Dear Jacky: Is social media vetting something I need to think about as an artist

Aligning Your Folio with Your Goals

If brand partnerships and social media-driven campaigns are part of your goals as a creator or commercial artist, it's likely a good idea to make some time for a thoughtful cull and curation of your social media accounts on all platforms and to see what kind of work appears when you search for your name. Something that you posted online a decade ago and that you might not even realize still has a presence online could potentially cost you opportunities in the future.

It's impossible to know what specific risks prospective clients might be averse to, but if there are certain industry clients that you're hoping to attract with your work, it's a helpful practice to view the content of your online folios and social media accounts through the lens of a commissioner within those industries. We know that it's usually the case that a prospective client will want to see relevant existing work in your folio that pertains to what they are hoping to commission, whether it be style or subject matter, but we rarely think about curating a folio from the vantage point of potential risks.

For example, if one of your interests is to work with more clients within the children's entertainment industry, you could want to think again about posting artwork from your recent nude figure drawing class on the same socials that you use to attract commercial clients.

Consider Curating Your Commissions

It's important to remain thoughtful about the personal work that you share online, but previously commissioned client work is just as significant.

A lot of freelance illustrators get their start in editorial and many maintain a healthy balance of this kind of work throughout their careers. For some, it's their bread and butter. In a lot of cases, commissioned editorial work requires the artist to illustrate subject matter, people, or concepts that connect them with sensitive issues.

It's likely that if a prospective client is vetting you as an artist for future creative work or partnerships, they understand that illustrating a specific subject matter in an editorial publication doesn't mean that your personal views and beliefs align with that issue or even the positioning of the article. Any brand conducting vetting on artists, however, will have their own perspective and a stake in particular topics that you might not have insight into, so what may seem low stakes to one brand could be very sensitive to another.

It's worth thinking about which topics you mind and don't mind aligning yourself with as a commercial artist, because ultimately you will be associated with the content of the editorial article or campaign that you work on. Using discretion with the kind of work you decide to take on is a valid approach to ensuring your folio and online presence is not prohibiting future opportunities that align with your goals, but if being too selective about the work you say yes to isn't always possible, perhaps you could consider simply being more selective about what you share in your folio or ask to be credited for. Some artists even use a pseudonym or studio name for certain commissions, which could be another way to approach how you curate your online presence.

Balancing Authenticity and Professionalism

Beyond the visual content that you include in your folio or post online, it's also important to pay attention to profanity used in text or captions and the personal opinions and stances that you share about certain issues. My advice here isn't about filtering yourself in a way that silences what is important to you or to create a persona that is inauthentic. The crucial thing to keep in mind when sharing an idea or stance on a poignant issue online, is that the gravity will not always be placed on the issue itself that's being addressed, but the attitude and disposition that you modeled and promoted when addressing the issue. If you are ever the subject of a vetting service, it's likely that your tone on an issue will hold more weight than the issue itself. If you like to have an outlet for sharing more intimate and private content, it's not a bad idea to have separate social accounts for your professional and personal content.