Pros Vs Cons of Overrated Vs Underrated Art Artists

The Upsides of Social Media

If you're annihilation similar me, yous probably have a love/hate human relationship with social media. It can be an astonishing tool with huge benefits, specifically for artists like us. I use Instagram the well-nigh, and it'southward helped me in numerous ways:

• Improved Productivity: I depict something every day and mail service it on Instagram.
• Accountability: I'thou more likely to post a drawing each 24-hour interval (and thereforebrand a cartoon every day ) knowing that I've committed to it publicly on Instagram.
• New Connections: I've met amazing artists from around the world through Instagram.
• Inspiration: I see inspiring work created by other artists on Instagram, and it gives me ideas, influences me, and drives me to make more art.

Overall, I think we're lucky to have this method of connecting with other artists around the world. Imagine how tiny our artistic world would exist without information technology! But the benefits of social media can quickly deliquesce and gave way to the darker side of social media.

The Downsides of Social Media

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

• Decreased Productivity: I go along to Instagram to browse "merely for a infinitesimal", and suddenly an hour has gone by and I'm still staring downward at my phone instead of drawing.

• Pressure to Perform: Knowing I should post my work adds extra pressure level to non simply the act of drawing, but also in what I choose to describe, and I can autumn into the trap of wanting external validation.

• New Comparisons: Seeing so many new and amazing artists tin oft morph into the comparison game, leading me to believe my work isn't skilful plenty.
• Bad Intentions: I can draw something in my private sketchbook for the love of information technology, just if I draw something with the sole intention of posting information technology, the art tin endure. I begin creating work for others, instead of for myself.

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

"It could be only me… Instagram is a great place for inspiration and connecting with like minds but if you are non conscientious it tin be highly addictive and derail you from why nosotros're hither in the first place. I'm glad I've found IG (sort of) and can say with certainty I've fallen in those pitfalls… but I now consciously know that but even that still takes energy that could all used elsewhere."

It's not but Linda. And it'southward not just you or me. Information technology'due south all of united states. Nosotros all struggle with how to play the game of social media and non lose our minds—and our fine art.

The Game of Social Media

We get so caught up in the game of social media, nosotros start assertive we have to play by the rules given to the states. Instagram is built to hold your attention for as long every bit possible and take hold of your eyeballs as oft as possible. They want you coming dorsum over again and again, for longer and longer. They tell you in society to win this game, you lot merely accept to postal service more, become more likes, and get more followers. The more you sign in, the more than you post, the more than you get, and the more you win.

More, more than, more than.

But I'm non here to tell you to delete all your accounts, give up social media completely, and start protesting the tech world. Social media can be benign to united states of america artists, think? I still want all those upsides!

The challenge is to keep the upsides, but get rid of the downsides. We can stop letting social media lure u.s.a. in and dominion the game, and instead we tin can accept charge. We can be in command. We tin can make our ain rules.

Then I'd like to share my social media philosophy with you lot. It'south not perfect, and I definitely nonetheless slip-up from time to time, but hopefully it tin can assistance you brainstorm to take back control of your social media tools. Because remember, these are tools that we use—we don't accept to let them use us.

Brand Fine art for You, Non for Likes

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

So what practise we do? Do nosotros change our work to cater to the stranger-filled-mass of Instagram? Do we erase all the stray marks, clean up our desk, and obsess over photo editing every time we postal service a drawing? Do we change who we are to win the social media game?

We can so easily get caught up in the pursuit of pleasing others, and social media amplifies that tendency. We brainstorm to see trends in what people like, and we begin to create for that random, ambiguous group of people, when we need to be creating simply for 1 person: ourself.

"Never play to the gallery. Never work for other people in what yous practice. Ever think that the reason yous initially started working was there was something inside yourself that, if you could manifest it, yous felt you would understand more about yourself. I think it'southward terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people's expectations." –David Bowie, musician

If you lot pander your art to getting likes, you'll probably detect them. (Hot tip for the ladies: show some cleavage and I guarantee you'll become 500 likes instantly—it's easy! **puh-charter hear my vox dripping with sarcasm** ) If y'all cater to trends and popularity, you'll get the likes yous wanted, but you'll also end up with art that doesn't feel like yous. You'll feel empty and unfulfilled in your work, and your art will reflect that.

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

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

Allow me tell information technology to you direct: likes don't matter. I know it feels so much similar they do, just trust me, having a bunch of likes won't make yous feel any better nigh your work.Your goal of what is an acceptable corporeality of likes will just keep climbing higher and higher the more you go—it'south a constantly moving, unachievable goal.

You think y'all'll be satisfied and validated when you get l likes a post. So you decide information technology's 100. Then 500. And so you come across that artist over there gets 2,000 likes on every cartoon! Why can't I get ii,000 likes on my drawings?! Information technology never ends.

"A goal is something that goes away when you hit it. In one case y'all've reached information technology, it'due south gone. You could always ready another one, but I merely don't part in steps like that… I approach things continuously, non in stops. I just desire to keep going — whatever happens forth the mode is just what happens." Jason Fried, author + CEO of Rework

And gauge what—it makes no sense what people like, and it'southward close to incommunicable to anticipate! (Likewise, cleavage and puppies. Those are solid bets.) Sometimes I'll spend 2 hours on a drawing, think it's amazing, post it, and… crickets. It gets 15 likes. Other times, I'll spend literally 2 seconds on a drawing, recollect information technology's terrible, post it, and… out come the cheers and hooplas and 100 likes! What gives?! That thing was terrible!

People's opinions are weird and unpredictable. There'south no sense or reason to cater your art to what you retrieve other people like. You'll unremarkably be wrong, and if yous happen to be right—cough, cleavage—it'll lead you down an even worse path of inauthenticity and deep confusion in your art.

Nosotros can't control what other people think of our work or how often they like it on social media. We can only control how much attempt, time, and thought we put into making our art. We can only control how much of ourselves we put into our art. We can just keep exploring, go on drawing, and keep sharing.

Do what you have to do to make social media piece of work for y'all. Find other outlets for sharing your piece of work if yous take to. I merely want you to brand more fine art. And I want you to share your art, because I want to see it.

When you make fine art y'all honey, fine art that makes you happy to create, other people will run across that, and they'll similar it. And I mean they'll really like information technology, not just tap an empty heart icon on a screen.

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

And that's the only like that matters.

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

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