The impact of Instagram

You could call it a small revolution: Instagram has made it much easier for illustrators to share their work with the world, sometimes with great success.

Currently platforms such as Pinterest, Society6 and Etsy are very useful for creative professionals. Before these platforms existed, illustrators had to make do with Facebook and Twitter, neither of which are really suitable for gaining exposure. Instagram came about in 2010, through which some illustrators quickly acquired pop-star status.

Dutch illustrator Bodil Jane (her artist name) recalls the impact Instagram had on her. “When I exceeded 50,000 followers,” she says, “I realized that I had an entire arena full of fans. That felt strange, even a little intimidating.”

Her colleague Fran Meneses in the UK has her own way of handling it. “I try not to focus too much on my number of followers,” she says. “I think of it more as if there are twenty people sitting in my living room staring at me. Instagram is my biggest platform, and so it’s important to me, but I still don’t want to obsess on it.