The Art of Art #hashtags 2019

Instagram is such a great place for artists. It’s an amazing visual platform for you to get out and share your artwork. But the hardest thing on social networks is getting noticed. This is something I am fighting with myself. Working hard, posting every day trying to find people who appreciate my work. There’s a lot of things that go into this but one of the most important things I’ve found is using hashtags.

What’s a Hashtag?
This may be a stupid question to some, and a very important one to others. Here’s a brief rundown. Basically, think of a hashtag as a keyword or something people would search for. Formally the pound sign, the hash (#) sign is what starts a hashtag. It lets social media websites and applications, like Twitter and Instagram, know that you’re searching for a specific subject. Clicking on a hashtag on a social network lets you see a post that mentions the subject in real time.

So now you have something else to add to your plate, finding the right combinations of hashtags to get to your desired audience. What a pain. So I’ve started composing a list of hashtags to use and I thought I’d share them with you. But there’s a few more things I think you might need to know before getting to the list. Things that I didn’t know when I first started using hashtags. If you’re just looking for the hashtags, scroll down just a little bit farther to find them. Here’s a few more tips that I found helpful.

30 hashtag max per post on instagram
I didn’t even know this was a thing until I went crazy and started hashtaging everything. You can only use 30 hashtags per post on Instagram. Instagram will give you a notification when you’ve used to many. But just because you can use 30 hashtags doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Some people frown upon you using too many hashtags and what the right amount to use is highly debated. My suggestion would be to test how many works best for you. That’s not a very good answer but it’s kind of a case-by-case basis. What your audience responds best to.

Where to put your hashtags?
When I first started using hashtags I filled up my caption section with a ton of hashtags. It wasn’t very pleasant to look at and honestly it looked like I was spamming the system. 5 to 10 hashtags in your caption section looks OK to me. If you’d like to add more you can always put your hashtags in the comments section of your post. It works exactly the same but doesn’t clutter up your image. Once you’ve posted your image you can go back into the comment section and continue adding more. Honestly, this looks way better than a caption with 30 hashtags in it.

Keep your tags relevant
I find myself doing this all the time. Over analyzing if a hashtag is correct for what I’m posting. For instance, a popular one that I like to use is #wip (work in progress). I use the tag when I am still working on a concept doodle but want to share my progress. So if I’m posting final artwork it’s not a relevant tag. Just something to keep in mind when you’re sharing. 

Is there a place where I can find the right art hashtags for me?
Yes, there are several options on where you can find popular hashtags. You can search directly using Instagram’s search. Create a new post and start typing in a hashtag. As you’re typing Instagram will auto fill suggestions as you’re typing. Helpful thing about doing it this way is you can see how many other people have used the same hashtag as you. There are also a couple of websites you can use to discover more relevant hashtags. Hashtagify.me and RiteTag are helpful sites that can provide you with analysis and other related hashtags for what you’re searching for.

And now here are the hashtags that I’ve been using when posting my artwork. It’s not a perfect list but it’s a place to start. I’ve set them up nice and neat so that you can just copy and paste them into your post or just paste them into a Notes app so you have easy access to them next time you’re sharing your image online. Remember! Keep your tags relevant to what your sharing!

General art #
Here are some very basic hashtags to get you going. These are catchall art hashtags that pretty much could cover anything you’re posting online.
#art #illustration #drawing #draw #artist #sketch #sketchbook #sketchbookart #artsy #instaart #creative #instaartist #artoftheday #justdraw #wip #artlife #dailysketches #sketchdaily #sketching #artnerd

Instagram Artist #
Since Instagram is such a visual social network there are specific hashtags for artists who want to share their artwork only on Instagram.
#instaart #artistoninstagram #instagramartist #illustragram #illustratorsofinstagram #instapainting #artistsofig #artistsofinstagram #instagramart 

Digital art #
Digital painting has a huge following on social media so when you’re sharing artwork that you’ve created digitally here’s a few tags that are helpful.
#digitalpainting #digitaldrawing #digitalart #digitalillustration #digitaldrawing #digital_art #digitalsketch #digitaldoodle #digitalartist #digitalartwork #photoshopart #conceptdesign #characterdesign #tabletdrawing #tabletpainting

Traditional art #
If you’re into keeping it old-school here are some hashtags for those of you who take your sketchbook everywhere.
#sketchoftheday #sketchbook #sketchbookart #sketching #sketchbookdrawing #dailysketches #sketchdaily #justdraw #practicedrawing 

Comic Art #
There’s a ton of comic book fan online. Here’s a few hashtags that are used to find people interested in comic book art.
#comicbookartist #indiecomic #comicstyle #sequentialart #digitalcomics

Visual Development #
The entertainment industry is a huge market. There’s a ton of people out there interested in the artwork that goes into the artwork for video games movies and television.
#conceptart #conceptualart #conceptual #conceptdesign #visualdevelopment #characterillustration #characterdesigner #characterart #characterdesign #characterconcept #gameart #videogameart

Using hashtags on social media is a great way to increase the viewership of your artwork. Lots of people who would never see your work can finally get a chance if you use the right hashtag. It’s a great way to build your following and potentially a good way to get new eyes on your work. I’ve personally gotten several new clients from social media – People who would have never seen my work if I wasn’t sharing my art and tagging it to target the right viewers.