Indie Spotlight Collection: https://civitai.red/collections/17508385
Hidden Gems Collection by @carefull_time: https://civitai.red/collections/8771914
The Heart Behind the Collection
Every day, smaller creators pour their hearts into making incredible images, yet it's all too easy for their work to be overshadowed by creators who have already built larger followings. That's not a criticism of bigger creators, they've earned their followers, but it does mean we all miss out. Smaller creators struggle to be discovered, while users looking for new creators to follow often never find them.
This isn't something Civitai alone can solve. As a community, we all have a part to play in helping talented creators get the recognition they deserve. My hope is that this collection can be one small step toward that goal. It won't solve the problem on its own, but if it helps even a handful of creators get noticed, then it'll have been worth it.
What This Collection Is
This collection exists to shine a spotlight on creators with fewer than 1,000 followers.
The goal isn't necessarily to collect only the "best" images on the site. I'm looking at the creator just as much as the image itself. The aim is to help people discover talented users they might never have come across otherwise.
Anyone is welcome to submit images for review, whether they're your own or someone else's work. As long as the submission follows the rules below, I'll review it when I can.
Please don't be discouraged if your submission isn't accepted straight away, or at all. I'll only be adding a limited number of images at a time, and a rejection isn't a statement about the quality of your work.
One exciting part of this project is that this is a homepage collection, meaning approved images have a chance of appearing on Civitai's homepage, giving smaller creators even more visibility.
Rules
Creator must have fewer than 1,000 followers.
Image must comply with Civitai's Terms of Service.
Image must be SFW (PG/PG-13).
Please don't spam submissions.
How to Submit
To submit an image, you'll first need to follow the collection. That's not me trying to farm followers, it's simply how Civitai's collection system works.
Once you're following the collection, a "Collections you contribute to" section should appear whenever you click Save or Save image to collection on an image. From there, you can submit it to this collection.
The submission process is a little janky at the moment. After you submit an image, it'll appear as though it's in the collection, but it's actually just waiting for review. Once I've had a chance to approve it, it'll officially become part of the collection.
Closing Thoughts
As I'm writing this, it's still a little crazy to me that I have a homepage collection on Civitai's homepage. I really do want to make the most of this opportunity, and I hope this article shows that I'm taking the responsibility seriously. I'm still new to running a public collection like this, so I ask that you all give me a little grace while I learn the ropes.
Ultimately, though, this collection is only as good as the community behind it. It'll only work if people take the time to submit images and show some love to the creators featured here. My hope is that, together, we can help more talented creators get the recognition they deserve.