I think you meant- you have a right to ASK for attention.
And if your work is worthy enough, there should be an expectation of (positive?) feedback from those that have come across it. If that's what you meant, then - that sounds reasonable.
If it reads the way it's written, then the word deserve needs explaining.
And I would ask an open question, why does anyone deserve anything- in regards to art?
Warning: This is all stuff artists hate to hear.
Art is created by an artist. By ART, I mean the dictionary definition of art.
An artist is 3 things. Or, you can argue, 3 things are needed to be an artist.
1) (Enough) technical skill so the idea of limitations is removed from your work.
2) A keen judgement (or eye [it's called 'an ear' in music] or taste)
3) The ability to work = or great desire to create.
Art at its highest level is purely generated from those three things.
When someone suggests you create art for yourself, they mean stick to those three things.
To deviate is to bring in OUTSIDE CONCERNS and that usually dilutes your art.
The focus on being a successful artist leads to seeking glory and reward.
And in many cases compromises those 3 in an attempt to achieve greater exposure or acceptance.
Thinking about dumb-ing it down to be more popular? (kills #1)
Thinking about doing what everyone else is doing or what is popular (kills #2)
Comparing yourself to someone else and their greater success (kills #3)
I did a video or two about this kind of stuff.
There's a lot of downsides to social media and forums, as a whole, but that's another story for another day.
Artists create art; Van Gogh hardly sold a painting while alive. Lucky artists get paid for their work. Peace.
I mean you “deserve”, I will be so bold as say that. If you went to school to gain a skill and continue to improve your skill then you deserve a payoff. Just as someone who went to school to become a Librarian continues to keep up with changes in cataloging and improves their professional skill, deserves a payoff, and would be understandably frustrated if they continued to be unemployed or underemployed.
There is a trend of belittling or discouraging artist of any form, that have gained an education to not expect to be paid for their work. However in other professions the same “entitlement” is seen as logical. That is simply the point I was attempting to make. Anyone who works at a craft, be it in business or art should not be shamed for desiring “payment” in some shape or form. If that payment is just a little acknowledgment, then well thats rather cheap, and not much to ask for.
Of course I am assume that the artist in theory did indeed go to school, and is attempting to make a profession of their craft, and is taking it seriously, and it’s not just a hobby for them.
I work in a Library, but I share my art online in hopes of getting feedback because my end goal is getting published. Many people use the internet as a feedback machine if they are not lucky enough to have a community of artist around them. If my end goal was to publish a book then I would not have to share it online, because I have many gleeful and opinionated co-workers that would tear my manuscript apart. However many of them are not big graphic novel readers, so I can’t get the same feedback.
Everyone is assuming that the OP is asking for only positive feedback, but they are asking for acknowledgment. That comes in many forms, be it good or bad, one cannot improve their skill in a “vacuum” like started before. Which is why when taking art classes there is always a critique, and why the teacher requires students to speak and why speaking on critique day is part of your class grade. If you get no feedback then you are left wondering what is not working in your craft, and can’t improve it. With lack of feedback one must assume something isn’t working or not translating, but you won’t know if you should let the project go or not, or where to improve because no one has told you.
Not true at all. You should EXPECT, you should 'count on' you should be planning for....deserve....never....
And the word you want is COMPENSATED, not paid.
It's a hard concept to explain, but the idea is that ....
You get paid to do art. As opposed to ' you do art and THEN look to get paid for it/ from it.
That twist makes all the difference.
No assumptions, let's look at the OP then. They said:
I share it one my social media.
(no one owes you attention in any way shape or form.) Many of you (sorry to level this rude charge) think your ART is ABOVE any reader or viewer. You are a servant to them, your arts' [partial value] is determined by THEM, not you. You LOVE IT, buy THEY give it value. It's valuable to YOU, but it's value is decided by those who judge it or use it.
We've all looked at work from other popular artists and wondered why they get hundred of notes and we're getting none, right?
That is aspect #3 being broken. Which has almost NOTHING to do with your art. That is the heart-breaker! Hobbyist artists believe that MORE and BETTER art is the way to gain greater success. It is not. Take the test yourself. If you can name one thing that is successful and 'popular' but you (and your peoples) think it's trash, then #2 (your judgement) does NOT decide the value of that art. If you can name something that you LOVE, but it got mass attention and then passes over (A flop) then again, your judgement does not determine value. If you find a "great" piece of art in the world and no one is paying attention to it - then just making 'great art' is not a guarantee for exposure or mass feedback...or payment.
