Welcome to TopBuzz Creator Spotlight, where we’ll be profiling a handful of notable creators who are expanding their distribution prospects onto TopBuzz — a two-year-old content aggregation app owned by Chinese mobile giant Bytedance. Even in a crowded platform landscape, TopBuzz offers discovery and revenue prospects that these creators describe as irrefutably additive.
Amanda VanEver, the Nevada-based self-taught artist, has cornered a sizable audience online after launching paint-pouring tutorials on Facebook roughly three years ago. Today, VanEver has vastly expanded the distribution of her online brand — known as Amanda’s Doodles And Designs — to YouTube (71,00 subscribers) and Instagram, as well as the nascent content aggregation platform TopBuzz.
VanEver’s works showcase an impressive array of different materials and techniques, including: water colors, fluid acrylics (in which special paints are poured onto various surfacse to achieve a colorful, psychedelic affect), and resins (which gives VanEver’s a hard, glossy finish). Some of her most popular videos on TopBuzz, for instance, include tutorials on how to make the most of negative space, how to pour acrylics through a kitchen colander, and how to refashion a toilet seat as an art canvas of sorts.
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We sat down with VanEver to discuss the communal nature of the online art creator community, how she’s able to appeal to a wide swath of viewers by opting not to speak or show or her face in any of her content, and what’s next.
Tubefilter: When did you begin to experiment with acrylic and resin art? When did you realize that you had a unique talent for the form?
Amanda VanEver: In early 2017, I saw a video on Facebook of another artist painting in the fluid acrylic style. I was really interested in learning how to do it, so I started researching and joining Facebook groups where I could figure out the materials I needed and different techniques for getting started. Over time, I realized I had a talent for it when people would ask me how I was able to achieve certain techniques after sharing my own work on Facebook. I have slowly expanded, and now also share my work on Instagram and Reddit.
A few months after I started working with fluid acrylics, I also started working with resin. I use resin as both a tool to finish my pieces, as well as a medium to create pieces on its own.
TF: At what point did you make the decision to share your talents on YouTube?
AV: I had thought about making a YouTube channel for a long time before I actually started it. I knew of other artists who where sharing their tutorials on YouTube, and wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested in what I had to offer. In August 2017, I shared a piece on Facebook and received a lot of requests for how I achieved the look. I decided to recreate that piece as my first YouTube video, and it’s just grown from there.
TF: What do you think differentiates your videos from other artists on social media?
AV: I don’t talk. That seems counterintuitive for people who may want to learn, but I receive a lot of comments thanking me for posting videos that just have music in the background. Some people just want to see someone else paint without listening to them talk for 20 minutes straight. I also tend to keep my videos relatively short, with most ranging from five to 10 minutes, and try to get straight to the art. Every once in a while, I do add information in text form within the video and video description. But most of the time, I tend to share information by responding to comments and questions on social media.
TF: Do you see your videos as tutorial-motivated, or more as a means of entertainment? Or maybe even for viewers who are seeking a soothing, ASMR experience?
AV: I see them as both. Some are just for entertainment, and some are more instructional. I tend to just go ahead and do my thing — and if people have questions, I will answer them. If there is a new or different technique that I want to show people, or a new medium that I want to work with, sometimes I will create a video that is more in depth with instructions. So many people do this form of art work, and so I don’t feel the need to regurgitate the same information in every video.
TF: How do you come up with ideas for new art videos? Are there any particular tropes or themes that you’ve found that really resonate with viewers?
AV: My husband helps me think of new things to try (including new techniques, new mediums, different color palettes, and different things to paint on), which is really helpful. Sometimes I get an idea from a comment that someone makes. What really helps is being part of a lot of different Facebook groups, and being part of a community of artists that are always willing to share information and ideas. When someone shares a new idea or technique, it is always fun to try it out and see how you can put your own spin on it.
TF: How did you learn about TopBuzz, and why did you start working with the company?
AV: I received an email from TopBuzz towards the end of 2017 asking if I would like to join their platform and have another outlet to share my content. I decided to try it out and was able to upload all of the videos that I had already posted on Facebook directly to TopBuzz.
One of the features that I really like about TopBuzz is the content sync. I have my YouTube channel synced with my TopBuzz channel, so YouTube uploads automatically get distributed to TopBuzz as well, which saves me a lot of time. Another bonus to TopBuzz is the ability to earn money. I think the options for content creators are very limited to where they can earn money for creating videos. If you want something different or in addition to YouTube, TopBuzz is a way to do that.
And finally, it’s a great way to get your content out there to people who may not have seen it before. Reaching people on TopBuzz means they may check out my other social media, and sharing information about TopBuzz on Facebook and Instagram will hopefully direct more users to the platform.
TF: What are you working on next?
AV: I am getting really close to hitting 200 videos, and I love reaching those kinds of milestones. On TopBuzz, I am close to hitting 1,000 followers — and it’s so exciting to see that growth every day. I have gone from averaging 50 to 100 views a day on TopBuzz at the outset to more than 1,000 right now. And on YouTube, I just hit 71,000 subs and 10 million lifetime views. I hope that if I keep on creating enjoyable and informative content, my channels will keep growing.
This Creator Spotlight is brought to you by TopBuzz. TopBuzz is a distribution platform that uses powerful AI and algorithms to help creators and publishers discover new audiences for their content. If you’re interested in monetizing your content join TopBuzz for free. Take the AI-powered app for a spin and see how your customized feed improves with every touch. Download TopBuzz for iOS or Android.
