# Getting noticed



## dahbastard (Oct 16, 2020)

This site is a very lonely place for an unknown artist.  I thought it wasn't possible, but I think it is even more difficult to get noticed, here, than on DeviantArt.  On DA, leaving meaningful comments on others' works, while no guarantee of views, inarguably increases your chance of others visiting your gallery page, and at least, leaving a nice comment.  The same seems to be true for posting in forums.  Here, I get NOTHING (almost).  I am lucky if I get a single fave, and forget about comments.  Occasionally some artist comes by and leaves me a "thank you" shout for liking their art, but the last person who did that, did so a month ago.

What's really kind of frustrating is that, when I look at stats for images I post, I see that each post eventually gets ~20 views.  But, I have no idea what that means beyond that somebody has clicked on my image.  Did they download it?  Did they like it, but not enough to fave it?  Did they like it enough to fave it, but lacked the account to do so?  Or, in contrast, were they disappointed in the full resolution image?

Even now that the forums are back, despite posting a request thread, I am still waiting for a single person to...I don't know...comment on the art of the person offering to do free requests (me), somewhere (in the request thread, or in the gallery).  That would be a nice gesture.  If I were in their place, and I wanted to increase the chance they would pick me, I would do that.  Sorry for being passive aggressive, but I am a little frustrated.

Where is everybody ?


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## Monosuki the Aurian (Oct 16, 2020)

Truly, I am sorry that you haven't been noticed pal. It is not that hard to get noticed, but I suppose it depends on the type of artowrk you do. Are the tags good for people to find them? Do you involve keywords that people could find easily?

Besides that, I'd love to be at least one of the very few that can give you a pat on the back, a good job, whichever it may be! And if you'd like to get noticed, I would love to be there for you! Noticing folks is something I'm trying to do as of lately, so....if you need anyone to come by, i'm always open to come in and see what you are working on, what arts you want to bee seen, critique, etc.

I just wanna make sure everyone here is feeling loved, respected, and acknowledged! Even so, if you wish to track in more folks, make sure you have the keywords, post them in the right places, (ex. popular areas, p;aces where people are more bound to go to), and I'm sure you should get some attention here and there! If not, I'll be here for you!


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## Luminouscales (Oct 16, 2020)

dahbastard said:


> This site is a very lonely place for an unknown artist.  I thought it wasn't possible, but I think it is even more difficult to get noticed, here, than on DeviantArt.  On DA, leaving meaningful comments on others' works, while no guarantee of views, inarguably increases your chance of others visiting your gallery page, and at least, leaving a nice comment.  The same seems to be true for posting in forums.  Here, I get NOTHING (almost).  I am lucky if I get a single fave, and forget about comments.  Occasionally some artist comes by and leaves me a "thank you" shout for liking their art, but the last person who did that, did so a month ago.
> 
> What's really kind of frustrating is that, when I look at stats for images I post, I see that each post eventually gets ~20 views.  But, I have no idea what that means beyond that somebody has clicked on my image.  Did they download it?  Did they like it, but not enough to fave it?  Did they like it enough to fave it, but lacked the account to do so?  Or, in contrast, were they disappointed in the full resolution image?
> 
> ...



I occasionally glimpse through the site when I'm bored. I check out art that grabs my attention, and favourite/comment appropriately. By that principle, if something is generic, or just not up to my interest, I don't even bother to click on it. Might be the same for others, I wouldn't know.

From my experience, places like Furry Amino or standalone Discord servers allow for more personal reception from others, especially the latter.

Your art might just not be high-profile enough for others to pick it out of the thousand others, to put it bluntly.


