#typos and nonsensical sentences can be blamed on me being tired af

[shinondraws]

WHY IS IT HARD BEING AN ARTIST ON TUMBLR?

Aside from the obvious fact that Tumblr is not an art site but a place where people get to share their interests with others it is still vastly used as a space to post and showcase artwork. Some people can manage this successfully while others struggle. People on Tumblr are keen to discuss art related issues such as art theft, misuse and reposting but the general attitude towards such issues seems to be rather fickle.

Having been on Tumblr for several years and running an art blog for some couple of years I have also encountered these issues - directly and indirectly. As many good things as I can name about the site I also cannot say it has been a very fulfilling or pleasant journey as an artist. The good things are quickly washed away by the issues I have had to encounter, leaving me with a pool of mixed feelings and thoughts. Here I’m merely putting down my own thoughts about why exactly is Tumblr so harsh for an artist.

WHO CONTROLS THE ART - THE SITE OR THE ARTIST?

When uploading a piece or art on Tumblr, how many times have you had to check the dimensions of a photo post, the layout of a photoset or whether the image is going to be stretched and pixelated or not? And how many times have you noticed that the image came out too blurry and tried to edit it but someone had already reblogged the image and you find yourself unable to do anything about it? I bet at least a couple of times. A couple dozen maybe. It is incredibly frustrating when you have to very carefully research and plan out how you post something because sometimes the mistakes can’t be edited.

The Tumblr image ratio is ridiculously limited. A lot of sites do limit their images and give very little room for editing, but in my experience Tumblr is among the worst. The way images are treated by the site is very restricting and it feels more like Tumblr wants the content to be fit to their standards rather than showcase the content in the best possible manner. Now, when it comes to restricted image size and aspect ratio you probably think about Instagram, because they do that, too. Only just that on Instagram you can actually control the outcome. You can edit the image within the boundaries of their limitations while on Tumblr posting your art is like a roulette - you never know how it’s gonna come out before you try. Being forced to cut long images so they don’t turn out blurry or trying to figure out what is the best photoset composition for your series of pictures is rather discouraging - especially since oftentimes the previews of the photoset images are also weirdly cropped.

Then how about when you’re trying to fix the images but someone has already reblogged it? There is no way for you to get it back. You can edit the original and hope it gets more visibility than the broken version, but you’re still stuck with two or more versions of your post floating around in the space and you can do nothing about it. The fact that edits made to the original post not being visible in the duplicates, reblogs, is rather frustrating. The fact that even the duplicates can be altered along the way by someone else can also be a scary thought. If you want to actually remove something you can only remove the post you made but all the duplicates are still floating around. This can be a good or a bad thing, but it’s definitely a bad thing if you want it to be removed.

This is especially problematic when dealing with reposts, because once a repost has happened you cannot do anything to stop it. Even if the original is deleted people can still keep multiplying the post to infinity and beyond. In this situation the artist essentially has no control over how their art is circulated - and worse than that, on Tumblr they also voluntarily agree to that when they post it. When the artist has as little control over their art it may reinforce ill attitudes towards art and artists and not give them the credit and respect they deserve.

THE BIG DEAL WITH REPOSTING ART

Reposting art is one of the most discussed issues on Tumblr and something that I have to encounter far too often. Truth is, I don’t even know how bad the situation for me and my art is because I only know about the cases that are reported to me. For this to happen I need to have lots of pairs of eyes out there that recognize me and recognize my art even when it’s removed from its context AND who understand that reposting my art is wrong. This is my personal statement and I know many artists also sign the “do not repost” -claim. There are also people who accept it - unconditionally or only when credit is given where it’s due. But the issue with reposters is that they are very lazy to ask for a permission.

What makes reposting on Tumblr especially problematic is the aforementioned inability to edit or remove a reposted piece from Tumblr. You CAN edit the original or one of the duplicates but the edit is only visible on the duplicates made from the edited post. Unsourced reposts are the biggest devil. It is very disheartening to see a repost of your art but it is even worse when it has more notes than the original post will ever have but no one knows it was made by you. No one is directed in your direction, no one cares about who made the piece or where it was originally from. As an artist I can say that it feels like your efforts have just gone into a void. Without the control, the credit and the recognition the artist gains absolutely nothing - and what’s worse, all the credit may as well go to someone else and no one has any idea it is undeserved. This makes even the popular “you should be grateful that your art is seen by so many!” completely void.

SEPARATION OF THE ART AND THE ARTIST

The way Tumblr works effectively separates the art from its original creator. This is not only the issue of reposting, art theft or other misuse but also the issue of posts that are actually original posts by the artist. This is closely related to the topic on control of the art circulation but also on the fact that the post can appear as duplicates in many different spaces at once. When an art post is reblogged it is viewed in two different places: on the dashboard, which is a rather neutral feed as it contains posts from all of the people you follow, and on someone’s blog, someone’s personal space. Even if the blog is not a “personal blog” per se, it is still someone else’s space and then it becomes the content of that specific space.

A post that is reblogged to another blog is essentially taken to a different context. On one hand this may be a good thing because if the blog’s content is consistent and appealing there is likely to be a lot of traffic and a reblogged art post can benefit from that. As a result, the post will gain notes and a wider visibility. On the other hand this may not be such good news for the artist because while they gain notes the traffic won’t be wholly directed at their blog - the blog that reblogged the post will also gain some traffic thanks to the post. Also, when taken to a different context an art post might actually appear more appealing to someone than when it is in its original context. In a fandom blog your artwork might actually get more visibility than on your multi-fandom/themed art blog.

