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r/HungryArtists•
Im_a_real_girl_now

[META] Sub announcements - New Mods and Instagram issues

META

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is doing well and making or buying lots of art ;) .

We have 2 announcements for you all!

First off I want to give a grand welcome to our 2 new moderators to the team. u/Junk_Box and u/Dwarfinator1 . If you're part of our discord, you have probably seen them around there! They're pretty cool peeps and are motivated to help keep the subreddit running smoothly.

If you are interested in applying for moderator, you can fill out this application to apply.

Our second topic is something that will likely impact everyone using instagram on the subreddit.

It recently came to my attention that Instagram now requires people to log in to browse through someone's page of art. This was discovered after several clients made off hand comments about not having instagrams and being unable to view their work.

Which means Instagram now breaks part of rule 4 :

Your portfolio must not require login/account creation. Any kind of store page are not allowed on this subreddit. Post on r/artstore instead.

We would like some feedback from the community about this but if we allow instagram to be posted as a portfolio, it will drive away some clients and negatively impact you from getting work.

The best option for your portfolio is having your own website you can control that highlights 10-15 pieces of your best work.

Free alternatives to instagram are :Artstation, Carrd, tumblr, Behance ... ( ^will ^add ^more ^to ^the ^list ^when ^found) ... Weebly, wix, ucraft, Carbonmade, wordpress.com /(.org needs hosting) , blogger, webnode, https://www.smallvictori.es/ (makes a site out of your dropbox), Crevado , Dribble

**Unless there's an overwhelming rejection to this, **

We will set up an automatic text warning that will run for a week about instagram links and then shift it into an automated post removal to give everyone a fair chance to update their elevator pitches and portfolios if need be.

We will transition into requiring one fully public portfolio if you post a link to instagram.

Instagram will not be allowed to be your only link in any comment as a portfolio .

Thanks for reading and using the sub. We're working on making it better for everyone to get what they need!

Happy arting!

Posted Aug 16, 2020, 2:52 AM UTC · edited

4556
shikinism•

I think you're doing a mistake. Instagram is super useful since it just gives a lot more information to the clients. The clients can find out you're a legitimate artist with a following and not just some dude on artstation with like a dozen followers. By not allowing Instagram you're making it harder for clients to find which artists are legitimate. You're basically banning peanut butter because 1 kid is allergic. Please make an exception to the rule.

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awxcoffeexnoArtist•

Hey, I've been using Instagram as my only portfolio a month since I started doing commissions because I used to use a Google site but most of my clients felt so much more comfortable with Instagram. I don't really know how to get around it anymore.

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Nefeli_•

I ve been using Instagram for my portfolio for years. This really is a really big problem for me and for all the artists that do the same. What are we going to do now? Replying to people that want to hire with fresh new accounts in different websites will look like a scam.

Also it seems to me that instagram had this policy for a year now?

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Im_a_real_girl_nowOPIllustrator•

That's a good point. It is a helpful thing to have to show an established presence on the internet. We are debating in the discord about allowing instagram handles on the sub but no direct linking as a inbetween . Also looking into if there's a way to add a clickable link in user flairs.

Yeah apparently instagram has been doing it for a while but only recently have people been mentioning it while none of the mods realized. (because we all were logged in to instagram ha. ) The no log in rule has been in place before I've been a mod and helps people not have to make random accounts that they might only use once.

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Nefeli_•

Thank you for looking into it. I hope there can be a solution otherwise a lot of artists are going to have a hard time. I understand the reason this rule exists of course. And we cant just assume everyone has instagram (even though it seems a lot of people, clients too, have it). Thank you very much for the reply and for trying to solve this.

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FuriousWK•

Please reconsider Instagram!

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ponyboysrightnipple•

please let us use instagram; tumblr requires a login AND it actively deletes/flags pictures as “NSFW” even if its just a picture of your pet cat. not everyone wants to use artstation or whatever behance is, i know i dont. carrd takes forever to set up and make look decent.

instagram is just a bam and a bam and then you’re done. people who aren’t logged in can still see your posts unless your account is private.

its pretty much where i post art besides discord...

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Im_a_real_girl_nowOPIllustrator•

Instagram won't let you look at any image closer or scroll very far without logging in.

From what I can tell about Tumblr unless you're a NSFW blog(?) you can view the whole thing without logging in. As long as you're linking to your site directly (NAME.tumblr.com) .

You don't have to use one of the ones listed but we're trying to make sure the subreddit complies with the no log in rule. Ever since instagram was bought by facebook , there's been an increasing number of less people wanting to use their products.

There are active clients that you're going to be missing out on currently if you continue to use instagram. So it's hard to see a solution other than removing the site.

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spitespitfire•

Some if us have only instagram for porfolio. Please reconsider.