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## Frank Gulotta (Oct 16, 2020)

Those are only some of life's uncertainties


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## dahbastard (Oct 16, 2020)

Jeanvoux the 3 Foot Fox said:


> Truly, I am sorry that you haven't been noticed pal. It is not that hard to get noticed, but I suppose it depends on the type of artowrk you do. Are the tags good for people to find them? Do you involve keywords that people could find easily?
> 
> Besides that, I'd love to be at least one of the very few that can give you a pat on the back, a good job, whichever it may be! And if you'd like to get noticed, I would love to be there for you! Noticing folks is something I'm trying to do as of lately, so....if you need anyone to come by, i'm always open to come in and see what you are working on, what arts you want to bee seen, critique, etc.
> 
> I just wanna make sure everyone here is feeling loved, respected, and acknowledged! Even so, if you wish to track in more folks, make sure you have the keywords, post them in the right places, (ex. popular areas, p;aces where people are more bound to go to), and I'm sure you should get some attention here and there! If not, I'll be here for you!


Thank you so much for the kind words (and I see you faved one of my images, which I appreciate).  Yeah, I would like to think the tags make my images easy to find.  However, maybe I am wrong.  It has only been very recent that I discovered tagging the art type often increases my chances of being seen.  Still, I try to include tags that apply to special interests.  For example, if somebody is interested in a witch racoon, I include both "witch" and "raccoon" in the image.

I do think I get views, but it is hard to tell if people actually are interested in my work, because I almost never get any feedback.


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## Monosuki the Aurian (Oct 16, 2020)

dahbastard said:


> Thank you so much for the kind words (and I see you faved one of my images, which I appreciate).  Yeah, I would like to think the tags make my images easy to find.  However, maybe I am wrong.  It has only been very recent that I discovered tagging the art type often increases my chances of being seen.  Still, I try to include tags that apply to special interests.  For example, if somebody is interested in a witch racoon, I include both "witch" and "raccoon" in the image.
> 
> I do think I get views, but it is hard to tell if people actually are interested in my work, because I almost never get any feedback.


I can see where you are going, and so far so good! A good start to something that has possibly yet to be noticed I'm sure! Either way it goes, I'm sure the rise to popularity will gain soon, and you are very welcome! I will keep seeing if I can fave all of them, because I like doing so, and also wish you the best of luck in getting watches and views, etc. You will get there, without a doubt, and I'm sure it'll pick up! I'm sure of it!


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## dahbastard (Oct 16, 2020)

Luminouscales said:


> I occasionally glimpse through the site when I'm bored. I check out art that grabs my attention, and favourite/comment appropriately. By that principle, if something is generic, or just not up to my interest, I don't even bother to click on it. Might be the same for others, I wouldn't know.
> 
> From my experience, places like Furry Amino or standalone Discord servers allow for more personal reception from others, especially the latter.
> 
> Your art might just not be high-profile enough for others to pick it out of the thousand others, to put it bluntly.


Thanks for replying.  I would like to think most of the things I post are pretty attention grabbing, and stand out amidst the garbage I see this site flooded with.  I am not saying I am top tier, but I think my stuff is interesting enough to be distinguished.

If it isn't then, I am doing something wrong.

One thing I have noticed is that members of FA seem more interested in character portraits than ensembles.  A while back, I posted:








						Torment Clown by DahBastard
					

Here is the finished version of. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37986156/. . As you can see, I changed some things about the picture ( ...




					www.furaffinity.net
				



and then, a variation, where all I did was fix up the central character, and remove the background.








						Torment Clown Variation by DahBastard
					

I took the character from https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38077077 and added eyelids as an experiment. I think she looks less creepy th ...




					www.furaffinity.net
				




While the first surpasses the second in views, by far, the second exceeds the first in favs by a mile.

And the latest one I posted, which I thought would get at least one fave, seems to have turned out to be a dud (at the time of writing this):








						Who has proclaimed himself God this time? by DahBastard
					

Well, I could do more, but I am going to have to set this one free.. . This started out as a much smaller idea. Though, I have mostly dr ...




					www.furaffinity.net


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## RyuokoWolf (Oct 16, 2020)

I wanna suggest r/furry on Reddit. As an artist who also struggles with being noticed, so far the best reception I have ever had was on reddit.

