Getting Over The DA Blues: Help Guide

Now I know how hard it is to get noticed on this site.
I am still struggling with this myself and I know how
fustrating it is to know that you should be getting attention
but you're not. SO I have designed this guide to help you get
over being depressed about the lack of attention you're currently
getting.


GETTING RID OF THE BLUES:


The war within :

We as human beings have a natural need to want attention from
others. And when we do not get this attention we tend to take it out
on ourselves. This is not good. Attacking yourself is not going
to solve anything. I know this very well, I used to do this
myself. Everytime I'd post a piece up and it didn't get attention
I'd cut myself down telling myself that I was no good at art
and that I should just give up. This is very destructive behavior.
The last thing you need to do is beat yourself up about something
that in a way you have no control over. People have different
taste and opinions about art. Some people may look at your art
and think it's the most beautiful thing in the world and others
may think it's mediocre. But what do their thoughts have to do with
how you feel about your art? If your opinion about your art
varied apon what every person thought about your art it would give you a
warped bi poler view of your art thus making it very hard to
have a clear mindset of what you really think about your own
art.

So when you are Having mixed feelings about your art ask yourself
these questions:

"did this come out how I wanted it to?"

"what are something's I could change about this to make it better"

"do I really like this piece?"

"am I happy about this piece?"

"did I try my best to make this piece the best I could?"

If most of the answers to these are negative make sure this
is how you really feel about it. Do not let outside forces influence how you
feel about the piece. Remember that it is your own opinion that matters not what outsiders think.


Outside Feedback :

When you finally feel ready to post on DA (or any other website) make sure you have a good strong mindset.
Know that regardless of what happens that you tried your best and that this is your art and no one can take that away from you.
you have the right to post here just like everyone else. No matter what your skill level is you are still a good artist if you
tried your best.  
   Now here are some tips on how to make your piece a little more interesting upon submission:

Have a good title. Make the title something that could potentially catch the viewers interest.
Having a good title could pull more views in thus resulting in more gallery views.  

Submit to the right category. For some people they get turned off when they are browsing through
the category and see something that does not meet the criteria of that catagory.They get a fisrt impression that makes them say
"wow this person does not know what they are doing I am not going to go to this noobs gallery" so please make sure be sure to
double check and make sure you submitted to the right one. Or if you are confused on where to put your piece.Then go to the faq located:
help.deviantart.com/ &nbs… you should be able to find what you need to do there.

Make the piece viewable. This means making the image the perfect size. Not too big that it takes
a long time to load. A lot of people will lose interest if they have to do this. And don't make so small
that the viewer cannot see the details on it. Make it the right size so that the viewer can get a full
grasp on the piece. Influencing his/her opinion on it.

Give an Interesting description. This does not mean making the description extremely long. This just means
giving the viewer a understanding about what it took to make this particular piece. Tell them what made you decide to
do this subject, the thought process behind it. A lot of viewers can appreciate this. Tell them the materials you used as well.
It can help people (if you are particularly skilled at using said media) so they can have an example. A goal if you will.
also Give credit where credit is due. If you used a referance, texture, font, or had help on a piece please give that person
credit. No one likes a glory hog.

put the correct tags on. This just makes it easier to find. Be sure to be Specific when doing this. Use proper grammer as well. this
will make it double easy to find.

critique. If you would like some critique then either put the setting on for it or ask for it directly in your description
box. If you don't wan't critique then simply state in your description that you don't want any. It's as simple as that, But don't get mad
if you get critiqued when you didn't specify that. This is your responsibility not the viewers.

Mature content: Make sure if your piece is mature to put a tag on it. Some people really get turned off
when they see a piece with out a mature content tag on. So make sure to do this. Also make sure you
stay within the rules of DA. Do not post pornographic or hateful/offensive pieces on this site. It makes you look really bad.
Especially if you want to be taken seriously here. This is a big NO NO.

Lastly please only submit pieces that are yours or that you got permission to post. Do not steal someone
elses art just to get attention. It does not do you any good. If anything you will be banned and you
really don't want that if you want to be successful on this site.
   So when submitting a piece make sure you have all these things covered. They could make or break
the first imrpession by on your piece, so please keep the things in mind.  