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IcewreathDigital Artist•

Welcome new mods! What you're proposing about instagram sounds fair, I've always felt a little weird posting links to there because you couldn't scroll through the whole thing before without being prompted to log in, so with the new change that makes sense.

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Im_a_real_girl_nowOPIllustrator•

Weirdly enough I was expecting more of a backlash about this plan. I'm about to write up the automod rule for commenting warning about removals so we'll see if there's a sudden interest in what we're doing.

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IcewreathDigital Artist•

Yeah I don’t think a lot of people have noticed/changed what they do yet, I’ve seen a few Instagram links still being posted. I think it’s the right thing to do either way, it’s only consistent

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ALIENANAL•

Personally I find the instagram links to be really useful as I do most of my conversation on there. It would be a real shame to see it go

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AutoModeratorMODBeep Boop•

Hi there, It looks like you are linking to a website that requires a log in. Please note that those websites break Rule 4. Instagram is one of the more popular sites for portfolios that will require a log in. We will start to remove all links to instagram in September 2020. If you have comments or questions please look at our stickied thread

https://www.reddit.com/r/HungryArtists/comments/iakxp9/meta_sub_announcements_new_mods_and_instagram/

If this is related to a commission please report this message to have a moderator review your post.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

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IcewreathDigital Artist•

Umm

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iLobeaa•

Instagram actually helps me a lot, maybe there's a lot of reports from people who cant access instagram, but there are a lot that can, no ?

what if some of the client have the access to instagram ?

i usually gives 2 links, imgur, and instagram

imgur consisting all the artworks that i put together as one Jpeg and instagram for people who have access to it, better UI and UX too and for me i feel like instagram is much more updated portfolio,

can you not delete or remove instagram links, instead can we give 2 links like i usually do ?

maybe that should be the new rule. "give at least one portfolio link that does not require login"

so clients can choose which one they want to use. if they are more comfortable with instagram i feel like that's fine and more helpful.

What do you think ? Thank you

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aberrys-artbox•

I only have instagram as my art portfolio as its easy to use and easy to send update pictures of the work through the messaging system.

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Mr_Panka•

Well i saw this post because of the automatic warning, so it worked !

​

First of all, welcome to the new mods !

​

For IG, i use it to show some works that are more personal and not on my Artstation. I had multiples clients that hired me for an image that they saw on my IG.

Also, IG is nice because I have some clients that follow me now, and they see my work every time I post something.

​

So it's a useful tool. I could do without it, but i know that i also had some works because of it too. but i don't use it as a portfolio, i use it to show more stuffs while keeping my portfolio under 30 images.

​

I don't really have anything to suggest , just wanted to share my experience. I'd like to keep the option of linking my IG, but i also understand the rule and the change you want to make, especially for peoples that only have a IG.

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Im_a_real_girl_nowOPIllustrator•

I definitely don't want to take away followers from artists . I use instagram a good bit myself. I'm not sure if we can easily make it to where an instagram link can exist along with a main portfolio. There might be a bot around that can but I don't know of any.

From when I posted this thread I've noticed at least 5+ clients not being able to use instagram due to not having an account. Leaving those artists with less of a chance of being successful while also not looking very professional. Instagram won't let you look at any image closer or scroll very far without logging in.

Banning instagram might have an added benefit to the sub by making it look more professional and sift out the wave of people who come on here only to spam.

But I might be wrong which is why we opened this thread up.

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Mr_Panka•

i also follow a lot of artists that i found here, so IG is pretty nice for that too.

​

but i agree with you. I'd love the rule to be that peoples need to have a portfolio and then a IG as a 2nd link if they want. but i understand that it's a weird rule/exception, and no IG is so much simpler to explain.

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xensoldier•

Welcome you two new mods!

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Dwarfinator13d Modeling•

Heyo!

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Junk_Box•

Howdy!

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BrokenKokoro•

I deleted my IG account a while ago, and just then I realized how annoying it is to navigate through.Even tho I don´t currently have a portfolio, I´m having no problem at getting clients. I just pick the pieces that fit the requirements from the client and upload it to imgur, for now.
It doesn´t hurt to actually read waht the client is asking for, instead of copy-pasting the same comment and link in every "Hiring" post.

In the future i´m going set up a proper portfolio anyways; it isn´t that hard to do, and considering that we´re offering a service and the client to artist ratio, we shouldn´t make it harder than it is for clients to hire us.

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merikurisumasu•

Hello~~ congrats to the new mods uwu

While I completely understand for this decision, I just wanna mention that I do have some clients that prefer using IG to view my stuff despite having other portfolios in other websites.

I don't mind this decision as much but I certainly did get scared for a bit when I got automod's message lmao

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MisterKrane•

For those who are asking the mods to reconsider instagram because it is the only one you have, that isn't a worthwhile excuse, regardless of whether or not you use this subreddit as a professional artist you should have a proper, professional portfolio rather than relying on instagram or twitter or some other non portfolio site.

