25+ Instagram Post Ideas for Artists

Are you an artist struggling to come up with ideas on what to post on Instagram? Whether you use your feed, reels, or stories, there are so many ways to share your art on Instagram!

In this post I’m sharing over 25 Instagram post ideas for artists.

A few things to consider: Create value for your audience. Whether it’s something pretty to look at, sharing information, or a relatable story in the captions. Interact with your audience. Ask a question. Get people excited and engaged with your content!

Instagram Feed Posts Ideas:

1. Finished artwork

2. Works in progress

3. Photos of yourself with or holding your artwork

4. Introduction posts. Share a photo of yourself in your studio with a quick introduction for new followers

5. Close ups of your artwork, either a WIP or tease of a final piece

6. Mockups of your artwork on products (download from your POD stores, make your own, or use a mock up generator service like Place It)

7. Real life photos of your artwork on products

8. Join trending hashtags and art challenges like #artvsartist or #dtiys (draw this in your style)

9. Art supplies – review or showcase the tools you use to create your art

10. Studio shots/ behind the scenes

11. Shareable quotes (created by you, using your own artwork)

12. Celebrate an occasion or holiday with a related artwork or design

Instagram Reels Ideas:

13. Timelapse videos of yourself creating an art piece

14. Tutorials demonstrating your process, how to use a specific tool or product

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Julie Erin Designs | Artist (@julieerindesigns)

15. Trending video memes with an art or art business spin on it

17. “Day in the life” (of an artist)

18. Still images along to the beat of a song

19. Using trending filters on your artwork

20. Animated artwork (can be really simple)

21. “Satisfying” art process

Instagram Story Post Ideas:

Anything goes on stories, they are less formal and go away in 24 hours.

22. Behind the scenes – going for a walk to gather inspiration, your art studio etc.

23. Teasers for new artwork or content (tutorials, blog posts etc)

24. This or that, showing 2 of your artworks and ask your audience which one they like more

25. Announce a sale and use a link sticker to link to your shop(s)

26. Ask your audience a question (poll)

27. Share a new blog post or video on Youtube or another platform (link with sticker)

28. Share a new (or old) post or reel from your feed to your Stories

29. Celebrate an occasion or holiday, sometimes there are stickers for this so you can share with a wider audience

Looking for more Instagram tips for artists? Check out this blog post!

You can also check out my own Instagram feed for even more post inspiration.

I hope you’ve found this list of Instagram post ideas for artists helpful!

Cheers,

How to Make Short Videos of Your Art for Social Media: Reels, Tiktok, Shorts, Pinterest and more

how to make short videos of art for social media

~ Julie ~ 1 Comment

how to make short videos of your art for tiktok instagram reels

Do you want to learn how to make short videos of your art for social media like Instagram Reels and Tiktok? Then this class is for you!

Join me as I teach you how to make 2 quick and easy videos of your art and post them to several social media sites to help you expand your audience and reach!

And no – you won’t have to dance, lip sync, or even talk. The videos we will create in this class are perfect for shy artist types who aren’t quite comfortable showing their face on camera.

Watch the intro below:

In this class, I will guide you through the following steps:

Putting together your set.
Filming 2 short videos of your art.
Editing the videos using free apps.
Posting your videos to a variety of social media platforms including Instagram Reels, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube Shorts and Facebook.

This class is great for beginners, or already established artists who are looking to expand their marketing to include short video!

For the class project, you can share a link to the short video you created from this class, and/or include a screenshot from your video or a photo of your filming set up.

You will need:

At least one finished piece of artwork.
A background texture and some props (optional).
Your smartphone and some free apps.

Oh and the class is only 20 minutes long, so you can jump right in! Does that sound interesting to you?

Watch How to Make Short Videos of Your Art for Social Media for free with a 1 month trial membership of Skillshare!

How to Set up an Instagram Shop with Print on Demand Products

~ Julie ~ 2 Comments

how to set up instagram shop print on demand

Today I’m going to explain how to set up an Instagram shop with Print on Demand products from websites like Redbubble, Society6 and Zazzle.

