Why are you sharing your art?

[akitsukino]

Lot's of people are making their comics/novels simply for fun. They say that they are making it only for themselves and no other reason. And that's not bad! But if that's the case, then why are you sharing it?

If you're really creating just for the heck of it why put it online? Why not just make a thing and put it in a folder somewhere and call it a day? I've seen creators get really aggressive about this sometimes. I remembered one comic where the very first thing in the description was "THIS IS MY STORY! TOO BAD! DON'T LIKE DON'T READ! I DON'T MAKE MY COMIC FOR SNOWFLAKES! GET LOST SJWS!" Calling out entitled readers is one thing, but if people are this aggressive about their work being only for them then why are you sharing it with potentially thousands of people? I've heard of people in the industry who said that there are stories that are so personal and important to them that they would never take it to a studio or a company to produce.

If we got all objective about sharing work I guess we could say people do it for money, career reasons, and just to make a living. More sentimental reasons it could be that art is a form of communication and people are just trying to connect.

This isn't some kind of call out post, but it is something I've wondered for a while. If it's really just for you then why share it (and then get aggressive about it)? Why let others be a part of it? For fame? Money? Accolades? What are your reasons and what do you think are good reasons to share?

[Birbmagadon]

I share because once you go out of your room and go on the internet to talk about art with people, it's impossible to turn your back on it. A brand new world opens in front of you, stuff you hadn't thought of, different outlooks on your own work, etc. Having your art (comic, writing, or anything else tbh) seen by someone else opens so many new doors: everyone sees it in a slightly different way, so it's like digging a golden mine that never runs out of ore.

And once you've shared with people, you can see what they share with you, and if everything goes as planned, you can sometimes make something together and it's like art but with implemented friendship or artistic-bond and it's beautiful.

As for the comic I'm making with my friendo, well it started as a joke many years ago. We posted it for the lulz, and noticed people were enjoying it. So, as long as we enjoy it and can make some people laugh and share their views with us, we're going to carry on

And I stop here before turning cheesy level 9000.

And you @akitsukino, why do you share?

[joannekwan]

To form a connection with other people. To lay my interests out there and have people share the same likes and dislikes as they jive with my work, it's nice. It's a good feeling to know you're not alone.

[skicoak]

Sharing it can also be about an accountability to produce actual content versus just letting it be stories playing out in your head.

[GamerPrincessXI]

Some people can't handle criticism.

[Iris-Grimoire]

I want to communicate with other people, and also share my love for something in hopes it makes someone else feel better too. I guess I have this problem with anything(if I see a movie that I like, I gotta talk about it with someone, etc etc), but when I started seeing people talk about games that resonated with them and even helped them through tough times and looking back on games, movies, shows that resonated with me... I wanted to do the same. It could be a handful of people, it could be a large group, it could be a fandom; but if someone says 'i was looking for this in a story for so long, I really feel good seeing these characters', I'm gonna already feel acomplished.

That's my whole higher objective with art too. Maybe it sounds a bit idealistic, but when everyone's lives are already so rough, art does help you slow down for a bit and notice that there's still things worth struggling for. If someone made stories that helped me survive horrible years, and now I'm having fun creating, then I'll keep improving so someone else can keep going.

[Jenny-Toons]

I'll open it up with some questions:

How many of us used to imagine a little character who'd run along the powerlines while they were in the backseat of their guardian's car?

How many of us listening to a song and instantly see a music video playing in our minds? How many of us see the same music video for the same song?

For a good minute, as a kid, I used to think I was the only one who did that. But as I got older, I just randomly searched up the ideas to see what they meant. Lo and Behold, I found several hundred other people saying they did the same thing.

Posting my work is the same thing. I have a lot of stories I wanna tell that I'm comfortable showing publicly. These are stories that I wanna keep seeing in media, stories I wish were in media, and stories created from the things I've been creatively obsessed with and inspired by. To get more specific, cosmic horror romance is one of them.

I love working with the genre, and I like reading it. So when I post my work that deals in that genre, I do so with the hope that someone else out there sees it and goes "eeey " because they too like cosmic horror romance. And then hopefully, we get to gush over the topic and explain why we like it so much.

I dunno -- I guess for me, it's about finding people who like the things I like and kinda having that relief that I'm not seemingly the only one who's in love with the topics I love. You know?

[ryoko]

A good friend of mine who was at the lowest point in her life found the courage to ask for help and managed to change the direction her life was heading. This meant changing everything that she had known and was comfortable with in order to lift herself out of the life that was going to eventually kill her. She worked very hard, made a lot of difficult choices, sacrifices and got her life and future under control and headed where she wanted it to head. She is an inspiration to me and was the one who suggested I post my comic online so that maybe other artists who saw it would be encouraged to share theirs, too. She liked reading my comic and thought it was entertaining, even though it was very rough looking to begin with.

So, I share my comic because maybe someone like her might see it and maybe entertain them for a while, too. Or, maybe another artist might see it and say "I can do better than that!" and then they'll post their comic for other people to enjoy and I'll have more to read

[JRHoch]

Art you keep to yourself is like masturbation; art that you share is like sex.

[ble]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[SleepingPoppy]

They say that they are making it only for themselves and no other reason.

Sometimes a person isn't making content "only for themselves" but "for themselves first", which I think of as just a means to keep a healthy perspective and not give in to anxiety or pressure. Your example makes me think of someone trying to cope with fear of criticism, and sounds pretty immature. It's one thing to shrug off criticism because you want to do your own thing, and another to be aggressive and defensive.

