There’s a big difference between saying you hate something or that thing sucked vs. giving constructive criticism. You’re absolutely allowed to have opinions, like “I thought the colors were oversaturated on X” or “I wasn’t a fan of how elongated the character designs were on X”. I don’t NOT hire artists because they say they weren’t a fan of a book cover I worked on. But I will definitely not want to hire them if they call me & the artist out of social ranting and raving about how awful it is and how could they be so dumb, etc. etc.

Opinions = Good. Opinions backed up by thought and examples = Great. Being a jerk to people = Bad.

Once again, it really just pays to follow Wheaton’s Law on the internet and in real life.

—Agent KillFee

P.S. If you think being positive makes you boring then you are mistaken. There’s nothing wrong with being postive and lifting people up. Do you REALLY think people are paying so much attention to your posts that they’re counting how much you’re positive vs. how much you’re negative? You know what’s not shallow? Being genuine. If you genuinely love something, then share it and be excited about it. Same riles apply as above tho — it means more if you back up your opinion with reasons.

I think it’s always OK to talk about your opinions and beliefs, as long as you are doing it in a positive inclusive way. More “This is what I think and here’s an explanation why” rather than “If you don’t agree with me you’re an idiot”. Wheaton’s Law always applies.

—Agent KillFee

I think being a person with feelings and opinions on social media is great, most of the time. However, there is a line. People don’t want to work with @$$holes, and people don’t want to work with people that burn other clients publicly. On the flip side, often being a real live person with feelings and opinions often forms a relationship where you’d never have gotten the ability to meet in person. There’s so many artists I only see once a year, but can know what they’re working on, what challenges they’re facing, what personal experience might be helpful in assigning them to a job I have, all through social media, and that’s great info to have. I have also built a lot of friendships with artists over social media, and while I would never hire a friend just because they’re a friend, it’s true that I probably see their art updates more frequently and thus they more easily pop into my mind when I need to assign work.

For example, I have never not wanted to work with someone because of their religious or political beliefs, their fandoms, their age, mental health, social situation, sexual preferences, or how much they do or do not show drunk pics on social media. I have decided not to work with someone after I see them being mean, volatile, irrationally angry, or demeaning to others online. I have definitely winced as I saw artists shame other artists or clients or ADs online, and wondered what the whole story was, and would hesitate before working with them, because I felt like I couldn’t trust them to remain professional. In almost all the cases, it wasn’t what they said, but how they said it that was the red flag. 

So it all boils down to this: Don’t be a dick. Keep it professional when it’s work-related, and keep it polite when it’s personal. If you have a very ranty/angry social media presence, perhaps you’d be better off making sure you keep it to personal friends, who understand your context, and don’t friend professional contacts.

—Agent KillFee