An artist portfolio is your authentic source, from which interested parties get the essential information about you and your art; it functions as a business card. Whether you have a manager, gallerist, or neither, an online portfolio is necessary so that future buyers, collectors, and galleries can easily and quickly get an idea of ​​your work. An online portfolio can provide insight into your artwork if you don't have an official website. And if you have one, it can be a taste of your website, and you should also link it to your other social media accounts.

With GalleryTool, you can create a professional artist portfolio for your artwork with a few clicks, without programming knowledge or extra costs. This online portfolio lets you provide information about yourself on one page, such as previous exhibitions, necessary biographical data, studies, awards, and important milestones in your artistic life. Moreover, you can also upload photos of your artwork if you create in several genres, even by organizing them into separate categories. You can connect your online portfolio with your official website, social media accounts, and email contact options. Of course, the online portfolio can present only some of your work so far. It's an excellent opportunity to make a few of the objects of your particular project or art series available to the general public, allowing future interested parties to discover them.
GalleryTool is an excellent opportunity to create an online portfolio, even for free, after a short registration. Still, you should pay attention to a few things so that the portfolio will be authentic and professional in the eyes of experts.

Publish all professionally relevant content

No matter how simple and clear-out an online portfolio is, it must look neat. It's your decision about what information you display about yourself, whether it is about your individual and group exhibitions or even the awards you have won. Still, publishing all professionally relevant content on the online portfolio is recommended, especially if you still need an official website. In addition, you should also write a short introduction about yourself, which will not only be a set of raw data in the about you part of the portfolio but will also take on a slightly more personal tone. You can write about your relationship with art, techniques, and art itself. The point is to be attention-grabbing but, at the same time, honest. It is good if someone proofreads the text because more eyes see more, and you also look more authentic if your writing is coherent and grammatically correct.

Strive to take high-quality photos

You need more than just having your biography ready. The online portfolio is worth something if you share pictures of your best works with the general public. You don't have to be a professional photographer to take high-quality photos, but it helps if there are people around you who can also help you with this. If you don't have one, it's no problem; make sure that the images are high-resolution, high-quality photos that realistically reproduce the colors and shapes of your work. And with GalleryTool, you can display as many of your pieces on the online portfolio platform as you like, so you don't have to limit yourself. As for the photo of yourself in your portfolio – in our case, in the Portfolios selection – you should also upload a picture that makes your profile more serious. For example, studio photos, photos taken at exhibitions, and high-quality photos with a slightly more professional effect prove to be the best decision. In any case, avoid using semi-dark, blurred, edited, or cropped images. It is recommended to pay attention to these. Suppose a potentially interested collector browses online portfolios. In that case, they are more likely to click on your profile without knowing you, if the picture above your name is also inviting to them, even surrounded by your works.

Think of your online portfolio as an offline exhibition

Just as details such as the composition, technique, dimensions, title, and year of creation of your artwork are essential in the offline world, they become even more critical in the online world. Strive to present these. By opening a photo on GalleryTool, you can see the details of the artwork. These opportunities provided by the online portfolio must be used from a marketing point of view because you can easily share and promote the platform and your artwork with it. Furthermore, it would help if you did not forget that this way, you have a better chance of becoming visible and getting your works of art to potential buyers and galleries without creating an expensive and time-consuming exhibition.

Give a chance to explore

Promote your art. If you have an Instagram, Facebook, any social media profile, or even an official website from which enquirers can get more information and pictures of your work, link it to your online portfolio. It also pays its way to publish your email address because many prefer the traditional contact form. In addition, GalleryTool places a "send an inquiry" button under each photo of your artwork to make it easier to contact you. This way, the interest in work is sent directly to the artist by email. After that, the purchase can even be arranged personally, without the work of gallerists and other persons.

The devil is in the details, so you should pay attention to them. The point is that when creating your portfolio, you should strive to reflect you, your art, and your talent faithfully. GalleryTool makes it straightforward to edit and manage your online portfolio. Thus, essential information, data, and images just listed will all be available in one place, professionally. With the online portfolio, you can promote and share your art with the public while saving time, money, and energy. You can even invest these in your artistic work.

Author:
Kitti Váradi

Kitti graduated from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics with a bachelor's degree in Communication and Media Science, specializing in Visual Communication. She continued her studies at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, receiving a Cultural Manager qualification. Her work experience includes working in a commercial gallery and organizing cultural events, but she has also worked in the National Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest.