Should I be more selective with my Instagram posts?
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@Griffin I just use my Instagram to post my sketches and learning. I figure when I become consistent and skilled enough to put together a portfolio I might change things up, but I’m not worrying about it yet. For now, people who follow me will have to be okay with change, lol. And honestly, I really enjoy seeing other people’s learning and growth as well, so I’m happy to follow inconsistent posters.
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Honestly you’re really consistent with your content. Color is a big factor in brand consistency so I think you are right on it. And if you do decide to make a change to a different color, just make sure to keep that color for a few posts.
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@aska thanks for the encouragement! There’s definitely a lot more consistentency in my recent work because those were series I did for school but outside of that I feel like I struggle with a unified look. The thing I’m hung up on is that I don’t think artists should create for an audience, they should create for themselves and an audience will eventually follow. I suppose I’m just frustrated because I’m not yet at the point where I can create whatever I want and it’s all cohesive. I have seen so many artists who seem to have had a style since they first started. I’ve seen artists go through sketchbooks from high school and their style is essentially the same just improved over time. Makes me think there’s something I just haven’t been able to tap into.
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@Griffin I also like the series you've done on your Instagram, and I think you're doing a good job overall. (Incidentally, as I was scrolling through I was really enthralled by the black-and-white watercolor (ink?) series you did back in March and April 2020.)
But I feel you on the style issue; I'm still not sure where I land either. I think what you are doing is one of the smartest ways to go about it: run different series, of whatever length, just to show you're being serious and not just flopping around, but also give yourself some breathing room. That way you have some consistency, something for people to grab onto--but at the same time you can continue to experiment. If you're not sure what your "look" is yet, then you don't want to get trapped in one particular pigeonhole. And it's usually better to err on the side of being genuine.
I see a lot of potential on your account to have even radically different series or "collections" each time, really lean into experiments, and then that experimentation can become your temporary "brand" until you settle into something you're really happy with.
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@Griffin maybe it would be borring to have the same style all the time?
It's not for everyone. I am very undecided which way to go.I am also a believer to create for yourself and audience will follow. Maybe naive, but it drives me to learn all the time and explore new things.
Keep positive and create as much as you can and good things will happen!
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The blue theme on your instagram definitely looks cool!
But what Ive realized on Instagram, and even with myself is, most people are on autopilot monkey brained selfish mode.
Meaning, unless you give them a really, REALLY good reason to care about your art, they aren't going to care at all.And to be honest? Most of the time even I don't care about any artists pictures or doodles (if there's hardly any concept or storytelling)
(most of the time people just draw characters standing around.)And knowing the 6 reasnos peeople would ever care about art, I started ONLY posting comic strips on my instagram.
I used to think it would suck not getting to post everything and seem 'more productive'but it actually feels cool to look at my profile and know it serves a functional purpose, to give people a quick laugh and maybe make their day better. And I get more meaningful comments now than before too.
Of course, only think about it to this extent if you actually care about growing on Instagram. If it's just for fun or whatever, who cares, post whatever!
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@Griffin I totally understand that. That’s one of the reasons why I had to really lessen my focus on Instagram because I was comparing myself to others way too much. I’m in the mindset now of just working on the skills, share it with other artists for actual feedback and focus on getting jobs through sources other than social media. My time input to benefit ratio wasn’t worth it in my opinion. But you’re doing great! Keep it up!
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I've been listening to "how to grow your instagram following" videos all day while working and this one was BY FAR the most insightful. I'm going to implement a lot of this stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ex8XsGqqK8
Listening to all of these videos, one thing that has really clicked for me is understanding that your instagram account is not a portfolio, it's a place to have conversations. And the algorithm rewards conversation and engagement. So whatever you can do to get people to talk to you and others in your feed, the more your account will grow.
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@Jake-Parker thanks for sharing! I found that helpful.
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@Jake-Parker good point! You can always put a link to your portfolio on you bio!
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@Jake-Parker ill take a look at that, im useless at social media.