Did you know that you can add your print on demand products to a shop on your Instagram page? Since I did this I’ve seen an increase in traffic to my stores from Instagram.

The main thing you need to know is that you have to set it up through Facebook.

First of all you need to make sure your Instagram account is a Business or Creator account. You also need to have business Facebook page for your brand connected to it.

Then you can create a store through the Facebook Commerce Manager (click on Add Shop).

If you’re selling Print on Demand products through your own website using Shopify (or similar) you can use their partner connect option. This is more simple, but today I’m discussing adding third party print on demand products from websites you don’t own like Redbubble and Society6.

Once you’ve created the store on Facebook, go back into your Instagram account and apply for Instagram Shopping under the Settings section of your profile. There should a Business or Creator section under which you should see Shopping. Apply for Shopping and wait for your account to be approved.

Once you’ve been approved (it may take a few days) head back over to the shop you created on your Facebook page. Now you can start adding products!

For this to work you have to add products manually (click on Add Items). Now obviously this will take time since you may have THOUSANDS of products across multiple retailers. So I recommend highlighting a few best sellers from each of your stores. This will at least drive people to those stores where they can browse the rest of your offerings from there.

It will take about 30 minutes to an hour for products to process but then you will start to see them showing up in your Instagram and Facebook stores.

Tips for Setting up Your Instagram Store

Be patient.
Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Commerce Manager and how it works.
Create “sets” to organize your products by product type.
You can only use ONE currency in your store. I had an issue with products not showing up and realized it was because I had multiple currencies.
Add a few of your best selling designs and products from your different stores.
You won’t be able to “tag” these products in your Instagram photos unfortunately. This only works for products from a domain you own (such as a Shopify store).
Products are shareable to Instagram Stories or direct message.
Check the Insights section for analytics to see how many people are clicking on your products and visiting your stores!

I hope this post has been helpful to explain how you can set up an Instagram shop with your print on demand products.

I’d love to hear what you think about this and if you will be using it for your own products!

Happy selling!

Cheers,

Instagram Toon Me Challenge – Turning Myself into a Cartoon

~ Julie ~ 6 Comments

If you’re on Instagram you may have seen the Toon Me challenge (#toonme). This challenge involves taking a photo of yourself, splitting it in half and making a cartoon out of one half of your portrait.

What is the Instagram Toon Me Challenge?

The Instagram Toon Me challenge allows users to show off their creative side by turning themselves into a cartoon character. The challenge is simple: using the hashtag #ToonMe, users post a picture of themselves either partially or fully cartoonified on Instagram.

Whether you’re a professional artist or a complete novice, the Instagram toon me challenge is the perfect way to show off your creativity and expand your reach by participating in a fun art trend.

I decided to give the challenge a try for myself, and recorded the process in this video on my Youtube channel!

It was fun to participate in this Instagram art challenge, so I might do more of them in the future! It was great to see the different approaches people took and the different styles that they used. I would definitely recommend this challenge to anyone looking for a fun and creative way to spend some time.

Have you ever participated in an art challenge like this before? Let me know in the comments below!

If you’re interested in other art challenges I’ve done in the past, check out the Mandalatober challenge.

Also make sure to follow me on Instagram to see future art challenges I participate in, and my other works as well.

Cheers!

Mandalatober Mandala Art Drawing Challenge

~ Julie ~ 7 Comments

mandalatober2019 mandala art drawing challenge

Hey guys! In the spirit of the well known Inktober art challenge that occurs every October, I decided to create my own challenge. I call it Mandalatober!

What is the Mandalatober Mandala Art drawing challenge?

Mandalatober is based on the popular Inktober art challenge. Inktober is an annual drawing challenge that takes place throughout the month of October. The challenge was created by artist Jake Parker in 2009 as a way to encourage people to get creative and practice their drawing skills.

The challenge works by providing a prompt list for each day of the month, with each prompt representing a different topic or theme. Participants are then tasked with creating a drawing based on that prompt, using any medium they like.

Today there are hundreds of different takes on the art challenge, most of which occur during the month of October but others occur throughout the year.

For Mandalatober, I came up with my own prompts to create 31 different mandalas in the month of October. I’m challenging myself to complete this challenge on Instagram, and invite you to join me!

