Can Artists Still Grow on Social Media? ft.

[@DevinElleKurtzArt]

This was a good chat, thanks for having me 🙇🏼‍♀️

[@Inkwell]

I'm alway so grateful to your insight and help to the community! please take these squids as my thanks 🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑

[@Sleepy-ib5sl]

I am definitely one of those people who dropped social media completely and move to discord. I found interacting with any social media was detrimental to my time and mental health, and on top of that it was progressively harder to keep up with account I was genuinely interested in. Now I enjoy having direct connection with my friends and peers via discord and have way more time for what is really important. Which is making art for example

[@wavypeso]

This shit not for the weak foh 🫡

[@vonnart]

Always enjoy doing this check-ins and hopefully can provide some kind of insight for the community to walk away with! Thanks to all who watch! 💛

[@GodLovesComics]

I love listening and I'm not even an artist. There's only three of you but you're all 5head ;)

[@chasewilltin8567]

Didn't know you had a youtube channel. Happy little finding

[@TheStarfishface]

Always keeping my finger on the pulse re: social media, never used threads bc it just felt gross but I’m loving Bluesky as a Twitter replacement. 😅 Enjoying the discussion!

[@mollipop_art]

hi star

[@TheMetalValkyrie]

bluesky now connected with ai training....

[@wavypeso]

Blue sky is gay af gang threads better

[@wingedcanvas]

I think the key takeaway is, be where your audience is. Great insights, definitely sharing this with our art nerds!

[@pinkcloud3126]

Loved the talk. But also, can we normalize saying 'beginner artists' intead of 'younger artists'?

[@Inkwell]

Great point, I talk to students so often that it's become a bad habit.

[@patataeve]

Thank you! I'm a beginner but I'm almost 40!

[@AlineGarcia-u5f]

great video! as a brazilian who lives in australia and is involved in both countries social media audiences I saw the huge dropping out from twitter out of america. Australians were never really much involved on twitter, many here never had an account or barely use it so the difference isnt so noticeable, but in Brazil twitter was the largest plataform, maybe even bigger than instagram at some point I would say and now it's quiet, almost every one left already ): I also used to use twitter to connect with the japanese animation comunity and it also seems quieter than usual on that side.

[@Inkwell]

it's sad to lose connections with certain communities, I hope one of these alternatives work out.

[@towermeower]

I really appreciate these intermittent social media talks that you host! It's interesting to hear other people's thoughts, especially since everything has changed so much in the past 2 years

[@Inkwell]

It been a real roller coaster for sure, it’s a way for me to catch up as well

[@FuturaFoxx]

Twitter sucks. How many active users are actually real vs bots is also worth noting as well. Bluesky being decentralized, I think it's going to have much more professional impact than social outreach to the masses. At least for now. I think we're going to see a slow shift to where instead of artists shouting from everywhere at the same time you're going to have artists in specific niches for work like Vgen, CD work, Production work, etc. Posting everywhere has never been all that useful really, but back in the day you could at least get some comms or production work off it. Thanks to AI and the gamification of social media CDs are looking at privately accessed portfolios now more than ever. It feels like niching down into hyper specific communities for growth is the answer.

[@DaddioDraws]

To The point about our social media sites Suppressing art, Hank green did an interesting experiment with several posts on various sites noticed considerable engagement gap depending on what was posted. Granted he didn’t post any art but his experiment showed that sites are intentionally throttling or suppressing certain posts

[@CrimsyCreates]

