#I finally finished one of my portfolios so I’m giving myself time for fanart as a reward

[sparebutton]

Felt overdue for some elsamaren ♡

[tangerinegod]

Hello! I am sorry to bother you but I am a senior getting ready for college this year. I am in the US and I wanted to major in the same thing you did, do you have any possible tips for me? I still haven't even looked for colleges that would be best for animation majors so I figured if you were up to giving out any tips/saying any basic ideas if you wanted to/if you had the time to then maybe I'll have a better idea! I apologise for if I sound weird! I'm tried to word it correctly but I can't 😿

hi!! i’m totally down to share my experiences! someone else also had some questions so i’m going to put them all together in this post haha, hopefully this helps! it’ll get pretty long so apologies ahead of time but art school is a lot to think about so i wanna be as helpful as i can around it, its a lot of time and money. I’m gonna put it all under a read more cus it is really really long!

i wanna start off with the fact that I had the privilege of attending school in a financially stable environment, my parents were/are really supportive so w merit scholarship i only came out with around 20-30k in debt and i also had housing support my entire time in school. they were ok with me focusing on academics so i didn’t hold a retail job unless i was out of school like summer/winter break. Ofc though i regularly take commissions/do merch/cons to try and pay for all bills that arent rent cus i did want to be financially independent where it was possible. I also did try and work during the semester but everytime i did my body would deff start to breakdown from the fact that i didnt wanna compromise schoolwork with jobs.. so just read ahead know this experience is from a student who was able to attend focusing only on school work for most of the time!

the biggest thing is knowing art school is not required to become a professional in either freelancing or industry! there are a huuuge amount of online tools and classes these days that provide the exact same education and for cheaper too. i think it depends on what experience you prefer/can handle/want but it’s definitely possible to make art/animation art your living without higher education. the thing that college will for sure give you though is the ability to meet deadlines, work even when you dont want to, and connections with peers+teachers. i think the connections part is invaluable because you’re basically coming out with a network of people you already know and who know you! 

also its good to know if you want to attend/can handle art school! it’s a lot of time and energy and students get burned out really fast. the best piece of advice i got before going was ‘if you draw every single day, even if its for only like 5-10 minutes or a doodle for a whole year you should be fine’ consistency is super key because you’re attending school to draw, and you’ll have to create work for stuff you aren’t excited for at some point or another. burnout is extremely real and the only reason i didn’t experience it was probably because i got super into drawing naruto fanart again inbetween sophomore and junior year! it helped give me something to draw seperated from school which is the only thing i was drawing for since i had entered rip. a heads up id also consider myself a workaholic so i fit in ok with the ‘art school’ environment but it is suuper unhealthy. if you are fantastic at managing your schedule then it’s definitely possible to take care of yourself! freshman year i got 8 hours a sleep a night and only pulled all nighters for some second semester finals at the end. sophomore year + up though i ended up prioritizing hw over sleep and like for sure, definitely shortened my life span. there’s another q down below where i’ll go more into detail but ya, be careful w ur work balance!

another tip especially for animation is knowing for a fact what type of animation you’re looking to go into, and what the school is offering. I didn’t think i’d get into art school at the time so i only applied to two places + decided if i didnt get into either id attend community to get credits out of the way while building portfolio. honestly? i did not do a lot of research LOL but like i did end up having the chance to tour and stuff! just know that each school will have a very different curriculum. The main differences are schools that prioritize 3D (cg animation, cg modeling, ect) and 2D/traditional (hand drawn, ‘oldschool’, digital or traditional based) this is a huge difference so make sure you do research for it! in most cases a 2D/traditional program will also offer 3D since it’s at the forefront of the industry animation wise rn. My school taught 2D but like hand drawn on physical paper 2D, frame by frame. while it was a good experience it’s super outdated because digital tools make it way faster + easier! i’d recommend looking for a program that is digital 2D over traditional 2D. 

if after your senior year covid is still affecting campuses in the US to keep them shut down i’d recommend attending a community college to get credits and then transferring into school. one of the negatives is paying money for gened classes when ur not there for them; if you can get them out of the way sooner and cheaper there is absolutely no negative + you could graduate earlier or use the extra time for better work or to work a job! 

these are all the general tips i think i’d give on like a broad basis of attending or not to think about? let me know if u have more q’s! someone asked q’s im answering below that go more into personal experiences + work culture so heres those:

- how many hours a week do u spend studying, in class, otherwise making art? like how much of ur life does it consume?