But when I get frustrated by the lack of
And that's where they should be -- frustrated- they deserve to be frustrated and that's about it.
Frustration is a FEELING. That is why they were getting advice about their FEELINGS.
Do art for art's sake or do art for the love - is how you counter that EMOTION.
Go back to the 1, 2 and 3 - points that I dropped.
Now, if you want to talk about PRO level- thinking we can do that, but THAT has nothing to do with this.
And has, almost nothing in common with this thread so far.
Even though you somehow compared having a degree and searching for work being close to doing art and deserving attention and support.
"Of course I am assume that the artist in theory did indeed go to school, and is attempting to make a profession of their craft, and is taking it seriously, and it’s not just a hobby for them."
This disclaimer doesn't get around that feeling or point of view. You are now assuming someone in that position STILL thinks like a hobbyist. To turn your hobby into a business or career or even any kind of money-making enterprise requires a massive mind-set change. Most can't or won't do it.
Understanding this video is an early step towards that.
I'll go further, but I already know this is forbidden talk. lol
Let me know.
@AVXP and @GabbieWolf
Just for clarity's sake since you're discussing what I was trying to say, although perhaps in an over long winded not over clear way. I'm an adult, I create because I enjoy creating, I continue creating no matter how much attention a piece gets. I get frustrated and disheartened when a piece I love, or several pieces I love in a row, don't get a single scrap of attention, even when I'm pushing myself to improve. (My point about looking at other artists is partly because I believe in looking at what's popular and learning from it, I regularly try to break down other styles and see what I can apply).
The entire point of this post is not whether I or anyone else deserves attention, no one owes you attention ever (although I will admit my teacher comparison was disingenuous because a teacher is paid to give you attention, the cake analogy is better).
The point is that telling people who are frustrated that they shouldn't want attention doesn't help anyone and invalidates the person's feelings as @DokiDokiTsuna said above. It would be much better to tell people something like "this is normal and here's how you deal with it or channel it into improving".
Also, I have created a separate thread where hopefully people can share things they're proud of that don't get any response and maybe other creators can help figure out how we can improve.
Ah, but in today’s world social media has become a part of being a “professional” artist. Many professionals have been discovered on sites such as Tumblr and Instagram so it is logical that putting effort into social media would get you a payoff. Considering that most advice given by successful artist (success in the sense of making a living off your craft, aka societal view of “success”) is to be active on social media and build an audience it is understandable to be frustrated if the only bit of advice one has is not working.
Again artist are seen as unsuccessful because they do not make money from their craft, but when they ask for compensation are seen as “ entitled “ when again such an assumption is not placed on other professions.
While others see social media as negative (which granted it can be) in today’s world is has brought in an artistic renaissance of its own. If you are not a hobbyist it is strategically beneficial to be on social media. Learning how to utilize that tool is important, but because of its newness it’s hard to figure out.
Being on social media doesn’t mean you sold out. Adapting to a changing market doesn’t mean you lost your passion, it means your business savvy. Sadly most artists are not good businessmen. I like fantasy and diversity in fantasy settings, that what I write. Urban fantasy has gained popularity I am aware of that because I am a consumer of fantasy, therefore instead of starting my focus on a long epic High Fantasy (which I enjoy as well) I start with an urban fantasy. I am not compromising anything as I am doing what I love regardless, but I am being more business oriented. Again I would not be able to do that if I did not socialize with others and just created in a “vaccum”.
Either way I hope you take no offense, I take non from you. I like a good debate, and we can’t learn and improve without a debate. We can’t create in a “vaccum” 
Ah, but in today’s world social media has become a part of being a “professional” artist.
Unfortunately, that is also misunderstood. Being active on social media is part of your overall plan (and many times even that is outsourced), I say PART of your plan, not THE plan.
And the advice of
"get active on social media" is just as bad as do art for yourself. Well, bad or good depending on what your understanding of the advice is....
I agree! That's because they are almost polar opposites in goals and methodology.
Very hard to balance the two.
It's like getting dating advice. We love to hear it, but never follow it. lol
I just remembered something. This topic was discussed as a TED Talk recently.
TED Talks Daily | How craving attention makes you less creative | Joseph Gordon-Levitt
I've pretty much given trying to create for a target market. My previous comic was an attempt to be "more accessible" than the prog-rock furry porn fantasy I stopped working on when I broke up with the writer. It ended up being a twisty mess of overlapping multiple storylines, out-of-order chapters, and oblique Phillip K. Dick realityfuck shenanigans. Now I'm working on something that started as a cartoon show pitch and blossomed into a sprawling cartoon animal space opera with a "good guy" and "bad guy" version of every character's design, and conflicting unreliable narrators.
