18 replies to this topic

[Selkirk]

feels like now when i draw something i spend at least 1 hour posting it on various forums/boards/and the dreaded 'social' media. got me to thinking -am i missing any places to post ? after i draw a sketch i start with deviant of course-deviant functions as my homebase...and i really have developed strong relationships with a number of my watchers and other artists i like on deviant. after that i just start posting the sketch everywhere. im going to run down my list of where i post and my thoughts about each one...this list is not in any particular order(except deviant is always first). feel free to comment on any of these places to post art and also add your own of course .

i think an important consideration when posting your pieces is...visibility! i post everywhere because at some point someone may google or stumble across this image and hit my deviant page or hit me with an email. so even places where i don't get much feedback(like say concept art) the exposure is still good. on this note-always attach a signature to whatever you are posting wherever...makes it easy to have people contact you or look at your work in your preferred arena.

deviant art - http://www.deviantart.com/ -essential...the place i can post mature sketches and everything is in as high of a resolution as i want. i can't say enough about the community-i love deviant .
outcast studios - http://outcaststudios.com/forums/ honestly outcast is one of the first forums i found when i started drawing again. i typically post artwork in my sketch thread. my favorite social forum...and an artistic comfort zone.

ten ton studios - http://www.tentonstu...forum/index.php if you haven't visited check them out. the weekly sketch challenge is fun and the sketchbook thread is good too-nice feedback and crits here.

concept art - http://www.conceptart.org/ ok this is a big forum...very big and easy to get lost/distracted. i have a sketchbook thread here with about as many views as i have on my deviant page. the difference is i don't get much feedback there-after say 2 years or so i have about 10 comments. still its great for search engines.

pixiv - http://www.pixiv.net/mypage.php honestly i joined pixiv to just look at the art...but i couldn't escape the urge to post my own too. the problem is of course a language/stylistic one. i dont speak japanese and i dont draw in a particularly anime style. still i have gotten some watchers and i just like posting there-if a sketch does well(albeit on a small level) it makes me feel good.

cghub http://cghub.com/ i feel a bit like a fish out of water here...but who cares -another place to post art. here it's a bit different as you can post images under your profile and start a sketchbook. i have found that i tend to just post images in my profile...altho i did start a sketchbook too. i get some feedback but not that many views...still i like posting here. only complaint is that images come in at low resolutions(say 500 pixels wide...). not much feedback here...but i'll keep posting.

cgtalk http://forums.cgsociety.org/index.php? another cg forum i found...i post in the anatomy sketchbooks portion-most of my stuff is just figures so it makes sense. i don't get many views here and no feedback so far . this is where i play catch up...i might not post for a week or two, then post a bunch.

millar world http://forums.millar...um/19-creative/ - mark millars forum/message board. i just started a thread here(like 20 mins ago ). i don't know what expect...i will update when i find out.

social media sites
facebook ...i post images on my facebook page...i can't say that i get many views-my friends on fb sometimes like things i post .
google + ...i post here too...not much exposure but i have had some interesting contact with people liking my images...it's cool-a good place.

side note-on both facebook and google+ i dont post nudes(presents a bit of a problem for me ^^;-practically everything i do is a nude ). also fb and google+ have fairly low resolution image posting. still these are good.

ok so now deviant makes it easy to hit a bunch of sites...top right corner they link to a number of 'social media' sites-ones i post images too:
tumblr http://www.tumblr.com/ -ok so this functions as a blog...i have never received a comment on tumblr-also they have no stat tracking. i really have no idea who sees these-if anyone.
pininterest http://pinterest.com/ -i don't know about this one...no stats but i just started here(i probably have say 8 images here )
stumble upon http://www.stumbleupon.com/home -completely unsure about the impact this one has...just started(i probably have say 8 images here too)
reddit http://www.reddit.com/ -just started here too...this isn't a 'gallery' perse...more like a link aggregator(again about 8 images here)

with the 'social media' sites above i can't say what if any impact they have had on hits...i have had no comments and stat tracking is non existent...but its so easy to submit off deviant that they go in the 'why not' category.

so this wraps up where i post an image-again feel free to post your own(places i may be missing).

