Should you Only Ever Post Finished Art?

Ever browse around socials and see sketchy doodles from artists that you like? Or those early stage concept drawings? It’s usually a pretty cool insight into how they make their art. So when is it the right time for YOU to share your sketches? What will people think about them? Which ones do you share?

Maybe you’ve had too many WIPs, or “work in progress” drawings, build up. Maybe you’ve felt disconnected with other artists because you haven’t “finished” anything and feel like you have nothing to share. So what do you do? Start sharing those WIPs, silly! People love to see the art process. They love the sketchy stuff, the messy pencil drawings, the unclean painted lines. It makes people excited to see what a drawing could evolve into, and other artists can observe your process and get inspiration for new ways to approach their own drawings. Sharing your art early can help you feel more connected with others and keep you motivated to continue.

A rebuttal I’ve heard about this involves not wanting to upset an artists “audience”, as if there is some expectation from people about art quality. This is almost always untrue: people like to follow artists because of the person as well as their art. They get excited seeing the art process and learning more about how things are made. People love to see the human aspect of art and being able to relate to the imperfection of WIPs and drafts. The other aspect of audience expectations is maybe a more difficult truth: if you’re not sure if your audience would like something…. you probably don’t actually have a defined audience, or any with specific expectations. Audiences are a kind of weird concept for beginner and even mid-level artists, and it’s usually better to try to not think about audience expectations because you will always be changing your mind about what you think you should draw. That’s a topic for another video though.

Another practical way to look at this is being able to try out ideas that you’re uncertain about. Maybe you’ve made some different drawings and kind of like one or two, but you’re not sure which one’s the one you want to really continue with. Share the WIPs and see how people react! You might find that people are really excited for an idea that you were not confident of. Try to no always chase after what you think people want, though: draw the ideas you love too. Find a comfy balance for you; this might not be the same balance for others.

You might also gain new ideas from seeing peoples comments on your art! Maybe they’ll make you want to reimagine the background, or add some dialogue, or add in another character. It’s not always going to happen, but you might find that you can get even more inspiration from the people looking at and interpreting your art. Not every WIP and doodle has to become a finished drawing though. You shouldn’t feel pressured to finish up everything you share. You can finish drawings weeks or months later and don’t have to apologize for it. You don’t have to ever finish a WIP or a doodle if you feel happy enough with it!

All that said, you don’t have to share anything if you really don’t want to. Don’t forget that your art is your own and you’re not obligated to share any of it at all. But, if you do generally like to share your art and feel like you have been disconnected from others, try pushing yourself into sharing doodles and WIPs! You might find that it’s kind of fun, and people will love it in ways you weren’t expecting.