Creating Compelling Art: 3 Tips to Level Up your Social Media Game

Hey everyone, welcome to the new Patrons!

Getting attention on social media is difficult. Everything moves so fast, people are distracted, and there are countless accounts making content. So, how can you stand out? Here are three tips that will help you capture people's attention and create a following around your work.

Keep it simple. Focus on a simple motivation and plot/problem.

I've always thought that I was good at telling stories visually. I started early by making comics, then illustrations on social media, short animations, and now games. However, while pitching my game, Afterorder, to investors, I noticed that I struggled to tell my stories. I presented problems without proper solutions, offered too many random ideas, and included unnecessary details. It may not seem related to art, but I realized that I became more efficient when I spent a couple of minutes writing down a short story.

Pitching is simple but complex. You must present a problem and a solution by telling a short story. The bigger the problem and the better your solution, the better the story. However, the story must be streamlined and interesting. This applies to the first step in creating anything. While writing, you start to notice things that are off, which is like shaping an idea before going to the canvas. If you jump into a canvas without knowing what to do, sometimes it's fun, but when it's not, try writing down a few points to bring meaning to your creation.

While creating Luna, I brainstormed the characteristics of mangos. Then, I tried to think of a simple character motivation and a plot related to this fruit. The possibilities are endless, but the structure is always the same in stories: character motivation - problem - twist or plot. You should be able to summarize this in two lines to determine if you have a good idea that is simple and streamlined. After you have a simple and short story, building your character becomes much more manageable. You can go back to the fruit characteristics and shape the character's anatomy and personality accordingly. The best part is that you don't need to be in front of your device to do this. You can come up with great ideas while doing anything casual. Keep your eyes open; there are always good story references in unexpected places.

Be consistent. Create a process that you can keep up for weeks and months.

This tip is not related to technique; it's more like IP design. As an artist, you're creating your world. You're taking reality and building a different reality in which other people can see things from an interesting and different point of view, known as "style." To compete and avoid burnout, you need to find a soft spot to create content. This might be an activity that you will do for free, so eventually, you won't get caught up with responsibilities and commissions. Try to build a process in which you feel comfortable spending at least an hour of your day doing a simple doodle or sketch. There's no need to create a fully-rendered painting every day, just keep your short story in mind. While artists care a lot about visuals, people, in general, are more interested in stories.

Create a community

I'm not a fan of unpredictable things, so I try to be aware of what I create, and I cover up some things that I know my followers like. However, sometimes you get more likes and views than usual, and you don't even know why. That's why it's crucial to create a place where people who love your art can gather and interact outside of social media algorithms.

Consider building a community around your art that people can join and engage with. This could be a Discord server or another online platform where you can share your work and connect with your followers. However, be mindful not to over-post or share too frequently, as people can become annoyed. Instead, aim to post at least once a week or so to keep your followers engaged.

Building a community around your stories can be a great way to improve your work and keep people interested in what you do. By creating a space where people can interact and give feedback, you can build stronger relationships with your audience and gain valuable insights that will help you grow as an artist.

I hope these tips will help you in your work. Thank you so much for your support, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments or on our Discord server.