Also, hosting free art and such on FA is a great way to gain watchers and attention. Generally midday, if you can or in the evening post an image that says like, "Free Art" "taking requests". If you post that on the main page of FA, and make sure you don't violate AUP 2.8 (text only) you'll be awesome.


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## dahbastard (Oct 16, 2020)

RyuokoWolf said:


> I wanna suggest r/furry on Reddit. As an artist who also struggles with being noticed, so far the best reception I have ever had was on reddit.
> 
> Also, hosting free art and such on FA is a great way to gain watchers and attention. Generally midday, if you can or in the evening post an image that says like, "Free Art" "taking requests". If you post that on the main page of FA, and make sure you don't violate AUP 2.8 (text only) you'll be awesome.


That's a good suggestion.  Thanks!  I will try it.


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## soulbox (Oct 16, 2020)

That’s the life of an unknown artist. ;w; I try not to let it get to me too much, but it’s very discouraging at times. Makes me wonder why even bother. But it’s okay. I want to keep drawing ‘cause that’s what I do.

It has been a bit confusing to me honestly because my recent artworks haven’t gotten anything faves. I don’t know what I did wrong or different lol. Maybe people got bored? *shrug*

Anyways, I want to tell you that I feel your pain.


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## dahbastard (Oct 16, 2020)

zerotwo said:


> That’s the life of an unknown artist. ;w; I try not to let it get to me too much, but it’s very discouraging at times. Makes me wonder why even bother. But it’s okay. I want to keep drawing ‘cause that’s what I do.
> 
> It has been a bit confusing to me honestly because my recent artworks haven’t gotten anything faves. I don’t know what I did wrong or different lol. Maybe people got bored? *shrug*
> 
> Anyways, I want to tell you that I feel your pain.


Yes, it is.  I totally get that.  But, it seems extra hard on FA, and DA.

Recently, someone on a DA discord chatroom implied that my desire to have views was "silly", and told me I should be making art, because I enjoy it-- as if making art for the fun of it, and wanting people to look at your stuff, and react to it, are mutually exclusive.  I couldn't help being snarky in my response.  I think I told them something to the effect of, "Then, why bother posting your art at all?  Just stick it all in a shoebox, and leave it under your bed, so that only you get to see it."

And this person had like 1000's of followers, too.  Talk about tone-deaf.

I am having trouble finding your gallery (I looked on your profile, and googled "zerotwo furaffinity").  Would you like to share it?


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## soulbox (Oct 16, 2020)

dahbastard said:


> Yes, it is.  I totally get that.  But, it seems extra hard on FA, and DA.
> 
> Recently, someone on a DA discord chatroom implied that my desire to have views was "silly", and told me I should be making art, because I enjoy it-- as if making art for the fun of it, and wanting people to look at your stuff, and react to it, are mutually exclusive.  I couldn't help being snarky in my response.  I think I told them something to the effect of, "Then, why bother posting your art at all?  Just stick it all in a shoebox, and leave it under your bed, so that only you get to see it."
> 
> ...



Ah yeah, I get you! It’s like on one hand, enjoy art for what it is, likes don’t matter, etc. But on the other hand, likes/follows/etc really do matter. I mean, how else are you going to spread your art around. Unless you don’t care and then you wouldn’t be posting it.

And man that is really tone deaf yikes. :x

Here’s my gallery: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/zerotwoart/

I’d like to see yours too! I tried clicking on the link on your profile but it was a 404?


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## dahbastard (Oct 16, 2020)

zerotwo said:


> Ah yeah, I get you! It’s like on one hand, enjoy art for what it is, likes don’t matter, etc. But on the other hand, likes/follows/etc really do matter. I mean, how else are you going to spread your art around. Unless you don’t care and then you wouldn’t be posting it.
> 
> And man that is really tone deaf yikes. :x
> 
> ...


Odd.  Did you click on the one in my signature?  I'll take a look at the one in my profile.

Try out.









