What would you say if we told you that you can create an online art portfolio without spending a dime?
Well, it’s true! All you need is a laptop or desktop computer, some basic software, and a web connection.
An online art portfolio is a great way to showcase your artistic skills. It allows you to share your work with potential employers, clients, and other artists. An online portfolio also helps you build a professional network and gain exposure.
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on expensive equipment to start creating your own online art portfolio. In fact, you can get started today using free tools.
An Online Portfolio Is Your Digital Calling Card As An Artist
Promote your artwork online and in person. Galleries and collectors look online to verify your credentials as an artist and to find and learn more information about your work.
So, how do you lay the foundation once you’ve saved time in the future? Use these tips for creating a standout digital portfolio to get eyes on your projects and learn about the latest trends in web design. Plus, we’ll share our favorite tools to help you save time throughout the process.
Your online portfolio is actually one of the first places that people go to if they’re wanting to inquire about a piece of artwork from you, so making it encapsulate you and your art style is important.
Also, galleries, collectors, and potential buyers will often verify you online through your art history and credentials as a certified artist. They do this to find out more about you as an artist and if you are what they would want to invest in for their collections.
Building The Best Online Portfolio For Your Art
Artists should always take care of the basics first. Your portfolio needs to be organized, clean, and easy to navigate.
You need to set yourself apart as a professional artist by showcasing your best works, and you should never show anything less than your best work.
Making a few tweaks to your portfolio is what is going to set you apart as a professional and credible artist, so why work extra hard to make the portfolio when it’s not necessary? Let’s take a closer look at how exactly you create an online art portfolio.
Set Up A Website
This is where all of your work will live. There are many options when it comes to setting up a website.
We recommend WordPress because it’s simple to use, has lots of plugins available, and is open source.
If you have any questions regarding setting up a website, contact the website organizer/creator, and you’ll be sure to be on your way within the website world.
Create A Blog
A blog is another place where you can post images of your work.
Blogs are very useful for promoting your work and getting feedback from others.
Some websites offer blogging services for free, but there are many paid services that you can choose from.
Choose A Theme
Themes are like skins for your site. Each theme has its own unique features and color schemes.
When selecting a theme, think about which ones appeal to you and which ones are most appealing to your audience.
Add Content
Content is everything that goes into your portfolio.
It could include text, video, audio, or even links to other sites. Content adds value to your portfolio by giving visitors something to read or watch.
Promote Your Work
Once you have created a portfolio, you need to promote it. How do you do that?
You can add a link to your portfolio on social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You can also create a newsletter with your portfolio and send it to friends and family.
Get Feedback
Feedback is crucial to improving your portfolio. Ask someone who knows you well to review your work.
Have them give you suggestions and ask them to tell you what they love and don’t love about your portfolio.
Also, someone who is not in the same field as you, but is close to you, will have better feedback because they have to be able to navigate your portfolio well.
Great Tools for Creating an Online Art Portfolio
Photoshop
Photoshop is a great tool to help you edit your photos.
You can change the lighting, colors, contrast, brightness, shadows, and much more. This allows you to make your pictures look amazing.
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom is a photo editing software that helps organize and catalog your images.
You can adjust the white balance, exposure, saturation, sharpness, and more. This is especially helpful for taking portraits.
Canva
Canva is a website that makes creating graphics super easy. You can design flyers, posters, invitations, and more using Canva’s templates.
All you have to do is type in some information and then drag and drop your image onto the template.
GIMP
GIMP is a free alternative to Photoshop. It’s similar to Photoshop, so if you already know how to use Photoshop, you will be able to figure out GIMP easily.
iMovie
iMovie is a program that lets you create videos. You can add music, titles, effects, and transitions.
Then you just have to upload your videos to YouTube!
Audacity
Audacity is a free app that edits sounds. You can cut, copy, paste, trim, split, reverse, slow down, speed up, and more.
Microsoft PowerPoint
PowerPoint is presentation software that works really well for presentations. You can add slides, insert images, and customize the background.
Google Docs
Google Docs is a word processing software that allows you to collaborate on documents with multiple people. You can share files, chat online, and more.
