Artfol Reviews

I really wanted to like this app, but I just never find myself wanting to use it. Without an algorithm I feel like my art reaches even fewer people, because the only people who ever see it are the ones actively scrolling the new posts the second I post anything (which is very brief, uploads quickly leave the new posts page). Which I know their argument is I have to engage with others to see engagement on my own stuff, but the next problem makes engaging with others a pain. The load times for everything on Artfol is extremely slow. It takes forever for pages to load and makes using Artfol a pain. I’ll often find myself scrolling on similar apps, such as Instagram, but given how long it takes everything to load on this app I never find myself interested enough to stay on Artfol .

That being said, I really love the gallery not being limited to set size images. Being able to upload images in their original shape and Artfol auto sizing everything to make your gallery appealing is amazing. I also really appreciate the efforts they make to ensure the picture quality isn’t downgraded.

All things considered, Artfol is mediocre. It struggles to do the one thing it promised to (encourage better engagement for artists) and it has loading times that make using it a nuisance. It may still have good features, but not enough to warrant a better review. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either.

I thought Artfol would be an even field for all artists but then you have the trending page which is the default segment in the explore section and in the last few days I’ve seen the same 10 artists on this section, how is this any different from Instagram pushing the popular accounts over others? Instagram easily puts the same account multiple times even after I scroll just once and I thought this app would be different but it isn’t. Another thing is that since it’s mainly artists right now, it’s just not easy to get the exposure to those people that are not artists so a true following cannot be created. I’ll stay and see how it develops, I am aware this is created by 2 people so the lag issues or any other technical problems don’t really bother me for now. I would like to think that people can be more understanding when it comes to that stuff otherwise go make your own app and see how you like being harassed by others because 24 hours in a day aren’t enough to fix everything. Anyway I’m still hopeful for this one.

As an artist I’m very glad Artfol now exists, though there are some things I’m unhappy with

The first thing is the reposts- although it’s nice to see people can repost, it’s not something I want to see on my feed, I’d only want to see the people I follow. Secondly, my app constantly crashes when I’m making/in the comments of any posts- happens on my iPad and on my iPhone. One last thing I’m unhappy with is the likes, if there’s no count I find no point in even having them; although I understand it can be harmful to some mindsets, if I can’t see the engagement im getting via likes I wouldn’t want them there at all.

Other than that, Artfol is very nice. I pay for prisma and actively post and try to find other new artists, as it’s much easier on Artfol rather than other social media!

Hi! I’ve been using your app for a little while now, a week or two at least, and I think it’s a great app! I do have some suggestions however that I think could improve Artfol experience for users! When I first joined I was a bit surprised of the 1 minute wait time you have to go through while posting. I understand it’s to prevent spam but maybe the time could be shorter or removed completely? There’s also no option to post videos or multiple pictures on 1 post. The next suggestion is just a personal preference, but maybe a dark mode for Artfol ? I use Artfol a lot at night and the bright white screen is a bit much, but it’s not a super big problem. Other than that Artfol is really great! I can see it growing into a big platform someday and I’m glad to be a part of the community! Thanks for reading!

I downloaded this app because a lot of my friends participated in beta testing and they enjoyed it. It was a little (very) laggy and I had difficulty making an account. Apparently that’s just because lots of people are getting it though. I like the overall design, but I do have a few suggestions
- allowing for multiple images in each post. a lot of artists draw comics that take up several slides, and trying to post them all separately in order would be a hassle what with the ten money posting cooldown. also, I know that some artists like to provide close-ups of larger drawings.
- have a tutorial when you first open Artfol that explains what everything does. I was really confused at first, I think that would help.
For people who are wondering if they should get this app, I definitely recommend it. It’s a little rough right now but you can tell that it’s a work in progress. I think eventually people will settle in and we’ll be able to have a really nice community away from the toxicity of Instagram. Right now it feels lonely, but I am sure that’s going to change!

I deeply hope Artfol succeeds, as it caters to artists with portfolios, art sharing, and a kinder algorithm. That being said, images are heavily downscaled, there are no group features, and there are no drafts/post scheduling features. The lag is better at this time but still makes Artfol harder to use. I would also like to see feed sorting in the future - to be able to sort by all, text posts, and following-only art feeds would be VERY useful. It’s still quite young so I look forward to the future of Artfol!! Please at least make high quality images happen, my art looks better on any other platform 😫

Artfol is pretty good for an art app. I wanted an alternative art app to Instagram. It is nice that it restricts and blurs out rated R art for people under 18, but it would make way more since to get rid of it completely if preferred, and if you turn it off in settings. It also would maybe be nice if it had certain sections for different art trope’s etc anime, furry. There is a big fat ad (usually the same) on the bottom of the screen which would be nice maybe if they put the ad into the feed like Instagram. The community seems pretty good and is pretty small. Overall this is a good app and I hope it does not become like Deviantart with its weird inflation fetish things.

