Nov 2020
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Nov 2020
Nov 2020
darthmongoose
Nov '20

Making fan art may not be necessary if you can do art and other posts around a specific interest or community. For example, people who make original furry art, original illustrations of diverse characters not often represented in media (like say... black characters, south Asian characters, characters with disabilities or older characters as examples), LGBTQIA+, or even just relating to a specific hobby, like say illustrations based around rock climbing or original tabletop RPG characters etc.

I have a lot of friends who have found success through making work about one of their interests or areas of knowledge or experience outside of art, whether it's illustrations that show a historically accurate reconstruction of viking clothing, comics explaining the autism spectrum, or cute drawings of leopard geckos.

The other thing I'd advise is to reach out to other people on your level, give them encouragement and grow with them. It's a good way to make lifelong friends!

HGohwell
Nov '20

This sorta thing is a really good way to go about it. There's floofyfluff on twitter who's most known for the kawaii sharks but does all sorts of adorable animals and great illustrations. I got a reasonable amount of notice for my LGBT+ frogs sticker collection after a con (wow cons feel like forever ago don't they) because I think frogs are cute and apparently so did lots of others. Finding a niche can be a really good way of introducing people to your art.

byelacey
Nov '20

unfortunately the one thing you can't do, despite your best efforts, is make people care about your work. what you can do though, is show your passion for your work! love your own content the loudest, and people will see that, and think "hey, maybe this is worth checking out".

because like @Lunar-Turtle said above, no one wants to hear people put themselves down. if you don't like the work you're putting out right now, that's valid and fine. but you also don't have to say it out loud :wink:

LCT_m_a_d
Nov '20
Van

What makes you say that?

domisotto
Nov '20
Van

If you live for acceptance, you will die from rejection.

It doesn’t matter what art we do, we all chase the same thing: to produce something that will make them to check it out and then not look away, no matter who or what you are.

There is really no other way

malwdark
Nov '20

Work on your art first, work on your reach when you're proud of your art.
There's no need to expose yourself on the internet if you don't feel confident yet.

Lunar-Turtle
Nov '20
Van

I think I can give you an advice on art, not really on how to draw better, but how to create better. You see, I noticed over the years that artists look at their own art with different view than other people. We like our art, because it was made in our minds, but what if you imagine you never saw it before and never heard of it. Try to look at your art as total stranger and ask yourself: Would I want to read this thing? Would I like what I see? When you do this, it gives you a different perspective and you start to see your work in different light, many times it helps to identify what's wrong with it.

If you want to attract people, create somethign they want to be part of. For example, I created my world with mindset that it should feel welcoming The art should look nice, colorful and there are many things for people to discover. I wanted them to feel like: WOW, I would like to make a character and walk around in that world, because there is so much to explore.

Now, can you imagine doing that with your comic and art? Is there soemthing that attracts people and makes them curious? Try to think this way and remember when you became a fan of somethign that already exists, like tv show, game, comics, anything. Something made you a fan and that something keeps you there. I think this is soemthing that is very important for comic making, because it gives people reason to engage and be interested in your work. Remember, you create art not only for yourself, but also other people.

Van
Nov '20

I want to smooch most of my characters, that's a good point I think :thinking:

FritzC
Nov '20

My 2¢ are an audience doesn't come before some sort of established narrative for a comic unless your art attracts people in itself. Most people only grow a larger audience after years of posting regularly because they like and are driven to create out of love for the medium. I was posting on tapas for 3 years before I passed 250 subs, and found my niche.

migxmeg
Nov '20
FritzC

Yep, 100% agree with you - I think if your response to "this will probably take years" isn't BRING IT ON :heart_01:, it's probably time to rethink what you want to get out of art/comics.

MeltingCORE
Nov '20

This can be tricky so I'm just going to share what I personally did. I definitely have a niche (alien invasion/cyberpunk + dystopia all in manga style) which I refuse to give up. Writing and drawing these kinds of stories is what makes me happy. :heartbeat: Over the years I've found that people who are really interested in my work tend to also be interested in gothic things, horror, paranormal, series with heavy world building, etc. So, I market myself using those tags. (ie "gothic manga" "alien world" "world building" etc.) I also have a schedule for my novel (once a month) and a schedule for new art/videos (tri-weekly for art/once a week for videos).

I've found that having a schedule, marketing myself, and not giving up what makes me feel passionate has helped me garner an actual readerbase. :heartbeat:

KaseyTheGolden
Nov '20

I would definitely recommend trying more social media than you listed in your original post! A lot of people hate on twitter and instagram, but honestly I've found so many artists from those platforms.

