4 quick tips on building an audience!

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Continuing my "4 quick tips" series!
I know that a lot of people wants to have a big following but are frustrated that they aren't where they want to be so I hope to help all of you who can recognize yourselves in this!
And of course a lot of these things are based on this community but may work elsewhere too!

But first you need to let go.
You have to be in the correct mindset. You have to be somewhat of an entrepreneur and before you can be that, you have to realize a couple of things. First off, set up realistic goals, goals that you have control over. You don't have any control over the actions of other people, so don't set up goals such as "I want to gain this many followers in this amount of time".
Be grateful for what you get and know that you aren't defined by your "popularity". The point of doing art is because it's your passion and of course everyone wants validation but that should be a thing on the side.
If you are fixated with the idea of gaining a big audience for the sake of it, you will never be satisfied, so let go of it. Because as said, you can't control the actions of other people, you can only control your own.
Having that down, here are a couple of things that YOU can do and HAVE control of! Let's get to the technical stuff!

Take advantage of your profile and your avatar
Customize your profile! Investing in a core membership makes this even easier but of course you can do without it! Make sure that you show your own art on your profile. This way people might get intrigued to check your gallery out and perhaps even stay for your future projects! So make sure to pick some of your best pieces that also best represents your entire gallery.
As for your icon, design it on your own. Your icon also represents your work, people will actually check you out solely based on your icon in some cases, I know I've done that before to other people!
So make yourself a pretty icon and be sure it reads well small!

Your following isn't just a number, they are real people
Respond to them! Thank them for their comments and interact with them!
As an artist on social media, you are entertaining an audience just like a comedian is when he is on stage. This isn't about you and what your audience gives you, it's about your audience and what you give them. They aren't there to constantly give you validation to help your self doubt, they are there to be entertained in some way! They are there because your art gives them something, so figure out what you want to give! Let the lesson of "Life is about what you give, not what you get" really sink in. In my case I want to provide an escape from reality, I'm often seen doing quite light hearted pieces, sometimes calming, sometimes more exciting, I try to provide some kind of visible story or situation. My art, when it's shared with others, is about what my viewer feels about it and if they felt something for just second, I've succeeded with my piece.

You get what you give, round 2
Deviantart is a community and you really can't expect to get faves and comments and llamas and watchers if you don't give it first. Make deviantart the community you want to be in! Comment on other people's artwork! And if you think about it, when you comment on someone else's stuff you put your icon and your name on it, possibly attracting someone with your icon picture like previously explained so there you go hah!
But in all honesty, comments are great! I comment a lot on recent drawings in my own category (animal art) just to spread positivity and encouragement to other people, especially beginner artists. It's a bit sad how many pieces that don't get any kind of response at all when all of them deserves at least a "good job!". So, I guess join me and spread the love!

Lastly,


Let's get real, you need to step up your work
In the end, your current skills will only get you so far. Get better and your art will become more appealing, and in the end that's what matters the most on an art sharing website. Don't make your development about gaining a following though, just keep practising and get better for the sake of being better at art! And it doesn't matter at what level you are, improvement has no limit! So take your time and practice! It's also important to let people see your work so join a couple of groups and submit there!
Bonus tip: Be frequent with your submissions if you are able! Although make sure that your work has quality and isn't just a sketch you threw together just to upload it. Also, don't be too frequent. Posting everyday will have your submissions pile up in your watchers inboxes and a lot of people will dismiss the entire pile without looking at it, so find a good consistency!

I hope this was helpful! and it seems I've made these journals an official thing now so here are the two previous ones:
4 quick tips on taking commissionsSince I got the feeling that you guys liked my 4 short tips for better (digital) drawing journal, I felt like doing another one like it! This one might be a bit more directed at beginner commission takers, but I hope some things are of help to the more experienced too!
How to price your art
In the beginning it might be pretty hard to price your art. There are two things you need to know; 1. How long does this kind of image take? 2. What quality does my work hold?
Yes, we need to face the harsh question; how good are you? If you are a beginner to average artist in general, maybe you should start with something like 3-5$/h. If you get no clients you can lower the price a little, if you get lots of clients on the other hand you can higher it. However an important note is to never under price your work.
Underpricing is not only bad for your own wallet and reputation, i
4 quick tips for better (digital) drawing-and I guess some stuff does apply in general art too.
Hello you all! This is kind of an impulsive journal that I'm just kind of writing from the top of my head but I wanted to share some stuff I wish I would have known three years ago!
Clipping masks/groups
A clipping mask is a layer that will only draw onto what you did on the layer under it. It's perfect for shading, as an example, instead of selecting the area again, you can just add a clipping mask and draw on top of it!
Make a layer a clipping mask by, in photoshop, right clicking the layer and and there should be an option saying something like "make this layer a clipping mask", for SAI right above the layer box there are three check boxes one saying clipping group. Check it!
Draw big!
Starting out as a digital artist I've seen a lot of cases where people will draw on very small canvases and perhaps it's not too important in the starting out stage but if you want to keep going digital, you'll need to increas

Feel free to suggest topics if you feel like it! I hope this journal was helpful to some degree!
© 2017 - 2024 ImaginaryRat
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DrawingSpaceKat's avatar
Thank you for the tips! They are very helpful.