By Kathleen Baker

Art is meant to be shared and inspired by others, so it’s no surprise that it’s very social. You can find lots of social networks online that cater to artists and art students, and we’ve profiled them here. Read on to find 100 of the best social sites for just about any artist.

General

Creatives of all types can find a home on these social sites.

1. ArtSlant: ArtSlant is a contemporary art network that will allow you to share news about exhibitions and more.
2. deviantART: Join this community to share and connect with digital artists, photographers, animators, and more.
3. artselector: Artselector is a contemporary art collective with networking, news, and more.
4. Artween: Artween is a social network for the arts, by and for art lovers.
5. Tailcast: Tailcast is a social network for artists, writers, and musicians.
6. Humble Voice: Check out Humble Voice to find a community for artists, designers, and musicians.
7. meseon: Meseon is a great place to enjoy and share art.
8. quarterlife: quarterlife is a social network for creative people around the world.
9. E=MC²: This community of creative people use E=MC² to sell art, become famous, and make friends.
10. MyFolio: Upload your tutorials, artwork, and more for other artists, the public, and employers.
11. StartupNation: Artists in business for themselves will appreciate the resources available on StartupNation.
12. MyArtSpace: Visit this online community to connect with artists, students, teachers, critics, curators, and others in art around the world.
13. Smashing Magazine Forum: Designers, photographers, and other creatives can find a home on the Smashing Magazine forums.
14. Facebook: Facebook is a general social network, but you can attract a huge following through the site.
15. Art Review: Find discussion, debate, and more through Art Review.
16. Rhizome: In Rhizome, you’ll find thousands of artists, curators, and art enthusiasts.
17. ConceptArt: Connect with other conceptual artists on ConceptArt.
18. Taltopia: Taltopia works to connect artists with fans and talent professionals.
19. WetCanvas: On WetCanvas, you’ll find cyber living for artists, with content channels, member connections, and more.
20. Asoboo: Asoboo offers an international creative network that will connect you with interesting people, places, and things to do.
21. Tribe.net: Tribe.net is a wonderful place to connect with people in the art community and beyond.
22. beinArt: The beinArt surreal art forum features surrealist, fantastic, and psychedelic art.
23. Cghub: Cghub offers networking for entertainment, including animation, movies, illustration, and games.
24. Behance: On Behance, you can share your portfolios and find collaboration.
25. Lab for Culture: Lab for Culture offers a platform for cooperation between artists and culture organizations.
26. Artmesh: This community offers an artist showcase as well as collaboration, communication, and inspiration.
27. Shapeshifters: Shapeshifters offers loads of knowledge for the global creative community.
28. Twitter: Build one on one connections in your community by participating in the lighting fast network of Twitter.
29. ArtBistro: ArtBistro is a community for members of the visual arts community.
30. Artlog: Connect with others, share you work, and discover new art in this global community.
31. Creative Quarter: On Creative Quarter, you’ll find news, reviews, and more for creatives.
32. Likemind: Visit the likemind website to learn about meetings of creative people in your area.
33. LinkedIn: Although generally reserved for business, LinkedIn offers a great platform for getting socially connected in just about any circle.
34. imeem: Share what’s on your playlist of blogs, audio, video, and photos.
35. Independent Collectors: Here you’ll find a great platform for collectors to discuss art and network online.
36. ArtistsNetwork: ArtistsNetwork is a fine art forum and community with a book club, contests, and more.

Musicians

If you’re a musical artist you can gain a following, collaborate, and more on these sites.

37. Sellaband: Sellaband allows fans to invest in bands, supporting the music they like and receiving a profit as well.
38. Indaba Music: Check out Indaba to connect and collaborate on music projects around the world.
39. Flotones: Flotones offers a monetized social network for both fans and music artists.
40. PureVolume: This website is purely devoted to helping bands promote themselves online.
41. iJigg: Upload your music to make new fans and share it with the online community through iJigg.
42. JamNow: Check out JamNow to find a social network that will allow you to create audio content online, schedule live jam sessions, and more.
43. Sonific: Music artists can promote music for free on Sonific.
44. MySpace: MySpace is an incredibly popular tool for musicians to reach new fans.
45. MusoCity: On Muso, you’ll find a music oriented social network for fans, artists, venues, and more.
46. ReverbNation: ReverbNation supports the independent music industry with a great way for musicians, venues, and producers to come together.
47. Trig: Trig is a really great looking social network for musicians.
48. Ruckus: Ruckus is a social music networking site focused on the college market.
49. Haystack: Through this social network, you can sign up as a musician and get discovered by various users.

Photography

Become a part of these sites, and you can share your images, learn, and connect with other photographers.