1. this app is a really great app for any artist who are willing to share there work! It’s fairly new so there are a couple of minor bugs here and there, but nothing to ruin Artfol as a whole (it works fine just a little slow at times). The creators are working hard to add more features to Artfol , but it will take time.

2. Anyways here are a few suggestions that I hope will be added and a few bugs that should be fixed (in order):

- the buffering/how slow Artfol can be should be made faster
- videos/gifs can be uploaded (for music/animations/edits)
- multiple photos can be uploaded (comic strips etc.)
- stories (similar to Instagram)
- IOS iPad format - more #’s (not necessary but would be useful)
- group chats (not necessary but would be useful)

3. Those are my main suggestions. I am aware that some are being worked on right now, but I hope Artfol will have more features in the future so it can have a bigger following for new artists. If you are reading this, keep in mind this is what Artfol is missing. Overall great in my opinion!

8/10 stars! :)

Overall:
Totally worth the experience. The community is nice, and everyone is looking for growth. In order to grow on this app, you need to help grow other’s accounts. If you are someone who is willing to support others, I can guarantee others will help support you. Because of this, it’s super easy to make friends on this app. I definitely recommend downloading ❤️

Loading Complaints:
Artfol, though very flawed as of right now, has such amazing potential. As a beta tester, the loading speeds were SO much faster. I often see new people complain about this, which I know it’s annoying but with time they will be able to afford getting us faster speeds. Also, please be patient with crashes. I know it’s annoying but if you wait till less active times you will be able to post. Also, this is another thing that can be fixed once things start to pick up.

What I want to see:
Some things I would love to see are speedpaint features, multiple images in one post, and some other post tags (nsfw and gore type tags) that can be customized. And a search save function. But all this being said, this will take time.

Due to the recent insta migration where artists are looking for alternatives, I came across a recommendation for Artfol. While a little bit of work to get used to and a tad bit laggy, i think it has some promise! I like the content warning feature, the lack of horrible cropping that insta does, and the reshare feature! I do have a few nitpicks though, such as the inability to post more than one image in a post. Sometimes i have a bunch of little drawings which i don’t think warrant enough to be their own post, but something i can post together with a bunch more little drawings like it. I also hope that there will be some desktop support in the future as well THATS ACTUALLY GOOD, as we all know you couldn't even post on desktop instagram.
Overall I think with a few tweaks here and there, this could become a solid art app.

I was pretty excited to use a social media app just for artists, and while it says “for any and all artists” it is very illustration and drawing forward. There’s not much to include any and all mediums. Whether scrolling through the discovery section or posting your own work there are mostly or only categories that would fall under illustration (or maybe drawing or painting) when there are SO many other mediums out there! While I love and appreciate illustration, it can be discouraging as an artist when your medium isn’t even an option.
For example, when posting your art and then choosing a category or subcategory, it would be great if more mediums were listed. Maybe having mediums as the main category, and what you do with your medium as a subcategory.
It’s a really cool app idea and I hope it continues to grow and be used every type of artist.

I’ve been using Artfol after leaving others and have found a much more calm, small, and personally fulfilling community (which are all pluses from me). Many previous issues and bugs I have had have been fixed in recent updates, however I have been having issues with the messaging system. I am unable to delete individual messages and only able to delete an entire conversation. But even if I delete a conversation, If I go back to the account of a person whose conversation I’ve deleted and press message, the message will still be there as if it was never deleted. It has been like this for the past month or so which personally bothers me immensely. My current solution and only option has been to block the users I wish not to speak with. I believe the constant updates will slowly make Artfol into a great one!

Artfol has a lot of potential! But something that frustrates me is being able to post only one image. There should be an option to post multiple images, which would be useful for closeups or even to show progress photos of your work, for example. Only being able to share one image is very restrictive and awkward for me as someone who likes to do those kinds of things. I also think the headers of posts should display on the explore page just below every image. It would not only give more context but also would help clear the ambiguity that artworks with gore, NSFW, etc warnings have to someone scrolling on it. You basically have zero clue what the artwork is about until you click it. Just a black image with the warning text on it and no context. This makes me nervous to post any of my work that has blood since I’d imagine this risks your post not getting as much traction compared to those without any warnings. So yeah, a little clunky in these areas but I think with enhancing Artfol would be great!

Although new, it’s already very intuitively set up so that users have an easy time posting, viewing, and interacting on Artfol .
And as a new app, clearly there’s things to still improve on.

(I’ll add to this list as I find more little things)

1) sharing/commenting/liking posts
- while it’s easy enough as it is now, it’d be more comfortable to be able to press and hold/press hard on a post and get quick options. Personally it’s one of the things I’ve liked most in the apps I use because it lets me share, like, and comment on art quickly and then move on to see more talented artists. Some people might not like this because they want the art to be “appreciated” and while that’s very nice, not everyone is interested in that and instead like to see lots of art. It’d also prompt for artist’s art to be shared and liked more often because it’d be much easier to do.

