As an artist, I can say that social media can be daunting. To do it right you need to make a lifestyle change to accommodate it. Not only that, but seeing what's "successful" can be the single most frustrating thing ever (I'm not going to "spill" the beans and mention any specific annoying art trends...see what I did there? Muahaha). 

It's a misconception that good art is going to get the attention it deserves. I have seen amazing work never get more than a few likes and solid practicing artists can struggle to get any following at all. Not only that, but it can be hard to tell if the person posting the artwork is even the artist and everything is re-shared and re-shared until you're sick of seeing it. Artists spend their lives honing their art skills only to find that they need to build a completely different skill set to stay relevant today. 

I could sit here and be negative all day (I've been told I'm pretty good at that), but the purpose of this article is to be positive and go over what is good about social media for artists. 

There are the obvious pros of social media in general, like being connected to people your consider great. You can follow their lives, watch their artwork progress, and maybe even discuss art with them. You can learn a lot from people you admire just by seeing a WIP of theirs. In the past, you would need to have a pretty close relationship with an artist to see their work in progress. Most artists are so desperate for social media content (MOAR!) that basically all of them are posting WIPs for everyone to see. 

Digital art allows for collabs, which is a relatively new thing, at least between known artists and not just an artist and his apprentices, even though it probably shouldn't be a new thing. This gives artists a chance to engage an entirely new audience that already likes art in exchange for good work (if anyone's interested in one left me know...seriously!).  

The most important part, at least in my opinion, is the inspiration you can find on social media. Most of my feeds are full of artists and their work. I basically go to a museum in my phone whenever i have a few minutes. When I was in college, finding inspiration was hard. The internet was around, but mostly just archives of historical art. You could really only find big names by searching and you never saw the emerging artists with new perspectives, which can sometimes be the most inspirational. 

Moral of the story? Embrace social media. Don't expect people to react to your art alone. You will need to put the time into learning how to build a following. Stay consistent. Be authentic. Be smart. 

Perhaps one day I'll do all of those things. Haha.