Signal, Volume, Presence: A Framework for Artistic Growth

In a world where everyone is screaming for attention, artists face a peculiar challenge. The tools for getting noticed have never been more accessible. Retention editing, hooks, dramatic tension, sex, violence, rock and roll - we know what captures eyeballs. Yet mastering these tools often leads somewhere unexpected: artistic emptiness.

The real question is not how to get attention, but how to get attention on something worth noticing. How to amplify what makes your work uniquely yours rather than just adding to the noise. This requires a framework for thinking about artistic growth that balances uniqueness with impact.

Signal: Your Unique Voice

In the sea of noise that is the modern attention economy, what matters first is developing a clear signal. This signal is your unique artistic voice - the style, vibe, emotion, and feeling that eventually makes people recognize your work in a crowded feed. When someone scrolls past a million images and stops at yours because it gives them a feeling that is distinct from all the noise, that is signal working.

This signal often exists from the very beginning of an artistic journey. Students enter university with unique, interesting ideas that are unformed but genuinely their own. The trap is rushing past this phase to chase attention before the signal is clear. In the beginning, the work is to build clarity within that signal - understanding who you are as an artist, what you want to say, what feeling you want to create. It probably will not get much attention yet. People might not even hear what you are saying. But this foundation determines everything that follows.

Volume: The Craft of Attention

Volume represents all the tools for attracting eyes and holding attention. Composition, contrast, color theory, dramatic tension, storytelling, faces, dynamism - these techniques have existed for millennia. They work because they tap into fundamental aspects of human attention. The eye is drawn to certain things. The mind wants certain patterns. This is not manipulation; this is understanding how humans perceive and engage.

The critical insight is that volume must serve signal, not replace it. Many artists learn to crank up volume without ever developing signal. They master retention editing, follow trends, replicate what works for others. Sometimes this even succeeds - until it does not. Because volume without signal creates a hollowness that audiences eventually sense. The YouTubers quitting after ten years, the artists stuck replicating styles they never chose - these are symptoms of volume without signal. The question to ask is not just how to get more attention, but which aspects of picture-making theory increase volume on your specific signal without being untrue to who you are.

Presence: Consistency Over Time

The third element is presence - the consistency and repetition that builds recognition. Many artists discover a powerful combination of signal and volume, then abandon it. They chase new trends, fight boredom, follow creative rabbit holes. Yet often what separates artists with lasting impact from those who fade is simply showing up with the same message, refined and repeated.

This does not mean becoming rigid or refusing to evolve. It means respecting what connects with your audience. Musicians who resent their early hits, artists who abandon successful styles - they often underestimate how much presence contributes to impact. Building presence requires playing to the audience to some degree, understanding what works, and doing more of that over time. It is the difference between making noise and building something that lasts.