[rmansperger]

Generally I post here, to my Tumblr site (which then feeds to Twitter), Google+ and Facebook as well as the dreaded DeviantArt.com (honestly I hate the site). I do plan to start pinning my art in Pinterest as well now that I've gotten a better handle on it.

I should explore some of these other sites you've listed as well.

[davidskeleton]

ConceptArt is a tough one with as much activity and as many members as they have. I usually get a lot more responses when I am posting and commenting daily, your stuff will get buried very quickly there.

I started on Pinterest but I haven't really gotten around to how I actually want to utilize that network, but I am sure I will find my niche there.

Although I really am not a fan of how the site handles photographs for upload I found a great place in Instagram where I can just post pics from my phone and the short time I was using that I found a tremendous amount of activity for the duration I experimented with it. I will definitely get back around there when I am drawing daily again.. which I hope is soon! Talk about a big slacker lately.

[WarInHeaven]

i post here and on Dart (and Photobucked for sharing)

my teachers did try to push conseptart.org on us, but it's such a monolith of a site, unless you have superior abilities or post every single day, you're not going to get a lot of views/feedback.
hence me staying well clear of it

[Selkirk]

@rman you dont like deviant ? elaborate please . hey man have you gotten good feedback on tumblr(like i said i haven't gotten any responses...still i keep posting there).

@skeleton and war in heaven -yeah guys i gotta agree concept can be/is overwhelming. i think like you noted for conceptart to function well requires you to put in a lot of effort-posting in a number of threads/participating in challenges etc. my feeling on concept is that it can be extremely rewarding it's just that 1) it's easy to get lost there(so many posts-i post in the sketch thread and after an hour im on page 2 ) 2) again the time requirements to get noticed are pretty steep and 3) of course it helps if you are working digitally ^^;. still all that being said im going to make some efforts to improve my concept art visibility.

@skeleton and rman you guys like pinterest? have you gotten much feedback and/or what is it you like about it. i'm a bit unsure if it's worth applying energies to this one or not(and i haven't applied any yet ...just submitting images off my deviant page).

Edited by Selkirk, 01 July 2012 - 08:16 AM.

[Sweattshop]

Outcast, Facebook, My Art Blog, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, StumbeledUpon, Google+ and your moms house.

Tumblr link fixed. Thanks Cam Anju!

Edited by Sweattshop, 02 July 2012 - 04:00 PM.

[wildcats25]

Outcast, Deviant Art. facebook is a rarity

[Biram Ba]

Deviantart - I keep posting there, but lately I've been getting less interested with what's going on there, too much information. Since I started a new account I try to keep my watch list small, and it's better.
Facebook - I don't like it that much, I don't think it's a good tool for sharing art, or even links to your site, but it's a good exposure.
StumbleUpon - It's a weird site. It can give you no views for weeks and then, one day, you get a couple thousand. I've been using it for a while. I'm thinking of starting a new, "official" account, cause I think I have a weird set of interests and it makes people confused.
MangaMagazine - I don't post much there, but if I did, I think I would get more exposure than on dA for some reason. Maybe it's just less crowded there.
Amilova - comic translation community, good exposure. I got invited there, if you want to post there you need to talk to the admin or something, I think.

[davidskeleton]

To be honest I started Pinterest but the only people I have that have friended me are people I know personally. I think I set up like three categories. Have not really jumped into this. My Instagram though for whatever reason, has complete and total randomness with the people following me and liking my stuff. I think I only have a handful of people I actually know on that account but whenever I post it buzzes pretty well. I usually just post a progress shot from my phone and launch it.

When I was posting regularly to my Tumblr I was getting some pretty regular traffic there. I haven't been posting as much lately but I think I had some pretty good results.

[RachaelWells]

deviantArt, Facebook, Twitter, and I just started on Tumblr

[Selkirk]

cool input guys...and i just finished my posting rounds for a few more sketches-damn this digital fatigue(so many mouse clicks ). just a few more thoughts on a few of the venues:
i really wish all the sites would post views/hits...without them i really haven't a clue as to how a pic is doing. it's what drives me crazy about tumblr...in all honesty i have no idea if anyone has even seen it -i am inclined to believe that my tumblr gets few views...as my deviant traffic is more or less the same since i joined tumblr.