One of the issues of separating the art and the artist is that the artist won’t be recognized by people. The reason why the successful artists are so successful on Tumblr is because people recognize them from their work. They have managed to make it work, and good for them for doing so on a non-art oriented site. However, for an artist recognition is basically everything and without it you’re not getting anywhere, as sad as it is. Getting yourself out there as an artist is pretty much dependent on being recognized, and even if your art post has several thousand notes it doesn’t help you much if people don’t recognize you. On Tumblr achieving this kind of state where you are widely recognized can be hard or even impossible - the next part may open this a little more.

RELATABILITY > VISIBILITY

Gaining visibility on Tumblr is very hard because the entire system is based on sharing - reblogging - the posts. The more people see the post the more likely it is for more people to share it on and on. On one glance this seems like a pretty good deal and probably very appealing to artists. You make an art post, other people reblog it and you get some visibility. As the discussion on Tumblr has proven this is not as easy as it may seem. Getting people to actually reblog art posts is a difficult task and it has resulted in several posts and guides to educate people on how important it is for artists that their posts are reblogged. There is already a huge flaw in the system itself, but putting people under the obligation of reblogging things is not quite right either.

The fact that the visibility is entirely the result of people SHARING your art rather than reacting to it with likes and favourites is not ideal because it is more than just expressing that you like a piece. On Tumblr there are two (technically three) ways to react a post: like and reblog (and comment, but I have yet to see this one actually constitute to the visibility issue). They are of two different hierarchies as well as purposes. People mainly use likes to express that they do like a post but not quite enough to reblog it. Some people merely use it as a mark of acknowledgement, some use it to store things for later. Reblogging on the other hand is a form of sharing, a form of expressing that you like a piece so much that you want to

When people reblog something they are putting that post into their personal space, which is their blog. The blog may represent a vast variety of things, but for sure something that the blogger is interested in. The range of points of interest can be very wide or extremely narrow. It can be a personal blog with a thousand branches, a fandom blog, a blog dedicated to a certain aesthetic. In any case, a blog is something that the blogger controls. They decide what they want to have on their blog.

There is one more action people can take that I haven’t touched yet and that is following a blog. From my observations this means that the person who followed a blog wants to see more content from the blog. This doesn’t mean that they will like the post not to mention reblog it. They may follow a blog for only certain kind of content and only react to that content. People might like seeing some content but not want it on their own blog, while there are some who might share things to support and artist and to boost them. However, these kind of people are rare and their kindness shouldn’t be taken for granted nor should it be expected for other people to do the same.

Tumblr is a very fandom oriented site and it is very hard for an original artist to do much anything there. Certain kind of original art will find its place, but it is not guaranteed and it may require more hard work than it’s worth. Because of the general orientation of interests, relatability becomes perhaps the strongest selling point for art that is posted on Tumblr. Tumblr is a bit like an artist’s alley in a convention: you’re trying to sell your art to people who may or may not express their thoughts on it. A person might say they like a piece but won’t buy it because they don’t feel a strong enough connection to it because it’s not their favourite character, it clashes with their decór or they find it cool but just don’t get it. But if the piece is of their favourite character, favourite fandom or something that in any other way speaks to them, they will buy it and they will put it up on their bedroom wall.

Relatability can mean anything, but in order for people to react and reblog they need to connect with the content. The artistic value is often secondary, as proven by the common complaint “my sketchy piece did much better than the piece I worked hours on!” - it’s because people probably related with the content of the sketchy piece more than the other piece. Maybe there was a punchline that was especially great that made them feel some kind of emotion as opposed to a carefully rendered piece of something they don’t recognize that looks cool but doesn’t give the viewer anything to grasp.

IS TUMBLR WORTH IT?

The title of this last part sounds a little bit depressing, I admit it, but it is the conclusion I drew from this all. Being an artist on Tumblr is hard and if you are struggling but really want to get your name out there as an artist this site might not be worth the struggle. As an artist you may need to think if your art has an audience on Tumblr and if so, how do you reach them? How do you get people to see your art? The tagging system is a trainwreck but it may work. You can try following blogs that reblog stuff from fandoms you draw about. You might need to curate your art, be even more clear about what your art is about. When people get your art it is more likely that they will also “buy” it. Doing art that is catered towards Tumblr users is one way, but if it is something else you want to do you may want to look at other options to get yourself out there.

However, in my opinion, the internet is missing a functional art community that meets today’s demands and standards and that I could recommend to just about anyone. This isn’t to say the existing sites wouldn’t be good, but they do however have their pros and cons. Which would have the best pro-con ratio for you is something you need to look into yourself. I am not by any means trying to convince people to leave this site for another. All I am saying is that Tumblr can be a harsh place for an artist and that understanding why can be useful.

To me personally, Tumblr is a secondary space in terms of art and I only put as much effort into it as I see is worth it. It still doesn’t mean I won’t take things such as art theft or reposting seriously. In fact, I find it a good thing that I am on Tumblr because it serves me as an extra space where I can show my art - which I enjoy very much - but also as an extra vantage point with which I can perhaps have a little more control over my art and have a better idea of things. I would just rather not expect things from Tumblr that don’t meet with the realities.