Gaining Traction.

I have been a fan of MLP for quite a while now and made art as well. However i have yet to really gain any traction within the fandom, i know i’m not the best artist we have in the fandom but I do try. Anyway just wondering if anyone knows places other than here and deviant art that i could post my stuff to gain traction within the fandom or if it is even worth trying.

Just do what you do for you and don’t worry about traction. I will say that Tumblr and here seems to be the golden combo though.

Your stuff is pretty good!  
especially those last ones
 
Yeahh I agree, here, DA and Tumblr come to mind
 
_{(I guess you could try Furaffinity and Pixiv if you really wanted to)}
 
If you want to gain traction, frequent updates plus finding a good topic would probably help the most  
You have something that people could fanspazz about? a ridiculously cute style that is yours only, a ship, good jokes, a story idea, something that makes people want to seek out your art and your art specifically?
 
eg. your Pinkie animations are very very cute.

Tumblr? That’s where I’ve ended up gaining most of mine. Your art looks really good and I have no doubt you’d end up with quite a bit of attention.  
It’s certainly worth trying, but don’t expect immediate results.

I don’t get it. your pictures have above average rating, considering where you post. You are doing great. Equestria Daily is the only place that can boost your view rate significantly. Also try to use more tags, as long as they are relevant, but not too much. Furaffinity tends to work too, Tumblr not so much, as it is unmanagable if you are trying to find quality blogs, resulting in ppl avoiding it.

Also: People tend to fav just one picture to find you later, coupled with a +watch and move on.

I also have this kind of feeling that I’m not getting enough attention, but after taking one step back and think about it twice, maybe because I don’t post very frequently so that no one pays attention to my works. (I got my tablet from 2 years ago, but I seldom uses it, and I tend to keep my works to myself.) Now I finally understand where did I went wrong, maybe it’s time for me to step right up.

Thanks for the help guys, i do know it takes time and all that and i guess i just have to keep plugging along.

The main way to get really popular (these days) seems to be tapping into the in-season zeitgeist. Getting out there with stuff from the latest ep or playing off a popular topic.  
Or just doing something really original and noticeable, publicizing it well, and being very prolific.

@Background Pony #22C7  
So for this moment, since RR is the zeitgeist, so in order for me to get attention I should draw stuff related to that?

another one of these….
 

 
look, just do what you want to do and don’t give two shits about fans.
 
otherwise it will eat away at you, and your craft will no longer be fun for you anymore.
 
You know what happens when your craft fails to be fun? You start to stagnate.
 
Besides, if you’re so wrapped up in other peoples thoughts about liking your work, how are you going to handle 20,000 people screaming for your attention?

@Pikapetey  
Hmmm…I guess you have a point. I draw because I feel like it, not because I wanna gain attention. Now taking another step back, the reason of why I think so many newbie/so-so artist in the fandom complain about not getting enough attention is because they see what other artist has achieved yet they haven’t. Maybe their skills are not up to par (though this is pretty subjective), or other reasons.

I blame Equestria Daily. The same people get featured in Drawfriend again and again, same with the comics and music spotlights. I think Seth only likes to promote his own friends. Seth and Calpain are like the sisters of fate. They decide if you are to be elevated in this fandom or not.

@Background Pony #B4CB  
Pretty much. Half the Artist spotlights have had artists that already have a ton of followers.

@Background Pony #B4CB
 
@luna the great!
 
I think this .gif that my friend animated for me a while ago best demonstrates what I want to do to BOTH of your mentalities.
 

 
 
If the only reason you are doing art is to get popular/loved you are doing it for ALL THE WRONG REASONS.  
The public isn’t stupid, everyone will know if your doing art just cause you want fame and popularity. It’s because everything you will produce with be the same garbage that everyone has seen over and over again.  
Create great art because YOU want to create great art.
 
Having some wacky ass art friends, and animating a pikachu slapping the shit out of a pony just because you wanted to, is a heck of a lot more fun then stressing out worrying if people are going to like your art.

@Pikapetey  
You have a very valid point. As much as a lot of us would like to become known in the fandom (or really just in anything in general), don’t let that thought get in the way of your passions. Do things you like because you like them, and if popularity comes with it, then that’s fine. It’s better to have a small audience that enjoys what you enjoy than trying to please a much larger crowd that drags you outside your comfort zone.

@EHAN
 
Actually doing things outside your comfort zone is how you grow as an artist, you should always be pushing that boundary.

@Pikapetey  
I meant like being pressured by your fans to draw something.
 
Like for example: being pressured to draw NSFW or otherwise questionable requests when you want to stay as SFW as possible.
 
Otherwise, I definitely agree, pushing the limits of your art is the best way you can improve.

@EHAN  
BEING PRESURRED TO DRAW SOMETHING THE ARTIST DOESN’T WANT TO
 
This is an example of Rule #3 and #5 in my 10 RULES OF ART - according to non-artists and self-entitled
 
 

 
my point being, if “fans” are pressuring you to draw something that you don’t want to. They are not your fans, for they don’t care about your well being.

@Pikapetey  
You misspelled “sole purpose” and “monetary”

@Pikapetey  
I’m not sure if you’re saying you’re agreeing with me or not there, but you seem to be explaining my thoughts better than I can myself.

@Pikapetey
 
I don’t. Drawing is what I do to get rid of stress. I don’t want a herd of people following me who I can never even get close to because there’s way too many and most don’t even care about the person drawing the art. They just care about someone cranking out art 24/7.
 
That doesn’t change the fact that Equestria Daily isn’t a good place to be aiming for. You’ll sit there drawing and drawing and it’ll be forever until they finally have anything to do with you, because you’re not ‘famous.’ Whether or not EQD post something of yours shouldn’t control your view of your art.

@Vree
 
Im an animator and I draw funny looking pictures.
 
Im not a writer or an English teacher.
 
||condemn me for my short comings on a contradictory language ||

@luna the great!  

 
rule number 2
 

 

 
@EHAN  

 
 
I’m agreeing with you and to an extent I understand this mentality more than most artist.
 
i used to be one of these people I used to think artists were born and people magically had drawing skills.
 
6 years ago I would have looked my Satirical list of rules and would have agreed to every single one of them
 
It wasn’t until i decided to learn drawing and animation when I realized how wrong I was.

@Pikapetey  
i agree with what you are saying, but no where in here did i say “hey guys how can i pander to you today.” or “what should i draw to be popular.” i have always drawn for the sake of just drawing because i love to. I am not arguing with you, I agree with you completely. My original post was poorly constructed, I really was just looking for more places that i could post my art for people to see. Trust me i know that this fandom will eat artists alive if they open for requests or say “no i don’t feel like drawing that.” (Not everyone is like this but there are quite a few). I think that this thread has gotten a little off topic and thats mostly my original posts fault, by traction i meant garnering more places for people to view my work A REALLY TERRIBLE WORD TO USE I NOW REALIZE. I am not a native english speaker so i’m sorry if this rambling confuses everyone even more. to summarize yes i agree with you, my wording might have been poorly chosen but its to late to change now. Thank you for your input.