I was basically working on art.... 24/7! since i wasnt working a job at the same time i crammed as many credits as possible into my schedule so on avg i did 18 credit semesters (around 6 classes) art classes go for 6 hours and non art go for 3, so i’d spent around 30-35 hours in class a week! hw wise it varied on the class but combined it would be around 35-50 hours a week... im guessing? on average studio classes would have 8-10 hours of hw, maybe 5 for a light week, and gened classes 5 hours w them all combined. or this was probably how things were before junior year? junior+senior year i had thesis + everything else ontop.. i’d spend around 30-40 hours on thesis a week with other classes ontop of that bc my film was super long cus im a dummy! 

- is it hard going to art school n realising that altho u were probably quite talented… so is everyone else? Like. all of a sudden. ur not special and everyone seems as good as u, you know? More generally, how do u deal with comparison?

kinda?? i think instead of the idea of like you vs others it feels more of like a competition at first to be the best. this varies hugely on school culture though; my animation year was really friendly with each other and get along extremely well, so my answer to this is v different than some others who attended different schools. i think that the idea of ‘comparison’ only lasts a portion of the first year because at some point you realize that it’s not a who’s better as much as its a ‘these are my coworkers’ type thing? like healthy competition 100% because we’re all working to improve but i think most of us learned pretty early on that viewing each other as peers going into the same workforce helped a lot. also at some point everyone develops their own style/starts to develop their artistic preferences so there isn’t a way to compare whos 'better’ anymore? i dont think there ever is tbh because style is appealing based off of an individuals preferences. If anything realizing everyone else is also amazing makes you wanna work harder ig? or thats how i felt! it’s inspiring to be surrounded by so many people who create such amazing work. 

- is there a lot of workaholic culture? all nighter culture?

100000% there can be a workaholic and all nighter culture. i know people who avoided it and thats honestly fantastic because i fall super easily into that pit. sometimes i’ll pull all nighters on a personal project just because i really want to finish it... i am definitely considered a workaholic all the way through and its not healthy rip... i’d estimate at the worst i was pulling 2-3 all nighters a week and only 4-5 hours of sleep on the nights i didn’t? that was only for one year tho, after that i was like yeah ok this is really bad for my health in the long run LOL so i tried to cut it down to one all nighter a week and around 5-6 hours of sleep the rest of the week! by senior year my decision to cram in full semesters paid off and i was able to consistently get around 7 hours of sleep a night + no all nighters minus finals since my schedule was lighter despite thesis 😭 while there is that culture i don’t think people view it as like a badge of honor or something to be proud of anymore which is good, we mostly view it as a flaw of the art school system and something that needs to be fixed!!

- are you glad u did it? how did u know it was what u wanted?

i am glad i did it! i’m definitely in a limbo right now of if it was worth both my time, money, and my parents money rip but i think with what i got out of it i definitely wouldn’t be as far skill wise or knowledge wise when it comes to the art industry. i would say it was only worth it for be because i had so much support going in though so i was able to focus so much on improving. if i had only been able to put in part of the effort and not make full use of the resources provided i would honestly have a different answer.. 

i knew it was what i wanted when i realized i really couldn’t see myself pursuing a different profession happily! despite all the bumps and stuff im fully in love with drawing still and feel honored that it’s a field that can provide a living. my second profession choice was to go into culinary school? and third option i think going was into music cus i was also a band kid hehe.  

- how do u cope with ur hobby becoming ur job? how do u deal with art going from something u do for fun to something u do on command constantly?

i think seperating work art from personal art is important! in my case im doubling naruto into being personal work so i have something to fall back onto that isn’t work related. its been a hyperfixation for 12+ years? so drawing it at this point is just like personal art imo. some people have hobbies outside of art and only draw for their job! i think after attending classes for so long the idea of hobby turning into job feels extremely natural? also i enjoy doing it so thats a huge plus! 

sorry this is SO long but i hope i answered your guys�� questions! if you have more just lmk!

