A very relevant title to this blog! It took me a lot of time to understand this lesson. As a creator as many would relate "Consistency" is the key to any kind of growth. The majority of creators have started out as artists and something I have learned over the years of being a content creator is that the mindset required for being a content creator is a bit different.
There are two sides to a person's mind when it comes to creative work online. First, The Artist's side. (before I get questioned about it, It's just a term that I am using). So, What's the Artist's side? It's the creative side (in terms of the art form) basically, the side that generates the ideas. The side is where the passion lies. Artist's side is the side that is responsible for the quality of the work the creator produces. Artist's side seeks satisfaction from doing the work. The Artist's side is the perfectionist.
If a person only had the artist's mindset what would happen?
The work would be the best quality the person can produce. It would be very close to what the creator imagined when coming up with the idea. The work will look amazing and will give the person complete satisfaction. This is a dream for any person who wants to make it as a full-time artist. Yes, it's a "dream". Why? Well, there are a lot more people trying to live that dream. Though you have a unique style the work in which you use that style is done by many!
What's wrong with that?
With the rise of social media, each one of those people has got a platform to showcase their art, just like you. As an artist, although you are doing the work for your satisfaction, if you wanna make a living out of it you have to be visible in that crowd. Not everyone can suddenly get popular with some viral work! (That's way more difficult than you realize XD)
The obvious solution to this could be to put more and more work out there.
But Amey, That would reduce the quality of my work and my paintings take weeks to get completed, how am I supposed to put out more than that?
That's probably the No.1 concern when it comes to artists trying to get their work out there! And I can understand.
This is where the second side of the creator's mind plays the main role!
The Entrepreneur side
This side of your mind is going to make you a living out of your passion. How? This side of your mind looks at your work as a product that needs to be sold to the audience. "Heyy, Don't call my hard work and passion 'A Product'." Okay, this means you are still on that artist's side. For a moment forget you are an artist and have a broader perspective on your work.
My painter friend above said it takes him weeks to finish his painting. How is he supposed to put more work out? The Entreprunre side of your mind will give that answer.
For now, I'll give one XD. We all watch movies and personally I consider all films piece of art. (Yes, Rohit Shetty is an artist). When a new film is about to release, do we directly know about it on the day it's released? No, We see something that's called promotion, We see teasers, trailers, behind the scenes, motion posters, and whatnot! why is this done? Simple, to sell more tickets. When we see the film as a piece of art, we see it stand out of the crowd of the other 100 films releasing because they created smaller pieces to engage the audience in this event!
So if my painter friend were to incorporate this in his journey to make it as an artist, that artist will have to engage his audience in his work. There are so many tools out there to make that happen! The most popular and with a wild reach is Instagram Reels. He can make progress reels or reels with the transition from start to finish. Possibilities are limited to his creativity. He can use Twitter to reach out to his inspirations. Connect with other artists using Behance, reach out to their audience. Use LinkedIn to get freelance work or internships in their respective field.
The main point of all this being, For a person to make it out as an artist, at least until he gets his/her foot through the door in their respective industries, The creator not only has to develop their skills, put out their work to the audience but make the audience a part of their journey.
But, however good the promotion is, the tickets only sell at large if the film is good. And that's why I say, To make it as a creator in the current scenario the balance between both the Artist and the entrepreneur side has to be made. The artist side brings in passion and quality, but the entrepreneur side makes you show up every day. It brings in the quantity in your work. The entrepreneur helps you build your network and helps you put forth proper goals so that you can scale and make your passion your career.
This is basically an introduction to a much larger topic. Many questions would arise after reading this. If you have any feel free to DM me on Instagram to comment here. A few of the questions I will answer in the connecting blogs to this topic are, "How to deal if there is a conflict between the two sides?" Or " When to give which side more priority?".
Very excited to write more on this!
See you all next week!