There are so many ways to share your work!
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In my previous posts, I introduced you to the influence you have on galleries by your personal curating choices and how that can be an inspiration to you. We then talked about a journey you could take to pick up some technical skills. The third blog was introduced you to communities where you could participate in creating art. Now that you’ve learned what inspires you, you’ve picked up some technique and are part of an arts community (you did all that, right?) it is time to show the world your creations!
The online world, particularly social media allow for a great many avenues for artists to share work. It used to be you absolutely had to find a gallery to show in or venture into the world of commercial art if you wanted to create for a living. There are so many places to sell art on-line I couldn’t begin to list them. This is, however, a social media course, so let’s focus on the pros and cons of showing your work on social media.
The first thing I would advise before you share anything online is read the license agreement. You also need to learn why agreements are written the way they are. I have seen a great many memes about Facebook or Twitter forcing you to agree to let them copy and share your images. This is a bit misleading. If a person or organization does not get permission to duplicate your work and they do, they are breaking copyright law. The second you post something it’s copied, so this consent is necessary. You also need to check the default settings for things. A few years ago, Yahoo was criticized for selling photos people had posted to Flickr without even notifying them, let alone share the profits. This was completely legal. When people posted photos to Flickr the default licence was set to a Creative Commons license to share without attribution, even commercially. You also need to be aware what the licenses mean. When you create something in Canada. It is copyrighted to you as soon as you create it. There is no need for a © symbol, you don’t need to mail a copy to yourself. You made it. It’s yours. How you use your rights are up to you. Learn and understand the rights you are giving up or holding onto.
The first thing you need to do is figure out why you want to show work on social media. The answer to that question will inform what you show, how you show it and where. If you are a hobbyist and you want to show friends and family what you are up to, share it on Facebook as you would any other activities you are sharing in your personal circles. Instagram can be used for either personal or professional sharing of your work. Many artists use Instagram as a primary sales tool. If your wish is to be professional, your Instagram account should be all about your art. That doesn’t mean show only your work, it’s a good idea to post about exhibits, share other people’s work and engage the art community. Stay on topic though. If you want to be commissioned, Dribble and Behance are places where many art directors look for talent.
I would encourage you, no matter what type of work you do, to share it with others. Whether the best channel is social media or not is up to you. Privacy on social media is becoming an issue more people are talking about. How important do you think it is to protect your copyrighted work on-line?
Fun, profit or fame! Get your work out there for people to see!
There are a lot of ways to share your creative work online. To make the most of it, you need to learn what to show on which channel and beware of the pitfalls that could cost you money and reputation. https://s.crow.ws/2GNimlZ
Make something, show it and share it! Get your #artwork out on #socialMedia, but read this first so you don’t get ripped off! https://s.crow.ws/2GNimlZ
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 
I think its really important to keep your art copywrited and your own. I feel that if you create something you should get credit for what you’ve created.