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Being an artist in 2025 (and the slog it's become)
9 months ago
I tweeted this out earlier, but I figure it might be worth posting here. Also I've noticed that people literally unfollow me if I post any kind of journal on FA, but oh well, I gotta quit worrying about that.
Got a rant that's been brewing for a while, because this shit has been really bothering me over the last few years. I hate how you have to bend yourself into a pretzel to be successful as an artist. You can't just draw what you like and do it well and expect it to work out. Tech puritans will shadowban you and stunt nearly 100% of your reach. Shithead busybodies demand basically a full map of your DNA genome, otherwise you can't use their service (cough Patreon cough). Beyond that, you have to draw ecchi waifu-of-the-week slop to get anywhere. Normally I'd keep this part to myself, but I have to lay it out here. All of my profiles have had barely any growth over the last several years. In fact, they've shrunk, despite me improving basically everything about my art. I don't know why. Maybe the faces I draw are probably too furry for non-furries and too human for furries. Maybe my shading style is too plastic-y. Maybe it's because I don't draw hardcore porn. I like porn, it's just not me, and I've been uploading art for almost 15 years - I won't start now. Thank god I have an Ebay business that's exceeded every expectation of mine and is actually doing well. I don't know where I'd be without it. I've had to sacrifice a large portion of art time for it, and that's necessary for my existence as a person. That's just reality. I guess I need to re-assess my expectations of my art and be at peace with diminishing returns. I'll always be wondering what I'm doing wrong, or what I'm not doing. But overall I need to get it in my head that this is just a hobby now, with commission work here and there.
I've also heard similar things from artists I follow, such as
furlana, 
aomori, and 
yasmil, at least on the Twitter being nearly unusable part, and they have 100 to 1,000 times my reach. But Furlana made a good point about continuing to cultivate a community here on FA, where at the very least you can expect that your art reaches the inbox of your followers, and isn't lost in transit (whether or not they click on it is another thing, but it's still better than Twitter). I used to post journals to FA semi-regularly back in the day, at least maybe once every week or two, but Discord and Twitter eventually became my dumping ground of ideas and rants. I'll try to push myself to be more active here in that regard going forward.
Anyway I guess since I'm here I can do a quick life update, my TCG business is still going strong locally and online (going on 3-4 years now!), so that's good, also two years ago I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (heart rhythm problems), but with treatment that has DRASTICALLY improved to the point where it's like I don't even have it anymore, so that's massive. Other than that I've just been on the grind, trying to make my dreams come true. Also I haven't done a YCH batch in a long ass time, and I've got three poses ready to go, so once I'm out of my current mood, I'll have those up for grabs. Also big thanks to the people who comment and favorite my stuff here. Even if I don't reply to comments (which is usually because I can't think of something witty to reply with), I always appreciate it.
Got a rant that's been brewing for a while, because this shit has been really bothering me over the last few years. I hate how you have to bend yourself into a pretzel to be successful as an artist. You can't just draw what you like and do it well and expect it to work out. Tech puritans will shadowban you and stunt nearly 100% of your reach. Shithead busybodies demand basically a full map of your DNA genome, otherwise you can't use their service (cough Patreon cough). Beyond that, you have to draw ecchi waifu-of-the-week slop to get anywhere. Normally I'd keep this part to myself, but I have to lay it out here. All of my profiles have had barely any growth over the last several years. In fact, they've shrunk, despite me improving basically everything about my art. I don't know why. Maybe the faces I draw are probably too furry for non-furries and too human for furries. Maybe my shading style is too plastic-y. Maybe it's because I don't draw hardcore porn. I like porn, it's just not me, and I've been uploading art for almost 15 years - I won't start now. Thank god I have an Ebay business that's exceeded every expectation of mine and is actually doing well. I don't know where I'd be without it. I've had to sacrifice a large portion of art time for it, and that's necessary for my existence as a person. That's just reality. I guess I need to re-assess my expectations of my art and be at peace with diminishing returns. I'll always be wondering what I'm doing wrong, or what I'm not doing. But overall I need to get it in my head that this is just a hobby now, with commission work here and there.
I've also heard similar things from artists I follow, such as
furlana, 
aomori, and 
yasmil, at least on the Twitter being nearly unusable part, and they have 100 to 1,000 times my reach. But Furlana made a good point about continuing to cultivate a community here on FA, where at the very least you can expect that your art reaches the inbox of your followers, and isn't lost in transit (whether or not they click on it is another thing, but it's still better than Twitter). I used to post journals to FA semi-regularly back in the day, at least maybe once every week or two, but Discord and Twitter eventually became my dumping ground of ideas and rants. I'll try to push myself to be more active here in that regard going forward.Anyway I guess since I'm here I can do a quick life update, my TCG business is still going strong locally and online (going on 3-4 years now!), so that's good, also two years ago I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (heart rhythm problems), but with treatment that has DRASTICALLY improved to the point where it's like I don't even have it anymore, so that's massive. Other than that I've just been on the grind, trying to make my dreams come true. Also I haven't done a YCH batch in a long ass time, and I've got three poses ready to go, so once I'm out of my current mood, I'll have those up for grabs. Also big thanks to the people who comment and favorite my stuff here. Even if I don't reply to comments (which is usually because I can't think of something witty to reply with), I always appreciate it.
Now, onto the other stuff... I understand how you feel about this whole debacle that is an artist's life on the modern web. I am a hobbyist, I post online here and in other places for fun, but I see that my stuff barely gets any attention and engagement. Which, I admit, is discouraging and makes me feel like anything I produce is subpar and maybe I should just quit it altogether and focus solely on university or find a more lucrative hobby. Still, it's my passion, and I would rather not give up on it no matter what. I understand how you feel, it is frustrating, especially since you are also dependent on it for your income. The fact that AI Generative Programmes have been getting better over the years makes this only more infuriating, I can imagine. Since a lot of those tech-bros would much rather use a little robot to make some sloppy art of the same three things than work with a skilled living person. I also get that it's annoying one has to follow trends online to get attention as an artist. I mean, some trends are fun, but sometimes you would rather focus on improving your skills or experimenting, not drawing the hundredth silly sketch to match a quirky audio that people perpetuate incessantly over the internet for a week before dropping it and banishing to the Shadow Realm.
To cut a long story short, it's a whole gobshite. And your pent-up feelings are valid. I have been following your account on here for a few good years, I am very happy that you polished your skills over the years and you are doing what you love. I am fond of your style. Yes, in some areas it's a bit simplistic as some would say, but I think that is your charm. I personally would like to implement some of your gimmicks into my own drawings. And, I would also like to thank you for being inspiring, to me and many others. I will continue to follow your artistic journey as closely as I can and offer some support there and there. I do hope things get better on the web for the creatives, especially for anthro-oriented artists such as yourself, and that you can keep on doing what you love. Keep it up and good look with all future endeavours! ^^
I think this is a result of Twitter pushing likes over actual interaction.
I pin the blame on people's desire for instant satisfaction and the low-effort content that gets produced to satiate that crowd with has made people numb to the genuine personalities and hard-working individuals out there with masterpieces that are constantly looked over because it doesn't turn on one's neurons...
Even trying to socialize today is difficult, many people choose to close themselves off to others unless they have that one thing that they like. and as soon as the person stop producing it, they instantly forget about them and move on
Is so very frustrating seeing what this world has become, and the things people will do just to be temporarily happy and satisfied in the moment and not care for anything else π
People gotta get thier heads out of the horny and actually admire hard-worked art for more than just disposable personal satisfaction sometimes