50. Flickr: Flickr is the definitive social network for photographers and other imaging artists, and a great place to attract a following.
51. Photography on the Net: Photography on the Net is a forum for Canon camera photographers.
52. Photography Mentor: Photography Mentor is an online photography school and social network.
53. PhotoForum: In this community of hobbyists and professional photographers, you can share your photos and learn how to become a better photographer.
54. Model Mayhem: Model Mayhem is an excellent place for photographers to connect with models, makeup artists, and more.
55. Fred Miranda: Fred Miranda is a great forum for photographers of all kinds.
56. The Photo Forum: Join The Photo Forum to chat with other photographers, find photo challenges, and resources for photography.
57. Fotolog: Fotolog is a photoblog site, one of the oldest and largest for sharing photos in a diary or blog.
58. Photo.net: This photography community has forums, reviews, galleries, and more.

Film & Animation

Share clips, build your portfolio, and meet others in the industry on these film and animation sites.

59. Icewhole: Icewhole is a short film social network for film makers, actors, writers, and more.
60. Flixster: Share movie reviews, hone your taste, and more on Flixster.
61. YouTube: Join YouTube to share your videos with an incredibly large online community.
62. UNUSUALS: The UNUSUALS network is designed just for commerical film professionals.
63. @15: Best Buy’s @15 has contests, awards, surveys, and more.
64. Filmaffinity: Filmaffinity offers movie recommendations, social networking, and more.
65. Vimeo: Vimeo offers a great home and community for your videos.
66. Ourmedia: Ourmedia offers channels of creativity for video producers and podcasters.
67. ClipShack: Check out ClipShack to share your clips with the community.

Writers

Reading, writing, and books are all celebrated on these social sites.

68. Goodreads: Goodreads offers social cataloging for books and reading lists.
69. Helium: On Helium, active writers are paid for contributing articles, which are ranked by users.
70. Urbis: Join groups, post your writing, and more on Urbis.
71. Sharing Books: Sharing books is a platform for authors, illustrators, and readers to come together and raise money for charity.
72. Writers Cafe: Visit the Writers Cafe, and you can join groups, post your writing, and more.
73. Story Link: Visit Story Link to share your work and connect with other writers.
74. Shelfari: Shelfari is a great social cataloging website with virtual bookshelves.
75. The Writing Room: Visit The Writing Room to create and post your writing within the community.

Designers

Visual artists and graphic designers will appreciate these sites.

76. Virb: Virb is a social network that actually looks nice-and it’s a great place to share your videos, blogs, and photos.
77. VisualProgression: Visual Progression is a digital art social network, where you can upload your portfolio, blog, discuss, and more.
78. Design Float: Design Float is a news aggregator for design.
79. Design 21: Design 21 is a design social network for socially conscious designers.
80. design:related: Submit articles, show off your work, and support others on design:related.
81. Threadless: Members of the Threadless community submit t-shirt designs, and users vote to determine which will become part of the catalog.
82. Estetica Design Forum: Get connected with other graphic designers and web designers on Estetica.
83. Krop Creative Database: Build your resume and host your portfolio on the Krop Creative Database.
84. Design Bump: Design Bump offers community powered design news.
85. Coroflot: Find creative design jobs, and post your portfolio on Coroflot.
86. FaveUp: Show off your work and get inspired by the galleries on FaveUp.
87. ProgrammerMeetDesigner: You can get connected with programmers on ProgrammerMeetDesigner.
88. FFFFOUND!: Check out FFFFOUND! to get loads of design inspiration.
89. designerID: Connect with serious designers on designerID.
90. dream.in.code: Dream in Code offers forums, jobs, tutorials, and more.

Craft & Handmade

Learn and share handcrafted art on these social sites.

91. Etsy: Sell your creations and connect with other artists on Etsy.
92. MyCraft: You can share and market your crafts on the MyCraft social network.
93. Craftster: The Craftster forum bills itself as cheaper than therapy.
94. Ravelry: Ravelry is an exclusive and exciting community for knitters.
95. Get Crafty: Check out Get Crafty for community, DIY guides and more.

Freelance

Many artists are freelancers, so get tips, advice, and more for freelancing on these social sites.

96. Talkfreelance: Whether you’re a web designer or other freelancer, you’ll get lots of great information and connections here.
97. FreelanceSwitch: Check out portfolios, find advice, and more on the FreelanceSwith forums.

Miscellaneous

These sites cover metal, dancing, and more.

98. ArtMetal: ArtMetal features social networking for metal arts.
99. DanceJam: MC Hammer’s site helps people learn to dance, and participate in dance battles.
100. Amateur Illustrator: Amateur Illustrator is an art and illustration community with galleries, articles, and more.