FFXIV: The Art Party for Socially Shy Gamers

Back in November 2020, I was introduced to the concept of an Art Party in FFXIV.

I had no idea what to expect my first time - was this like an art stream that you attended? Did everyone just kinda sit quietly and draw? I mean, what is an art party?

It turns out, an art party is exactly what it sounds like. This usually entails:

• A host that organizes the art party, often at a private estate where everyone gathers
• Lots of music and dancing
• Bringing your best glamour (sometimes the host sets a theme)
• Artists and screenshot artists discovering characters to draw or take pictures of
• Posting art and screenshots of other characters on Twitter, usually under a specific art party tag
• Most importantly... Socializing without actually having to socialize (for shy folks)

In fact, if you want to get involved in a social experience in whatever FFXIV data center you're on, I highly suggest art parties as a place to start. Yes, there's often a lot of folks there, but most of them are just silly-socializing, dancing and having a good time. All you have to do is hang out, listen to music, and maybe make a few friends if you feel up to it. But you don't even have to say a word if you don't want to.

I've actually connected with several people who are now Twitter mutuals through art parties. And also, as a bonus, you might get your character drawn if you catch an artist's eye! I have a whole section of art I've received as art party gifts in my gallery!

If you're an artist - no matter your skill - you can bet that your art will be appreciated by those who attend. And you might make friends with folks that you draw!

It's really a thrill to receive art from someone. Though a lot of interaction happens on Twitter, even if you don't have a Twitter account, you can always upload your art somewhere and /whisper the character with a link to it - I've had that happen a few times, and was super happy to receive art and chat with the artist.

I tried to search and see if art parties were a part of other MMOs aside from FFXIV, and didn't find anything. The moment you Google "FFXIV Art Party," though, you find lots of stuff about them. So maybe it's a social side of FFXIV that doesn't exist in games like WOW or ESO - but why not? I wonder if art parties might catch on in other MMO games?

Anyhow, if you're a shy FFXIV gamer who wants a social experience where you really don't have to interact unless you want, art parties provide a way to do that. I'm super shy myself, and encouraged a number of shy folks to come to these - they always seem to have a good time. So give it a shot!

How to find an art party on your FFXIV data center? Again, a lot of this is based around Twitter. I'd suggest checking out and following the FFXIV Art Parties account on Twitter. They retweet party announcements, and it's very helpful to have one place to check for upcoming art parties.