#WIP is a popular hashtag many artists use on social media. But what is WIP in art? Well, you’re going to find out everything about the meaning of WIP in art right now in this post. Plus, you’ll get the 7 BEST TIPS on How and Why you should share your work in progress!
What does WIP stand for?
WIP stands for Work in Progress. Other ways of spelling it are W.I.P. or simply wip.
It’s a common acronym used in all creative fields. Artists and other creatives use it to describe a piece that is not yet finished.
This can be virtually any piece that someone designs: a painting, a website, some programming code, a sculpture, a DIY piece of furniture, a crochet work, and so on.
What does WIP mean in art, in particular?
The meaning of WIP in art, in particular, refers to displaying the different stages that led to the final artwork.
A traditional painter, for example, can show their work in progress from the sketch they started out with to the final oil-on-canvas painting.
Similarly, a digital artist can show the different layers that added up to produce the finished image in Photoshop.
There are many ways to reveal your WIP in art: you can post photo captures (of traditional media), screenshots (of digital art), or timelapse videos of your creative process.
Below you see an example of the work process that I used to create the photo manipulation ‘Teatime‘ of my Surreal Stories Collection. It starts from the very beginnings with just the background layer and displays all the steps one-by-one that led to the final result.
And btw, you do not always have to post your work in progress before the final result. WIP in art can actually work both ways. You can share the steps of your creative process as you go along creating a new piece.
But even if you already unveiled the finished artwork, there’s nothing wrong about letting people know how you got there. Both ways can be interesting and equally valuable for your and your followers. We’ll see why right now!
Why show your work in progress?
What motivates artists to show their progress of creating a piece of art?
Well, the reasons can be many. Some artists may be keen to reveal the latest idea they just started to work on. Others may want to get feedback on how they are doing so far.
And yet others may share their work in progress to relate with their community or get more eyes on their social media posts.
But sharing the WIP of your art also means giving others a chance to learn from you.
So let’s talk about the benefits why you should share your work in progress and how to do it the right way!
7 TIPS
Why and How you should share your WIP in art
Be relatable to your followers
#WIP is a popular hashtag on social media platforms. Both traditional and digital artists like to use it.
But why are #WIP posts so popular? Well, we humans are generally curious beings and many people are keen to get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes of their favorite artists.
That’s why sharing your work in progress on Instagram or Pinterest is a great way to create exposure for your art and engage with your followers.
By seeing your imperfect work in progress shots, your followers are able to relate with you better.
It’s a win-win for everybody. Your community can build more confidence in their own artworks that sometimes may start out quirky too, and you can grow your following.
Let go of perfectionism
It’s much easier to post the final, polished version of an artwork than showing its less-than-perfect intermediate stages.
It’s natural that we want to be our best. And sometimes it may be scary to expose our undone sketches to the judgment of others.
However, what we often forget is that nobody is perfect – and nobody expects you to be perfect.
More often than not, an artwork happens to look off the wall before finally going into the right direction.
Releasing the incomplete steps that led to the amazing final result can be a great way to take some pressure off yourself and let go of perfectionism.
Add a little blurb about your creative process and how you eventually got it right. This can be a great encouragement to other artists who are facing the same problems!
Help other artists get better
There are lots of beginner artists out there who are trying to get to grips with the craft.
While your personal work process may seem obvious to you, other artists may be able to pick up some new and helpful tips from it.
These may be small creative hacks that you personally find pretty ordinary but that are still able to help others.
For example, things like how you start out a traditional painting or digital photo manipulation. What type of brush you use, how you mix your gouache paints, how you set up your studio lighting for a high-key photo shoot, or how you change the atmosphere of a photo with different adjustment layers.
Of course, it’s not necessary to add an entire tutorial about what you’re doing… Sharing simple screenshots or time-lapses is often enough to help other artists learn and get better!
Show the bigger picture
Work in progress shots don’t need to solely focus on the artwork itself.
Sharing your WIPs gives you the opportunity to include much more of what’s going on around it!
For example, you can post timelapse videos of you working with your digital drawing tablet at the computer or with your paintbrush on the physical canvas in your studio.
You can include the tools you used – sketchbooks, brushes, paints, digital styluses, drawing apps, etc. – or show your workspace setting or studio arrangement.
Everything that was involved creating the work is fine.
Share your thoughts and inspiration
Showing your WIP in art can also mean sharing your thoughts about the artwork and what inspired you to do it.
For example, you can speak about what was going on in your mind when you created the piece in a WIP video. You can also add a little blurb about your feelings and motivation to create the piece below your social media posts.
Likewise, you can share your inspiration along with your work in progress. Show some of the inspirational artworks in your video or include them in the slideshow along with your WIP shots.
Become the teacher
If you want to actively help new artists get better, create a small tutorial that walks newbies through your work process step-by-step.
You can explain some of the techniques you used, reveal your favorite working methods, or share some tips and tricks that other artists can benefit from.
This doesn’t always have to be a full-fledged tutorial. Some off-the-cuff instructions are often enough to provide valuable insights and let other have part of your knowledge.
Include the sequel and a Call-to-Action
What is WIP in art without sharing the actual ready-to-show end result?
After posting your work in progress and the final result, you shouldn’t forget to let your followers know how the artwork looks in real life when hung on a wall.
Hang your painting up on a wall and take a photo to show how nice it looks in room.
Get a print of your digital creation and frame it, so people get an idea of how great it looks in glass.
Last but not least, make sure to include a call-to-action that links to your artist website or online store. When people are interested in a piece, they immediately know where to get it!
View some of my WIP progress shots & timelapse videos:
Hey my artsy friends, I hope I was able to answer the question of ‘What is WIP in Art?’ in this post and give you some helpful tips for posting your work in progress! If you enjoyed, please share this post with other artists. Stay creative, Angie 💞
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I really appreciate your encouragement to share works in progress. It’s a great reminder that the creative process is just as important as the finished product, and sharing it can foster a more supportive and engaging community.
Hi Noah, you’re right. Sharing your WiPs is definitely a great way to connect with your community because people are usually very interested in how the work came into being. By the way, it’s also a fantastic way to make your art stand out against AI-generated images.