Sadly, fanart is a huge way to get found, but I've also noticed hashtags and "memes" are a GREAT way to find new artists as well. Always jump on the latest fad like #DrawThisInYourStyle or #MeetTheArtist or #CartoonMe or literally any art meme that makes its rounds!

And just as others said, it's going to take years. No one builds a community in a week. You have to enjoy it, not just want it. :slight_smile:

FritzC
Nov '20

To build on this (the post above) , social media is a super good way to get found, use hashtag for example when I update (#webcomic and variations of it) and join communities, on twitter I'm on a list of webcomic artists, I'm also in some discord groups and have a discord for my own comic.
And try to reach out and communicate with the readers you already have, offer a Q&A, draw an inside joke for your comic. I recently made stickers for a milestone celebration so readers can have something cool to put on their laptops if they like the comic... You know... Just create and communicate

DokiDokiTsuna
Nov '20

I have no right to give advice on this, but if you want to grow a following based on OC's, here's some stuff that I've seen working for others:

1) A unique and consistent art style will help people recognize and find you even if they don't know who your characters are. Stylized art that fits into specific aesthetics, rather than generic art that doesn't say anything in particular, is the way to go.

2) Use your OC's and build narratives around them. Draw mini comics, or art that features them interacting and emoting. If you give them a clear personality/hobbies/interests, there's a higher chance that viewers will connect with them (and beg for more~).

3) MEME. You know how every once in a while an art meme goes around, like the 'strawberry dress'? If you come across one you like, put your OC's in it; make them participate! It's the next best thing to drawing fan art~

ButterflyEmpress
Nov '20

Although I don't have that big of a following, I noticed that I receive more attention when doing current art challenges/contests. What happens is people look up the recent entries, like a bunch of them, see yours, and then check out your gallery if they like what they see.

Because of that, I have more likes on my dtiys posts than my original stuff. And the original content I have that's gotten a ton of likes were a part of OC_Tober.

As for fan art, I don't think just drawing recognizable characters is really enough. You'll have to take into consideration relevance and popularity. Like a new anime that's popular now or a well known tv show that's hit an anniversary milestone. But I'd only do it if I like said property which it'd make it feel less like homework.

And like @DokiDokiTsuna said, definitely jump on those memes. Unfortunately they're random and can pop up whenever. I wish I did the strawberry dress while it was still a thing.

amortelito
Nov '20
1
Van

It's okay to have self doubt! Confidence and pride is something that you can BUILD. If you think you can do a better work then you can work on that. But that doesn't mean you have to trash your art or yourself.

You can start switching the dialogue.

-I suck, I know it. :arrow_lower_right:️
-It's not perfect, I know but I will do better next time! :arrow_lower_right:️
-it looks better than I thought. :arrow_lower_right:️
-I'm proud of how this turned out! :tada:

You can make your followers to feel like a part of your growth.

Most of us weren't born super talented or confident, that's something we are constantly working on.

Good luck with your art!

rajillustration
Nov '20

I mean if you want to focus on original stuff, then focus on original stuff. Speaking as someone who has slaved away making hollow fanart for years--you don't want to get burned out on the art memes and the fanart. Like I am personally so burned by it haha so I've just been doing original stuff right now and that's been really freeing and my followers are fine with it. I'm fine with it. I'm honestly at peace with my follower count right now, because it's a different job entirely to be a social media star than it is to be an artist. It's a full time job to be an influencer. You just don't have time to do it usaully, and so it's OK if your numbers aren't that of an influencer.

So I feel like dedicated fans are what happens when you're busy trying to do something else. When you're busy trying to improve your skills so your stories look better. Because when we do memey stuff that helps gain followers, it isn't necessarily related to the artist we eventually want to be. If I were to do an animatic, for instance--yes it would get a lot of notes, but it's unrelated to my long term goals. If I did a lot of fanart--it COULD be related, if I made it match the type of jobs I want eventually. So when choosing trends to draw (because that can be a great way to get followers, I don't want to make it sound like you should never do fanart because it can still be a great tool), make sure that it's true to what you want to do, and then it won't feel hollow. It won't feel like such a chore.

But when I do all sorts of art in many directions, it confuses my audience. When I'm chasing that meme or chasing that new platform and just throwing art at the wall (and I did daily art for over a year and let me tell you...it didn't matter. Algorithm didn't care) my viewers can tell that I've lost focus, and I lose followers.

So I think focus is really key to not only your own growth as an artist and who you want to be, but also as a way to make a fun and inviting social media page for your followers.

fiddlyturtle
Nov '20
Lunar-Turtle

You provided some really good advice there. I remember an artist from webtoons said once, "Don't point out your mistakes and lackings. Cause there might be people who wouldn't notice you made a mistake on some aspects and will think it's your art style. But if you do point it out, then people will definitely notice it and know that you don't like your own work."