# Drawing and positive attitudes get you exposure - not complaints



## Arshes Nei (Sep 9, 2013)

So you want to be an artist? You want everyone to see your creative venues and celebrate and recognize your presence?

Well this topic is just about that. 

*So you want to be an artist?*
You see, the first thing you need to figure out is why you're drawing. Are you doing this to please others or yourself? If the response is for the former - you need to re-evaluate. You will not be able to please everybody. You need to work on what goals you have for yourself. Keep to those goals. 

*The buzzword is "exposure"*
The next thing is what do you need exposure for? Is it for just getting attention, money? Be prepared for disappointment at first. If you don't have a lot of artwork that you submit or show you're doing this regularly, well you're not going to get noticed as much on large sites. The fact of the matter is, people may already be watching a lot of artists and feel overwhelmed to watch yet another one. Other artists may be busy producing artwork to add you to their list of watches. If your artwork is just average and looks like a large percentage of other submissions, then it gives one less incentive to watch you.


*Make sure you're producing lots of art before you complain*
Unless your artwork is incredible for the most part you'll have to deal with the above and just keep working on your craft. Some people may take offense to this - but isn't the point of wanting others to view your work is because you're drawing? 

Imagine this: NBA player just makes one shot in the game - an awesome 3 pointer...and says "oh that's it for my career" Why would you want to continue watching this guy? An actor that just makes one movie? You can't sit on the coattails of the few works you made. You need to keep producing, and in an artist's case making more artwork. So take that as encouragement, not discouragement. 

*A lot of this is trial and error*
You can't expect people to just like your work because you draw. Nor should you expect people to like your idea. If one idea isn't working - don't yell or moan at others that people aren't enjoying your idea. Work on other ideas and artwork. Keep going and keep drawing, make mistakes and learn from them. 

*Communicate don't complain*
I can tell you the biggest thing is that you're not alone when people want more exposure. However, complaining that you're not getting enough exposure or that your project or idea isn't getting the heaps of praise/activity you think it should - will incite the opposite effect with users. You may end up turning off users than bringing them in. Instead of asking why you're not getting more hits, ask what can be improved. Participate in activities like sketchbooks on this forum. If the site is too large, try smaller sites with getting feedback. The more you look eager to participate than complain, the more others will want to help. 

*Start small*
Larger sites take longer time to get noticed. Smaller sites with communities focused on certain goals or themes may help out. Seek them out and not only get the feedback on those sites - you have the added benefit of adding more work to a larger gallery.


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## RTDragon (Sep 9, 2013)

This should be stickied.


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## Fallowfox (Sep 9, 2013)

Has anybody noticed 'Drawng' yet? 

I think not moaning probably applies to everything, rather than just drawing...so it's a bit of a mystery that so many of us make that our first resort.


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## Marsonaut (Sep 11, 2013)

Definitely on point here, especially with the parts on "starting small" and "not complaining." Its important to be ambitious, but not to start out with something you fancy to be your magnum opus (which will fail and fail miserably). I made that mistake and it cost me a few years of progress. And complaining is obviously obnoxious and damages the soul of the complainer. People need to have some simple dignity and humility in what they do.


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## rjbartrop (Sep 13, 2013)

So much wisdom here.


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## MischievousPooka (Nov 30, 2013)

And sometimes I find that different sites people might have different interest.  Like I always have more people interested in my art more on Deviantart than I do on Furaffiniy.  And some people I know have the exact opposite or they do better on other sites.  One is not always going to have the same popularity on all sites.  People should definably try a few different sites and see which is the best of them.


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## ero-kimi (Aug 10, 2014)

I think people forget to put art above their personal lives nowadays and they forget it's supposed to be fun. If you're an artist, you should believe in your own artwork and what you're practicing. Even if you're not as popular as you'd want to be or if you have things going on in your personal life, use a drawing or sketch to communicate that instead of putting it into words (the result is usually pretty stellar). Drawing should be fun and inspiring, not made for a popularity contest.


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## ekitz_paw_paws (Nov 2, 2014)

Practice and more practice, fur friends.


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## Maugryph (Nov 29, 2014)

ekitz_paw_paws said:


> Practice and more practice, fur friends.



It's more then just practice. Its best to get a grasp of the foundations and an understanding of the visual language of making pictures. It would be like a person learning a new language,  he never learns the grammar but knows some short phases, he might be able to say what he's memorized but would never be able to have a fluid conversation . The same is of art, If you draw the same thing over and over again but do not understand why, then all you will be able to do is to draw that one thing and you wont be able to do variations of it (ex. draw it at a different angle)


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## squiddysquiddysquiddy (Feb 20, 2015)

You seem to act like a person who has all the answers but you covered very little.

*You don't explain how to get exposure, just that you need it and you should have a lot of work to expose.*  How you go about getting exposure is by commiting a sizeable chunk of your expenses going towards advertisement.  You need a budget if you're going to survive off your art.  You will be exhausting a lot of your income on the business end, and only 40% of your time will be spent making art.  In the art business, it's 40% art, 60% business.  Otherwise art is a hobby, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  But if you plan to be a working artist, you need to spend actual money on exposure.

Additionally, something you need to add is *Work ethic.*  Just because you don't slave in the coal mines for 10 hours a day doesn't mean you won't work just as hard.  You're exchanging the pickaxe with a pen, and your effort isn't lessened, just transmuted to a creative medium.  In fact, the pickaxe was easier; as an artist, you will most likely be *finding your own work, managing your workload, and dealing with an erratic work schedule, all on your own*.

*You will be selling yourself your whole career.*  Only tge best of the best of the best get hired to work in-house for Disney.  You will likely be DOING work for Disney than working FOR disney.  The two are NOT the same.  *Even professional comic book artists have to freelance and pitch projects for new publishers.*

Oh, also *Get a day job, or keep your current day job*, because for the love of Christ, *You can not survive as an artist if you are broke.*  Being an artist costs a ton of money, you pay for everything, and you won't be making enough money from it to write off expenses on your income taxes.

*YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN AS AN ARTIST.*  You need to have the business end down tight.   Think of your art studio as a motorcycle shop or a car garage, not as your living room.  You need tenacity and a business mindset, because all the creative talent in the world means jack shit if you can't sell yourself and make the business deals on your own.  Lack of talent isn't what kills an artist, it's lack of ambition.


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## S.D.O.S. (Mar 20, 2015)

Hi,

I would just add that if you want to be an artist and you're still young, 14 to 17 then do not force yourself that much. 

Go enjoy life and have a social life. That is also important because when you go out and travel and get into big conversations with people you are actually building your visual library and that will help you down the line.

After that time period then if you want to be an artist you cannot balance social life and art. If you want to be good that is. One should enroll at an art school, not only it gives good foundations it also gives you a group knowledge of working with other artists and that helps for future work if your aim is to someday work in house of a studio.

A good thing to know is that drawing is not the only option if you want to be an artists, nowadays the digital medium is much larger then just drawing. You can be a 3D modeler, a digital sculptor, concept designer and so on so on.

Remember that once you're good you can then have a social life and still do what you love. 

Also art and popular does not compute. Beep.


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