How do you think an artist's username should be? + Help pls

[MGComics]

I'm going to blame FalseViper for this lol (JK you made me think about something important, Edit: changing the username is something important to think about, and you made me realize it)

But I have started to think that some nicknames are a bit unprofessional when starting the whole publishing/gaining an audience thing,

So everyone knows that you should have one unique name on all social media so people can follow and find you more easily. The best option to use the real name if it's actually cool (mine isn't tbh).

And that you should have an easy name to type and no numbers, right?

So mine is mg_art17 (well in this forum Idc) and I needed the number because mg_art was taken, but Idk If it's clear enough and think about changing it. I would maybe change it to mg_art_and_stories or mg_art_and_comics or something like that, but it seems a bit lame.

Mg comes from my name, and I don't really care if other things come to mind with this, like machine gun etc because the rest should come like "art" or to give a hint on what I/we do.

Can we help each other on giving feedback on the names or nicknames?

EDIT: Many people have been misunderstanding what I called unprofessional, realize in which sentence it's in please I meant unprofessional specially when it's something like rainbox69463, you know? Like lots of numbers that make it weird and when publishing, not only online but like a book. Sorry If I made you misunderstand.

[ashersz]

personally, your nickname doesnt need to specify what you do. your profile does that for you. Your nickname/username is just that... a nickname. Don't think of it as a requirement. My name has been my social handle forever and never thought to change it.

I also follow other artist who dont use what they do in their name but their profile speaks for them (ie. Loish). Just dont be restricted and also dont make it too long

[69Michi]

This is what I’m most in dilemma with honestly. My username is a joke back when I in DA and it just tagged with me since. But there have been reader expressed that my nickname made their thought my comic is smth indecent and it has put them back from giving it a try until now and how much they regretted it I never thought there would be the day my audience grew this big... so I honestly have been thinking about changing it for so long ahaha

[PaulDevers]

I don't know how important a username is in the long run, unless you want to create some sort of a brand in it.
Alternatively, if you enjoy going by your username instead of by your real name, it may be nice to really enjoy what that username is. I go by PaulsTower because it has a lot of sentimentality to me personally, even though my name is not Paul nor am I a tower.
I feel like having a good nickname is something you should do for yourself; almost a badge of honor you can wear. At least that's how usernames are to me, anyway.

[Chopythes]

Tbh, I use my nickname on everything but I also include my first name (Nelly) on stuff as well.
It's a short name and it goes nicely together with the things I do.

On some, mostly private accounts, I go by "NHWK", which are my initials (and it rhymes in Swedish too, so that's cool!).

But tbh, You don't need to have a unique name, as long as you have a name that people can recognize you with.

I know alot of people who has these really super common swedish names and last names and they've all been able to manage to make a name for themselves.

What I'm trying to say is:
You don't really need to have a unique and special name for people to remember you, as long as you're consistent with your name, whether it be the nickname or your real name.
You can include some of your initials if they're not taken, use numbers as a last resort due to them being hard to remember.

When you publish things you can include your handle on the "about me" page (irl or online) so that people know where to find you online.

Also, my handle doesn't really represent what I do xD
It's just... A dumb thing I came up with and sometimes I regret not going by my old handle (NellyOnly) because nobody seems to be able to pronounce Chopythes xD

[LCT_m_a_d]

I use LCT-Comics as "Let's Create Together". A lot of my improvement came from advice and feedback from readers of earlier versions of my series. My motivation to continue to work came from local creators that I backed and supported. I tend to treat them as part of the production team. So in a way we came up with this work together. Its also a reminder to myself that I don't make comics for myself. To me the name is both practical and personal.

[KoreanTacos]

Personally I follow a lot of artists/creators with unique pen names. It's an extension of their personality and how it effects their work. A person with a silly name doesn't come off as unprofessional, but as someone who has fun with what they do. My name is something that has stuck with me since I was young, as it's a part of who I am both culturally and personal taste. I mean it's great if you know the artists name, and there's nothing wrong with being professional about your name, I just don't see an issue with it unless it's a name like FetuseaterFridays69 or something.

[ryoko]

This is kind of an interesting question. With so much art being consumed in the digital realm now, having a unique handle online can make it easier for people to find your work through Google and other social platforms. My own last name is very, very rare, but the one person who has the identical real name to me is also an artist, although she's a fashion designer in Australia and we are actually distantly related. For everything I do online art wise, I use WNQS (Winged Neo Queen Serenity). My name on the forums here is different because I log in with my Google account ^_^;...

I agree with those above that as long as you consistently use a specific user name when posting your art/comic is more important than it being unique. Using your initials like you in combination with something to do with art is fine I think. Naming ourselves is so personal, but it can be the hardest thing to do, eh? ^_^;

[SteamTK]

I honestly use 2-3 nicknames interchangeably and all three refer to my online/artist persona. They're all great names to me for different reasons, and not one of them is even remotely close to my real name. With these names I don't feel as... shackled, I guess, by what my name is, and who and what I am. With these names I'm free to be whoever I want to be, and whatever my fans make of me. Am I a guy? A girl? A lobster? Do I actually have a screw sticking out of my head? No one will ever know. I like the mystery of it. I can't change my name in real life (not easily anyway, but I wouldn't all the same), but online and in the art community I like that I can choose a name I feel reflects me more.
In summary, do what you're comfortable with. Do what makes you happy.