Support of others :

It is really important to build a strong group of friends/supporters here. A group of individuals who
really want to see your growth as an artist and that are going to be there when you are feeling low.
People to help pick you back up and remind you of why you are here. Like I mentioned at the beginning
we as humans need attention or else we break down. We need to know that people care about us. So having
a strong support network is a key element to being successful on this site. So here are some ways to
start building a strong support system here:

watchers: watchers are people who enjoy and want to keep up with you and your art. They view
your art when you post. Some make comments. Others fave and some just simply look. Now your watchers
could become a very stong support group for you if you play your cards right and make good choices.
Make sure to always thank them somehow. It could be through drawing/photographing/writing a thank you
to them for supporting you. Because frankly they don't have to be there.Or it could be through a journal or note. you just
have to let them know that you care. Also talk to them. make journals asking
them questions and such. Keep them interested. Pay attention to them. This is very important. If you
don't show them that you have any interest in their opinions at all then a lot of them are likely to
leave. You have to make them feel wanted. Don't discourage them by making no effort in getting to know them.
They do matter. They should be treated with respect.
  Now here are some ways to get some watchers/ potential friends:
            
        I. comment on others art. This means going to either the front page, newest section, looking up specific subject
matter(ect) and looking for pieces that you like or pieces that specifically ask for critique. When you find these pieces comment them.
But don't just say "cool" or "awesome" people take these comments as a grain of salt. Give atleast a sentance or two explaining how much you like it
or a detailed critique (if they ask) explainig the good and the need improvement parts of their piece. If you do this they will most likely
appreciate it and visit your page and give you comments as well (they might even watch you). This is a very good way of getting a
good support network going but it isn't th only way.

       II. Favorite others art: This means just like commenting going to look for pieces, but instead of commenting you just add the
pic to your faves.Now most people will visit your site for faving them. They usually will thank you and this will give you an opprotunity
to start a conversation with them. Now most people hate when someone does a thing called "MASS FAVING" which is when you basically
go around faving everything you see just to get attention. Now why this does get you attention it usually is negative. It makes the artist
feel like you are only out for self therefore you did not appreciate the piece or even like it. So don't do this. It is not the right
way to get attention here and it does not help you gain a good reputation. Now most people like it when you Comment as well as fave.
They feel like the piece was really appreciated/ liked by you. And this could effectively gain you more watchers than either one can alone actually.

     III. Watching other people: This is one of the best ways to gain watchers. By doing this you've shown the artist that you've
watched an interest in their art. More likely than not the people you watch (depending on who it is) will watch you back out of pure
courtesy. This will give you opprotunities to become friends. But I never reccomend just watching people to get watched. You only watch someone
if you like their art or you've gotten to know them and want to keep in contact. Never just because.

All three of these things are effective methods in gaining watchers. There are others that I will list but won't get
into specifics about:

*posting in forums: I.e thumbshare and welcome forum are most effective. Avoid complaints forum. It won't do you any good
when trying to make friends.

*Feature peple in journals/ news: this can help others get exposed as well as yourself and can get you some watchers as well.

* make thread topics: you can post threads asking for advice/feed back. this could also help gain watchers.

* visiting peoples pages: visit others pages and leave them a nice comment (a real one, not a fake sugar coated one to get attention)

*join groups: joining groups can get you a lot more exposure. Make sure you are an active participant and follow the rules.

* make your own group: make your own group so that you can gain more support.

* Being a skilled artist: Now being skilled can get you some attention, but unless you do the above sometimes it is not very effective.

* Doing request: Try doing some request pieces. This can also get you some attention.

*Have friends outside DA: if you have friends outside of DA that join. you automatically have a friend

*Being kind/polite: If you do all these things plus you're a nice person that will get you double points. You can't do any of these things
and be rude about it. It won't work.
   

The Don'ts :

Now that i've covered how to get support I will tell what not to do to get support:

Trolling: This means being rude/disrespectful on purpose. This will not get you any support. It will get you into trouble.

Constant Complaining: If you complain to your watchers, or on forums frequently this could turn a lot of people off. It would make people
stop caring about you and it could make people slander you. So don't complain too often (don't complain in the forums at all especially
if it's about your art/ others art or popularity)

Mass Posting: If you post a lot of pictures at one time it makes a lot of people not want to take the time to comment. Only post 1 every 3 days.
this gives people some time to comment. People don't like to be flooded with deviations from a single person.

Posting pornographic/hateful art: don't ever do this. This is a art site not a porn/hate site. If you want to post these types of things then
post them on a site that allows them.

Art theft: As I previously stated don't post any art piece that does not belong to you. This will surely get you banned.It also makes
you look really bad.


Final Thoughts:

Now I am no expert. I am just speaking from experience because I've been there. I've been on the edge of just giving up. But
with the help of my friends here and my own inner streangth I Have been able to overcome this feeling of depression and so can you.
But you have to work. It's not going to be easy. And once you do get to where you want to be you have maintain it. Just like a job
"just because you get it doesn't mean you will keep it" This takes a lot of work to keep up so just remember that it will be worth it in the
end it will be all worth it!

So I hope this helped you. If you have an questions feel free to note me! Remember what you've learned and have fun! Don't get down again!

Take care and god bless.