						Userpage of DahBastard -- Fur Affinity [dot] net
					

DA gallery: www.deviantart.com/eukayoticprokaryote. FUR-LINKVALIDATION-3427282946




					www.furaffinity.net
				




Thanks!  I will definitely take a look at your gallery.


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## luffy (Oct 17, 2020)

I actually think this site is better than dA or alternatives for becoming exposed because when you comment on someone's profile, they have to go to yours to reply.  It forces them to shove their face in your stuff.  I'd recommend reaching out and complimenting people on their profiles (while being genuine), always thanking for *everything*, and just communicating in general.


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## Dragoneer (Oct 20, 2020)

dahbastard said:


> This site is a very lonely place for an unknown artist.  I thought it wasn't possible, but I think it is even more difficult to get noticed, here, than on DeviantArt.  On DA, leaving meaningful comments on others' works, while no guarantee of views, inarguably increases your chance of others visiting your gallery page, and at least, leaving a nice comment.  The same seems to be true for posting in forums.  Here, I get NOTHING (almost).  I am lucky if I get a single fave, and forget about comments.  Occasionally some artist comes by and leaves me a "thank you" shout for liking their art, but the last person who did that, did so a month ago.


Helping artists get noticed and improving their visibility is something that's on my list of things to do in the near future, and one of these features will be rolling out to FA in the near future as well.


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## dahbastard (Oct 20, 2020)

Dragoneer said:


> Helping artists get noticed and improving their visibility is something that's on my list of things to do in the near future, and one of these features will be rolling out to FA in the near future as well.


Thank you.  I am excited to hear that.


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## Dragoneer (Oct 21, 2020)

dahbastard said:


> Thank you.  I am excited to hear that.


That said, and I can not emphasize this enough, but be sure to network and link your galleries as much as you can. And use multiple galleries (Twitter, Instagram, FA, etc)*. For an artist you really need to be advertising your work and getting people to see your art. A website can only do so much, but half of being artist is knowing how to promote yourself and kind of establish yourself as a brand. Joining Telegram and Discord groups where you can share you art is worth it. Branding is important for an artist, too.

This is all probably stuff you already know, but it bears repeating as it can not be said enough. Sometimes you need to the lead the horses to water. =3

* I know I run FA, and promoting alternatives to FA is against my self interest, but as an artist, the more your get your work out there and in front of people's eyes the better it is for you. Check out PostyBirb for a great tool to get your work out to more locations.


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## quoting_mungo (Oct 21, 2020)

To expand on what @Dragoneer said above, if you have the time, energy and inclination, participating in events like Art Fight can help a lot both with spreading your art (recipients may wish to share their received art) and networking with other artists.

Focus on community-based, positive events, rather than big companies’ spec work “contests.” The former is more about fun and the enjoyment of art, and the latter is companies trying to get art assets for cheap.


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## MischievousPooka (Oct 21, 2020)

I get more attention on other sites than FA.  On DA I find that groups help and that the forums being part of the site and not separate makes a difference.  I seem to have better luck with hashtags on twitter and instagram than here.  I wish there was a way to separate artist from other people just reposting something they got commissioned when browsing.  It makes it harder to find the actual artist since not everyone links the artist in the info area.  And some theme I do get more views and other themes I seem to get lost in since a lot of people post in that theme.  But since I do get enough attention on other sites, I don't worry much about FA.  Some sites have different types of audiences and that audience might like you better than some other site's audience.


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## TemetNosce88 (Oct 21, 2020)

I've had a little more luck branching out onto other sites, also. My only pieces that have gotten many views at all I posted other places, the things I post just on FA barely get any. That could also just because I don't think the character I usually draw really catches the eye or stands out as her particular species, so it gets lost in the noise of everything else. That might apply to you as well, I'm not sure.


