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Where To Find Me
2 years ago
Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, but changes on certain social media platforms have got me thinking about where I'm posting, whose responding, and what would happen if one of these platforms disappeared or became unusable. I've gained a decent following on some of these sites and I'd lose that if I had to start over elsewhere. I'm not famous. I'm not trying to get branding deals. But more eyes on my art means more commissions and more Patreon funds. I need those more than ever since rent is skyrocketing in my town.
Here's a list of where I've posted in the past and where I'm posting now:
OLD RELIABLE (FurAffinity) -- Yes, the site has its problems (at least the site doesn't crash for weeks at a time anymore), but I've been here longer than anywhere else. I've discovered fellow artist, I've made plenty of friends, and (cliche as it may sound) I get a sense of community I don't find elsewhere. The tools are limited. I can't post high res pics without upgrading to FA+. But I've been here too long and I'll probably never leave.
THE DIET ALTERNATIVES (Furry Network, Weasyl, SoFurry) -- I always forget these exist until some admin drama blows up on FA or the site crashes for a week, and people start going elsewhere. I don't think I've posted to these sites in years. I just never get much engagement, and they're not different enough from FA for me to bother with them. If you like them more power to you, but for me they're a waste of time.
NEO-TUMBLR (DeviantArt) -- What happened, DA? This was where I posted everything: high school art, college art, and furry art. Obviously, I couldn't post straight up porn, which is why I made an FA account, but I kept an account here for over a decade. However, as time went on I'd get fewer faves and follows, and I think this is due in part to how massive the site became. You could find most anything on DA, and honestly a lot of it was pretty awful. Remember all the stamps and custom emojis? A few years ago they made substantial changes to the UI. It made the site look more modern, but to me it felt more like a phone app than a website. I found it difficult to navigate and finally shuttered my account in frustration. Now they're allowing AI to scrape content off their site. Looks like I jumped ship just in time.
THE PROBLEMATIC FAVE (Twitter) -- The abusive lover no one can quit. There were a lot of issues with Twitter even the Muskovite takeover. I mostly avoided the political cesspool side of Twitter because pretty much everyone I followed or interacted with was an artist. But yeah, I'm noticing a lot more questionable content sent my way, and so many users have fallen for AI "art" accounts that they're little better than bot accounts themselves. Still, this is by far the best place to be discovered and to gain followers. You could favorite art on other platforms but retweeting it gets that pic in front of so many more people. I don't like the recent changes. I don't like the guy in charge. But at least for now, I'm sticking it out until something real serious happens. And no, I'm not paying $8 a month for a fucking checkmark.
THE LIFE RAFTS (CoHost, Mastodon, etc.) -- Like everyone else, I made accounts right after Musk bought Twitter, but I haven't looked at them since. I don't think many others have either. :/
THE NEW CLASSICS (Discord and Telegram) -- I have both and I use them all the time. They're great for keeping up with friends and sending sketches to commissioners. Watching friends stream or watching so-bad-they're-good movies with friends got me through lockdown. I haven't made my own Discord server or Telegram group to post my art. I'm not sure what kind of response I'll get. What do you think?
THE ANCIENT ONES -- Does anybody even remember Elfwood? VCL? Furry Muck? Furnation? Cashew Lou's old page?
OUR LORD AND SAVIOR (Patreon) -- Honestly, I resisted making an account for years because I thought it'd be a fad. I doubted I was good enough for a Patreon, but I finally relented. It took a long time to build up a following, but a few years in it's become a lifeline. It doesn't provide a ton of revenue but it's enough to pay off some credit card bills. Naturally, Patreon has it's issues too. But I'm truly flattered how many patrons have stuck around as long as they have.
Have you ever taken a survey or reviewed a product, and it asks how you heard about them (flyer, online ad, etc.)? I'm doing the same here. What platforms do you use the most? Have you left any? Would you be willing to? Let me know in the comments.
TWITTER: Artizek
TELEGRAM: Artizek
PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/artizek
FN: https://furrynetwork.com/artizek/
WEASYL: https://www.weasyl.com/~artizek
SO FURRY: https://artizek.sofurry.com
Here's a list of where I've posted in the past and where I'm posting now:
OLD RELIABLE (FurAffinity) -- Yes, the site has its problems (at least the site doesn't crash for weeks at a time anymore), but I've been here longer than anywhere else. I've discovered fellow artist, I've made plenty of friends, and (cliche as it may sound) I get a sense of community I don't find elsewhere. The tools are limited. I can't post high res pics without upgrading to FA+. But I've been here too long and I'll probably never leave.