Thanks for the insightful social media update, it's always cool to have you guys come together to catch up on this topic. Being on both Threads and Bluesky, I can definitely get what you mean when you say Bluesky feels like genuine interactions, while Threads feels more transactional. People are definitely out there viral baiting, be it rage bait statements, generic "hot takes" or just click bait stories that come with a hook so you want to read the rest. While those can be wholesome sometimes, a lot of them are sharing negative experiences because that attracts a lot more attention in general. I'll admit I really like the more wholesome and supportive vibe on Threads, especially in the art business bubble where people constantly cheer eachother on and give helpful advice, but Bluesky, to me, is where the "real" people and interactions can be found and where I want to build my main hub online. On a separate note, I highly disagree that the wave of people leaving Twitter are "weakening" the art industry when Twitter itself has been a champion of nerfing everything art related for years now. You can't post links, can't use a bunch of words like "commission", can't refer to other platforms like KZbin and Patreon and now the reach on the platform has become pay to win and your artwork and posts are being scraped for AI data training without your consent. This is not to mention the obvious that, while there is not ethical consumption in this day and age, Elon is still a standout, massive A-hole and that he's so horrible that I find it to be THE ethically right thing to do to not to support his platform any longer now that we have a few other alternatives that are picking up some steam. Like, I'm not pointing fingers or judging who chooses to stay for business reasons, but it is definitely a choice you can make now and I support everyone who makes the ethical decision to leave 100%.

[@DominiqueRamseyArt]

My IG engagement has picked up recently after being dead for nearly 2 years. I noticed that going back to drawing like I did in 2019 brings more eyes; my audience did not like the style shift. The cropping thing you guys mentioned is also true, Show different angles of your work in a post on IG and more people will stay on your post.

[@Kabujiro]

This was a very interesting discussion! As someone who has found a footing making (short form) video content and whose static posts have never done well on any platform, I always find it fascinating to hear what other people have to say

[@gianfar4067]

just went out of curiosity and omg im so glad i did. your art is amazing and your looks too! 😭💙

[@Kabujiro]

@@gianfar4067aww thank you 🙈💕

[@TheNinjaParadeBase]

Thank you @inkwell you're helping me wrap my head around the parts of being an artist that I was not ready for.

[@jKurnas]

I'm actually getting tired of social media. I posted consistantly...for quite a while and I'm at almost 300 followers. If I was in a room and 300 people said they loved my art, I'd be delighted. But also, how many SALES does social media get me? Not much. Most my sales are made in person. Art is pretty traditionally bought more in person than online because people can better see what they are getting. My work is in a few galleries/stores and I'm making it work between being a PT librarian and selling that way. My income is growing. The thing with social media is...lots of your followers are either other artists or aspiring creatives. But if their dreams of being discovered are being squandered, guess what happens? The people who would have otherwise supported you start disappearing. And I mean the core supporters...and the ones who actually engage. I think more people will find ways to share in their own communities, moreso than online. And at the end of the day, our local communities matter more. Most artists goal is to make a living, not a fortune.

[@BethanValerious]

As an artist starting to build following just now (with no video content), I see no chance at growth on any platform to be honest. Or I just have to accept that my art is mid and I am unlikeable. I will persist though because what can I lose, amirite? I'll update if the fates change lmao

[@wavypeso]

This shit not for the weak boss up and get it put in more work fam

[@EmoKitsuneDesigns]

Great chat :) I'm just starting my art journey and social media now is so intimidating. I personally love the vibe on Bluesky even if it doesn't have the reach that twitter does, I'm going to do my best to make it work and I do hope it continues to grow.

[@velvi8359]

Threads was the last straw for me, I deleted anything Meta related because I just felt that it wasn't worth it. It was so bad, didn't matter how much art I liked or ppl I followed my feed was full of stolen memes, engament farm accounts, and ppl complaining about how terrible IG has become. I really feel like my time is better spent on literally any other site.

[@rebcebabart]

However you decide to go forward, I recommend deleting posts but not deleting accounts to save your username so others cannot use it and potentially scam people. Great talk!

[@HibiscusStitch]

I love making short form content. People get to see me actually sew!

[@jonathanamadorart]

Nice chat! The background music was a little loud, a little distracting tho. Would prefer to have it be way lower in order to concentrate on what you're saying :)

[@dashapark_art]

Great discussion! This helped me a lot to learn about what's going on with the social media right now. Especially someone also has been thinking whether to create a Bluesky or not. Thank you!🙏💖

[@aaronpagniano7597]

Great discussion. I hate social media but I love these updates!

