What Drama or Effect I Want My Art to Do

The Upsides of Social Media

If yous're annihilation like me, yous probably have a honey/hate human relationship with social media. It can exist an astonishing tool with huge benefits, specifically for artists like u.s.. I use Instagram the most, and information technology's helped me in numerous ways:

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

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

The Downsides of Social Media

Instagram—and any other platform—can go 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 on to Instagram to browse "just for a minute", and suddenly an hour has gone by and I'm still staring down at my phone instead of drawing.

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

• New Comparisons: Seeing and so many new and amazing artists can frequently morph into the comparison game, leading me to believe my piece of work isn't good plenty.
• Bad Intentions: I tin draw something in my private sketchbook for the love of it, just if I draw something with the sole intention of posting information technology, the art can suffer. I begin creating piece of 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 cracking place for inspiration and connecting with like minds but if yous are not careful information technology can be highly addictive and derail you from why we're here in the first identify. I'm glad I've plant IG (sort of) and can say with certainty I've fallen in those pitfalls… merely I now consciously know that but even that withal takes free energy that could all used elsewhere."

Information technology'south not only Linda. And information technology's non just you or me. It's all of usa. We all struggle with how to play the game of social media and not lose our minds—and our art.

The Game of Social Media

Nosotros get so caught up in the game of social media, we start believing nosotros have to play by the rules given to united states. Instagram is built to concur your attention for as long as possible and take hold of your eyeballs as often as possible. They want you lot coming back once again and again, for longer and longer. They tell you in order to win this game, you just accept to post more, get more likes, and get more followers. The more you sign in, the more than yous mail service, the more you go, and the more you lot win.

More, more, more.

But I'chiliad not here to tell you to delete all your accounts, give up social media completely, and outset protesting the tech world. Social media can be beneficial to us artists, remember? I still want all those upsides!

The challenge is to keep the upsides, but get rid of the downsides. Nosotros can stop letting social media lure united states in and rule the game, and instead we can take charge. We tin can be in control. We can make our own rules.

And then I'd like to share my social media philosophy with you. It's non perfect, and I definitely even so slip-upwardly from time to time, but hopefully it can help y'all begin to take back control of your social media tools. Because remember, these are tools that we use—nosotros don't have to let them use us.

Brand Art for You, Not for Likes

Social media and I are already at odds on one major front: Social media does not like mistakes and imperfections. And I love mistakes and imperfections. Social media likes squeaky-clean-polished work, gallery-fix art, and magazine-photoshoot-ready desk shots. I similar wandering procedure work, quick doodles, and my desk is always a mess.

And so what do we exercise? Do we change our work to cater to the stranger-filled-mass of Instagram? Exercise we erase all the devious marks, clean up our desk, and obsess over photo editing every time nosotros post a cartoon? Do we change who nosotros are to win the social media game?

We can so hands get defenseless upwardly in the pursuit of pleasing others, and social media amplifies that trend. We begin to run into trends in what people like, and we begin to create for that random, ambiguous grouping of people, when we need to exist creating only for one person: ourself.

"Never play to the gallery. Never work for other people in what you lot exercise. Always call back that the reason you initially started working was there was something inside yourself that, if you could manifest it, you felt y'all would understand more about yourself. I think it'due south terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people's expectations." –David Bowie, musician

If you brownnose your art to getting likes, y'all'll probably find them. (Hot tip for the ladies: show some cleavage and I guarantee y'all'll get 500 likes instantly—it'southward easy! **puh-charter hear my voice dripping with sarcasm** ) If you cater to trends and popularity, you'll become the likes you wanted, simply you'll likewise terminate upwardly with fine art that doesn't feel like you. You'll experience empty and unfulfilled in your work, and your art will reflect that.

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

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

Allow me tell it to y'all direct: likes don't matter. I know it feels so much like they do, but trust me, having a bunch of likes won't make yous feel whatever improve almost your work.Your goal of what is an acceptable amount of likes volition just keep climbing higher and higher the more y'all go—information technology'due south a constantly moving, unachievable goal.

You call up you'll be satisfied and validated when yous get fifty likes a mail service. Then you determine information technology'southward 100. Then 500. Then you see that artist over in that location gets ii,000 likes on every drawing! Why tin't I get 2,000 likes on my drawings?! It never ends.

"A goal is something that goes away when you hit it. Once you lot've reached information technology, it'due south gone. You could always set some other i, but I just don't function in steps like that… I approach things continuously, non in stops. I just desire to keep going — whatever happens along the way is simply what happens." Jason Fried, author + CEO of Rework

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

People's opinions are weird and unpredictable. At that place's no sense or reason to cater your art to what you lot recollect other people like. You'll usually be wrong, and if you happen to be correct—cough, cleavage—it'll atomic number 82 you down an fifty-fifty worse path of inauthenticity and deep confusion in your fine art.

Nosotros tin can't control what other people retrieve of our work or how often they similar it on social media. We can but control how much effort, time, and thought we put into making our art. We can only command how much of ourselves we put into our art. We can just keep exploring, keep drawing, and keep sharing.

Do what yous take to do to make social media work for you. Find other outlets for sharing your work if you take to. I just desire you lot to make more fine art. And I want you to share your art, because I want to run into it.

When you make art you lot love, art that makes you happy to create, other people will see that, and they'll like it. And I hateful they'll really like it, not just tap an empty heart icon on a screen.

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

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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