High-quality Images Of Your Artwork
Your picture should be sharp and clear.
Don’t take pictures during bad weather, as it could make the picture look worse. Also, avoid taking pictures with too much light, as this may cause problems with exposure.
Our advice would be to avoid any images that are fuzzy and dimly lit, as this could be distracting from the artwork itself and the quality.
Bad quality images will never do your artwork justice, it’s hard enough as it is to find an image of your artwork that actually does the original piece full justice.
Working Links
When someone buys something from you, they should be able to access your social media profiles.
You should also be able to send them a newsletter if they request it. Your website should be easy to navigate and load quickly, and you should make sure all links are working properly.
When a buyer views your portfolio and tries to use a link in the portfolio, you want it to work correctly. If the link to your social media is faulty or broken, they can become put off by looking further into who you are and what you could bring to their collections or galleries.
This could leave them with a bad impression of you if they cannot use your links, so make sure to regularly check them to make sure they are fully working.
User-Friendly
Clean and professional designs are important when designing a portfolio website.
Backgrounds and fonts should be simple and easy to read. Your work should be the main focus of your portfolio site. Don’t try to distract people with too many elements or fonts.
If you’re using crazy fonts and large text that is way too big for the screen use, this could be off-putting and labeled as unprofessional, which is the last thing you want, right?
Remember, you are not attempting to sell anyone on your web services, you are trying to sell and promote your artwork further! So make sure the artwork is the absolute star of the show.
About Section
All artists should create an About page on their online portfolio. It’s the most popular page on their portfolios, and it’s the most critical thing people see when looking at their art.
Artists shouldn’t feel pressured to write about themselves, but instead, focus on what makes them unique. Don’t try to sound professional or overly promotional. Instead, focus on what makes you unique as an artist.
Collectors love artists who share their passion for art. These tips will help you gain more fans and make them feel closer to you. Be honest when describing who you are and what your artwork represents, without going too overboard, and you’ll crush it!
Remember to include your email address and a contact form so that you can be contacted.
Use A Free Portfolio Platform
Portfolios are very useful tools for designers. You can create a portfolio site without having to pay for hosting services. And if you already have a website, you can use it as a portfolio site. However, you won’t be able to customize the appearance of your portfolio site.
Behance is a website for creative professionals. Users can follow each other and comment on each other’s work. There are lots of great people who use Behance, and Adobe does a nice job highlighting them on its homepage.
Famous artists have portfolios on ArtStation. If you’re a 2d or 3d artist, we’d recommend ArtStation. Once again, you don’t want your own website, but instead a collection of pages where the design format is already set.
Your main page will show a large cover image, a few details about who you are and how to contact you, and then a selection of thumbnail images. These thumbnails are automatically cropped square format, so it’s best to edit your work according to this.
There are many famous concept artists who use ArtStation as their main site. However, if you do choose to go this route, make sure you upgrade to ArtStation Plus or Pro. This will give you better revenue share on sales, a password-protected page, and 4K images.
Also, if you don’t want to create a whole site, but just a page, ArtStation offers a web-builder service, even on its Free Plan.
Finally, if you’re into photography, 500PX is a great place to showcase your work and set up a shop to sell your work online! As opposed to Flickr, 500PX is much smaller and focuses on professionals.
You can upload thousands of pictures to 500PX. You can categorize them into galleries and make them available for sale. Furthermore, you can create a bio and link to your social media profiles.
Final Thoughts
If you’re new to the world of freelancing, then you may find yourself overwhelmed with all the options out there. But once you’ve decided what type of freelance work you’d like to pursue, you need to start building your portfolio.
Your portfolio needs to look good. That means that you need to spend some time creating high-quality images. The best way to build a portfolio is to take photographs of your work.
If you’re working in Photoshop, you can easily convert these photos into PSD files. Then, open them in Photoshop and crop them down to a size that works well for your portfolio.
To make your portfolio stand out from others, try using different styles, such as black & white, sepia, and color.
Another option is to add text to your images. It doesn’t matter whether you’re doing this manually or using a program like Photoshop. Just make sure that you keep the text simple and clean.