[@Inkwell]

😘

[@patriciaalbertmartinez1578]

I appreciate these kinds of videos ❤ thank you !

[@art4anj]

I love the flow of the conversation and the TONS of insights you all shared, THANK YOU! ❤ I felt unsatisfied with shortform this year that I decided to revive my YT channel in August. Now, I feel MORE excited making videos because there’s no time restriction for me to answer questions about my art process that’s hard to answer in shortform 😄✨

[@mickymcbryan4814]

What’s interests me in terms of the numbers is my engagement, no so much how big the user base is. Because that tells me more if the algorithm is even showing people my art. And as a below 50 follower newbie, that’s way higher priority. Just yesterday, posting the same work on both bsky and Twitter I got 0 new followers and 2 likes on Twitter as opposed to 5 new followers, 30 likes, 10 reposts, as someone who before that had a follower counts in the twenties. Sure, sometimes a post on Twitter for me will blow up with 500 - 1000 likes once in a blue moon but it’s seemingly random. It doesn’t correlate to the quality of the art imo, just random luck. And those huge bursts in likes and reposts rarely translates to followers, especially not followers who stick around. I’ve gained more followers on sky in a month than I’ve managed in half a year on Twitter starting as a fresh from 0 account.

[@phillblake6829]

Great conversation. Glad I stumbled across this.

[@MissShembre]

40:10 SAME BRO. Same. I miss just having to check dA, or just having to check IG. I don't have anything other than IG because I don't want to check multiple places, and it's probably a negative for my business. It's not fun.

[@zacheryredden5417]

I think Twitter has been slowly dying for a long time. Staying on it is becoming more and more of a statement.

[@HibiscusStitch]

I left twitter during the Olympics but I was never really on it much. It’s just too much for me mentally. It’s nice not being on it. I never saw numbers on it anyway because of how I prefer to post my art. Now I just post text updates of shop stuff and that’s it lol I’ve been on blue sky for nearly two years and I quite enjoy it. Just having fun

[@DesignDuels_JakePleshe]

Great talk! Thanks guys!

[@Inkwell]

Thanks for watching!

[@VallelYuln]

Thanks for the insight! I'm already tired thinking about all the work social media growth takes

[@fussyfissy]

loved the video! thank you guys!

[@greentokyo]

Great video! Social media is just really frustrating these days

[@ghammer2048]

Ive also noticed there is a surge of folks just doing old school in-person networking believe it or not!

[@heygabimara]

I remember my bf saying that keeping your Twitter acct but not using it or paying for premium is actually wasting elno money. So maybe it's fine to just keep Twitter but keep blocking the ads lol

[@ChantelleArts]

this is such an interesting topic!

[@yasmeenw7227]

Can the comments tell me how they legitimately feel about Blue Sky & their experience since joining?

[@nintendobratkat]

I feel it's more active for ME than Twitter is at least.

[@Sleepy-ib5sl]

It feels like twitter with less people.

[@CrimsyCreates]

I have been loving Bluesky personally. It's literally Twitter without the bots, the OF spam and the hateful bigots. Also, I personally find people there are a lot more happy and supportive? Like everyone is active and actually interacting with your posts, usually in a positive way, while on Twitter everyone seems angry all the time and all of our reach is nerfed down to make the pay to win subscription more enticing to get. Maybe I'm biased because I hate Elon, but Bsky is better in every single way for me so far. :)

[@BethanValerious]

For my posts it's absolute crickets, nothing, zero feedback, zero engagement - BUT I enjoy browsing, seeing other people work. One of the artists I ADORE was struggling greatly on Twitter, it was a disgrace but they're getting the following they deserve on Bluesky. The general experience on Bluesky is more relaxed and kind, I don't regret dropping Twitter

[@IRLlosersQ]

Twitter art post: 350 likes, no comments, no follows BSKY art post: 30 likes, 3 people chatting under it, +3 follows

[@kbr-graphicnovels]

I can never take seriously anyone who moves to Blue Sky.