It is fine to have those social media accounts (And that's what they are, social media sites, not portfolio sites) for those who want to follow and engage with you and your art, however there are clients that are looking to hire artists for jobs that have no interest in that side of things, who don't have the time to scroll through instagrams or twitters and would rather just look at a quick and easy to navigate portfolio (Like Artstation or your own domain).

If you want to be seen as a professional, get a professional portfolio. Sticking to only an instagram account is hurting you more than it is helping and could very well be costing you jobs you would have otherwise gotten.

I'm personally on board with instagram accounts being posted as long as it is along side a non login required professional portfolio site like artstation/etc.

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FuriousWK•

Mike Mignola, Jim Lee and countless other artists would beg to differ.

There's no point in blocking Instagram. Half of planet Earth uses it already.

We're not talking about something obscure here.

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Im_a_real_girl_nowOPMODIllustrator•

Let's be careful while* talking about this. Instagram is not that big. While it might feel inevitable, it's also just another social media.

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-stats/

37% of US adults use it. They have over a billion users (no idea if that includes businesses and multiple accounts ) . There's currently 7.8 billion people in the world.

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FuriousWK•

Alright, we’re going to pretend that Instagram is obscure and ONLY has 1 billion users.

The vast majority of the posts here plead to keep Instagram, but who knows.

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Im_a_real_girl_nowOPMODIllustrator•

No, I'm not trying to pretend that instagram isn't well known. Just pulling back from the hyperbole given.

While Instagram has a huge artist presence, the clients aren't artists. It doesn't change the matter that allowing Instagram and only having an Instagram for a portfolio will limit the amount of clients you can work with.

The large majority of comments since the automoderator started commenting on every instagram link have been for keeping instagram in the sub as is. Due to the way the reminder works, there was bound to be a strong bias for instagram. The mods are strongly leaning towards allowing instagram but along with a second link that is fully public to allow all clients to have access without the need to log in somewhere.

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awxcoffeexnoArtist•

I hope you do understand that the US is not the only country we get clients from. I get most of my clients from my Instagram (via reddit or not) from countries all over. Instagram can be used by professionals and it seems it a bit unfair and elitist that I should have to pay for a professional portfolio (sure, I can make a Google site but I'm not very good at customising that, therefore, I will have to pay someone to design it for me anyway, even though I cannot afford it). Instagram is free and it's easy to make it look pretty.

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Im_a_real_girl_nowOPIllustrator•

We are not requiring anyone to pay for a professional portfolio in any way, shape, or form. In the main post, I listed 13 different free portfolio spaces that you can use to upload and host a professional looking portfolio all with various ranges of technical skills.

The mods are strongly leaning towards allowing instagram but along with a second link that is fully public to allow all clients to have access without the need to log in somewhere. Otherwise you are losing out on clients here who do not have an instagram and are unwilling to make an account to look at your art. Those clients may or may not tell you that since they tend to get swarmed a bit when posting here.

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Kriss-Kringle•

I'm going to have to disagree with you, because setting up a site takes time and possibly money, whereas Instagram is free.

I don't post anything other than finished pieces along with WIPS in the same post, so everything is pretty neat on my profile.

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MisterKrane•

Artstation is also free, no one is forcing anyone to build and pay for their own site, its just one suggestion.

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Kriss-Kringle•

It is, but what if I don't want to make accounts on every platform and just keep it tight?

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MisterKrane•

Then you deal with the consequences of that for as long as the rule is in place.

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anc789•

As a client and not an artist I just felt like throwing the other perspective into this discussion. Instagram at this point has the same feel to it as Pinterest in your Google images search result. It's frustrating to have the big pop up appear, demanding you to log in before you get to that piece that you really wanted to see. Not to mention that sometimes the artist's commission prices are locked behind the log in wall. Meaning that unless the artist put their prices in their original post here, I have no way of accessing it without making an account. I'd have no issue with it being allowed as a secondary link, but when it is the only option to view works and the commission prices, it becomes frustrating, especially when you enjoy the style of the artist.

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xinoxone•

Welcome to the mods!!

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rootsnblueslover•

I have another question. Now that multiple photos can be added, does that qualify as a portfolio of previous work? I don't know why anyone would want it to, but so many people submit commission openings without any link at all anyway.

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gangangisdeadnow•

Sucks that artists with all their stuff on insta have to suffer because some clients don't have an account . I mean , most people have instagram. Artstation kinda sucks. People can just ignore artists if they don't have an ig account

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Im_a_real_girl_nowOPIllustrator•

In a sub where the artists out number the clients, one would think it would be better to make it as easy as possible for the clients as a priority. Plus the no log in rule has been in place for a while. It's a shame that instagram had to force people to log in but you can make a secondary portfolio literally anywhere you would like that's not a shop even your own for hire post with a collection of images.

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