How to live stream your art: YouTube, Picarto, Twitch, and more

Live streaming is a compelling way to share your art and creativity with the world. If you are an artist, illustrator, designer or crafter, you can find an audience on platforms like Picarto, Behance, Twitch and YouTube. This guide explains how to live stream art and design, from the basic streaming setup to advanced tips for engaging your viewers.

How to start live streaming your art

First of all, you need a basic streaming setup which typically includes:

• Personal computer or mobile phone that supports live streaming
• Webcam
• Microphone
• Tripod (for mobile phone users)
• Stable internet connection with an upload speed of at least 5 Mbps
• Streaming platform (YouTube Live, Twitch, Instagram, etc.)

Depending on your platform choice, your setup might differ. You might also consider improving your stream’s quality by investing in some additional equipment. For instance, you could buy a ring light or light panel to raise the visual quality of your stream. And if you want to make your stream more entertaining or dynamic, you can use a green screen. 

How to choose a live streaming platform for your art

You have a lot of choices for streaming platforms nowadays: Picarto, YouTube Live, Behance, Facebook Live, Twitch, TikTok and others. These platforms are ideal for artists wanting to share their work because they have a community aspect. Most of them also have monetization or selling options, which let you sell your artwork directly to your viewers.

Let’s look at the most fitting live streaming platforms with the biggest art communities to broadcast your talents. 

1. Picarto

Picarto is a streaming platform fully optimized for broadcasting your art. It’s a community of art streamers, where you can share your art, create a gallery or connect with other artists.

Like Twitch, Picarto puts channels in different categories, including Music, Drawing, 3D Modeling, Cartoons, Game Development, Education, IRL and more. Unfortunately, the audience on the platform is not very large. Picarto could be the best choice for you to gain experience as a beginning streamer or you could combine it with other platforms. By streaming with Restream Studio, you can go live on Picarto, Twitch, YouTube and other platforms simultaneously.

2. YouTube Live

YouTube is the largest video hosting platform in the world and the second largest for live video. Unfortunately, YouTube Live has no category for art and creativity. But there are still two advantages to using YouTube Live. 

First, it's easy to get started. You don’t need any third-party apps or streaming software and can live stream via your phone. Second, if you already have videos posted on YouTube, it is very convenient to grow your audience there rather than start live streaming from scratch. 

3. Facebook Live

If you have an active community on Facebook or Instagram already, or you’re targeting an older demographic, you could stream your art on Facebook Live. It’s an excellent platform for virtual events and workshops so you can easily host live tutorials and workshops.

You can also link your Facebook and Instagram accounts and cross-promote on both platforms. Facebook also provides you with robust analytics about your live streams and lets you set up a shop where you can add your artwork as. You can even set up a store on Facebook to sell your artwork to

4. Instagram Live

Another social media platform that suits artists and creatives is Instagram Live. Since its humble beginnings as a photo-sharing platform, Instagram has always been associated with creativity, art, beauty, style and design. Creatives of all kinds, from musicians to crafters, can find a home on Instagram Live. 

You can go live on Instagram from either a mobile phone or desktop. When you’re live, your followers will see your profile first in the list of Stories at the top of their home feed, keeping your content top-of-mind. Instagram Live chats are also active and engaging, with viewers commenting and sparking discussions in real time.

5. Twitch

Twitch is more than just a platform for live streaming video games. Today, Twitch is the home of not only gamers but also creatives, podcast hosts, writers and more. Twitch has categories for Art, Makers & Crafting, and Podcasts & Talk Shows, all of which could be good for your art streaming channel. These categories weren’t so popular when Twitch first introduced them, but now the Art category regularly gets 10k viewers! 

Twitch has amazing live interaction opportunities as well. Your viewers can write questions in your chat, expressing their thoughts regarding your art, or simply communicate with each other. Twitch also has accessible monetization options for streamers. People can donate money, pay for subscriptions or tip with Twitch’s own currency, called Bits.

6. TikTok LIVE

TikTok has a unique format and audience that can work well for painters, illustrators, designers and crafters. Art tutorials are popular on TikTok, but cramming a full tutorial into a one-minute video can be challenging. If you do a live stream on TikTok, rather than posting traditional short-form videos, you can make your tutorials and other art streams richer and more engaging.

Collaboration with other creators is also easy to do on TikTok — you can join forces with other artists to do joint streams and combine your fan bases. TikTok LIVE also makes it easy for viewers to engage with your stream via the live chat, letting you build a loyal community around your artwork.