[@wavypeso]

Nah fr that shit gay af

[@saliuarts]

its important to note that Cara wasnt made to be a replacement for instagram/twitter(both have a wider , general audience appeal), Cara is first and foremost an Art/creative social platform, a blend between Arstation, deviantart and twitter UX in a sense.

[@mrlallarlara3599]

One of your guy’s fire alarm’s battery is low. It keeps making a chirping sound in the background so you might want to change the battery

[@Gensolink]

i still does low numbers, however I feel people tend to engage a bit more. Now my sample is small as hell but it felt nice to me.

[@Lycaon1765]

Don't know why we're talking about Cara as if it doesn't exist anymore lol. I get the point that it doesn't have enough people, but why the past tense?

[@T11923]

i completely forgot the existence of threads

[@doctorguss]

Do what you love and the money (and/or followers) will follow. This video is a perfect example, they're not trying to sell us anything, just genuine people giving us all good insight.

[@realitymill]

Appreciate the insight. I keep avoiding social media because it seems to get swamped with politically charged posts and I'm over here like 'I just wanna see cool art'. I have been wanting to get into posting youtube videos for digital / traditional sculpting, molding and casting, but I can't decide on a format that could be entertaining to others.

[@Inkwell]

best of luck on your future videos

[@LightFrogs]

WOAH what a gorgeous thumbnail

[@Nkanyiso_K]

All my favourite South African artists are on Bluesky

[@susanhunt4100]

This is an amazing video idea. I cant stand the volume of the background music and then the volumes of the people talking are all over the place. I cant watch it/listen to it. I am so sorry. Is there a transcript of the convention available?

[@cequ]

Found it difficult to follow as well … also: why are so many people say ”like“ so often? It annoys me almost as much as the music. 🥲 still interesting to hear their opinions … and I’m thankful they are talking about this

[@alonso1876]

awesome talk, thanks so much

[@Inkwell]

Thanks for watching

[@FazartOrganization]

Great discussion.

[@_aiborie]

Good talk! I look forward to the next one ☺️

[@Houdini_Bob]

regardless of length of video, for it to be successful you gotta have a cat in it. LOL very insightful. one thing a successful social medial channel can be is give unreal expectations of new, especially younger creators/artist. they could have too high expectations on their channel going viral that they are the next big thing and visualize making millions and are crushed when it does not pan out

[@aifungi]

"twitter being a hot mess" wow... really elaborate explanation of an idea... hmmm, I will take it as a fact then lol

[@Pigmentopia]

Very interesting thank you! The music is too distracting though 🌷

[@Inkwell]

sorry I edited this one on the road without a proper headset, I'll watch the volume next time.

[@Vegarcade]

Not sure if you've touched on this before but wondering what your opinion is on platforms that are scraping our artwork/images for ai. Do you advise "glazing" your artwork before posting, or can they tell and push down your posts? Do we even know? Haha. Do we just push on because it's so rampant at this point? This is my main conflict with posting lately.

[@KiloGraham]

These are so useful

[@Caligator89]

@14:32 honestly, I have to wonder if youre curating your follows at that point. im enjoying the discussion, but as a fellow creator on twitter, I do not find that im near as perturbed as many of my peers, simply by merit of me actually using the tools to filter keyphrases and removing people who post unpleasant things from my follows. the worst I have to deal with is some people accidentally posting AI slop occationally, and at that point I just learn to change out those people. I have aprox 900 folks on my follows and find my feed pleasant and entertaining-- I'm still also making money from my audience there, and doing alright for numbers. the bluesky push honestly feels like people are more desperate for something than theres much in the way of veritas or iron in the assertions of it being better. if I was to drop twitter today for BS, I'd be looking at tossing about 3k follows in the ditch after working very hard to earn what audience I do have.

[@RavenMoodle]

i love watching the TN for this change like three times /LH

[@MathiasZamecki]

great chat, but the music is anoying man.

[@Theguyoverthere603]

How dare you, Animal Crossing music is peak

[@EmoKitsuneDesigns]

Going to have to agree with the guy over there,

[@gnev.ritual]

what music?

