I got an art downgrade

[nananana]

So recently I've been on social media... I stopped posting art a long time ago, but still kept practicing. I feel more confident with my art now compared to before, but for some reason I'm getting less feedback.... I feel all wrong, because now that I'm working harder in barely getting anything. And the thing I do to be happy doesn't make anyone happy...

[gateofselidor]

If you took a break and didn't post any art for a while, a lot of the people who were there for your art in the past have probably drifted away. It will take some time to build your following back up again, and be getting more feedback from people, even if your art has gotten much better. If you like your art and drawing it makes you happy, keep on drawing and posting, promote yourself, and gradually build things up again.

[nananana]

Thank you! Promoting yourself? How...? @gateofselidor ☺

[hushicho]

Social media activity and even advertisement (Project Wonderful is very affordable, and link exchanges and art exchanges are a great way to share the exposure) can really help!

That said, sometimes feedback will fall off through no fault of yours at all, especially if you've been doing things for a while and people are used to it. Occasionally you will go through stretches where getting feedback of any kind -- much less actually useful feedback -- is like pulling teeth. It's okay. Just do your best to get the word out, post on social media, and post regularly to keep people updated and aware that you're doing things on a regular basis.

(Also, be sure to keep yourself active on a regular basis!)

[Greg_Dickson]

I just went through something similar. I spent all week working on a picture for a twitter hashtag event, pumping out the best art I had ever done, and barely got any likes on my post in the end. However, I looked and most of the submissions had similar results, and I think it's because most people are busy at this time of the year than worrying about checking up on social media and webcomic sites for new artwork. I was really discouraged last night, but I decided to pour that energy into creating something new instead of dwelling about it, and I made a turnout with another awesome piece of art. Even if you don't get recognized at first, just keep in mind that you are improving. When traffic returns in a month or so, I'm sure you'll have a bigger audience. Plus, any initial audience you had before you stopped posting probably has to be re-reminded and re-exposed to your presence again.

[Devika]

I find that twitter in general generates less likes than instagram - everything swooshes past you at immense speed, and your post is drowned out and disappears. Twitter is extremely fleeting. It's in the nature of the site, twitter is mainly text (which is easily produced), instagram requires pictures (and you can post more hashtags). The main advantage of instagram is that you effectively have a gallery, so even if you didn't get any likes with your initial posting, the art is still there to be seen later by new visitors and it contributes to an attractive profile. It's not as easy to browse through posts with twitter IMO.

@ndominiq : As the others said, if your activity drops off, so will the watchers'. Keep posting regularly, choose hashtags wisely, and be an active part of the community. Some go around and follow/like everyone even vaguely related to what they're doing in order to increase their reach, others stick to only liking and following that which they actually like. Which method you decide to go with is up to you, but in the end the most important part is that you create new content regularly, so that there is a good reason to follow you. (;

[Aspie_Gamer]

Like others have said, if you know in your heart of hearts that you are getting better as an artist, then its not so much your fault for not getting the feedback you want as it is people simply being busy this time of year what with end of year celebrations. For a lot of people, Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza or whatever they celebrate is pretty much the only time they get to see family and relatives, so logically, it makes sense where their priorities lie. Family comes first as they say.

[aivesse]

@ndominiq I understand how you feel, it seriously sucks when the feedback you're used to starts to diminish! I went through a similar phase with my comic but it's something you need to grind through. Will it suck? Probably. Are you gonna get discouraged? Definitely. In my own experience, the less time you spend fretting over how much other people care about your works, the more time you'll have to spend on rebuilding your following.

You might want to also examine the way you're presenting your work. Are you posting it somewhere where people who might appreciate it would see it? Getting your first few of your following is always the hardest step, so don't lose hope! If you need anything or have any questions, just go ahead and ask, there are people here (including myself) who are willing to help you out. (But if you really want feedback, you could also start a comic on Tap, people love new comics)

[nananana]

@aivesse I am actually starting a comic but I'm not gonna post it here in tapastic yet... I havent finished page one but if anyone is interested
http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/decided/list?title_no=53439