I've quit wondering why Popular Artists are Popular. There's a bunch of reasons. They've been doing it for longer than it looks, they've been producing a lot of stuff for a booming fandom at the right time and take a chunk of that audience to their own thing, they've sunk some time and effort into advertising, or into SEO tricks that convince social media sorting algorithms into thinking their stuff is Popular and Relevant and should get bubbled to the top of everyone's timeline, or... whatever. There's usually been some degree of serious focus on broadening their fanbase in a way I personally can never really be bothered to do.
There's enough people who've discovered my work over the years and like it enough to sponsor me on Patreon for me to pay most of my rent doing this. Add in the occasional commission and some savings I'm slowly burning through and things are okay. It's been a long road of growing my audience, and honestly it seems like I get a lot fewer comments on my stuff than I used to in general. The internet's just fucking flooded with Content.
I dunno. You do it for yourself and put it online, and you get a slow trickle of people deciding they like it. Eventually there's enough with some spare money and energy for you to make a living with it, maybe even to spread the word suddenly and rapidly. And you just gotta stop caring if anyone likes it after a while.
“Indeed, the great paradox of the writer's life is how much time he spends alone trying to connect with other people.”
Betsey Lerner, The Forest For The Trees
You don't become an artist just so people will notice you.
But at the same time, I do relish every like, share, comment, or retweet.
It's a matter of keeping the two balanced.
Posting on social media and getting little response isn't like showing your friends or handing in an assignment, and being ignored or dismissed. It's more like setting up on an overpass, and not getting random honks from drivers as they speed by in their cars.
"Create for yourself" is really sidestepping the issue of getting no response.
Personally, I find it soul crushing and very demotivating the lack of response I get for my art.
It's weird though, because you'll see the most crap stuff get a lot of response and then some true professionals get very little. Then again some really great artists also get a ton of response.
I think part of it is; marketing art and making art are separate things. I'm personally really bad at marketing my art, but good at making art. Though, my inability to market bleeds into my art making by demotivating me.
So, I'm really trying to work on marketing now.
I usually go by the "95%" rule of thumb. Meaning that only 5% of your audience will engage with your content in some way. So out of 100 who saw your content only 5 will like, only 5 out of 100 liked will comment, only 5 out of 100 commenters will check your patreon, and so on. So each time I get a like or comment it means that my audience is actually rather large, which helps with the getting over the no-response. After all, I myself rarely comment on the stuff I read.
Being complimented on your skills is... offensive? What?
It's the 'natural talent' vs. 'hard work' thing. Some people take being called 'talented' to mean that you think they were just born with their skills, and are therefore ignoring/discounting all the effort they expended to get to where they are. =/
I understand what you mean, but I wouldn't call "create for yourself" a fallacy, and definitely nothing to find offense over in my opinion.
There's a million reasons why someone's work isn't getting much attention, and it's virtually impossible for a random person to figure out which reasons apply on the creator's behalf. "Create for Yourself" basically covers most of them in one swoop.
Is your work simply not good enough at the moment? Well you won't improve unless you keep working at it. - Create for yourself.
Maybe there simply isn't enough of it. The more work you do, the more likely people will stumble upon it. - Create for yourself.
What if your style is too derivative? Too popular? They can get it anywhere following anyone? A great way to develop your own personalized style is to continue working on it. - Create for yourself.
Maybe your work is just too niche so that no one but you and a small pocket of people will ever enjoy it? All the more reason to create said work... For yourself.
Obviously, I can go on and on, and I'm sure there are examples where just continuing to work WON'T improve things, but to say that it's a "fallacy" implies that there is no merit to it, which there clearly is from what I can tell.
I don't think 'creating for yourself' is a fallacy AT ALL, however, I don't think it's acceptable to tell someone they should happy enough with creating for themselves, if they have other ambitions.
I'm really the 'create for myself' type. Shown pretty well by the fact I very rarely shared any of my works, whatever they are, with friends, family or even online. My comic is a rare exception, and the fact I published it was not because I felt a need to share, but rather out of curiosity, and to get critics in order to improve.
However, I see positive aspects with sharing my work, and for now, did not run into any negative aspects. So, I slowly started to get into the mindset of creating for myself AND others. But others are an extra, a bonus, not the reason I create, if that makes sense?
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