I be? Or is this still a hobby? How much effort should I put in to grow my audience...or not? Your video helped me remember where I find the most joy: just drawing what I like and sharing it on social media and it never mattered to me how many likes I got. As long as someone was seeing it. So, I'm glad I found your video when I did. Thank you :)

[@SketchLove]

THIS! THIS! THIS! Oh my God finally someone gets it. So many times I've expressed my frustration with working hard on a piece and only getting a few likes here and there (sometimes not at all). But everytime I've said Why bother working 10-16 hours on a piece if it's not gonna be seen by a lot of people and they always say You shouldn't draw for others, draw for yourself. And I understand that yes, you shouldn't let people's opinions define you but if I'm going to spend hours or dare I say a day on something I want my hard work to pay off, the only way for art to be seen as good or bad is if its judged and if no one judges mine what's the point?

[@Gwynhyvr]

in my artistic youth, i chased the dragon of high views and big follower counts. burned out hard, to make a long story short. while i took a few years off of social media and focused on refining my skills (and cutting out toxic relationships), the anxiety of not posting slowly just vanished. now i feel like i could make a healthy return, but, almost paradoxically, i couldn't care less about drawing the latest meme or hot girl reveal. i just wanna draw what i wanna draw. i have my fiancee's love and approval in everything i do, an OC i legitimately love for the first time in years, and i'm actually ready to take on commissions that aren't underpriced. the only problem is getting the customer base required to actually get the whole thing off the ground now.

[@lulub517]

I honestly feel like meme culture has really pushed back art to a seperate community standard rather than a world wide interest one. Attention for original characters and art is even harder. But even now I have struggles with getting even fanart noticed at all and my crappy low effort memes I put out every now and then get noticed way more often. I really disheartens me when I see that my memes that aren’t even original and are shitposts for fun or just small doodles get more attention and praise than an art piece or a drawing I worked hours on. Small jokes and Shitposts seem to give you more attention than fan or original art and it makes me just not want to post anything art related. I do posts things for my own pleasure, mainly original art and characters so I can have a place to find them and look back. When I make fanart, it’s sort of the same thing except I’m excited to see what people think, especially when it takes me days or weeks. It just kind of makes me sad and unmotivated when all people seem to want to see is memes all the time. Yeah, I like a good meme and Shitpost every now and then but it just seems like some people just live off of them. Anyone else feel this way about memes or is it just me? I dunno it just feels like everything you put out there is going to interpreted as a joke or a meme if it isn’t good enough as art.

[@noname-kx4cu]

the reason why memes and silly little doodles get more engagement is if they make someone laugh or if they think it will make one of their friends laugh they are very likely to share that post. the average viewer looks at those really pretty art and go this is really good and pretty. then move on. most of the time they will not send it to a friend and go look at this.

[@seraphinelovee]

To be honest, I do just post art because I like posting art, but there was a time where I was just posting it for views and likes. If you're struggling with this at the moment, what worked for me was just taking a break and turning off my social media notifications. Also, I wish I could enter the art contest but it's region locked :((( will probably make something spring themed anyway though!

[@kyer9677]

I didn't post any art for years after a long break. Then finally decided "I will post some stuff" without any expectations tbh. It actually ended up with more engagement than I imagined but ultimately, made me realise for the time being I'm more happy with drawing and practising for myself or just to give things to friends. I would like to post regularly again one day when the time feels right. (Artist who used to have 16k followers but deleted because I started to hate my work lol)

[@silveraxel510]

Damn this is so true. I'll scroll IG and people like what they know, Naruto, MHA, One Piece, Demon slayer, etc. Over 1M likes from a drawing of what's been created than what's original and I just sit there and get tired of scrolling of what feels like copycats[ but theres nothing wrong with fanart, i understand].However, It started to feel like I had to conform into doing the same thing but I don't feel noticed with it; compared to likes I get and the amount of effort put in isn't worthy of such.

