I'm looking to help a group of friends redesign a website for them and they're fairly opposed to Wix, what websites are best for building a site for artists?
Ive tried many, Wix leaves by far the most freedom to do anything you want from a visual standpoint and has the most features. If you want good templates or things to build upon, wix offers nothing alike, theyre all ugly, then I would recommend something else. It tends to be sucky to make the mobile versions however, else I am pretty satisfied. They all suck in their own ways but for my usage definitely the best choice. Wix is the closest to a blank sheet you get with a builder.
If you just want to make a good looking portfolio without any effort, artstation is fine and comes with the benefit of a bit of traffic but its just not your own. Also not buying your own domain on a website builder is a total no-go.
One more for ArtStation, especially now with the custom domain name support and theme tools. But if you're looking to make something yourself(without website restrictions), Adobe Muse makes it ridiculously easy.
I'm thinking of making an Artstation portfolio in the future.
I only avoided it at first because I remember the predecessor CGhub shut down out of nowhere. I really hate the idea of losing art forever, so I keep a personal site as a backup.
You don't need to keep an entire site updated just for that. Just save your work in more places than JUST artstation (locally, with backups eg), which you should be doing anyway, and you would always be able to just upload it somewhere else, should Artstation suddenly die.
I personally keep a selection of my strongest works on a Squarespace website and just kinda dump everything on Artstation. You could just do that with pro, though
I just wrote a 3k word article on this, i will post up soon, but basically, use artstation. Its where the most relevant attention is. when you update a personal website or blog noone is notified and its just like a fart in the wind. when you focus on building an artstation following, every one of your followers gets a notification and chance to see your new art.
artists need to be going all in on artstation in 2018, building an audience and operating like a media company is essential to cut through the sheer amount of noise.
I'm thinking of making an Artstation portfolio in the future.
Replying to myself from the future. Hey!
After setting up an Artstation profile, I consider it way more hassle-free than using a personal website builder. You don't have to worry about shopping around for a template that looks "professional" instead of amateur or 90s'ish. Just drag and drop your art and you're good to go.
One minor complaint though is that I don't like how in your about profile, you are limited to which sites you can link too. They're all pre-selected ones like google+, deviantart, but what about other ones like Pixiv or even Polycount? There are no "other" options.
I'm thinking of making an Artstation portfolio in the future.
Replying to myself from the future. Hey!
After setting up an Artstation profile, I consider it way more hassle-free than using a personal website builder. You don't have to worry about shopping around for a template that looks "professional" instead of amateur or 90s'ish. Just drag and drop your art and you're good to go.
One minor complaint though is that I don't like how in your about profile, you are limited to which sites you can link too. They're all pre-selected ones like google+, deviantart, but what about other ones like Pixiv or even Polycount? There are no "other" options.
you just choose "website" and paste in whatever url you want.
Replies
If you just want to make a good looking portfolio without any effort, artstation is fine and comes with the benefit of a bit of traffic but its just not your own. Also not buying your own domain on a website builder is a total no-go.
or wordpress with the X theme if you want more freedom and ok with paying more money
I only avoided it at first because I remember the predecessor CGhub shut down out of nowhere. I really hate the idea of losing art forever, so I keep a personal site as a backup.
Its the place to be if you're looking for good, quality sites aswell as having more eyeballs on said sites.
artists need to be going all in on artstation in 2018, building an audience and operating like a media company is essential to cut through the sheer amount of noise.
Replying to myself from the future. Hey!
After setting up an Artstation profile, I consider it way more hassle-free than using a personal website builder. You don't have to worry about shopping around for a template that looks "professional" instead of amateur or 90s'ish. Just drag and drop your art and you're good to go.
One minor complaint though is that I don't like how in your about profile, you are limited to which sites you can link too. They're all pre-selected ones like google+, deviantart, but what about other ones like Pixiv or even Polycount? There are no "other" options.
There's only one and you can't add anymore.