[@bamb3928]

I think its a bit loud, it’s competing with their voices which....isn’t great.

[@SMOGTEETH]

I'm curious what you guys think of supporter sites like Patreon and Ko-Fi, if they help, or hurt, how to run them, how to exclusive content without alienating your clients/followers, etc.

[@milkman6218]

I think social media isn't gone just yet but things like instagram, you have to have gimmicks while showing your art. It's the epitome of circus and while I used to be a fan nowadays I stay away from it.

[@OwnyOne]

While still interesteing, I can't relate to a lot of stuff ya'll are talking about because I've never been successful lol

[@phillblake6829]

Never seen twitter as visual. More just rambling and gassing.

[@daisyd3w3491]

What's Bluesky's stance on AI?

[@FirstUsername]

They scrape. If you post on the Internet, it's scraped.

[@daisyd3w3491]

@FirstUsername oh man and you really can't opt out? :(

[@FirstUsername]

@daisyd3w3491 Nothing you post on the Internet is private. Not to mention, I could easily make AI of your art and upload it to Civitai as a model anyway. Happened to a guy I know.

[@koirena]

Threads just feels like twitter - it's so awful. All I see is made up stories or people complaining about things I don't care. Every time I'm on there I leave depressed.

[@yeoldegrayCat]

Bluesky looks like it's gonna be the same thing, basically pick your poison

[@keremgoart]

if you are artist and shadowbanned permanently on Xitter like it happened to me; it becomes even more useless. Just being there to promote your support becomes meaningless because no one sees your posts.

[@doreodonut]

Twitter bombards you with ads every 3 posts it’s impossible

[@sanglamart]

I never liked Twitter. Kinda glad it died

[@Inkwell]

In the ground! 🪦

[@Deee-yz9rj]

ya'll just gotta tell these kids that they suck at drawing and that they need to improve. i guarantee the majority of these students that are complaining are still in the sketchbook phase. just gotta tell em straight up

[@HikaTamika]

Wanted to say hashtags don't hurt at all, on BSky! There's no punishment for them really. They help get your posts into topic-based feeds that users can make based on anything they're interested in. The only way they could be a detriment is if there's some kind of viewer/scroller negative bias towards them, but I think BSky users, especially power users that have been there for a while, don't mind them.

[@Inkwell]

Good to know, thanks for the info!

[@3ngan498]

You should spend time to draw, not hacking on the algorithm to get engagement

[@ThePrimalOne]

Wait? Y'all get paid to use threads??! How sway?!??

[@aifungi]

dude.... "all of the artists left" ... NO they didn't trust me you're in a bubble

[@MMRFlierMan]

paid :^)

[@Evanrodge]

Guys TikTok is going to be banned for real, so I would not invest in that platform

[@luluflores1440]

The fact that you are saying “teiuttAr” instead of birb app is outrageous 😢 do better

[@Kahunacatto]

This is so true!!! Why no one is talking about this??? Freaking hypocrites

[@Inkwell]

@@luluflores1440 your so right, my apologies, I will work on my self

[@nicbarry884]

So you’ll engage for the money by pot stirring for reaction and then later say you just post your work and get away from the platform, hmm they say you can’t buy integrity so what will you spend your engagement money on?. stop fluffing you’ve already made yourself look like massive hypocrites with your own words, are you really this self unaware?, from the discomfort occasionally display throughout this I doubt it. 🤑🤮

[@j00bs]

the internet is no place to make money as an artist. the sooner people learn this the sooner they can stop feeling like they have to whine about social media

[@ennuiwolf]

Unfortunately social media is the only option if your local art scene isn't interested in what you're making. I create fantasy creature art, so lots of dragons, unicorns, fantasy wolves, big cats, wildlife, etc. There is no demand for this art in my country. Here, the demand is either for realistic portraits, or religious art, not a lot of interest in fantasy creature art. However, online I can find people interested in my art. I'm not the only one in this situation, and social media has allowed people to find audiences for their art they would not have found otherwise. It's why I support the search for a good social media alternative to the popular ones that have become pay-to-win now.