[MGComics]

Sorry If It was seen that way, I guess I try to imagine how a social handle is seen both on social media where it really doesn't matter much and also If your own comic book is printed, how you were gonna name it as well or something.
For example Loish sounds nice because it even seems like a name. I guess that's the perspective lol

As you say, there are really no rules on social media" In fact I loved your nickname XD

[joannekwan]

I mostly use my real name for my art, though I do play around with my initials JRK (pronounced "jerk") and have that for my blog titles (jrked up art/jrking around) and instagram name (jrkingart). Though I avoid using it too much since I don't want people to think I'm a jerk.

For my gamer tag, right now I use TheKwandry for all my gaming accounts. I like it because 1. it's gender neutral 2. it's a pun on my last name and 3. it's not tied to some aspect that I might grow out of eventually.

I'll expound on the last point. When I was younger and on sites such as neopets, gaia, and deviantart, I played with a bunch of different usernames. I had multiple on neopets since I had more than one account. One of them was "petitewyvern" but now I've literally outgrown it. I'm not petite in stature and I'm not as into dragons as I once was. I have a few other usernames from back in the day, but I only use them for personal accounts out of nostalgia.

[sarrowsmith10]

I would say that you want a username or handle to be something people can easily recognize as you and is easy to remember if they want to search for you. Mine happens to be my last name, but something like @KoreanTacos is easy to remember and I can easily associate that handle with their profile. @mgart1937 in the form its currently in is just a bunch of letters and numbers to me. MG_art_stories seems a little bit better in this regard. Just something to think about.

EDIT: My handle on the forums is a bit of a mystery to me as Tapas automatically made it match my email address that I use to log in. I didn't get a chance to actually choose a username. But everywhere else, facebook, twitter, etc. It's LadyArrowsmith.

[KSlinger]

How about just MGComics? I'd find that easier to remember than your current one, and it contains all the relevant info. Easy to read, easy to write.

ScampiCub has been a handle of mine for about 13 years now since the cringey deviantArt days. I kept it purely out of habit (and because my little sister liked it) but it has no meaning at all. it's easy to remember and I suppose that's all that matters. For anything important (business related, like Patreon of Ko-Fi) I use my real name. Most people online know me as Kate.

Slinger would make a fine username but it's ALWAYS taken. KJSlinger is fine too, but by now ScampiCub has stuck so, wevs.

I agree, though, some nicknames sound a bit unprofessional. Then again, 99% of people in and outside the industry understand we need to go with a more unusual tag sometimes, especially if your name is common. I see plenty of professionals with jokey nicknames. Just avoid anything outrageous and offensive and it won't be a big deal.

[TheFalseVyper]

I'm not too sure if you're saying "The False Vyper" is unprofessional or my old one was lol

Either way, I know I chose to change my name because the old one was a random nickname my friends gave me when we were 15-16, and as I'm starting to take my artwork more seriously, I realized that I wanted to have a name that was easy to remember, and "better fitting" with the tone of my content.

I also knew that I needed to finalize it soon because I want my name to become recognizable! Changing it over and over again loses its value.

Pro Tip: I legitimately found a random adjective generator online and came up with the word "False". I just stuck that bad boy in front of my gamer tag name to create "The False Vyper".

[KoreanTacos]

Gotta love these pen name origin stories.

[MGComics]

Oh no!! As you could see, me telling you thank you for made me realize that a nickename, username is important and me talking about my nickname being unprofessional is not even in the same sentence

What I meant is that since you posted deciding about your username, you made me think about changing mine. That's why I said it!

I actually liked yours, as I said in a previous post that you posted lol sorry for my english

Tbh I didn't redact well that I was imagining both a handle in social media and publishing a comic book at the same time. And felt me being kinda like publishing a serious book or something by "mg_art17" having the numbers and like a social media handle didn't fit. Sorry for making you all misunderstand that!

[MGComics]

Thank you for the suggestion!

I like ScampiCub, it has a nice ring to it As you say! It's easy to remember <3 I think that's the most important thing, me having a number was against that , because people remember numbers is annoying for them.

Love the name Kate, many stories I have created have your name XD

Tbh I didn't redact well that I was imagining both a handle in social media and publishing a comic book at the same time. And felt me being kinda like publishing a serious book or something by "mg_art17" having the numbers and like a social media handle didn't fit. Sorry for making you all misunderstand that!

Loved your feedback, really thanks!

[MGComics]

Yep! mg_art is much better, but should find something else.
Yep in the forum it's automatic! Like the part before the @ (It's actually very simple to code that, probably that's why Tapas did it)

Thank you for your feedback!

KoreanTacos is super good XD

[MGComics]

That I think it's the best thing! Because If one day you publish a comic book or something people on social media know who you are as well!

To publish a comic book by "mg_art17" doesn't sound professional, though.. I will explain!

Tbh I didn't redact well that I was imagining both a handle in social media and publishing a comic book at the same time. And felt me being kinda like publishing a serious book or something by "mg_art17" having the numbers and like a social media handle didn't fit. Sorry for making you all misunderstand that!

[TheFalseVyper]

Lol it's all good! I was only teasing anyway

One thing you can consider doing is capitalizing and putting a period between your initials - M.G.

I think it looks professional and you can add other words to it more easily and it'll still make your name look clear and easy to remember.

For example: M.G. the Artist, or M.G. Comics

Those are just some suggestions, take from it what you will! I hope it helps