As some of you may know, I've applied for MakersPlace, a big nft-platform on the Ethereum blockchain, a while ago.
Well, the three weeks of waiting are finally over, and I didn't get an anwer from them, which means I didn't get approved.
Actually, they didn't even look at the pictures, I've made for my application. I've uploaded them on a platform called imgshare.io, where I can see, how many views there were on my paintings, and there were only my own.
So I guess, they have a lot of artist requests coming in and were just too busy, to check on every single application. Which on the other hand is a good sign, because it means that they didn't reject me, because my art is not good enough :-)
(I knew it, because the artworks I've send them are awesome!)
But now, I'm at the same point as before, asking myself what to do with my art.
I've come so far over the last months. I've made a lot of artworks, sold a bunch of them on NFT-Showroom, got some great feedback from the artist community here on Hive.
So now my question is, how to go on with this journey?
Promotion
I'm asking myself (and you, obviously), if I should promote my art more, and why I'm still hesitating to do that.
Should I join Twitter for example, to get more attention and to connect with other artists (outside of Hive)?
Hive really is my comfort zone right now. I feel so comfortable and welcome here, it really became my home over the last half a year.
And Twitter, as a mainstream platform, seems like the big wide world, where things are fast and weird and overwhelming.
Also there is this idealistic voice in my head, that says, Twitter is the gang, the evil people, who celebrate censorship and power, and I should not support that.
But if I want people to see my art, I should go where the people are, right?
But do I need that? Do I need more people to see my art, when I have such a lovely and growing community here on Hive? How much attention do I want?
On the other hand, by using Twitter, I could help promoting Hive and NFT-Showroom ...
Other marketplaces
The other question now is, should I apply for MakersPlace again, or just try out another Ethereum platform for selling my artworks? Like Rarible for example (where I also don't have to wait to get approved).
I thought about it a lot recently, while I was waiting for MakersPlace. And at some point, I was totally sure, that if they don't accept me, I'll just stick with NFT-Showroom.
Because I really like NFT-Showroom! I like the community there, I like that it's accessable for everyone, while for the Eth platforms, I need a lot of money first, to pay for the gas fees, before I can put up an artwork.
And I like the thought of supporting NFT-Showroom by using it, by putting my best artworks up there, by believing in its value.
But still I'm not sure. Maybe I'm missing out a great opportunity by not being on Ethereum. Am I too afraid, do I still think my art is not good enough for the big wide world? Or is it the smarter decision to count on Hive?
I do believe in Hive!
I really believe, that Hive will become more popular, that the Hive coin will gain more value in the future, that people at some point will see it's great advantages. And then, collectors will come to NFT-Showroom, to find a lot of great artists there!
I just don't know when, and how long it's gonna take. So I can only deal with the situation that's in front of me right now.
And at the moment it seems, Ethereum is where the people are and the money is made (and spent). And if I want to make money with my art, I have to go, where the money is, right?
But maybe the money comes to where I am (Hive) some day, maybe even soon!
So how idealistic am I? How patient? How faithful?
It all comes back to where I want to go with my art
I want to have fun with my art and with sharing it. I want people to see it, and like it. It is great to see my art getting appreciated!
I don't feel the urgent necessity to make a lot of money with it, although it would definitely help. But I still feel, that I have the choice, I don't have to make a living from it, there are always other options.
But do I want to?
I could use some thoughts on that
It already helped a bit, to write that all down, to get it out of my head and organize my thoughts in writing.
But I still don't really know what to do. I'm quite confused right now, one moment I'm completely sure, what I want, and the next moment, I'm doubting again ^^
I know, eventually, I have to decide for myself, but if anyone of you artists out there, has some advice or experiences to share with me, I would highly appreciate it! <3
Promote wherever and whenever you can to any community as long as you also get involved with the community you're promoting on. Hive is a comfort zone if we started out here and the validations from the rewards we get are nice and all but this is just a small pond in an ocean of potential growth as an artist. By expanding on other platforms, we have a chance to spread our name and grow as an artists at the same time getting some potential traction in the community we're in.
We can expand what Hive is about through other platforms the same way other artists from other platforms expand on this blockchain too. We do our part for the blockchain by doing self marketing and that is already a big contribution compared to anyone that just content dumps on this place.
Thank you for your feedback! You're probably right, Hive is just a small pond still. And maybe I'm holding myself back by not expanding on other platforms and try my luck on Ethereum.
I'm still so new to this whole business, and I wasn't prepared for that ^^ So I really appreciate your opinion <3
So on which platforms do you promote your art?
Instagram, Twitter and Deviantart. The target demographic I'm aiming for are millenials and teens and if I scale up some skills for digital painting, will try to get into gaming concept art. Crypto art is a niche and my style isn't suited for it for now. I do experiment once in a while but trying to focus some energies on the primary goal first.
