Need your advice
3 years ago
Hi. Lately ive been uploading more arts and ive realized that ive lost grip on what people like. If i even had any in the first place... The thing is that i will upload a piece that i think is pretty average, but it will be really liked by people, and on another occasion i will upload something i really like, had fun making, but nobody cares about it. I want to enjoy what i do more and part of that is to make sure that you guys enjoy it. So the question is this: Why and how are the most popular pieces made by me better than the rest of my art? Or just give me advice on what makes a piece good and enjoyable. Ive still got so much to learn...
Thank you~
Thank you~
If it's all personal stuff, same rules apply. Just hit that balance, you have to enjoy some of what you do, so do it for your enjoyment, not everyone elses.
My most popular drawing on IB for example is an outdated drawing of Cream the Rabbit I've made over 5-6 years ago. That's because people over there prefer cubs, obviously. If I don't draw cub art (Which I tend to not really do), people won't be as much enthusiastic over them.
Think of it like this. You draw a certain type of drawing and it will attract certain types of people that like the stuff that you do and those people will remain loyal to you no matter what because they love what you do. Think about those people and most importantly, you instead of trying to cater to everybody else.
...Also, I think IB is dead and thought about quitting the website but eh, that's just my opinion lolol.
Just keep on doing what YOU love to do :D The rest doesn't really matter. If you just draw because you want to be popular, you'll end up being a hardcore perfectionist and nothing you do will ever be right because that's what you'll think.
Other than that, I say working on dialogue would help as awell. If you were to ask me, it's the one thing that ever falls flat in your pieces.
I don't know a shorter or better way to word this, but sometimes, the things the characters say are things no person would say. Case in point: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47128651/
To quote:
"Don't mind us~
It's just two herm sisters having public sex...
You're welcome to watch though~"
From what I understand, you wanted the dialog in this piece to convey the following:
•The two having sex are herms and sisters
•The one receiving the blowjob is aware that others can see
•The one receiving the blowjob doesn't mind that others watching
I don't want to sugar coat it, the second line is just bad. It doesn't feel anywhere near as casual as the doodle looks, and the line literally explains what's going on in the piece. She's announcing to the viewer exactly what it is they are viewing. The only way it would be worse is if the text just read "I'm getting a blowjob!"
The good news is dialog, unless hand-written in an art piece is easy to fix. I think here, it would be better if the one who could talk spoke more about the girl giving. She can't speak for herself after all, not with that cock in her mouth.
I'll just spitball an idea for you to give you an idea of what I mean:
"Hehe, please excuse my little sis~
Horny girl couldn't wait until we got back in the car.
But if you felt like watching though...~"
Your art is quite nice already. I believe working on the dialog might be the fastest way to improve the overall ensemble of your works.
Your style is great. When I first saw a piece from you, the lithe ladies, cute faces, and just *something* about your art style was attractive. I believe this was one of the first pieces I saw and remains one of my faves from you: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38875233/ Great proportions, very sexy girl, and tones of sis/sis shenanigans, all things I love to see.
This one as well: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38134658/ Semi-public, the awesome description that shows deep affection between a couple, the sexy pose of his arm under her breasts, her well-sized cock and that amazing cumshot! Incredibly sexy.
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/40473544/ Not much to say about this except clothing bulges are amazing. A clear large-sized bulge on an otherwise very feminine, petite, and cute girl? Out-of-this-world hot.
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/42429988/ This is one of my absolute faves of yours, mostly for two reasons: I love big balls and your drew them VERY well here, and showing that sexy backsack with a cute vagina tucked in on the bottom gal is super hot to me.
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/43576393/ Another most-favorite of mine, a very well-drawn character. Simply well done and attractive, but I REALLY love that dick design. Awesome.
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/46661551/ A sexy hermaphrodite gal pleasuring herself while showing everything and being messy about it? Incredibly hot. Her proportions are great and overall just a sexy design that you drew well in that difficult pose.
I've favorited quite a bit in your gallery and it's been great to see how your style continues to evolve and become ever-more sexy, cute, and attractive. I find myself perking up and really enjoying whenever I see your name in my new submissions.
But of course, I'm just one person. I'm also quite a recluse at that, so discovering the mysteries of how to get that popular reach to many people will probably always elude me. But unusual characters and extreme hyper themes (cock/balls, breasts, other body parts, etc.) can be pretty niche and won't always draw a crowd, but some artists are extremely popular for it. The few hyper pieces you do appeals to me, but might not to many. It's easy to *say* you should draw what makes you happy, but that doesn't always pay the bills. I personally think your art and gallery is very attractive and I really enjoy almost all of what you crank out. I'd love to commission you someday, but my life is also going through some important change and I don't get art often anymore.
Continuing to learn and evolve is a great condition to have and I love seeing your art evolution through your gallery here. Keep it up, you're providing a great gift to your fans! One thing I might suggest is posting across a wide array of sites to get more exposure. Programs like Postybirb can make that much less tedious these days, though I don't know much about it.
Of course multi-character scenes have always been something you've done very well.
It really boils down to kinks and they are so varied that it is tough to hit it on the head everytime.
Even if you start making every picture a piece of MLP:FIM fanart and deliberately submit your art to a pony porn advertiser you still won't be able to guarantee that a picture of a popular pony will do twice as well as a picture of a pony that's half as popular.
The best advice I have is to read HBeats' blog about being an NSFW artist and learn about how to be good at this line of work. https://hbeatsart.com/category/blog/ They've been doing this for quite a while now and have generously written up a bunch of useful and interesting blog entries about how to get on in this business.
So do what you enjoy, and if people enjoy it too, consider that a victory on two fronts. If you do commissions be wary of who commissions you. Not just because scammers exist, but because some furs have friend groups that can overwhelm you with commissions, or will judge you for not getting something right. These kinds of toxic friend circles are the ones you need to try to keep out of your life, because they're not worth the effort to deal with.
The themes you focus on also attract a certain group of watchers. Voyeurism, Exhibitionism, Incest, and Intersex all are usually some degree of taboo to a majority of the fandom. If you did more vanilla stuff you might get more watchers, but if it's not fun, is it worth it?
'w'! I think your work is unique, and I enjoy your style. As I said before, I want to see you grow and see you enjoy your work.
As others have mentioned, futa stuff is generally liked. However, the more niche the subject, the less audience it'll get, but that smaller audience will stick around for longer. Because everyone draws futa, but someone discreetly tentacling their shy friends in public under the table? I will follow you forever just for that. That said, I ended up favorite-ing that on E621 since that version has the full sequence in one image.
Take that as you will. I'm just one perspective and on the internet, people who don't comment are the majority.
There are so many factors involved in a pieces' popularity, including those that have nothing at all to do with the quality of the work posted (like the time and day of the week you post, world events, etc.).
My advice is:
1) Draw what makes you happy in the hopes of attracting an audience that enjoys what you draw.
2) Post semi-regularly.
3) Engage with those who comment meaningfully. Take the time think about and respond to those who took the time to think about and comment on what you posted.
4) Take notice of those who've not commented before or who watch you based on the posting. Visit their profiles and take a glance at their galleries and favorites to get an idea of who your audience is and what they're into.
5) This is not one I necessarily follow myself, but I have observed that you can build a following if your works share a common thematic universe. It doesn't need to be a comic or series, but having a stable of characters that shows up regularly gives an audience something to relate with and become attached to. People will then look out for works involving their favorite character, no matter what they are.