i want to start this off by saying this blog post is aimed at artists in a similar situation as me: you don't make art to earn an income and you don't aim to do that in the future. if you make money off of your art, posting to social media is a pretty big component of that and you should absolutely keep doing that. i've been posting art online since 2010 and i still post on sites like instagram, twitter, tumblr, bluesky, youtube, etc... at the same time, posting to these sites has really damaged my relationship to my art because i ended up attaching my value as an artist to how much engagement i got.
i have conflicting feelings about the internets influence on my art. i probably would not be an artist today without the internet. i don't think ill ever stop posting my art fully, but i have changed how i post art and why. i don't endorse going fully offline and never posting anything you make ever again, but i do think we should all be a little more mindful about why we post art in the first place.
here's a few rules i try to follow when i post art that has improved my relationship with creating things.
i try not to make art i think will 'do well' anymore. i'm not being paid to cater to social media algorithms, so why should i create art for it for free? even if my instinct is right and something i post resonates with a lot of people, i feel a bit empty afterwards. my art is not being seen because its mine, its being seen because its an okay enough rendition of someone's favorite character. this may be a cynical view of todays online art spaces, but its really messed with how i value my work. i only post fanart now when i'm genuinely passionate about the characters or franchise, and that isn't often. i have side accounts for fanart i really like making that are removed from my overall social media presence. doing this has really repaired my relationship with my own art because i'm no longer making it for anyone else but me.
i try not to look at numbers. again, i'm not being paid to draw, so theres no reason to concern myself with this stuff. looking at how many numbers my art has done across platforms will only make me feel mildly anxious at best and extremely unmotivated at worst. my goal for my art is to keep making it, and anything that puts me at risk of not making art needs to be cut out entirely. i log out of my art accounts as soon as i post anything. if you've ever commented on my art and i've never responded, this is why!
i prioritize posting on sites i feel good posting on. for me, these are places like neocities, discord servers, tumblr and toyhouse. any engagement i get on these sites feels positive to me and any lack of engagement is rarely noticeable, therefore i can only get positive outcomes by posting. its a safe bet. the engagement i get especially on neocities is more meaningful to me than nearly anything ive received on other sites. if you've dropped me a message in my guestbook or a comment on my profile here, i really appreciate it.
if i want to receive engagement i show my art to my friends. this is such a no brainer but it honestly took me years to start doing. literally just send your art to your friends. if they're artists too ask to see their art. draw stuff for them too. its fun and you'll get more meaningful engagement with your art and you'll bond with your friends more.
i make self indulgent bullshit. guys... this is the ticket to loving art again... i have so much stuff i only show to a handful of people that has felt more fun to create than anything i've done in the last decade. sometimes i don't show my art to anyone at all. its just for me! i want to be someone who is still making art when i'm eighty. only making stuff you think other people would like to see is a very efficient way to burn yourself out and make you stop creating entirely. another very easy way to make you hate creating anything is posting stuff you love and, if you do not get the response you expect from other people, making that mean something about how good of an artist you are.
if we want to do anything creative over the long run i think we all have to realize that no external validation for our art will ever fully fuel us to make art, and if you try to rely on it as your only fuel (as i did for a long time, and still occasionally do), you will wreck your self esteem and motivation. its much better to figure out how you can like yourself and your art, even when nobody else sees it or likes it. its not easy, but you owe it to yourself to provide intrinstic value to the things you spend time on.
keep on making things, and have a beauuuutiful 2025!
