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Over the course of my time on SpaceHey, I have had a lot of people ask me how I find so much of the art that is on my profile. Not just the visual art (though that is a large part), but even the books and manga I read, bands and music I listen to, and everything else.
I decided to make a little guide for this very topic. Obviously, much of this is only my own tips and advice, so some of it may work more or less for others, but I think it should still be pretty helpful.
Visual Art:
Instagram / Social Media Accounts: A lot of the visual art on my profile was found on Instagram. This is probably one of the easiest ways to find modern artists you enjoy the work of. All you need to do is look up a tag you like. Even if you're not (yet) aware of what styles, aesthetics, movements, etc that you're into, just look up something with the vibe you want. When I first started, I just looked up things tagged "dark art" and "macabre art"... which is, actually, still probably one of the better ways of describing my general aesthetic taste.
At this point, just start searching through it. You probably won't like all of it, and there will undoubtedly be a lot of AI slop to sort through in there, but something will catch your eye. Once it does, just go look at the artist who posted it / it is credited to, and look through their art. Consider giving them a follow, even.
One of the best parts of this method is that it only gets easier with time. Once you have an artist you really like, just figure out what artists they like, follow, and are inspired by (this applies to all forms of art, not just visual). On social media, this is made even easier by the fact that you can quite literally just go through their following. They will assuredly be following other artists; artists support artists.
This segues into the next tip, but a lot of accounts you'll find on your journeys will be "collection" or repost accounts. These are a great way to find more artists and their art, assuming they provide credit (which they ought to). A couple examples of these I follow are "darkartmissions" and "devoured.by.cannibals" on Instagram.
(I used the example of Instagram here, but a lot of this should apply equally to many other social media; Tumblr, Twitter / X, BlueSky, Reddit, etc).
One of the best parts of this method is that it only gets easier with time. Once you have an artist you really like, just figure out what artists they like, follow, and are inspired by (this applies to all forms of art, not just visual). On social media, this is made even easier by the fact that you can quite literally just go through their following. They will assuredly be following other artists; artists support artists.
This segues into the next tip, but a lot of accounts you'll find on your journeys will be "collection" or repost accounts. These are a great way to find more artists and their art, assuming they provide credit (which they ought to). A couple examples of these I follow are "darkartmissions" and "devoured.by.cannibals" on Instagram.
(I used the example of Instagram here, but a lot of this should apply equally to many other social media; Tumblr, Twitter / X, BlueSky, Reddit, etc).
Find Art Collections: Seguing neatly from the last point; finding different forms of art collections can work well too. I found a lot of modern visual artists I really enjoy through Heavy Metal Magazine (same guys who made that old animated movie from the 80s). There are lots of magazines that will include artists and their art, bonus points if they have interviews too (many will).
Another example would be going to a bookstore and looking through their artbook section (this is sometimes better for more traditional, antique artists and movements, but if this is your thing, it works really well).
Hell, even going to an art museum could expose you to some new art, new movements.
Album Covers: This tip may work better or worse for specific people, depending on what kind of music taste you have and what forms of visual art you enjoy. I listen to a lot of metal, so I am spoiled for albums with awesome ass art on the cover, other people may not have this. If you have any albums you love the cover art for, just figure out who did it, it will be credited somewhere.
Music:
This Video Says Everything I Would Say: So... there is a video I recently stumbled upon that actually says just about everything I would say... So yeah, I am outsourcing to this video (How To Find New Music In The Age Of Algorithms). It's really good, I highly recommend.
Genre Guides, Maps, & Charts: There are a lot of genre guide, flowchart-type things people have made. I think these are usually really good when you're trying to get into a new genre or really explore the history of a genre. I've included one here for emo music as an example.
Just Scroll Through Bandcamp: Its kind of included in the video above, but honestly, one way I like to find music is just to go onto bandcamp, go to whatever genre I am currently in the mood for, and start looking through the results. This is a good way to expose yourself to new music and refine your taste.
(Sorry this section is so short 😓)
Books:
Used Book Stores: Books stores without used books will work too, but I think used book stores usually present you with a larger diversity of stuff besides "whats trending now". I've found a lot of stuff I simply never would've found anywhere else but a used bookstore, for fiction and non-fiction.
Used bookstores honestly don't get enough attention, and the books they'll have are usually cheaper than anywhere else, even when they're in super good condition (and most of the time, they are). Plus, the owners will usually be knowledgeable enough that you can talk to them about finding stuff you'd be interested in.
Libraries themselves are a pretty good way to find books too, of course. Public libraries could also use more attention and support these days.