[@privernd]

I had to take a long break from posting art on social media to prevent burnout from 2018-2021. Something that helped me a lot in that time was showing my art to friends for feedback. I found that words meant a lot more to me than feedback. Even now that I've gone back to posting on socials it definitely is adding more pressure that I wish I didn't have, but showing my art to friends helps significantly. I don't think I could ever make a career from art since I prioritize my own pace and interests in art over engagement, though it also helps that I enjoy and prefer drawing certain things that get more engagement like fanart. Another thing that really gets to me personally is seeing so much good art on a daily basis as you said. It's like a similar effect as people on sm seeing other people doing things that make their life seem more exciting. However in this case it's seeing seeing artists who seem like they're flourishing much more than you are. I feel pretty mixed sometimes since I love looking at art but I hate how it affects my own self-image of my art.

[@kuraikazekitsune]

Ultimately it is what you wish out of it. As mentioned art is meant to make you happy. If you're miserable when creating the content your follows want, is that really what you wished out of it in the end? I've been within the artist scene for well over 10 years now, I've watched social media, bend, warp and destroy artists before. It is the nature of the internet. If you wish to make art your livelihood, than its best to figure out what is your priority and keep a good balance. I learned I never wanted to do art for a living. The stress, the begging (in some communities) and in some parts, the starving artists within the communities I was in convinced me that I would much rather keep a consistent income using different skills, and slowly allowing my own art grow through self interest versus the interests of other. Social media is a blessing and a curse. One should never allow it to fully influence who they are as a person... And yet that is exactly what people do. Many believe their social media is everything. Those who do, I wish for them to reevaluate their priorities.. One cannot only live for the internet, after all one user on the internet is less than a droplet of water in an entire ocean.

[@LT-jr3yb]

I think people are forgetting that sites like Instagram weren’t made for artists who draw. They were made for posting pictures, it’s rather easy to post pictures everyday if you wanted too. Just snap a quick selfie or something of that nature. But now that tik tok gained popularity, reels became a thing. So the algorithm pushes for that. Even short videos here on KZbin. It’s just something to keep in mind.

[@hatlessgojira]

honnestly i stopped postin my art and usein tumblr and twwitter bcuz seein others art gettin mroe likes made ne feel wworse and kept ny art around close friends and family since then ivve drawwn sm more and enjoy it wway more

[@mysryuza]

It’s painful to feel like your worth in the art world depends on your skill level, frequency, and follower count. The best you can do is keep a positive perspective and focus on drawing what you like. The scary thing is when you draw something that threatens and challenges someone’s morals and high horse, they will stop at nothing to demonize you just because they don’t understand perspectives other than their own. Twitter taught me this alongside adding social media trauma to go with it. So again, focus on your objectives and tasks. Butting heads at everyone who come at you will just add more headaches, so block if you have to, to save your sanity. Don’t listen to those who find it cowardly. We have block options for a reason.

[@banji7612]

It's kind of hard to post your art on social media especially if it's your original art that has nothing to do with fandoms. I have been drawing seriously for 3 years now and never posted(before I just did some doodles here and there). Since January I started to post fandom related art(Vtuber) and I slowly got likes and a few followers. I may had luck but after two fanarts my favorite vtuber started to follow me on Twitter(almost 300k) and also complimented me on stream and showed my art on stream. I think its always good to start of with a fandom and slowly post original content.(my pfp is my art example)

[@alwaysyouramanda]

So, I used to draw a lot. Most recently, my sister destroyed everything I had in my room at my mom’s house. I was never into the idea of throwing it away or selling originals- ever. They were personal. A lot of my drawings looked to me like subconscious journal entries. It hurts, but it inspires me to consider making less.. sentimental stuff.. and making things instead specifically to give away.

[@mushroomdude123]

I’m someone who’s never been concerned about fitting in, and I especially can’t stand social media, so I really hate how important it is to growing an audience. But on the other hand, I will never stop loving making things for myself.

[@ArtofAmethystFable]

if i am being honest here, i draw what i wanna draw, what i love to draw. i dont have a big following but i said i dont care i am gonna draw what i want whether it be fanart or original art! It took me years to get this mentally too.

