We contacted the moderators of 'Delusional Artists' and one of them, a Reddit user who goes on the platform as Wqzu, was kind enough to have a little chat with us.
It's not a secret that when subreddits get big, they attract more trolls, but the mod said this particular one isn't having this problem. (Knock on wood.) "Thankfully, the most common issue is reposts," Wqzu told Bored Panda.
"There are times when we have had to step in and control off-site brigades; the most infuriating one is 1-star review bombing self-published works on Amazon. Every now and then, some big drama will kick off, either publicly (like this) or in modmail when an artist finds out they've been posted here. It hasn't happened in a while though, unfortunately. Maybe I should stir the pot a little bit."
Putting a price on your artwork on the internet can be hard. As writer Julia Rittenberg, there are several important factors both amateurs and professionals should keep in mind when doing so that doesn't really apply to real life.
Take shipping, for example. "Since [it] can be prohibitively expensive for consumers, price your products to be more expensive to keep shipping costs down for customers," Rittenberg explained on Forbes. "It's a difficult calculation, but higher shipping costs tend to dissuade potential customers. If you keep shipping costs down, you might get more sales, even if the product is priced to be more expensive."
On the other hand, if you're selling digital prints and reproductions, you might want to keep costs down to get your products out to more customers. Only after you build a customer base, should you start to raise prices and consider special offers and shorter runs to incentivize your products as collectibles.
#7 Filmmaker And Painter, Copied Works Out Other Artists, Claimed Them As Original And Sold Them In Galleries
However, these things are directed toward the reasonable. And those who end up on 'Delusional Artists' are usually anything but; the creative type isn't exactly known for its rationality.
"I think part of being any form of artist (and I say this as a very amateur hobbyist writer that wasted over $33k on a creative writing degree) is being somewhat of a narcissist [who believes] the idea that what you've made needs to be viewed by other people," Wqzu said.
"Most people know that for every Picasso or Dali, there's a million people trying their own hand at it, and that gives you a big pool of people with the potential to be more narcissistic."
The moderator said it is also worth mentioning that a lot of the subreddit's members have never attempted to sell or buy art, and so their idea of what constitutes a reasonable price is normally fairly low.
"I'd say the community is split between people that like looking at bad art and like looking at delusional people having a meltdown," they explained. "I definitely fall into the latter category at least, and that's how the sub was when I joined around 7-8 years ago. If I had to group everyone together, I'd say that we are cringe-voyeurs."
#17 Design School I’m At Paid 5000$ For A Painter To Paint A Lightbulb, But It Just Looks Like A Noose
'Delusional Artists' have been around since 2013 and has been reviewed by various big names, but the visibility comes with its fair share of challenges. "Every time the sub gets posted somewhere big, like when PewdiePie made a video on it, we get inundated with reposts, soapboxers, and brigaders that predictably whine in modmail after they get banned."
They would love for everyone to check out the sub, but ask that you read the shagging rules and search the shagging sub before posting and commenting!