2) give yourselves a little credit (because it’s a brilliant app) and promote your patron—or somewhere people can donate to support Artfol . You created it but not once have I seen ad’s for a place where I can donate :(

Anyway, that was the main thing I wanted to put out there but any other things I come across I’ll add 💖✨

This is a great app, especially if you just want to share your art. I love that when you post you can ask for constructive criticism or not. It’s a really good way to interact with artists. When I pick up my phone and scroll around for a few minutes all the sudden I’m ready to draw! It really helps get inspiration. One thing I wish you could do is add multiple images. If you could you could do a tutorial, or progress. Also it’s a bit laggy in the fact it takes a bit to load, but it’s not enough to take away a star.
Although, i haven’t come across one rude person on this app. Everybody is so nice and it’s not as intimidating as other platforms can be to share your art.
I HIGHLY suggest getting Artfol if you are an artist or into art.

Every complaint i’ve ever had with other apps has been resolved with this app. I really enjoy using it, and not seeing the numbers on my posts was strange at first, but really let me destress about peformance and instead focus on just making stuff I like. No longer having anxiety about the numbers on my posts is really nice.
I will say, the new collections are great! I would highly appreciate a way to reorder them though. I made the mistake of making one collection much later than the others, and therefore at the top of the list. However, I can’t reorder them, so this least used collection is just sitting awkwardly at the top of the list.
Overall, I definitely prefer this over things like twitter and instagram. It feels a lot more genuine, and finally, something new made with artists in mind!!

I have never written a review before but I chose to do so for this app because that’s how much Artfol means to me. It truly renewed my love for sharing art with others. It doesn’t make me feel like a product that I have to constantly push. I love that likes are hidden and that you can pin posts to the top of your page. The reshare option is really great for letting non-artists have their own art pages while still crediting the original artists. I find the image quality better than Instagram as well. The community is very kind and supportive. They are very on top of bugs and spam. Yes, Artfol is slow sometimes and can glitch. It’s a new app that is independently operated!! It’s not a corporation. It’s worth being patient and helping Artfol develop because they actually care about their users and listen to their feedback. Please be patient because I really think Artfol can become a really beautiful community for artists.

I love the concept of Artfol. Though launch week’s version of Artfol is a bit scuffed, I’m going to stick with it til more things are added.

The only thing I haven’t really seen on the Instagram for Artfol that kinda scares me is that we can’t add multiple images to a post. Adding multiple images would make posting a bit easier because what if you wanna add a close up? you'd have to post again that most likely won’t get noticed as easily.

Hopefully adding multiple images to a post gets added like the others features coming soon. As well as a color wheel for your profile color, that’d be sick.

It’s a really nice app! The community on here is very kind, while there is some bugs and little lag that’s to be expected since it’s brand new and the team is open about working on these issues on their Twitter about the server status on Artfol .

Some people are a bit mad about the nsfw tos changes, from what I understand this was mostly due to Apple itself doubling down on apps that had nsfw and they had to recoil a bit on that. Hopefully with more support as it grows though they’ll change it to allow it later on after it can support itself a bit more and not completely rely on Apple.

This is honestly the kind of app I’ve been searching for my whole life.
Yes, there’s currently lag, but the community here and the attention to detail in the social aspects is impeccable and I know will only get better. I have full confidence. I can’t understate the amount of good experiences I’ve had already in meeting artists and finding more artists that I don’t know if I’d ever find. Especially as I’ve been avoiding Twitter and Instagram because of the negative impact they’ve had on my mental health.

It’s just really nice to be on a platform that is focused on art sharing and I will gladly stand by it 💫

I made my account with the password and everything and it won’t let me sign in it keeps telling me to sign in again >:(

I don’t usually write reviews but I HAVE TO FOR THIS ONE. So I’ve been waiting for like a LONGGGGGGG time for Artfol to come out and all I can say is I am very excited for what Artfol has to offer for a small artist like me. With all the cool features that other social apps don’t have have, this one is definitely standing out. Best app out there for artists!

I really wanted to like this. After Instagram was destroyed by Meta I was looking for somewhere to post my work. Ive now tried Artfol twice. Both times I found it disappointing. My work would not get seen and consequently there was no engagement. As they said above the same people who post all the time get all the exposure, but those of us who post less often get buried in the feed and lost. And there is essentially no exposure outside of the Artfol community. Nobody knows it’s here. That’s not Artfol’s fault, it’s just the way it is. I tried it a year ago for a month. I just tried it again just a few weeks ago. This time after a couple of weeks I logged out and deleted the app. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted something like this. I want something like this to work. But Artfol isn’t it.

Why can't I sign up 😠 , I'm really made 💢