Thoughts on finding an audience for your work.

I was initially planning to write on the subject of building a fan base for your work all the way back in February. I kept pushing this off, because while it is an important and compelling subject matter, I really didn't have much insight and to be honest I still don't. However I do have a few worthwhile thoughts and observations I can share.

The first thing to consider is if you are interested in building a fan base is why? What's your objective? Are you hoping to find a group of peers to relate to, are you hoping to find people who will help you grow as an artist, do you just enjoy the attention, or are you hoping to make a living from your art? They are all valid reasons but keep in mind they aren't the only ones, and more likely than not your are going to have several different reasons, some more important than others.

Your reason is going to dictate how you move forward. If you want to enjoy the company of your peers, try to find a small DA group of like minded artists, who actively communicate with each other. If you just want to be popular, make fan art for something you enjoy. If you're like me and wish to grow a fan base with the greater goal of supporting a career things get a lot more complicated and that's probably a long winded article in and of itself.

There are a few basics that I can share. First have work that people want to look at. If you produce fan art, people will look at your work because they are already endeared to the subject matter. Because you already know what people want this creates a low barrier to entry. Better fan art will get more attention, but even clumsy work will get attention because people love to share their enthusiasm for the subject matter. If you want people to look at your personal work, you have to offer them a certain personal distinctness with a combination of your art, writing and creative voice that will make people choose to follow you despite their infinite other entertainment options.

What makes for good art and writing is a subject that is well explored and there's already plenty of information out there about those subject matter. Additionally this is something you can study yourself by looking at material and asking why you like it or don't like and figuring out just what that means. Honestly as an artist this is something you should train yourself to do regular when viewing work. When you start developing opinions and finding the reasons behind your opinions you'll start having insights that will help you grow as a creator.

Creative voice is not as obvious as the other two subject matter because it is entirely personal. Creative voice is how you choose to express yourself. What are you trying to say when you create a piece and what compels you to do it?

As anyone who looks at my work regularly knows I have a dark cynical sense of humor, though I try to avoid being vicious, cruel, and I'm not a fan of gore. Though from time to time my work is kind of gorey I make a point of being as absurd and cartoony about it as possible. Why do I have a dark sense of humor?

The short of it I grew up a depressed loner who only started developing meaningful friendships after I turned twenty, and with people who were several years older than me, except for one exception. I never fit in with my peer group in school or college, was frequently bullied and humiliated, occasionally sexually harassed, entertained thoughts of suicide for over a decade and was constantly tormented by the pop culture narrative of youth being a fun and wonderful experience. The life I was told about never matched the life I was actually living. While I'm blessed with wonderful parents, I'd be dead (or worse) without them, I grew up a depressed, lonely, needy, cynical, insecure, bitter, introverted and mentally detached nervous wreck.

For me cartooning started off as a safety valve that allowed me to blow of steam. My humor expresses my worldview. People who enjoy my work more than likely share that world view.

The point I'm trying to make is that people are drawn to a creative voice that in some way speaks to their personal experience. If you appreciate the darkness and cynicism of my work its more than likely because you have some personal darkness of your own that enables you to relate. The specifics of experience will vary but it is that bridge of common feeling through similar experience that will connect your work to your audience.

Not all connections may be that bleak. There are some who appreciate my work because of its creativity and absurdity, but in general try to find the common ground your work will share with its audience. If you are a gamer, put your work before other gamers (but be aware there are a lot of cartoonist doing the same thing who are better at creating work and promoting it than you, at least in the beginning.) If your work speaks to how you've felt divinely touched in life, go to were people of spiritual nature hang out. If your work reflects the sentiment that organized society is upheld by lies, find the anarchists. If you like cute things and pretty colors, find the people who are into the same.

In you want an audience that loves cartoons, find where the other cartoonists are at.

In short:

What motivates you to create will motivate your audience to read.