[@TifaL20]

Same

[@amelialoyselle2123]

I'm one of those artists that mostly stopped sharing my art because I got little to no engagement. For me, I have always been of the belief that art is not "finished" without an audience - the artist tries to convey what they're feeling, what they're going through, or what they want to share, and the audience is there to receive the message. It's supposed to be a dialogue, in my opinion. With no engagement, it's just a monologue. To me, it's lonely. I was taught in a performance arts school since I was a child, so I know various different arts from theater to writing to visual art. I can use theater to empathize with the world. I can use writing to explore and communicate my imagination. But both of those things are limited by "words". Dance and visual art are the two best mediums for conveying emotion without words. Dance is an experience (like theater). Visual art is that concrete stasis of emotion - you will always be able to see van Gogh's sunflowers and be able to feel what he felt in that moment, because that art is unchanging. There are no different players, there are no "modern takes" on that work of art. This conversation always starts with van Gogh's sunflowers. To make visual art is to shout "I am here", in my opinion. And the audience is supposed to be the one to say "I see you". And if you're never seen, sometimes it can feel like you're not "here" - like you don't exist, or don't matter. So people stop. I guess this is hugely and unnecessarily sentimental for someone who isn't subscribed to you, but I felt quite deeply about this. I appreciate your video, and none of this is an attempt to say you're wrong or anything! Just relaying my own thoughts, because I do see a lot of "just do art for yourself!" comments and while I know they mean well... that's just not what art means to some.

[@kokuten9458]

So what are you suggesting?? We should keep posting online??

[@amelialoyselle2123]

@@kokuten9458 I'm not suggesting anything. Just relaying my thoughts.

[@kokuten9458]

@@amelialoyselle2123 okay but what will you do, you will continue posting ? i'm just trying to know different people opinions on the matter

[@amelialoyselle2123]

@@kokuten9458 Well as I mentioned I do other kinds of art. I have gotten responses to my writing so I focus on that. I will sometimes draw but that's only really so I can have visual reminders of what I write or so it goes along with my writing.

[@Terithes]

I think that we as humans inherently want to share things we like, find value in, things we make, and so much more. It is in our nature to want to share things with others, be it for admiration, or just getting a thumbs up from someone we seek approval from. Just look back at ancient times, or some hundreds years ago. People used to write their name "** was here" just for the sole reason they wanted to be noticed. Many want to leave their mark on the world in all kinds of ways. Be it for something greater they believe in or something simple as a hand-print. With what you've brought up, and that in mind we can derive that we should focus on sharing things with people who actually find value in the things we want to share. Share your art with those you know will appreciate it, and it will become so much more meaningful for you when you do make it.

[@privernd]

Was thinking about this vid a bit and coming back to it I wanted to add it is sometimes disheartening to see some artists on social media with big followings say their followings mean nothing to them. I get the intent, because ideally it *shouldn't* matter over doing what you love, but I also kind of suspect people who say that haven't really experienced a lot of the struggles of being unnoticed. It is especially perplexing when people say that and make money off patreon/kofi, commissions, and merch.

[@noahcrow8982]

I loved the style and everything about this video. Instant subscribe. Until you talked about drawing patterns in the sand being washed away by the breaking waves, I had never really thought about the difference between my drawings and poetry. I write a poem everyday and have been for many years now, I started doing it for no particular reason I just write one. However, thinking about this more I realised because do not post 99% of the stuff I write this means that I am the only one seeing it but due to the sheer volume even I cannot remember every poem I wrote. If I cannot remember the poem and no one else has seen it then it is as if the poem never existed at all. In other words, non-existent poetry. That is an interesting concept or idea I never thought about before. It also made me remember from the Tao Te Ching the Laozi poem where he says at some point “When the work is done, it is forgotten and that is why it lasts forever.” - Laozi.

[@marugoniv]

I used to be so conscious of how many views I get on my speedpaints (and it ended on me deleting my previous channel and started anew here). My friends told me to think of my art as a truffle: hard to find, but good. I'm slowly working towards my goal, someday hoping to get to the thousands. For any artist, do your best! You'll get there, even if slowly.

[@vintprox]

Getting appreciation on social media is like a side hustle: you probably wouldn't consciously want it to consume you. If it's not a side hustle at your stage in life, do rebel.

[@amandaperillo6280]

Social Media is also one of the only ways some artists have to find work... so it's kinda sad when no one is seeing you when you depend on it to live D:

[@kirizeki9686]

12:27 As someone who drew Genshin fanart even though I didn't like or play Genshin, I feel called out XD

[@SonicVegeta]

8:50 I think that line of thinking very well may be one of the biggest contributing factors to this mentality, because as you’re about to bring up everyone, or at least more people than every before, is doing it and as such it’s so easy to get berried in the pile of that thousands of other art pieces online. So really it’s not that it’s “easier to get into”, rather it’s just more *accessible* for people to join the art world. I wouldn’t even say that artist have an advantage because of it because it’s draw backs basically put it on even playing field with getting it seen elsewhere.

