# How to promote NSFW artwork?



## TeruTeruPonzu (Dec 4, 2018)

Hi, everyone! 

I'm having trouble with the "self-promotion-and-social-media" side of artistry. When I started, my plan was basically: 

1. Make 5-10 good pieces to start
2. Start a Tumblr and try to get followers
3. Open up for commissions 
4. Eventually start a Patreon to make NSFW comics and animations. 

I started my first Tumblr yesterday and uploaded my artwork. I have a Pixiv, but it doesn't get any traffic. It's my understanding that other sites like DeviantArt, Twitter, etc., don't allow NSFW art, but I've also heard that some artists use them successfully. I feel like FurAffinity is a great start, but the way art submissions are structured makes it hard to get noticed. 

I'd love to hear from some experienced artists who successfully get commissions and MAYBE even have their own Patreon! How did you get started? What sites and what methods did you use to build a following for your art? Can you offer any helpful tips? 

Thanks so much!

-TeruTeruPonzu


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## Fiorabeast (Dec 4, 2018)

Honestly... Recently Tumblr decided anything NSFW is an automatic NO and have been purging a lot of NSFW artists there (especially anything that shows nudity involving women, though I think NSFW involving guys MIGHT be safe but who knows really...). And as someone that tried get some traffic at the site with my own original art work and got nothing, I abandoned it. Same with Twitter (and actually as of now, Twitter does allow NSFW BUT it has to be behind a cut for you to view and you account labeled as such, but not sure if THAT will change too...). This is due to the fact, I feel that a LOT of people gravitate towards fan art a LOT more than your originals so it's just hard if say, you can draw a lot of good original content but people don't give you the pageviews because it's not a character from 'x show' that they are familiar with.

I think if your art is mostly fur art (with some NSFW thrown in or kept separate), *Furaffinity here* is really your best bet since I have seen it's probably the best place to showcase a lot of NSFW just with furry characters. Not to mention, the fur community does pay it's artists respectfully imo.
For humans, you kind of have to post a 'SFW' thumbnail preview and then actually send the artwork to the users after they paid your Patreon, is what I have seen. (Pixiv is mainly a Japanese based art site so unless you are intended on getting clients from Japan, you are going to have to try and speak the language to promote there since, most have a different taste in art style then in the West here).

If you want to get some views, *making a thread* showcasing your best work or maybe some sketches and WIPs here in the* Art and Illustration* area can get some users interested, as well as linking to where you post your art a lot.
For selling commissions,* make a Commission Shop by going to the Art Sales and Auctions* and also post up examples of your works that you do (as well as writing up what you can and can not do, your prices, etc...). 
Of course, it might be good to test waters by first going to the *Art Exchange and Trades and offering some free art with limited slots *since that can be a good way to see how much people are interested in your art. But also be careful too since you can end up not getting any paying customers due to a LOT of people just wanting free art for the sake of it being 'free.'

And lastly, talk and comment on any art pieces that catch your fancy, and join in the forums here to talk and stuff since usually that's kind of half-promoting yourself and half-just getting to know other artists here.

Sorry for the huge wordy post here, and I hope this helps you!


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## TeruTeruPonzu (Dec 5, 2018)

Fiorabeast said:


> Honestly... Recently Tumblr decided anything NSFW is an automatic NO and have been purging a lot of NSFW artists there (especially anything that shows nudity involving women, though I think NSFW involving guys MIGHT be safe but who knows really...). And as someone that tried get some traffic at the site with my own original art work and got nothing, I abandoned it. Same with Twitter (and actually as of now, Twitter does allow NSFW BUT it has to be behind a cut for you to view and you account labeled as such, but not sure if THAT will change too...). This is due to the fact, I feel that a LOT of people gravitate towards fan art a LOT more than your originals so it's just hard if say, you can draw a lot of good original content but people don't give you the pageviews because it's not a character from 'x show' that they are familiar with.
> 
> I think if your art is mostly fur art (with some NSFW thrown in or kept separate), *Furaffinity here* is really your best bet since I have seen it's probably the best place to showcase a lot of NSFW just with furry characters. Not to mention, the fur community does pay it's artists respectfully imo.
> For humans, you kind of have to post a 'SFW' thumbnail preview and then actually send the artwork to the users after they paid your Patreon, is what I have seen. (Pixiv is mainly a Japanese based art site so unless you are intended on getting clients from Japan, you are going to have to try and speak the language to promote there since, most have a different taste in art style then in the West here).
> ...



Oh gosh, that's SO HELPFUL. You answered, like, all of my questions. 

Thanks! I'll try these things and see how it goes!


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## ChocolateCoins (Dec 6, 2018)

Try posting during low traffic times for your time zone. It's easier to get noticed when your pictures aren't immediately flooded off of the front page. If the low traffic times are during a winow when you're normally asleep you can use postybirb to do scheduled posts.


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## pandasayori (Dec 8, 2018)

Lately I made a Telegram channel so that I can forward my NSFW artwork to different 18+ groups. It’s been pretty helpful and I’ve gained a bit of traction and met some lovely people by doing so. I primarily post on FA, but starting to use my Pillowfort account more to share my lewd artwork. I don’t have much luck when it comes to Twitter, but use it more for a socializing platform than one that I share art on.

The upside of Twitter is that there are a lot of art threads going around budding artists (as well as those with more experience) can add their art to the thread in the comments. It’s a nice way to gain a bit of exposure, but most of the examples in the threads are SFW. A lot of artists use Twitter to share their NSFW work. Even more now that Tumblr is purging lewd content, but Twitter doesn’t have the “contains mature content” in each individual post. Sensitive content can be hidden in account settings, but lewd art would have to be tagged as such so unwilling people don’t see that on their TL.

Even though I draw, tag, and post my art on social media: chatting with others and getting to know them has been helping me out a lot. Especially with those that share similar interests with both SFW and NSFW art. The community has a bunch of chill people to connect with, and connecting helps.


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