These platforms have high traffic while competitive amongst other artists, it's a necessary strife. An artist that doesn't compete for attention will have trouble driving themselves to do better in the market, well that's my take anyway, some artist just thrive better not competing but do art with whatever works for you.
Wow, sounds like you're really organized and focused in your promotion efforts! That's inspiring!
I was thinking about Deviantart too, but I didn't know if it's still a thing. So obviously it it, right? Maybe I do a bit more research on that.
Thanks again for your advice! <3
Welcome. It's still a thing for young artists trying to explore online. But you have to invest some time marketing yourself and the community there to get anywhere. Being good isn't enough. All these platforms have artists competing for attention and being good isn't enough is an understatement. It's a steep climb as you also need to negotiate with the algorithms on discoverability. The less likes you get as soon as you post you automatically get bumped out of the front page as several posts splurge out by the minute or hour.
I went through a similar process in the recent past and, to be honest, I still don't know the answer. I don't necessarily want to create art for money but I'm welcoming getting rich(er) via my creativity / art.
I recently got on Twitter again ( after years of absence ) in an attempt to promote my art and there's so many people selling and buying art for ETH. It leads to a lot of FOMO and greed. Not sure how to feel about it.
I feel like you would this post for people like me and wish I could give you an answer and tell you something you didn't already know but it's tough...
Keep doing what you're doing ( meanwhile I'll do the same ) - enjoying the process - and you will get there, eventually.
Um abraço
Thank you for your words <3 It's always good to know, that someone feels the same like me.
I wouldn't mind, to make some money with my art either. That's what everyone wants to, making money by doing something one loves doing! Be it just for getting myself a new graphic tablet or a better pc one day to be able to keep creating and experimenting.
I don't know ... it seems like this is my new challenge on the journey. And I know at some point I'll be sure, what's the right path for me. Looking forward to it.
So how is Twitter? I've never used it.
At least I'm on Discord now, very proud of me ^^
All good things take time.
Twitter feels like a waste of energy to me. Not sure how long I'll stand it this time.
Looking forward to connecting more with you on Discord :>)
I just started on twitter. Pretty overwhelming, so fast, so much input. I really have to look after myself, my mind can't take too much information at once ^^ So I'm not spending too much time over there.
I will see, I'll give it a try.
Yeah, discord on the other hand isn't too much to handle yet ^^ Let's chat someday :-)
I totally get it. Us sensitive peeps need to be very aware of how, where and with whom we spend our time.
Big hug!
Yeah, and social media is programmed to soak one in ^^ I'll be careful to not get swallowed up.
Big hug back <3
Very true. I must say that all the attention for NFT ( especially on NFT ) right now on Twitter doesn't make it more appealing for me to be active there. It overwhelms me and awakens greed and fomo in me. How do you deal with it all?
I was also tried rarible but maybe I did something wrong. So I saw gas fee for $60. And didn't post art there.
But one little thing I got - it's using Metamask wallet. It's simple and workable instead of Fortmatic.
As for twitter and insta - you can just sign up there, post and use tags like
#art #artwork #artoftheday #arts #artstagram #artshow #artlife #artgallery #artpop #instagramanet #instatag #illustration #illustrator #illustrations #illustrate #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #picture #pictureoftheday #pictures #abstract #artsy #instaart #gallery #abstractart #avantgarde
#avantgarde #cryptoart #hive #creary #digitaldrawing #digitalart #jpg #jpeg #private #abstract #abstraction #expression #impressionism #contemporaryart #modernart #painting #art #fineart #visualart #expressionism #surreal #surrealism #modern
P.S. I can't say that I'm successful in art, but these tags I use)
Wow, 60$ is a lot! It's quite a risk to upload art over there, it seems.
I still don't know about twitter, maybe I try it. A sort of "bridge" to the world outside of Hive ^^
Thanks a lot for your insight!
<3
Hey there Anafae, I have the same concerns as you. Rarible is just too pricey with the gas fees - $12 to upload a NFT. I'm verified there but reluctant to spend so much when there is no certainty of selling anything to cover the costs. It's a catch22 situation for small accounts like ours. We need to promote our art and the ETH blockchain appears to be bigger than Hive, which is probably quite a small group.
I recommend using Twitter - post any new NFT or Hive post link there and promote your art via the Twitter art community. That's what I'm about to dive into.
Yes, how should people find my art on any of these platforms, when nobody knows me ^^ There's just so much art there!
I'm thinking of trying out Twitter. It's probably a good idea to start with that.
Thanks for your feedback <3
I've been on twitter for a couple of weeks now posting art and hitting like button a lot. Fun but so much scrolling its hard to keep up
Yeah, I guess, there's a lot going on there on twitter ^^
It would be a kind of a new project, a new platform to manage. Maybe I'll try it ...
Thanks for sharing your experience with me <3