7. Behance

If you want to stream to a platform dedicated solely to creatives — and potentially tap into a wider audience — then Behance should be your choice. Behance is a social network from Adobe, where designers and creators can showcase and follow each other’s work. Adobe added a live streaming function to Behance so creators could start posting live video content on the platform.

You can share art tutorials, showcase your latest project, or just have a conversation with other artists. As a creative community of ten million members, Behance could be a good foundation for your art streaming, and it may be easier to attract viewers than on platforms like YouTube Live or Twitch.

8. Multistream with Restream

All the above streaming platforms have advantages for artists. So why do you have to choose just one?

With Restream, you can stream to multiple platforms simultaneously with no need for extra hardware. Multistreaming can help you maximize your reach and stream your art to as many people as possible. Plus, you can use our live studio to broadcast directly from your browser. With Restream Studio, you can add captions and graphics, share your screen, stream with a second or third camera, invite friends to streams and much more.

Get more views with multistreaming

Reach more people, and meet viewers where they like to watch. Live stream to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more at once.

Get started

How to make your art stream successful

You are probably starting an art streaming channel because you want viewers. It takes more than planning a stream and choosing a platform to become popular, however. If you want to make your art streams successful — and even generate income from them — then you need to keep some of the following tips in mind.

1. Define your goals

Come up with a clear vision of your channel and map out your strategy. Ask yourself:

• What will I be doing on my streams?
• What do I want people to know about me and my artwork?
• What kinds of viewers am I hoping to attract? How old are they, where do they live, what are they interested in, etc.?
• If I was a viewer watching my channel, what would I find helpful?

Answering these questions will help you decide what your channel is about and what you want to achieve. It could be creating your art, discussing art with  other artists, giving art tutorials or something else entirely.

2. Check out other art streamers

Before you hit that “go live” button, do a little research. See what other art streamers in your niche are doing on your platform of choice. If you’re an oil painter, look at other painters to see how they’ve set up their stream, what projects they work on or how they interact with their audience.

You shouldn’t copy other art streamers exactly, but take inspiration from their streams. Focus on what you like about their streams or what seems to work well for them and figure out how to apply it to your live streams.

3. Practice confidence on camera

If you’re not used to being on camera or filming yourself, now’s the time to get comfortable. You might not plan to show your face on your broadcasts, focusing instead on your hands or just sharing your screen.

But adding a webcam feed showing you, as you sit at your desk or stand in front of your easel (or wherever you’re perched to do your art), goes a long way for connecting with fans. They’re watching for you just as much as for your work!

4. Schedule your live streams

Develop a stream schedule and stick to it. Viewers are more likely to follow or subscribe if they can rely on you to post regular content. Keeping your streams at the same time every day or every week also makes them easier to promote. Remember, consistency matters as much as frequency.

However, we understand that sometimes you simply cannot stream at the scheduled time. That’s why we developed Restream’s Upload and Stream. This tool allows you to live stream your pre-recorded videos on multiple streaming platforms simultaneously! It frees you up to interact with your audience during the stream.

5. Promote your streams

Nobody will know you’re streaming if you don’t tell them about it! It’s almost impossible to grow your audience without promoting your streams. Post about them on social media, send out an email newsletter, talk about them on your podcast — whatever channels you have, let people know.

When choosing the name of your streams, come up with something creative and appealing. “Art Stream” is too boring. If you’re streaming on Twitch, you’ll need to be sure to use the right tags on your stream as well. Twitch also lets you craft a message for the notification your followers receive when you go live. Write a message that’s inviting and descriptive.

6. Encourage communication

Personality matters just as much as content with live streaming. You express not only your artistic skills but also yourself. Be active and engaging with your viewers. Greet people as they join, ask questions to spark discussions and always thank people who follow or subscribe.

You can also engage with your viewers by organizing Q&A sessions or AMAs (Ask Me Anythings). Dedicate a stream to taking viewers behind the scenes of your workplace or studio, showing them all the tools you work with. Play games or host contests and encourage viewers to participate. Help your future fans fall in love with you. 

FAQs

Let’s wrap up

Live streaming is a bright opportunity for any artist to express their talent. Multiple platforms, like YouTube Live and Twitch have thousands of viewers hungry for new content creators. You don’t even have to choose one specific platform to stream on. Restream Studio allows you to share your art on every streaming service. 

To begin your journey as an art streamer, make sure you have your streaming equipment and plan ready. Don’t forget, both physical and mental preparations are incredibly important for your success.