Since it is nearly free to publish anything on the Internet, creative people have taken full advantage. With websites like DeviantArt and Tumblr, artists have found a place to publicly post their art. Before the Internet, an artist had to get noticed by selling their art on the street or doing some crazy performance art. Now, even without people buying the art directly, artists are able to make money through commission and ad revenue, all because of the Internet.
An art enthusiast can now say to themselves "Why go out on the gross and dirty streets for art when I can go on the gross and dirty Internet to see it?" That art enthusiast is right; there are no boundaries or dirty streets getting in the way of an artist and his/her audience.
A glowing example of artists free from boundaries are web-comics. If an artist/writer wanted to get noticed, they had to: A) know someone in the industry; B) Go to yearly conventions and submit portfolios; or C) get lucky and get noticed. Most of those are hard to accomplish, but not anymore. If someone wants to get noticed, they can host their content on a website for anyone to view at any time. They may not get discovered, but their chances are higher; they will also be seen by so many others.
The artists also have more freedom with their content and share the majority, if not all, of the profit.
I'm not going to get too far into the theory of the Internet and how it has cut out the middleman in publishing a work, but I will give an example of my favorite web-comic.
ExplodingDog
This is a web-comic based entirely off of titles that fans send in to Sam, the creator. Each comic consists of one image with the title and maybe some additional words. He has been making comics since 2000, an is still going. He has had a good amount of success by selling merchandise, framed drawings and now he has a children's book. His sense of humor is off-beat and you are often left wondering why you are laughing. It is smart, silly and non-vulgar.
No comments:
Post a Comment