Look At Bibliographies, Etc: Most books will have either a bibliography or a list of other books by the publisher, something like this anyways. There will be a section simply titled "bibliographies", or something like "Books in the ___ Collection", or whatever. Often they're not even formally included in the table of contents and are pushed to the very back of the book.
In the case of Bibliographies, you're probably reading non-fiction, and are also probably already aware what bibliographies are and the bibliography is basically just a collection of various sources, but not uncommonly, books equally worthwhile to you, and about the same things you're interested in, will be in there. Also worth checking footnotes and alike too.
In the case of Bibliographies, you're probably reading non-fiction, and are also probably already aware what bibliographies are and the bibliography is basically just a collection of various sources, but not uncommonly, books equally worthwhile to you, and about the same things you're interested in, will be in there. Also worth checking footnotes and alike too.
In fiction, and non-fiction, usually the publisher will have a section with a bunch of other books in their line, or by the same author, something like that. If you have a book by a smaller publisher, you can find some pretty obscure work this way.
I know most of you are probably already aware of bibliographies and publisher-extras, but I don't think many people actually pay much attention to them or look through them to see if they might find something they'd enjoy.
I know most of you are probably already aware of bibliographies and publisher-extras, but I don't think many people actually pay much attention to them or look through them to see if they might find something they'd enjoy.
Other Art:
Two General Points: These are two points I think apply to finding new art of any medium:
(1). Look at what kinds of stuff the artists you already like recommend. Not all will have somewhere you can find this, but a lot will. Looking at an artist's/band's following on social media works wonders; artists support other artists.
(1). Look at what kinds of stuff the artists you already like recommend. Not all will have somewhere you can find this, but a lot will. Looking at an artist's/band's following on social media works wonders; artists support other artists.
One of my favorite bands of all time is a band called Failure, they're often called "your favorite band's favorite band". They played a massive role in shaping 90s & post-90s music, yet they go unrecognized relative to their influence, but you'll still find a massive amount of musicians and bands recommending them if you look.
(2). Talk to people with taste you enjoy and ask for recommendations.
Like a lot of the advice on here, this isn't an exceptionally novel strategy or anything, but it works specifically because its something of a "tried and true". Talking to people about art is a good way to have a symbolic exchange with that person where you give each other stuff you may not have had without the other.
Manga & Comics: To be honest, I actually find most of my comics and manga just by looking around on the sites I pirate the aforementioned on. That being said, I also pay attention to whats being recommended and thrown around in those spaces.
I recently read DC's Absolute Comics line because I kept hearing good things, and although I don't usually like superheros comics very much, I am kinda in love honestly.
Also, its really easy to find "reading guides" or "must read" lists online, these can be pretty helpful.
Movies & Shows, Anime: IMBd and Letterboxd can be pretty helpful for finding stuff, particularly if you can find people's lists on there that include stuff you like. Sometimes the recommendation algorithms on these can actually work pretty well too, its very hit or miss though.
Journalism can be super great for these sorts of things too. One I use is AnimeCorner. This site includes a weekly, pretty exhaustive poll for "anime of the week". Here is last week's.
Photography: A lot of the same stuff as in the Visual Art section should apply here, being that photography is itself visual art after all, but the magazine thing may more than ever.
Why I Made This:
I saved this section for last, even though its kinda my "central thesis", because I really don't want to scare anyone away with it, I just want people to have these strategies to find the things that "feed their soul". However, I am incredibly passionate about this.... so here we go.
I hate the extent to which brands and businesses benefit off of destroying creativity and novelty. Algorithms can be pretty useful for helping you find stuff you like, but they can equally be incredibly destructive, by only allowing you the ability to find things exactly like what you've already found (thus enforcing homogeneity) or by only giving you whats popular and trending (thus marginalizing smaller artists and creatives to the "underground").
It is my honest belief that people would have far more diverse and depth of taste if there was not so much incentive to limit those things by those who profit off of its shallowness...
--Spotify makes "curated playlists" that only try to give you whats trending, all the "hits", leaving a majority of musicians to starve.
--Businesses have art designers make all the same corporate styles, decaying into the same bland nonsense, we've all seen the "company logos over time" memes.
--Generative AI is now taking up space in every form of artistic medium. Algorithms quite literally recycling the same art as before to create... something. Its not new though, its not novel, all it can do is make some hodgepodge of what it already has, all without ever actually crediting the artists who are contained in its datasets. It is an unfortunate reality.
Sometimes the most effective way to find new art, to find "the underground", to find what you won't anywhere else... is just to go wherever the mega-corps aren't making money, whether that be digital or physical.
Trying to find and support all of those little, starving artists is a good thing. You can give them the support, financial or otherwise, to feed themselves, and you profit by getting to feed your soul.
(Art by "getajobkid" on Instagram)
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Becky
asemove!