[@kohinattosru8587]

I think even if there's no audience for your art - YOU have seen it. And more than see. You can improve not only your art skills but also yourself. So even if you don't show your art anywhere - your art remains in you

[@damenshi]

I honestly, genuinely wish I'd considered a lot of this when I first got into posting on social media and made an effort to better maintain that healthy moderation. Would've avoided many, MANY years of toxic comparison to "better" artists, self-hate, relentless and overwhelming personal criticism, giving myself impossible standards ("perfection") to try and hit, refusing to take virtually any positive feedback on the grounds that the other person is "just trying to make me feel better, and I know how bad my art REALLY is", drawing soulless "trendy" pieces for the sake of desperately trying to capture attention for my work, and otherwise just destroying my love of the creative process in general. I consider myself fortunate in the sense that I've been able to maintain a sense of joy when it comes to drawing/creating in general. In fact, I'm still drawing to this day and doing my best to maintain a much healthier mentality, but I'd be lying if I said those 10+ years of relentless obsession and attention-seeking (followed by hours upon hours of beating my head against a wall for never being "good enough" for people to care about my work) didn't leave some deep scars that I'm still recovering from roughly 2 years later.

[@fiful]

Social Media’s can motivate you, or just make you want to stop. But you shouldn’t care about what other people say about your art, if you like doing it keep doing it. I don’t really share art at all. But I still do it, because I enjoy it, if you enjoy it then keep doing it!

[@naegiplush]

im too scared of even posting my art online because i know this mindset will destroy me

[@naegiplush]

sometimes i think of just posting the fanart i make and never looking back until i post another

[@kokuten9458]

@@naegiplush that’s what I do, I post my art than I log off so I won’t know if it got likes or not, when I log back again it’s when I post something new. What you don’t know can’t hurt you

[@zeldadevorakart526]

Honestly? This video made me think a lot! Because for the most part, I draw things because I want to make it. But I occasionally fall into the trap of trying to please social media and appeal to trends. I've never really found happiness that way, I have much more fun drawing what I want how I want. Though this means my art won't appeal to many people but myself, but that has begun to bother me less and less. At the end of the day, I draw because I like it! And even though I'll be vigorously shot down by any algorithm, appeasing one is just far too much work for me. I love the art in this video by the way!! Celesia is so adorable! 💙💙

[@Artist1974CH]

Fuck social media! You know why some artists' works are not being seen? The algorithm! That thing can hurt an artist who is not popular or well known. It is true that views does not mean bad art. Whoever thinks that no view or less views mean bad art is a hypocritical jerk. And besides, those artworks that get all the views.... they look the same. We live in a cookie cutter corporate world.

[@naou4030]

I had 20k followers on twitter and it sucked. It created this situation for myself where if a piece didn't perform as well as one prior I began to get overly harsh with myself. I'd get 7-10k likes on one piece then only 1-3k on another and it made drawing not about expressing my ideas and ahem. Self indulgence anymore (yes I drew spicy art and this was often met with lots of attention LOL) I found that I also pigeon holed myself into drawing what I thought would perform well instead of what i wanted. Also art theft, cancel culture.. Nah. I'm good.

[@EvilShadow7777]

Recently I've been working on things just for myself or as gifts for friends and most of it I haven't been posting. It's been work I enjoyed way more than just trying to post things regularly, hoping for the best, and getting 0 engagement. Social media seems like a way to network to maybe get art jobs whether for fun or to pay the bills, but you have to stay on top of an algorithm and grind away at it and you're still likely to go nowhere. I'm lucky I'm not dependent on art as an income in a way because one of my close friends who survives on commissions basically ends up living on Twitter in order to keep the algorithm happy and keep a regular audience and its unhealthy for them clearly.

