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The Upsides of Social Media

If you're anything like me, you probably have a love/detest human relationship with social media. It can be an amazing tool with huge benefits, specifically for artists like us. I apply Instagram the most, and it's helped me in numerous ways:

• Improved Productivity: I depict something every day and post it on Instagram.
• Accountability: I'k more likely to post a drawing each day (and thereforemake a drawing every day ) knowing that I've committed to information technology publicly on Instagram.
• New Connections: I've met amazing artists from effectually the earth 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 make more art.

Overall, I call back we're lucky to have this method of connecting with other artists around the world. Imagine how tiny our artistic world would be without information technology! But the benefits of social media tin quickly dissolve and gave fashion to the darker side of social media.

The Downsides of Social Media

Instagram—and any other platform—tin can go a harmful, stressful, and stifling infinite for artists with detrimental effects to our fine art. Every bit much as Instagram has helped me, it's as well hurt me:

• Decreased Productivity: I go on to Instagram to browse "just for a infinitesimal", and of a sudden an hour has gone by and I'm still staring downwardly at my telephone instead of drawing.

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

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

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

"Information technology could exist but me… Instagram is a cracking place for inspiration and connecting with like minds but if y'all are not careful information technology can be highly addictive and derail you from why we're here in the first place. I'thou glad I've found IG (sort of) and tin can say with certainty I've fallen in those pitfalls… but I now consciously know that but fifty-fifty that still takes energy that could all used elsewhere."

It's not just Linda. And information technology's non simply you or me. It's all of united states. 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

We get so defenseless up in the game of social media, we start believing we accept to play past the rules given to u.s.a.. Instagram is built to concord your attention for equally long equally possible and catch your eyeballs as often as possible. They want you coming back again and again, for longer and longer. They tell yous in order to win this game, you but take to post more, get more likes, and go more than followers. The more than you sign in, the more you lot mail service, the more than yous get, and the more you win.

More, more, more.

Just I'm not hither to tell you to delete all your accounts, surrender social media completely, and start protesting the tech world. Social media can be beneficial to u.s.a. artists, remember? I still desire all those upsides!

The challenge is to go on the upsides, just become rid of the downsides. Nosotros tin can stop letting social media lure u.s. in and rule the game, and instead we can take charge. We can be in command. We can make our own rules.

And so I'd like to share my social media philosophy with you. It's non perfect, and I definitely all the same sideslip-up from fourth dimension to time, but hopefully it can aid y'all brainstorm to take back control of your social media tools. Because remember, these are tools that we apply—we don't have to permit them use united states.

Make Fine art for You, Not for Likes

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

And then what do nosotros exercise? Practise nosotros alter our work to cater to the stranger-filled-mass of Instagram? Do we erase all the stray marks, clean upwards our desk, and obsess over photo editing every fourth dimension we post a drawing? Do we modify who nosotros are to win the social media game?

We tin so easily get caught up in the pursuit of pleasing others, and social media amplifies that tendency. We begin to encounter trends in what people like, and we brainstorm to create for that random, ambiguous grouping of people, when we need to be creating only for ane person: ourself.

"Never play to the gallery. Never piece of work for other people in what you do. Always call up that the reason you initially started working was there was something inside yourself that, if you could manifest information technology, y'all felt y'all would sympathise more about yourself. I think information technology's terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people's expectations." –David Bowie, musician

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

Alternatively, if you create the art you want, and you like, and that feels most similar you lot , you may or may not get 500 likes. Just which is more important in the long run? Finding your voice and making art you're truly proud of? Or finding a horde of 15,000 strangers who intendance about piece of work y'all don't intendance near?

Perhaps y'all're thinking at present: 'well that'due south easy for Christine to say, she has about 2,000 followers and regularly gets 100 likes on her piece of work.' But to me honest, that's all new to me just within the final vi months. I saturday at ~200 followers for years, and I honestly don't really know what happened lately to alter that. I've been posting my piece of work regularly on Instagram since 2013 and information technology's taken this long to get more than 2-3 likes on a post—including my mom.

Let me tell it to you straight: likes don't matter. I know it feels so much like they practice, merely trust me, having a bunch of likes won't brand you feel whatsoever ameliorate well-nigh your work.Your goal of what is an acceptable amount of likes will merely keep climbing higher and higher the more yous become—information technology's a constantly moving, unachievable goal.

You think you'll exist satisfied and validated when you lot go 50 likes a post. Then you determine it's 100. And then 500. Then you see that artist over there gets ii,000 likes on every drawing! Why can't I become 2,000 likes on my drawings?! It never ends.

"A goal is something that goes away when y'all hit it. Once yous've reached information technology, it's gone. You could always gear up another 1, simply I merely don't function in steps like that… I approach things continuously, not in stops. I just want to keep going — whatever happens along the mode is just what happens." Jason Fried, author + CEO of Rework

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

People's opinions are weird and unpredictable. There'due south no sense or reason to cater your fine art to what you think other people like. You'll usually be wrong, and if you happen to exist right—coughing, cleavage—it'll lead you down an even worse path of inauthenticity and deep defoliation in your fine art.

We can't command what other people retrieve of our work or how ofttimes they like it on social media. We can only control how much effort, fourth dimension, and idea nosotros put into making our art. We can just control how much of ourselves we put into our fine art. We tin can only keep exploring, keep drawing, and go on sharing.

Exercise what you have to do to make social media work for you lot. Find other outlets for sharing your work if y'all have to. I only want you to brand more than art. And I want you to share your art, considering I want to run across information technology.

When you lot brand art you love, art that makes yous happy to create, other people volition see that, and they'll like it. And I mean they'll actually like it, not simply tap an empty heart icon on a screen.

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