Social Media and the Effect on Art
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Justin Sweet |
There was a time when I wasn’t considered an old fart.
Seeing all these new social media popping up by the second, however, it ages me
like nothing else.
There was a time when forums were the full extent of how art
was being shown to the world. While I can’t speak for the super early internet
culture, I’ve lived through the late 90s and 2000s of endless Anime forums and
all its creative inhabitants eager to show off their latest creations. It was only until later when “hardcore” art
forums like Conceptart.org which really started pushing the envelope with
quality art, filtering art seen as weaker in favour of giving exposure to the
best of the best.
Social media came soon after. It gave rise to exposure
nothing like forums before. Whereas forums were confined to its community and
moderators, social media could garner fans from all facets of life without any
filters. Superstar artists, who used to only gain publicity based on mainstream
media exposure and work in major companies, could now appear if fans speak for
them.
There has never been another age where artists could be
independent as they could in this age. However, I will post my personal list of advantages and
disadvantages of using social media for art. I will admit that, as an old fart,
these opinions are based on what I felt were better in the past as well as what’s
better in the present.
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Dahliart |
Popularity of Styles
The most apparent effect of social media is the rise of
certain styles. With social media, there’s now a hard number on whether your
art resonates with people. There is a factor of not getting lucky given how
fast social media flies and arguably “using” social media better. Generally
speaking, I believe the cream always rises to the top. Whether this is a good
or bad thing is entirely up to the individual.
While I don’t have the exact stats, it’s fairly obvious some
styles dominate social media. Anime and Disney-esque styles are always
guaranteed to get more likes, and this is something that started even in the
forum lurking days.
A big part of it is I (personally) believe there are a lot
more teenagers using the internet and that’s mostly the target audience for
those types of styles. In fact, I can attest those styles are inspirational; I
started drawing and posted art early in my teens solely because of Anime.
Numerically, there’s just a massive population of people who would enjoy seeing
that stuff.
In contrast, there are a lot of styles which, while more
technical, do not get the same amount of likes and followers. This is
especially true for many professionals in major companies, who are incredible
but have a social media presence a fraction of some of the superstar
Anime artists. Just make a note of how many people even on art-centric
platforms like Artstation get more exposure for drawing big-eyed, chested girls than technical environments.
Keep in mind that I am not saying one style is better than
another. One thing I’ve noticed is some artists being too hard on themselves
for not getting likes and equating that to the quality of their art. This is
not the case. The reverse is true as well; do not get complacent if something
gets a ton of likes!
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Craig Mullins |
Quick and Flashy over Quality
As stated before, social media comes and goes very quickly.
What’s a safer strategy: taking the time to make a 200 hour masterpiece, or
creating quick digital paintings to constantly post on Instagram?
One thing I’ve noticed as digital painting came into
prominence is just how the process of art became faster. I feel social media
has fueled this approach. It’s just statistical fact that in order to grow your
social media platforms, you have to constantly remind people you exist!
If anybody has followed my tutorials, they’ll know I
absolutely favour GREAT paintings done over a long period of time over merely
acceptable paintings done quickly. This is especially true if you’re looking to
learn; why condition your muscles to do something bad consistently, but
quickly?
That’s not to say artists cannot do something quick AND great.
For improving your work, however, starving your piece due to time can destroy
any potential for pushing yourself.
One compromise I like is to post WIPs (“Work in Progresses”)
while taking the time to finish a grander piece. If I had my way, I would not
want artists to post anything but their absolute best. Posting for the sake of
posting is absolutely something I would never advise as an artist.
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Katsuya Terada |
Breaking the Vacuum
Now, let’s talk about something that social media really
helped.
The “vacuum” is a term people at Conceptart.org aptly
coined. It describes a situation where an artist doesn’t get exposed to outside
influences. Without professional standards, it’s easy to fall into the trap of
thinking they’re better than they actually are as there’s nothing to compare
to! In a hypothetical situation, an artist in the past didn’t have to lurk any
art forum.
Social media is incredible at exposing an ungodly amount of
art. It is almost impossible nowadays for anyone, barring a situation of not
using the internet, to not stumble upon professional work. With a click of the
mouse, you can sift through artwork from people all over the world, even if you’re
not on art-centric platforms.
There has been reports of Facebook users facing depression
due to the pressure of seeing other people’s lives. I certainly feel that way
when it comes to art as well. With the constant exposure to people who are
incredible artists, it’s hard not to be a bit resentful of not being on their
level. However, it is more likely you become inspired and know what you have to
do to achieve that level, leading to a higher caliber of skill.
I think it goes without saying while social media likes
doesn’t always indicate the top of the food chain, I do feel on average the
skill level of artists have gone up exponentially over time. Kids nowadays are
exposed to fantastic art and endless galleries of tutorials younger and
younger. Just look at video game art in the past; they’re ripe with mistakes
most teenagers would have been conditioned out of today!
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Akihiko Yoshida |
Rise of Memes, Fan Art and Lewd Art
To finish off this blog post, let
me make a note that there’s nothing wrong with memes, fan art and lewd art. I make those myself! I
do want to make a section to put the importance of branding as a priority.
All of the three types of art will
garner you views very quickly. Comedy through memes is a great retweet for
audiences. Fan art is more likely to be searched on Google than something
original. And, of course, lewd art is pretty self-explanatory.
It goes without saying these types
of art tend to spread like wildfire on the internet.
It’s entirely up to you on whether
you want to use these as tools for your brand. However, there comes a point
when if you do enough of any of these, you become branded and expected to
create these types of artwork. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing; with Patreon
and other avenues of income, it’s entirely possible to make a career out of it.
Lewd art is a legitimate art form in itself!
The important thing is to know
what your audience perceives you as. Ask yourself if you are okay with the
perception. Social media will often tell you, with likes, that they want more
of these types of artwork but, even for myself, it’s almost a cheap way to get
publicity no matter the quality of the art.
Don’t let the likes tell you what
you want to achieve as an artist. Always know what your end game is, even if
you do the occasional fan art. Treat it as good fun and advertisement at best!
Conclusion
As always, take these blog posts as a grain of salt. These
are my personal experiences and, as with art, everything comes down to
individual preferences and circumstances. The real lesson here is to remember
that social media is just a tool and don’t let it define who you are as an
artist. If you keep your head up high and know its boons and shortcomings, you
can use it efficiently in furthering your career.
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