[@BarKeegan]

I’ve constantly had to bring my mind back to the place where I create for me, in order to propel myself forward. I remember hearing Leslie Levings talk about how she made her own toys growing up before developing Beastlies as an adult, or Neil Gaiman describing writing as ‘playing god’. I think artists want to create an immersive experience for themselves first, and then the general public are usually drawn to engage or participate in that experience

[@Babylon2060]

What I would be making if I wasn't pressured to please others with it is pretty much the same as what I always make. When I create my art I always make pieces that I like. I don't do commissions. I don't get much attention with my visual art, however, the novel that I'm working on blows people away when I read it to them.

[@Maple0chiki]

I want to think I draw for my own enjoyment (I certainly don't have any regular followers who enjoy my content), but I also admit that the main reason I wanted to keep practicing is because I want people to like my art. The older I get I have accepted that it is unlikely to happen, but without social media to post on I don't think I would make myself draw that much- life gets too busy otherwise! Great video discussion as always!

[@Angelik_]

This speaks a lot through not only art community,almost the whole internet.its kinda sad that people are giving much work,effort and idea to their own creation yet no one ever will see it if it's even ''popular' or got noticed by any that can leads competition over getting noticed even more by likes or views on the audience instead enjoying what you made and give more passion about the art you created,it's just so sad and as myself been go it on the same way I feel it in spiritual way in my whole heart

[@felinah2559]

This hit a bit closer than I expected. I did used to post fanfiction but kinda got frustrated with the lack of responses compared to the actual views I've gotten. So I stopped posting and eventually stopped writing ffs. And thats because writing ff and posting it is tied together for me: I didnt need to write them down to enjoy the stories for myself. They are already in my head. Writing them down was a way to share these stories with others. So, writing them did loose its meaning when I felt that nobody cared. I still write, although pretty exclusive stories, that are my own. With the hopefull goal, to maybe one day finish one in a way, that I'd be able to publish it. And I think if I make that, I wouldnt care how many people actually read it, since the process of publishing it might just already be validation enough. Its kinda similar to what you said that getting into art nowadays is easier, but harder to get recognition. Its easy to post ff or any work online together with thousands of others. Limiting myself to a harder to reach standard feels actually less pressuring. Maybe I wont make it, but thats ok. Im not planning on building my life on it, its still a hobby. And I'll still have had fun creating the story. But if I make it, it'll feel more rewarding than seeing it get lost in the flood.

[@100lovenana]

"Because high quality art is everywhere now, your art being high quality is no longer enough to have people be motivated to engage with it. It either has to establish a personal connection, have shock value or a controversial nature, or has to be... 'attractive'." Oof... That's the painful truth I needed to hear. It also shows that there is no real solution. My art doesn't have shock value and it isn't intended to be quote on quote "attractive" (with the other meaning), so it seems the only thing it can do is "establish a personal connection", but there's the problem: it's impossible to make a personal connection to everyone. People have different mindests, feelings, cultures and opinions. My art definetly has some deep emotions and stories, but they're not going to connect with everyone, so getting a big following that truly sticks with my work till the end is impossible. The best advice I've recieved recently on how to have my art seen is to return to the traditional way: showing my work presently in live events like conventions or groups, since social media is so oversaturated with big artists who are already popular with a big following. I even made a new account in a new website meant for actual art (the site's name starts with Art- and ends with -fol, I can't write the name full because my comment will be deleted for some reason) but I only have 4 or 3 followers right now. It might be because the site is still new, but I've seen how it has a TON of users posting their own work, and yet my own keeps staying in the corner.

[@honeybearclaw]

welcome to the artist who is most popular on tiktok and tried to churn out content to keep up and when i post my ocs / AUs of my characters gets less views than man tibbie content it sucks hard but i know i found a group of artist i’m happy with

[@chockitkat3776]

I've been struggling with this so so much, and Celestia made a video about this, so thank you so so much

[@Cheerfuljochan]

Its all a balancing act, you kinda need both if you're planning on becoming a professional artist of anykind or want to evolve the hobby into something more monetary gain. Doing too much of either has its consequences on either your growth or at your mental well being. Personally I balance it out by trying to find the art that overlaps on both sides, for example I am currently doing a lot of Terraria fanart that has gained me a lot of traction, I happen to love Terraria so I am making both art I want to make and get rewarded for my hard work. Ofc it feels bad that my personal stuff gains scraps in comparison but eventually as the audience grow and I always do personal pieces in between fanart then I hope that will make the audience increasingly more interested in what more I can do with my personal work.