pinterest- i'm just not getting it yet...i mean i've posted about 20 images now. no comments...no stats...maybe its the kind of thing that needs some nurture(and better sketches )

stumbleupon-same thing...but they do have stats-if weird ones. some of my images have 80 views and most have 0. no feedback here either.

google + - quickly turning into one of my favorite places to share art...it's small(relatively) and i have either friended or gotten feedback from several professionals/people i am interested in. google+ is a winner...particularly when compared to say facebook-facebook is just an obligation...i get nada from facebook views wise etc...

millar world-not sure yet-only been there about a week...i started a sketchbook thread and i have like 50 views (and one nice comment)-i'll keep posting there for certain

[rmansperger]

Sorry for the tardy reply Selkirk, I've had a hellacious week off trying to get a pool installed in the yard that my wife bought the kids and after spending four days leveling the area in the yard and two days filling it it leaned sooooo we spend two days unfilling it. I don't know about you, but I'm freaking about the water bill next month. Ugh.

Anyhoo - I really don't like DeviantArt.com that much. I find it a rather cold place overall with no sense of community. I also find a lot of the fine print involved with the site to be suspect. I post there because it may lead to a freelance gig sometime in the near future. Or at least that is what people tell me.

With Tumblr - there is a plugin or two to enable commenting on the posts you make there along with the "like" or "favorite" thing (that heart graphic). I get a few views here and there.

Pinterest is something I'm learning more about. Currently pinning artwork I like, but I should definitely start a board with my own images and report back to you.

StumbleUpon is something of a gamble given your art will only appear to people looking for very specific things. Its a great random engine that I find a few cool things from, but more a distraction than a find.

[Selkirk]

no problem rman ...dude you gotta get the pool right-honestly im not a weather nerd but its blistering hot this summer.

you know man about deviant i just have the flip view-bro i love it...honestly deviant is all about community for me. i mean it's really a great outlet-the format just 'clicks' for me. i couldn't ask for a better platform-now as to it leading to pro work ^^;.... i don't know-pros are on deviant but one wonders...is this a chicken or the egg thing? still as an outlet and to promote-and of course to get commissions i find deviant indispensable. i do agree about the licensing etc...but the display options are there(i mean you can upload low res versions of your work to limit some of the theft/usage issues).

tumblr-i just don't feel it...im not getting any responses/and the lack of stats again is just murder(even if it's just 10 people total i want to know how many views im getting ).

pinterest-you know i was rambling on about deviant 'clicking' with me-pinterest hasn't yet. i just dont get the format...starting boards/pins-it doesnt make sense yet. and im trying to balance if its worth it for me to invest some energy trying to make it make sense . this one i'll keep an eye on it.

stumbleupon- must agree...and i think thats a good description of it-random. altho they do give stats for images(huge plus) and for all my crying about no views i just tonite got 300 views on stumble upon for an evil-lyn pic i drew. so i love stumbleupon...at least for tonite .

but the stumbleupon 'hits' im getting do raise an interesting question...of what value are these hits? are these people going to buy commissions from me or will i collaborate with any of them on art projects? one has doubts...so i may just be flooding my deviant page with what amounts to essentially ghost hits-but deviant does a pretty good job on filtering these out. i get pageviews on the deviation but the views on my profile page only go up when i get new deviants visiting-basically only people with deviant accounts increase my pageviews...the 'ghost' hits(google hits/stumbleupon/reddit etc)just register with that particular image.

so do these other venues actually help promote? everything helps of course and as discussed if it only takes a bit of time to submit then whats the harm? there is none. still i find message boards/forums(best feedback-crits etc.)the best outlets...well those and of course my new best friend stumble upon .

[Biram Ba]

The most hits I ever had from Stumbleupon was 100k on this one. I can't say I felt any kind of additional traffic on my other pages, though. SU users don't really look for a long time commitment

[Selkirk]

@biram wow 100k hits ... and yeah man it's kind of weird...i do see the hits increase on my deviant page(i'm submitting from there to stumble/pin/tumblr etc...)-but it doesn't add up too much. its like hits on a you tube video i suppose .

oh and another site to post-many of you may be familiar with it already its digital webbing forums http://www.digitalwebbing.com/forums/ . they have a sketchbook thread(oh dear lord how many of these can i maintain ^^;..) and the community seems pretty active-lots of people looking to collaborate etc...this one is definitely worth a look.