THE DIET ALTERNATIVES (Furry Network, Weasyl, SoFurry) -- I always forget these exist until some admin drama blows up on FA or the site crashes for a week, and people start going elsewhere. I don't think I've posted to these sites in years. I just never get much engagement, and they're not different enough from FA for me to bother with them. If you like them more power to you, but for me they're a waste of time.
NEO-TUMBLR (DeviantArt) -- What happened, DA? This was where I posted everything: high school art, college art, and furry art. Obviously, I couldn't post straight up porn, which is why I made an FA account, but I kept an account here for over a decade. However, as time went on I'd get fewer faves and follows, and I think this is due in part to how massive the site became. You could find most anything on DA, and honestly a lot of it was pretty awful. Remember all the stamps and custom emojis? A few years ago they made substantial changes to the UI. It made the site look more modern, but to me it felt more like a phone app than a website. I found it difficult to navigate and finally shuttered my account in frustration. Now they're allowing AI to scrape content off their site. Looks like I jumped ship just in time.
THE PROBLEMATIC FAVE (Twitter) -- The abusive lover no one can quit. There were a lot of issues with Twitter even the Muskovite takeover. I mostly avoided the political cesspool side of Twitter because pretty much everyone I followed or interacted with was an artist. But yeah, I'm noticing a lot more questionable content sent my way, and so many users have fallen for AI "art" accounts that they're little better than bot accounts themselves. Still, this is by far the best place to be discovered and to gain followers. You could favorite art on other platforms but retweeting it gets that pic in front of so many more people. I don't like the recent changes. I don't like the guy in charge. But at least for now, I'm sticking it out until something real serious happens. And no, I'm not paying $8 a month for a fucking checkmark.
THE LIFE RAFTS (CoHost, Mastodon, etc.) -- Like everyone else, I made accounts right after Musk bought Twitter, but I haven't looked at them since. I don't think many others have either. :/
THE NEW CLASSICS (Discord and Telegram) -- I have both and I use them all the time. They're great for keeping up with friends and sending sketches to commissioners. Watching friends stream or watching so-bad-they're-good movies with friends got me through lockdown. I haven't made my own Discord server or Telegram group to post my art. I'm not sure what kind of response I'll get. What do you think?
THE ANCIENT ONES -- Does anybody even remember Elfwood? VCL? Furry Muck? Furnation? Cashew Lou's old page?
OUR LORD AND SAVIOR (Patreon) -- Honestly, I resisted making an account for years because I thought it'd be a fad. I doubted I was good enough for a Patreon, but I finally relented. It took a long time to build up a following, but a few years in it's become a lifeline. It doesn't provide a ton of revenue but it's enough to pay off some credit card bills. Naturally, Patreon has it's issues too. But I'm truly flattered how many patrons have stuck around as long as they have.
Have you ever taken a survey or reviewed a product, and it asks how you heard about them (flyer, online ad, etc.)? I'm doing the same here. What platforms do you use the most? Have you left any? Would you be willing to? Let me know in the comments.
TWITTER: Artizek
TELEGRAM: Artizek
PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/artizek
FN: https://furrynetwork.com/artizek/
WEASYL: https://www.weasyl.com/~artizek
SO FURRY: https://artizek.sofurry.com
Well, Telegram art groups can be fine, I actually like them as as long as they are not publicly postable. Comments on your postings are fine, but don't make the mistake of thinking that just letting anyone post anything in the channel is a good idea.
And don't be one of those guys who gets upset when your art is forwarded to other channels. That's the best way to advertise.
I'm still on FurryMUCK, but it's been dead for a decade without actually dying. At least Tapestries is still kicking! That place is fun.
I have a Discord, too.
And as long as you still have here and Patreon, I don't think you need to worry about any possible shrinkage of followers due to using Telegram and Discord. Also, while it is true the reach of those is limited (and when it's a wider net, like groups or channels, it can create problems on who is allowed in), they at least allow for personal interaction and the uses you already described for them.