So this is gonna take a little bit longer, and a little bit more effort than those "Spam to Win" journals that FA just banned, but this method will probably get you much better quality watchers/favs anyway. Here is my advice for how (new or old) people can get some extra exposure.

The following steps assume you have some specific interests. Personally, I like clean feral Pokemon art, so I'll be using that to demonstrate my points. Just do this, but with whatever your interests are.

1. Have a minimum of 6-10 good images specific to your interests in your gallery. By good, I mean something that's good for your skill level. Don't just post 6 pieces of junk that took you 4 minutes each. First and foremost you have to give people a reason to want to follow your art, and that's hard to do when you don't have accurate examples of your art already. Also, get an interesting avatar, preferably your own art, but just anything other than the default one. Unless you're brand new, chances are you already have this step done.

2. Use FA's image search to look up your specific interest, and use the Advanced Options to filter for art type/time frame/rating. The term "Pokemon" is very generic, so I'm gonna expand my reach by getting a bit more specific with searches like "Pokemon Arcanine" and other Pokes.

3. Click on every image that is AT OR BELOW your skill level. I think it helps to open them all in new tabs.

4. Now look at the artists. You need to make yourself known to each artist, and the best way is to comment. Comment on their images, their page, say something -genuinely- nice about their art, maybe even a critique if they're ok with that. DON'T outright say "Hey, can you look at my gallery?" because that just comes out sounding desperate and they will probably ignore you. You want the person to visit your page of their own accord because they're interested.

Things that increase your odds of the person coming to check out your page:
- Having an interesting avatar. People are visual, and it's the fastest way to get their attention. Seriously, your avatar is the #1 fastest way to get me to check out your page, no matter where I find your comment.
- If the person doesn't get many comments on their art.
- You commenting on a lot of their stuff. Your name/avatar keeps popping up and becomes familiar/interesting.
- You commenting on a lot of their stuff over time. Some people with less time and more comments will need to see your name lots of times before they recognize you and visit your page.
- If you can find a way to -nicely- get the person to your gallery, maybe ask for feedback on a specific image if the person is willing.

5. If all else fails ask for art trades or do fanart for people! It's tempting to do fanart for popular people, but remember that they usually get a lot already, so your efforts would be better appreciated by someone who doesn't usually get much, if any. Same with trades, popular people already get a lot of trade requests so you should target those that don't get many.


Repeat this for 5, 10, 20, howmanyeveryouwant... people a day for a week or two.


Other, less targeted ideas for getting exposure:
- Let your commissioners/traders/requesters post a smaller version to their galleries. Free exposure to their watchers.
- Do some collabs.
- Join groups related to your interests. Can only find dead groups? Volunteer to take over and revive one! Group doesn't exist? Start one!
- Host a contest so people would give you exposure by posting their entries in their galleries. You can then have people vote on the entries (entrants would then encourage their friends to visit your page to send you their vote).
- Host an art exchange. Unlike a contest, an exchange actually encourages recruitment because of the nature of the event. You don't have to outright ask people to promote it, since you can't anyway.
- Join the forums and offer some limited request slots, link back to your gallery as examples. DON'T require watches/favs/promotions. I'd do a link-gathering, where people just need to leave a link to their refs and you can pick the most interesting ones to draw. It's also a good way to practice something new in the meantime.
- Offer comments/critiques. Make a journal and ask people to give links to art that they want comments on.



Now, that's just for WATCHERS. If you want COMMISSIONERS, you'll have to modify the approach. The reason for this modification is simple. What's better to have: 100 watchers that never commission, or 10 people that commission a lot?

Again, using the search find some commissions that are similar to what you offer (both in style and skill). Now, instead of going after the artist you'll want to look at the description and go after the "Commissioned by [person]." People who have already commissioned in the past are more likely to commission again. Think of it this way, would you rather target someone random with no commission history, or someone who's already shown interest and paid money for the exact type of art that you're offering?



All of these methods require significantly more work than what was banned. Unless you're freakishly lucky and talented, there are no shortcuts. Getting exposure WILL take time and effort.