Post your mandalatober creations on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #mandalatober2019 and tag me @julieerindesigns so I can see your work!

You may find it helpful to use my mandala drawing templates.

You can interpret the prompts however you want. Draw the mandalas by hand, digitally, create them with found objects, paint them, whatever you want to do. There are no limitations. The only rules are to post them on Instagram and/or Twitter and use the hashtag #mandalatober2019.

Make sure you’re following me on Instagram @julieerindesigns so you can see my interpretations for the challenge. I will also be sharing everyone else’s mandalas with the hashtag in my stories!

I can’t wait to see what you guys create from this challenge. At the end of it all, some time in November, I will create a blog post with my favourite entries from the challenge so stay tuned for that!

Happy creating!

Cheers,

Find more great posts below:

How to Grow Your Instagram Art Account

~ Julie ~ 16 Comments

Hey guys! Today I’d like to share with you some tips for growing your art account on Instagram.

If you’re an artist and not using Instagram, get on it! I find it’s better than Facebook or Twitter for artists because it’s more visual based.

In fact, many artists today use Instagram as their art portfolio instead of having a website. While I don’t recommend that, as having your own space on the internet is always best practice, it can be a great place to connect with fans and other artists.

Keep in mind that no one really knows how the algorithm works except the folks who work at Instagram. People will tell you to do this or that or don’t do this or that, but they really don’t know either, so take it with a grain of salt.

These tips are just things that have worked for me personally, and are not guaranteed to work for you. Don’t focus too much on your follower count. Being authentic, focusing on creating quality content, and engaging meaningfully with your fans and followers should be your main focus.

Tips for growing your Instagram art account

Find your niche: what kind of art do you want to share with the world? Whether it’s painting, sketches, or digital art, make sure your content is focused and consistent.
Post high-quality photos. Make sure your photos are clear and of high quality. People are more likely to follow an account that posts beautiful photos.
Post daily, if not to your feed at least to stories.
Create fun and interactive stories using polls, stickers etc.
Respond to comments on your posts.
Respond to other people‘s stories.
Use relevant hashtags when you post. Use a mix of broad and smaller hashtags with less than 1 million posts. For example, use #art and #artistsoninstagram, but also use smaller hashtags that are relevant to your specific style of art or the subject of your post.
Switch up hashtags from post to post, don’t use the same ones every time.
Experiment with posting at different times of the day.
Experiment with Reels.
Add a location to your posts. It could be the location you actually are, or a different location depending on the post subject or target audience.
Create content that isn’t pushing people to buy anything, but simply showing your work or offering something of value to your followers.

brunette girl selfie pink mandala design — Selfies with or wearing your designs get a lot of engagement.

Post selfies. Even as an artist, selfies get high engagement on Instagram. Take photos of yourself holding your art or wearing and using your products if you sell through print on demand.
Engage daily by liking and commenting on posts in your home feed.
Follow hashtags that are relevant to your niche or art style and they will show up on your home feed.
Check out the top posts and use them for inspiration, but don’t copy.
Every day, if you can, go through a few hashtags relevant to your work or style and like/comment/follow accounts using that hashtag.
Add Alt Text to your posts.
Tell a story. Your captions should be more than just a description of the photo. Tell a story about your art, or share your creative process with your followers.

That’s it! I hope you’ve found some helpful tips here. If you have more to add feel free to leave them in the comments below. You can also check out my artist resources page for even more tips!

Oh and make sure you follow me on Instagram!

Cheers,

Instagram Feed Posts Ideas:

Instagram Reels Ideas:

Instagram Story Post Ideas:

Looking for more Instagram tips for artists? Check out this blog post!

Watch How to Make Short Videos of Your Art for Social Media for free with a 1 month trial membership of Skillshare!

Tips for Setting up Your Instagram Store

What is the Instagram Toon Me Challenge?

What is the Mandalatober Mandala Art drawing challenge?

Post your mandalatober creations on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #mandalatober2019 and tag me @julieerindesigns so I can see your work!

Find more great posts below:

Tips for growing your Instagram art account

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