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## Frank Gulotta (Oct 22, 2020)

The key is to network. Find a group of people whose work you genuinely like, especially if it's in the similar niche/category as yours. But for the love of God don't spam people's shouts for views, it's annoying


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## BayoDino (Oct 22, 2020)

zerotwo said:


> my recent artworks haven’t gotten anything faves. I don’t know what I did wrong or different lol. Maybe people got bored? *shrug*


That fact is probably.... but I've seen Lewd artworks get more faves than normal arts, I personally am into SFW mostly. So i don't get much faves either ,I understand you


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## dahbastard (Oct 22, 2020)

luffy said:


> I actually think this site is better than dA or alternatives for becoming exposed because when you comment on someone's profile, they have to go to yours to reply.  It forces them to shove their face in your stuff.  I'd recommend reaching out and complimenting people on their profiles (while being genuine), always thanking for *everything*, and just communicating in general.


Yeah, I haven't been so successful in other artists reciprocating from me leaving comments.  Mostly, they just respond, "Thank you!", and nothing else, regardless of how many followers they have.  It's kind of discouraging, after putting in so much effort to meaningfully evaluate their work.


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## DergenTheDragon (Oct 22, 2020)

dahbastard said:


> Yeah, I haven't been so successful in other artists reciprocating from me leaving comments.  Mostly, they just respond, "Thank you!", and nothing else, regardless of how many followers they have.  It's kind of discouraging, after putting in so much effort to meaningfully evaluate their work.


Btw DB, I tried to go on your Deviant Art page, but I've found out today my ISP has banned it, like wtf!?
I went on your FA page, and it was much the same stuff as on forums which I had already commented on. Sucks that your not getting any clicks though my man.


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## reptile logic (Oct 22, 2020)

I appears to me that folks here have extended to you some good advice and helpful tips.

Seems like every day there is more out there on the web vying for a person's attention; a finite thing averaging about 57,600 seconds per day. Each piece out there is, unfortunately, one of thousands submitted per day. You got my attention through this post. To the best of my knowledge, I had not seen any of your work until now. Your work has just surfaced once more; congratulations.

Many people, myself included, tend to think of our own time as being the most important. Though there is value in reciprocity, some find it difficult to spend the time for it. It's easier to click on the next thing that catches ones' eye. As a writer, organic comments or reviews of my work come in on an average of about 2% of books sold. Granted, I'm an unknown with zero advertising budget.

For what it's worth, I'll be more mindful of images that I may come across. Please understand that I won't spend much time trying to find a link where I can post a comment to. My time on the internet is limited.

I have clicked on the links you provided. From the point of view of someone with no visual art skills, you have skill and a distinctive style. Beyond its technical merits, your style is one that does not capture my attention. Because of this, I will not extend my comments to those art spaces.


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## dahbastard (Oct 22, 2020)

reptile logic said:


> I appears to me that folks here have extended to you some good advice and helpful tips.
> 
> Seems like every day there is more out there on the web vying for a person's attention; a finite thing averaging about 57,600 seconds per day. Each piece out there is, unfortunately, one of thousands submitted per day. You got my attention through this post. To the best of my knowledge, I had not seen any of your work until now. Your work has just surfaced once more; congratulations.
> 
> ...



No problem.  Thank you for taking a look at my gallery, and being honest.  I truly do appreciate it.


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## dahbastard (Oct 22, 2020)

DergenTheDragon said:


> Btw DB, I tried to go on your Deviant Art page, but I've found out today my ISP has banned it, like wtf!?
> I went on your FA page, and it was much the same stuff as on forums which I had already commented on. Sucks that your not getting any clicks though my man.


That’s really strange!  Well, as I wrote on my gallery page, 90% of my stuff is my anthro work.  I do consider my DA page as my main gallery,  but only because I don’t want to be typecast as a furry artist, but I don’t think you are missing out on much at the moment.
Just so you know, I am truly appreciative for all your compliments on my City Cavern piece and your interest in my work.


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## BayoDino (Nov 2, 2020)

I checked your FA profile, Your arts are great except for a thing: You don't have much arts on FA based on the date you've joined. I suggest you to draw even more and upload then on FA when lots of people are online, Drawing fanarts might help you too since people look for specif subjects in arts.


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