DeviantART as Public Sphere

As defined by Jurgen Habermas, a public sphere is:

“the virtual space where the citizens of a country exchange ideas and discuss issues, in order to reach [an] agreement about 'matters of general interest'" ([Jurgen] Habermas, 1997: 105)

By that definition, we can reasonably identify this site as an example of a public sphere in which visual ideas are exchanged. The website, named DeviantART, is a virtual space where pro artists and wannabes gather to share and critique their artwork. As “the world’s largest online community of artists and art-lovers”, DeviantArt should provide a (somewhat) representative sample of the (probably teenage) world’s ‘matters of general interest’ in terms of visual art. The ‘issues’ are ‘discussed’ using visual rhetoric. If you were to view the current front page and compare it with a -useful- sample (i.e. I couldn’t tell you how many) of previous popular postings (tacky alliteration FTW) you might interpret the ‘visual exchanges’ as correlating with the day’s art and social trends. 

"Simpsonzu" by Space Coyote on DeviantART

For example, in the above picture we have a visual representation of the rising popularity of japanese anime in the world of cartoon fans. This image works because anime has entered the cultural consciousness of America. Now, imagine if shows like Naruto and Avatar hadn't reached a large audience here. A Japanese-style interpretation of The Simpsons wouldn't really be relevant because it would be too unfamiliar. In another case, if this was modeled after the Dilbert cartoon strip, that might be funny in a random-humor sort of way, but it wouldn't make sense to our youth culture which is largely unaware of the Dilbert cartoon series. In this way images can represent the cultural trends of our society, and by extension the public sphere which both influences our culture and is motivated by it.  

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Youtube Identity and Concept Art

For most, Youtube serves as a poor excuse to put off doing those urgently important things we owe to ourselves and everyone we know to do. We can delight ourselves by watching a sneezing panda while the stress from that unmet deadline manifests itself as a stomach ulcer. There are also good reasons to be on Youtube, or at least that's what I tell myself. One such self-delusional reason to be on Youtube is to learn about concept art. I personally cannot draw very well, but the resources are just irresistible. Here's one guy who can teach you about the subtle differences between male and female noses while also helping to alleviate your insomnia.

An hour of video is uploaded to Youtube every second of every day, adding up to about a decade of video uploaded daily (says this article). Given that, a concept art teacher trying to gain an audience on Youtube has some work to do. First order of business, what might attract viewers to your channel?
If you are teaching art, you have to assume that most who would click your link are interested in learning techniques or in finding something visually stimulating.

An entire blog could focus on the various techniques of getting exposure on the internet, but I want to focus a little bit on how you can keep your audience once you get it. On Youtube, this means getting subscribers. Once a viewer hits that subscribe button they are subject to all of your future uploads until they choose to unsubscribe for some indiscernible reason. What makes someone want to subscribe? This is where your Vlogging identity becomes invaluable. The clip I inserted above, featuring the Youtube personality sinixdesign, is a fairly good example of what you'd be attempting to do. I subscribed to sinix because he is reliable and consistent. Earlier when I said I couldn't draw very well, I may have implied that I don't actually use these tutorials, which is true. When I have more time on my hands I do plan to devote some days to improving my skill so that one day I might draw something that actually gets the intended reaction (i.e. not uncontrollable laughter). Sinix is a resource that I will come back to because he can teach me how to draw whilst keeping my attention.