[zyuna-arts]

Blank template: 2019 Summary of Art Template (Blank) 2018 Version here! So to wrap up the end of another year, here’s a summary of my best works for 2019. I managed to produce something new each month this year, yay! As usual, all featured works can be found in my DeviantArt gallery (link below). I didn’t realise how much I improved in just one year until I compiled my art and compared them with previous works. In 2018, my works were less detailed and some even incomplete. This was partly due to me being in my final year of college and busy with final year projects, submissions, school portfolio, blah blah blah… In early 2019, I applied for university but was rejected. Naturally I felt frustrated and was down in the dumps for some time, until I picked myself up and worked harder. It was then I realised that failure is one of life’s greatest teachers; the multiple failures and struggles I experienced only motivated me to work harder. I never give up when it comes to the things I love, no matter how tough or how close I am to breaking down. You can be sure that you won’t see me quit any time soon: I will fight and I won’t stop fighting. I didn’t stop drawing; I had already graduated and had a lot more free time in between my part-time job as a demo artist. I used that freedom to my advantage to reflect and just take a breather as I never really had the chance to do so before (at all). I started doing more original work and branching out of my comfort zone of Transformers fan art, and in October set a challenge for myself to complete all 31 days of Inktober no matter the circumstance. I only posted them in November, and made a booklet compiling all my Inktober works too! I do have them for sale and one of my friends kindly already bought a copy from me, but due to the recent trademark law for Inktober, I’ll have to revise my booklet to see if my current design is safe. I don’t want to blabber on too much, but for 2020 and the future, I hope to continue honing my craft. I really want to do more original art, so expect more of that (even though I know it doesn’t get me as much attention as fanart) and to work on my rendering and painting skills. I still have a lot to complete and I’m sorry that I’m not able to finish everything I owe by the end of the year, but I promise I haven’t forgotten about them and will get to them all eventually. Oh yes - at the time I’m posting this, I’m also reapplying for uni and praying I’ll be luckier and will be accepted *crosses fingers* With that, I wish everyone a happy new year 2020 and thank you for your support for me/my work!   OFFICIAL SOCIAL MEDIA:

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Art © zyuna

(DO NOT USE/REPOST)

[akysi]

Always wanted to do one of these, and now I have. :D 8 years of improvement, wow! I’m also really bad at picking things so I don’t know if I picked the ones that best represent my progress, but eh. I did some edits, but the original base for this can still be found here. Extended thoughts about each year below, it’s a lot! Here’s to bigger and better things in 2019 (please ;_;)

2010: I started drawing digitally in 2006, though regrettably I didn’t save any of the art I did back then. 2010 was when I joined DeviantART, and thus when I started uploading art online. I had frequented DA well before that though (from about 2007 I think), and influence from the artists I followed are pretty evident. A few notable ones were ShaloneSK, Fourth-Star (now SeaSaltShrimp), and thazumi, all primarily dragon artists. Though none of my traditional art is showcased here, this was still a time when I did it often, usually via doodles in class when I was bored. The digital art you see here was made with my first tablet, a Wacom Graphire 3, and Photoshop Elements 3 that came with it. I had little knowledge of file quality, layering, colouring, and other mainstays in using Photoshop properly. Humble beginnings are these! My art education at this point was limited at best, but art was always something I did in my spare time. And like all of the art years leading up to 2010, I drew almost entirely dragons. Aside from practicing foxes for a story I had at the time, I wasn’t interested in drawing much else. I didn’t draw people at all until college, but we’ll get to that. 2011: Christmas 2010 / New Year’s 2011 marked the time I got Photoshop CS5, a version of PS I still use today. For a while I was obsessed with the idea of PS’s Pen Tool, as I saw it could give me much cleaner line art than what I could achieve on my own. I was finally able to test that when getting CS5, and while it worked well for the time, I soon learned the tenets of line weight and tapering, something I would have to practice myself. Up to this point all of my lines were either shaky or fabricated via the Pen Tool, and it shows. This was also a year of trying to mimic Fourth-Star’s dynamic perspective...without any knowledge of how it actually worked. Not a lot of improvement happened here outside of that. 2012: This was the year I bought my Bamboo Create tablet, something I still use with my laptop nowadays. I remember trying it out at my friend’s house before I bought my own, and really loving how I was able to do the line tapering without the pen tool. It still took a lot more practice, but looking back now it was easy to see I was on the way to making line art one of my art’s strongest qualities; something that stays true today. I find it ironic that line art used to be one of the weakest aspects of my digital art, but I suppose that speaks to how far I’ve come. I did more fanart this year, oddly enough. I’d always done it before but I guess I felt shy about sharing it. Notable fandoms were Danny Phantom and Sonic. I didn’t grow up with either, but ended up liking them both a lot, and would doodle them as much as my dragons. 2013: I graduated high school and started my first year of art college, specifically Art Fundamentals at Sheridan College. At this point, everyone I knew pointed to that school (and only that school) for anything related to what I wanted to do; if it wasn’t fine art, go to Sheridan. So I went into college with a bit of tunnel vision at first, but I knew from the start that I would be gunning for animation. Not to animate specifically, but to do character design / concept art for animation. I would learn later on what having this tunnel vision would mean for me, but we’ll get to that later too. This is about the point where more expansion of design and subject matter occurs, albeit slowly. The art featured here doesn’t include my schoolwork, but the much needed increase of anatomy, structure drawing and other college level art courses started me on a path to better things. I still had a long way to go though, and Fundies could only do so much. Unlike most people I actually got decent practice from it given my limited art background, but I still can’t say it was at peak efficiency. This was the first year I actually started drawing people, and it certainly didn’t come without its growing pains.