[@Angelik_]

That's right,sometimes things need balance over things to make it just exact right too imo

[@kokuten9458]

Yeah true, little by little if you post original art more people will start to be interested but it will take a long time to build a big audience interested in your original works

[@Shimamon27]

I know that sharing my art is a new thing for me. I used to do art and keep it personal, but... It feels pointless now. Sharing my art feels good, while not many see it, those that do and like it makes me feel like it's worth the time, because it has a place in the world, and it gives value to someone else. My animations are weird, rough, raw and their appeal is limited, and it's fine. I know I won't try to answer to any algorythm either, I want to deliver my message, there are enough artists out there that have mastered and perfected the art of broad appeal, trying to compete them is both a waste of time and outright kills expression. Niche appeal is where I fit.

[@aneledragondreamer173]

thank you for doing this video!, this is a topic that really needed to be discuss, I personally started to post online when I was 15 in Da, in 2010. I remember that it really happy me to have a place to share my drawings and my own story outside of my classmates or familiy and not having to move form home to do it!, and have feedback form experience artist to improve on it , because I was still really new to art (only re-starting or really draw whit an goal when I was 13) I soon undestood that it would be more difficult to be seen that I though, or to have comments that critic your art , and more that only praise it. Not that I did't find joy when I saw one, It made my day, if even, it really encorage me to make more art, but.............. I was really lost at the time how to improve more ,at started whit clases in the city I still live now, but when I continue on my own, I was not sure how I was suppost to know what i did wrong or how to make my certain things I imagine whiout a teacher or someone beside me....., I remember I was happy when one person took the time to suggest me something to make it more profecional looking art, tell me I forgot someting or that I try to draw i diffent perpectives to go out of my confort zone. At first seen so much amazing art really wonder and motivate me to do the same , but sometimes , becuse of what I say before really make me dobut,....Wonder if I was trying hard enogh to bee seen in the site, whit uploding in groups or commenting in other drawings, because I was ratter lazy sometimes to scanner my tradicional dawing and post them online or joing a group and submit, sometime it was becuse the fandom I was in , whit so much digital art that i often thinked it was the problem (it took me seen speed paint to know it was made by computer XD) and wonder how the did it when all I coud do was paint, and it was unatural for me. it made me be a perfeccionist and post less art , never wips or drawing I did't really liked (it was tiring to do the proses in the fist place) more whit my fanarts which where mostly my problem whit "the digital or popular artist whit comic" comes from. ¿But whit social media like intagram? ,When I created and accout 2018 (23 years) ,I was really happy , I was given more feed back or likes that I was ever given in all those years in DA, and seen a lot of post of how to improve or making more friends, that, ¡¡¡willing help me out how to do something I did't the heck out of me know how to before!!!! I did notice again the popular people in some fandoms i got into but I was not afected as much when I was a teen and I follow them or those who are professionals....¡And I could reupload old all art , wip , not posted before art! (I dosen"t mean I am super know or I was a hidden great artist either now ,but mgiven that I said before, for me it really mean A LOT) but, whiout knowing I slowly fell in to the pressure of posting often or comparing my profile whit other seen it was not as beautiful or breathtaking as other because of that, even if it did help me to take better presentacion in drawings, I knowed deep I coudent keep up that becuse I had univesity , that was not realted to art. I did"t think I woud giving I said yo mysef I did care much about the like, but social media really consume me at one point, seen hours of other drawing an feeling bad for then no whating to draw, and the I started to thake breaks. for uni and also for the sake of not knowing ( I am on a break now)

[@areallystupidguy630]

I write a webnovel and put it on hiatus after many years because it just never got traction or engagement. I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt because it's something personal that I love doing. But I'm not getting any younger and I want to write something that I can actually have success with.

[@sora137roxas]

I liked what I heard. Thank you for sharing.

[@AntonyCannon]

There's a phrase regarding audience appreciation 'Go deep, not wide'. Find those few folks who love you and your stuff and make art for them with gusto rather than pander to some unknowable mass of people and what you think they might want. The most immediate and effective way to do the latter is to appeal to the lowest common denominator.