[@j00bs]

@@ennuiwolf the only benefit to social media is the possibility of exposure, but even then its not a platform that is optimized towards making sales. if you want to understand purchasing decisions from a consumer standpoint, you need to understand mimesis. in understanding this, you realize that in general no one wants to buy art from one person in a crowd of similarly skilled people. as artists we need to stand out from one another, not coallesce in some dingy internet space like clot factors forming a scab. when we all stand together next to each other we form a wall that normal people just dont care to peek over. you can either be great, or you can be like everyone else. there is no middle ground when it comes to art.

[@ennuiwolf]

@j00bs then what would options be for people who can't go to local art fairs (maybe their country/area doesn't have an art scene or, like me, make art that isn't in demand in their country)? It would really be of help to provide alternatives for artists in my or similar situations

[@j00bs]

@@ennuiwolf i think to make the judgment that your work doesnt suit the taste of your locale is the wrong attitude to have. the best of the best often got where they were by taking risks and being different - but ultimately by establishing a signature so solid you can tell what is theirs simply upon glance. it takes bravery to be a great artist - by not catering to your locale you risk stability, sure. but the opposite side of that coin is where the success lies. all these internet artists trying to make art into a stable career are not wrong for doing so, but they also often carry this ambition with them that will only lead to heartache because they cant see that their hopes are not served by the way they are marketing themselves. art was never a stable career and it never will be. the only ones who make careers out of it are the ones who stand out. but money should not be the main motivation for greatness, the passion for the craft should be. all else is secondary, even money. people who adopt this mentality are true artists, everyone else are just street peddlers. so to finally answer your question - admire other art/ beauty in life, learn from those things and apply to your own art, and make what you like. if no events or community around you , this is your opportunity to help be a pioneer in bringing those things to your region. but ultimately to want to be an artist is to take a huge risk. it always has been this way and likely always will

[@bamb3928]

@@j00bsI sort of disagree. Being online in some capacity is a good thing. I don’t think you need to be an amazing artist to get people to buy your art. I discovered a lot of artists I love online BECAUSE they follow each other/are in the same space online. I think there are advantages to standing together and supporting fellow artists instead of this mentality of being better than the person next to you. I think a hybrid approach is probably the best way to go. If you can go to local art markets, do it. But having an online presence, even just sharing what your working on, interacting with other artists or posting silly doodles gets eyes on the work you actually care about.

[@wavypeso]

Remember guys don’t give up!! The lamest art be getting hundreds of thousands of followers lmao I’m sure your art is cooler than a lot of these lames w lame ass generic art !! Keep creating gang!!!! Hard work beats talent always udigg gang

[@Nana-tl3hg]

moving to all the wokes are going? no thanks im good on twitter :P

[@aifungi]

the way you upload to twitter, like: "upload and close it out" as you say.... I do the SAME with bluesky lol. It's cool to have it but not important.

[@aifungi]

nope... only a minority are not on twitter... it's not many believe me. I am enjoying twitter especially for business. And I don't let myself get into rabbit holes of politics and stuff... I curate my homepage of the artists I like....and they are A LOT. way more than the people that left for bluesky.... you know why? Because they are not political martyrs and promoters of ideals... they are cool artists that want to keep to their communities and create cool art.

[@aifungi]

its not the "experience of people" was so bad on twitter.... its a minority that you belong to and you think its "the whole world" ... and it is... but its "your" world

[@aifungi]

no, now that you're on bluesky its just an echo chamber of people similar to you.... and you think that its a large number... and its not. Also, you had a pretty large audience before bluesky so of course you will grow there too.

[@aifungi]

of course you are in a protected bubble and can advocate to not use twitter...but artists that are starting out cant afford to leave out an opportunity to grow because of politics. Just curate your feed... its easy.

[@aifungi]

omg dude....twitter is dying? camon... please dont be an evangelist and lie to artists

[@lowbudgetmic]

Interesting 🧐 seminar among pro and or hobby visual artist 🧑‍🎨 professor artist alley inkwell 🥷😎🌎