2014: Surprising no one, I didn’t get into Sheridan after my first year, though that didn’t stop me from being disappointed at the time. I took what was effectively the second year of Fundies, called Visual and Creative Arts (VCA). This was the year that sparked my interest in graphic / logo design, an interesting turn of events all things considered, and that would stick with me a lot more than I expected. This year also featured a few smatterings of character designs, or more specifically design sheets with multiple views, costumes, etc. Character design was a required segment of the animation portfolio, so this is likely what spurred my practice in it, aside from my pre-existing interest. That does not mean I knew how to rotate a character though, yikes! At this point I’d gotten pretty good at clean line art in Photoshop with my current tablet, as well as the merits of high quality imagery. There was a lot of purple in this year and 2015, though that’s nothing really new for me.

2015: This was easily the busiest (and most path altering) year. Second semester of VCA happened during this time, but also what would be new beginnings for me. If I didn’t get into Sheridan animation, I had a choice to make for a plan B: Either stay at Sheridan for VCA Year 3 and try again for animation, or try to get into animation at another school. My buddy Amelia then dropped Seneca’s name in one of my elective classes, and I had no idea how much of a fateful conversation that would be. She mentioned it was considered a second to or even better than Sheridan, and that at least provided a clearer answer for me. A lot of trepidation followed: I didn’t get into Sheridan animation for the third time, and thus applied to Seneca (and a few other places). I was pretty scared of being a first year again at a new school with new people, and while my art definitely reflected the time I spent at Sheridan, I had no confidence in it being good enough for a portfolio given my track record. But low and behold, I got in! I was on my way to a three year rollercoaster of all-nighters, amazing ride-or-die classmates, and relentless, rigorous training. The art from this year does reflect this, both in quantity and quality of uploads, though in more of a “transition period” kind of way. This was the year I really started to draw human characters, most notably with the creation of my first comic project: Starglass Zodiac. This was the first time I had a story idea with a primarily human cast, much less a comic idea, though the designs for them didn’t start appearing in my uploads until the following year. As you might expect I didn’t have a lot of confidence in drawing people. Ironically, my first year of animation taught me all the skills I initially needed for the portfolios!

2016: When I mentioned a path altering year for 2015, I was referring specifically to the path in my art education. 2016 was a path altering year for everything else, and a polarizing one at that. 2016 was a year that was kind to no one, and while the details of what happened to me are not really relevant to this post, there’s no denying what effect it had behind the scenes. This was the year that I fully realized I’d developed symptoms of depression, and with my increasing anxiety to match, this didn’t (and still doesn’t) go so well. I don’t think that’s really reflected in my art, however. Regardless of my mental state, the outside view of my art still features the colourful characters that they always had. By this point I was in my finishing first year / starting second year, and this was easily the best time for me. My time to shine, if you will, at least when it came to character design class. We had an overarching story project that was perfect for SGZ, so I used that time to develop the characters. The double-edged sword of troubled times is my escapism is cranked to 11, so this was probably the year that spurred the most story ideas out of me. This year (and part of the next) started both Id Pariah and Feather Knights. I got my iPad Pro for Christmas this year too, and that proved to be a game changer in the amount of art I could make. I was already used to the Cintiqs at my school, and I was lucky to finally have a screen tablet of my own. 2017: The end of my second year and the beginning of my third and final year of animation. Classes split, streams chosen and a world of missed opportunities began. I didn’t do a lot of art at the beginning of the year, aside from the beginning of my Feather Knights stuff. On top of that, my college had a 5-week long teacher’s strike that literally no one wanted to be a part of, effectively derailing all hope for a good semester. Attempting to do a short film project with this happening was a recipe for disaster. During this strike was the start of my first month long challenge though: Huevember. It was an uncertain time, and most of us were not compelled to get much school work done. Completing Huevember did feel like an accomplishment though, as I was actually able to keep up with it even when school started again. I’d say this art year focused a lot on colour for this reason. What art I was able to complete outside of my schoolwork saw a lot of expansion in that area. In all honesty 2016-2018 tends to blend together for me, for better or worse. 2018: My graduating year. The strike did its damage to my final semester too, but ultimately I survived. Despite completing 5 years of college, my path became the most unclear. Third year taught me a lot of things about myself and how I approach art, but most were not positive revelations. The expectations set out for me are ones that I cannot achieve. However, I have more time than ever to do art, making this year the most art I’ve made to date. I also participated in Inktober, which reminded me how far I’ve come as an artist, despite not doing traditional art for what felt like a century. My illustrative work for Inktober ended up being some of my best art this year, and the prompts made me get creative in more ways than one. The dark cloud hanging over my head has not disappeared since 2016 however, and the toll that has taken shows more everyday. As far as my art was concerned I did more of what I loved, mostly in the form of character sheets and designs. It’s all I can do, for now. 2019, I have one thing to say: Don’t you DARE.

