I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve found a wonderful piece of work that no one knew about because it had generic, inadequate or no keywords at all.
It takes a little time and thought but it’s well worth it in getting those that are looking to be able to find your work. Let’s face it art sites are huge by their very nature and it is possible to get lost in ocean of other works.
Another important point is that it allows users to filter out content they don’t want to see and that could lead to less time wasted on drama.
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So what should you use for keywords?
Start out with your art medium: digital, graphite, acrylics, ink_pen, Ink_brush, story, etc.
If it falls into subgenre: sci-fi (science_fiction, sci_fi), horror, gore, star-trek, transformation (tf), magic, fantasy, fan_art, etc.
Describe the character(s):
● gender(s)
● Species (if a hybrid use all the applicable species {ex: liger, tiger and lion})
● name (if they are used in multiple pieces)
● distinguishing characters of the character(s) (ex: Blue_eyes, painted_coat, tattooed, broken_horn, tall, etc.), etc.
Describe key elements:
● locationt: beach, waistbands, bedroom, etc.
● action: water_gun_fight, surfing, race, etc.
● prominent props: sword, laser_gun, feather, loin_cloth, bikini, chains, skulls, etc.
And so forth and so on.
After you’ve described what you see in the piece go back and consider what in it others may look for.
Keep in mind that not everyone knows or uses the same word(s) to describe anthropomorphic characters.
Example:
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a young male centaur:
Keywords:
boy boys centaur centaurs equine equines guy guys horse horseboy horseboys horseman horsemen horses kentauros male males man men nude stallion
{all are valid and applicable}
Most relevent:
male centaur equine horseboy horseman kentaur nude stallion
Ok, so why all the rest?
Most people generally use a casual reference (or even slang) when initially doing a search.
Often people think of something they are searching for in plurals (pictures of horses) and will enter it that way and search engines usually don’t take the plural variation of a keyword into account.
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♻ Additionally, take a look at the keywords that others with similar pieces use
and consider if they would be appropriate for your piece.
✭ The primary point is to make your work as easy to locate as possible.
✔ Remember also to occasionally review the keywords to
revise or add to them.
