It's a mixture. Certainly almost all the longest and highest-profile projects i've been on (SZX being the foremost example) were instances where I was contacted first, usually because a specific team member was familiar with my work and thought I would make a good fit for the precise thing they were trying to do. In the case of SZX, I did TGS banner art (later the cover for the rerelease) for Devil Engine, and when Tristan/Sinoc, the lead dev on that, was putting together the team for the SZX pitch he told the producer "she can do biopunk monster freaks". I think a lot of that is definitely bc of my social media presence, being easily researched and active in the community, having a quickly linked portfolio etc, but more than "size" of presence it's "quality". Building friendships and mutual collaborative efforts with others in your field is so important, not just for your career but your life, your mental health, your ability to keep learning and enjoying the work you do.

I applied to maybe 100 different concept art positions over the year leading up to Tristan DMing me on twitter and saying "Hey do you want to work on a pitch" and I never even got rejections from most of them.