I just wanted to comment that I love your art, especially the cutaways. I have an idea for a cutaway painting that I want to do that references the building I live in, but adding a cutaway fantasy element to it.
Also that photo of Paul Giamatti on set! My favorite movie of 2023 is definitely The Holdovers.
I have the exact same reaction to well-established creators who are pleased with themselves that they don't have to engage online. They annoy the shit out of me, and I long to be one of them! I have a graphic novel coming next year that's been in the works for years, and I've felt a pang of relief watching Twitter going down the pan over that period, knowing that ramping up my presence on there would be a waste of time now, so I don't have to bother. Which is fine, but now I'm just left puzzling out just how I actually will promote the work.
Almost every newsletter author I know has ditched Substack for the reasons you allude to. The most popular alternative seems to be Ghost, if you’re interested in looking into doing the same.
Also there’s a new alternative to Instagram that has been getting some buzz and basically has feature parity with IG called Pixelfed. It will never be sold to finance or tech bros because it uses activity pub federation and is open source, which means it’s decentralized and can’t be enshittified by one company. The mobile apps for Pixelfed need quite a bit of love but the web app already has stories, portfolios/collections, and everything you’d want from an Instagram alternative. I can’t recommend it highly enough as I see it as the future of IG in the same way Bsky is the future of Twitter for those of us who want a little less of the mindrot that comes with participating on billionaire-run/ruined platforms.
Good lord I love your newsletters. They seem so very honest to me, they prompt introspection and reflection, at least for me, and your illustrations accompany your writing in a really lovely way.
I’ve been a professional filmmaker and illustrator for almost fifteen years. I don’t have a big social following, or agent, and I’ve never chased the “soup du jour” platform. Instead, I’ve built a career by staying consistent and focusing on the work itself. Every time I finish a new project, I gain a new audience through my newsletter. The people who subscribe through my website, darieuslegg.com, are incredibly loyal, and they buy almost anything I choose to sell.
I’ve spent most of my professional life fostering relationships with clients and real people in real life—not just online. My clients are some of the largest brands in the world. That’s made my career not only sustainable but, at times, very abundant. I credit much of this to being proactive about nurturing relationships offline.
I hope this serves as a reminder: social media is not real. The real world, full of real people in physical locations, still exists. You can have a wonderful life and a thriving creative career without obsessing over algorithms. Maybe a solid question to ask isn’t what’s the future of creatives on social media, but rather, what are we focusing on instead of the real work—which includes developing social skills in real life.
I just wanted to comment that I love your art, especially the cutaways. I have an idea for a cutaway painting that I want to do that references the building I live in, but adding a cutaway fantasy element to it.
Also that photo of Paul Giamatti on set! My favorite movie of 2023 is definitely The Holdovers.
Thank you!
I have the exact same reaction to well-established creators who are pleased with themselves that they don't have to engage online. They annoy the shit out of me, and I long to be one of them! I have a graphic novel coming next year that's been in the works for years, and I've felt a pang of relief watching Twitter going down the pan over that period, knowing that ramping up my presence on there would be a waste of time now, so I don't have to bother. Which is fine, but now I'm just left puzzling out just how I actually will promote the work.
Yeah, it's definitely the conundrum of the contemporary creator.
Almost every newsletter author I know has ditched Substack for the reasons you allude to. The most popular alternative seems to be Ghost, if you’re interested in looking into doing the same.
Also there’s a new alternative to Instagram that has been getting some buzz and basically has feature parity with IG called Pixelfed. It will never be sold to finance or tech bros because it uses activity pub federation and is open source, which means it’s decentralized and can’t be enshittified by one company. The mobile apps for Pixelfed need quite a bit of love but the web app already has stories, portfolios/collections, and everything you’d want from an Instagram alternative. I can’t recommend it highly enough as I see it as the future of IG in the same way Bsky is the future of Twitter for those of us who want a little less of the mindrot that comes with participating on billionaire-run/ruined platforms.
Thanks for the tips!
As an unemployed disabled person, I can tell you that there are other opinions about social media and they go something like:
'All of social media is increasingly awful and I want to quit everything, but I'm worried I’ll never meet anyone or have a conversation again.’
Thank goodness for Substack and its many kiosks. And for whatever artistic haven comes if/when the golden mouth-stuffing takes place...
Good lord I love your newsletters. They seem so very honest to me, they prompt introspection and reflection, at least for me, and your illustrations accompany your writing in a really lovely way.
That's very kind of you to say. Thank you!
The website looks great!
Hey, thanks!
I came here to comment after seeing your art in this week's Substack Reads edition. I was going to say how much it reminded me of that meme.
But since that was your intention, I'll offer a round of applause instead. Well played. 👏👏👏
I’ve been a professional filmmaker and illustrator for almost fifteen years. I don’t have a big social following, or agent, and I’ve never chased the “soup du jour” platform. Instead, I’ve built a career by staying consistent and focusing on the work itself. Every time I finish a new project, I gain a new audience through my newsletter. The people who subscribe through my website, darieuslegg.com, are incredibly loyal, and they buy almost anything I choose to sell.
I’ve spent most of my professional life fostering relationships with clients and real people in real life—not just online. My clients are some of the largest brands in the world. That’s made my career not only sustainable but, at times, very abundant. I credit much of this to being proactive about nurturing relationships offline.
I hope this serves as a reminder: social media is not real. The real world, full of real people in physical locations, still exists. You can have a wonderful life and a thriving creative career without obsessing over algorithms. Maybe a solid question to ask isn’t what’s the future of creatives on social media, but rather, what are we focusing on instead of the real work—which includes developing social skills in real life.