But yes, communicating, connecting, and accolades are all great parts of sharing content online. That something I make in my spare time has any meaning to anyone but me amazes me, and it makes it all the more fun to work on my comic. My desire to create exists independent of sharing art work, but the act of sharing helps me focus on a specific project and think about how and what I want to communicate. =)

[ivanskilling]

I think most people, including myself, share our works because we want to connect with other people who enjoy the same things as us. Earning money or fame from our creations of course boosts motivation to continue sharing!

I've seen people who get very defensive about feedback and they explicitly ask not to provide criticism (constructive or destructive). Normally, they can't cope with any form of criticism, even people who praise them and then point out minor spelling errors. My guess is they only want to connect with people who enjoy but never judge their works. They have no desire to improve.

In my opinion, I think once you share your work with a broader community, you're bound to receive feedback. Criticism is always something you'll get, even in real-life. And it's important to know how to respond maturely to such words. So personally, I welcome any sort of feedback because I would love to know what people think about my work and how I can improve it!

[irene_addler]

I'm sharing story because I guess I'm trying to better myself. I've never shared any story I've ever written with anyone other than my best friend from high school, and I only let her read them b/c we literally have the exact same taste in novels. So I'm being brave and posting a story in comic form rather than novel b/c I wanted to challenge myself to do something hard, and stick with it, i.e., drawing/creating a comic, which is very hard and requires a lot of dedication. I mean, I want people to like my story and hope it makes them happy, and that they enjoy it, but it's important for me to just be doing it b/c it's marked a huge step for me, to force myself to share a story with the world. If I make money off it someday, that would be so fabulous it's not even funny, do I expect to make money off of it? Ehh, no, not really.

[nostalgicroxas]

I make it for myself and feel like I wrote the story because I was tired of not being able to find stories I enjoyed reading, so I just kind of figured it'd be nice to share it with people. And if they liked it, then hurrah! I love being able to share the story, and if the best way to share it is through promotions and the like, then so be it! If earning money from the thing you love doing helps you quit or avoid the job you dislike or takes time away from the thing you love doing, then that's nothing to be ashamed of. If when "doing the thing you love" becomes a loveless chore that things start to turn bad

[faisalhussein394]

I share because I would like to hear people's thoughts about it and lend me their feedbacks, including criticisms.

So long as it benefits my comic's improvement and makes it easier for everyone to read.

And I don't think I should put this but, I am a rarity, an Arab who makes a middle eastern comic with mythologies, legends, and fantasies.....and a worldbuilding/history lover.

[magalise]

The subject of my art I create for myself: whatever interests me, connects with me or i feel passionate about.
However, when I feel the artwork can connect with others I share it with the world (i have tons of sketches and started paintings I do not share because i find them meh). Whether the world likes it or not is another thing ^^ and at that point it's out of my control. I believe artists shouldn't be so attached to the work they show to the world, for it does not define you as a person.

[Fascher]

When I was a kid I remember I was really frustrated because the stories I wanted to see didn't exist. I want to share my art so those stories are out there!

Also sharing art kind of gives you a voice. It's one of those things that brings people together and impacts their lives without requiring millions of dollars or a higher level of education. Most of our world is based on the stories we tell ourselves. Having the ability to create new stories and share them with others is important I think. Even if it's bonding over dumb comedy comics, you brightened someone's day a little in the end.

[arcojawa]

The, uh, failure of a major previous attempt at writing a comic hit me pretty hard a while back. I outright stopped making comics for a long time after that happened. The initial reason I started this new comic was to revitalize my interest in writing comics because, well, I really love doing this. At this point, I really would like this to be my profession.... it's far to early for that of course. But now that's sort of my goal.

[snowy]

Doing it "just for fun" doesn't mean we're not aiming for an audience. The process of making it can be enjoyable and cathartic, and it's simple realism not to hope for much more.
But hope we all do. For all those reasons you mentioned.
And whoever the person was with that awesomely passive-agressive tagline, methinks they do protest too much.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

If it's really just for you then why share it (and then get aggressive about it)? Why let others be a part of it? For fame? Money? Accolades? What are your reasons and what do you think are good reasons to share?

I don't think the artists who delude themselves in that way are the majority; most of us have thick enough skin to be candid about the reasons why we share our art. And like others have said, having other people see your work can be part of the fun in 'doing something for fun', and there's a difference between 'doing something for yourself only' and 'doing something for yourself FIRST'.

Me, I can illustrate both of those things: I am interested in fame and money, and I have been from day 1. I've gotten to a point where pretty much everything I draw has a potential audience in mind; those days of doodling stories in composition notebooks and throwing them into drawers are over.

But I've stated before that I am my most important audience member. What I like, in character design and plot construction, comes first. It's only after that that I worry about whether someone else will like it.

I think what pisses artists off is when certain audience members expect the reverse. Like, even if it's only a tiny little hint of entitlement, it can be really offensive when you feel you're hearing that what you like isn't good enough, and should be secondary to what Commenter A likes.

I've had to deal with people basically writing my entire plot for me in advance, as if I'd read their magical little comments and decide to use them as an outline for MY comic. It doesn't happen much anymore, but back when it did...well, let's just say I didn't have the patience to brush them all off as 'insensitive 10-year-olds'.

Every once it a while I'd go off and give someone the MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN COMIC speech, not because I couldn't handle the prospect of other people seeing and having opinions on my work, but just because I'd get fed up with people who figured their opinions were important enough to keep pushing on me. I've dealt with people who had the gall to check up on me and ask WHEN I was going to use the suggestion they gave last week or whatever. Not 'if', WHEN. It really gets to you after a while...

Was it wrong for me to get angry at those people, and maybe blow up at some of them?? I don't know...but all that is to say, don't judge a book by its cover, I guess. The artist that tells you DON'T LIKE IT DON'T READ may have spent the last few weeks dealing with readers far more entitled than you are; you may just have been unlucky enough to show up with a constructive criticism at the wrong time. =/