[silver-kitsuneneko]

My Cyberbully Incident: How to Critique Artists

I know I’m going to get a lot of backlash for this, hence why I decided to wait until after the incident to post it, so I’m not stressed out and depressed like last year. My hands weren’t clean in this incident and to all of my followers, I’m very sorry for my actions that I’m about to post and hope you all will forgive me and not think less of me. But I needed to get this off my chest so I can start the New Year with a clean slate. For those of you who know or actually care, I’ve been hounded by a very unpleasant user. She goes by many names: monstershouse, tattewdiepie, and recently justwaitforit but her real name is Holly Rorke Green under rorkeart from her DA portfolios link here: http://rorkeart.daportfolio.com/about/. The reason I use her actual name and links is because she had no qualms in trying to find out mine and plastering it all over her youtube channel and like on the internet in order to "reveal" me. Hence why I had to take down my candid photos of myself. Since the end of last year, not only I was harassed by this person for a very long time, more than I care to want so much I had to temporarily deactivate my account. I can’t call her a child or anything of that nature because even children have some kind of restraint, but I will be using her as an example of what to do and not do when it comes to approaching and critiquing an artist whom you don’t know.

First of all, please remember that artists are people too. They make art, they love their art, and for many, myself included, we get really nervous about posting things to begin with. We still have it in the back of our heads that whatever we produce isn’t good, that we’re going to get some kind of backlash over something, and many just figure “why post anything, no one is going to like it”. Because of this, many artists who very good, choose not to post anything because of this fear. Within the last few years, many artists have stopped posting because of online harassment and one even attempted suicide. One famous case happened to an artist who was posting We Bare Bear fanart with them as humans and had many accusing her of “fat shaming, being racist” and other horrible things. This caused her to stop posting her WBB art just because of a vocal few. Things of this nature can and will scare many artists from posting and no one should have to feel threatened in posting their work. So the following are a few tips for fans, critics, and artists about how to handle critiques, give critiques, and handling harassment.

1.      If you’re going to critique an artist, there’s just one simple thing to do, ask before you do so. Simple right? When you ask an artist if you can correct something or give them some advice, many will be more opened to it and will be mentally prepared for it. It also gives the artist the choice on whether or not they want to be critiqued. If they’re not up for it, it gives them the chance to say “No, not right now”. There are many reasons why an artist may not want someone to critique them: they’re not emotionally prepared, it was rough draft, they KNOW there are mistakes, they’re having issues in regular life and don’t want criticism at the moment, anything. The important thing to do is respect their wishes. Also, don’t critic in their comments, just send them a Note. It’s less humiliating. Unless you’re Holly Rorke who seems like she gets off on the power rush as seen below: 

As I said before, I don’t have clean hands in this but rule of thumb, if someone is being polite to you, try to be polite back. I regret flying off the handle but she came off as rude and I acted accordingly. My lesson learned, don’t engage in rude behavior. However this brings me to my next point: 

2.  Say positive things first: The first rule of a good critique is saying something positive first and give it about a few sentences. Say something like “I liked the way you wrote this!” or “I like the way you draw flowers” or “I liked the pose in this” or “This scene was funny!” or “I really liked this character portrayal!” It makes the artist feel good and that they did something good. It tells them that “Hey! Overall this is pretty good!” But most importantly, it lightens the blow of the negative comments. Look at these two examples:

            a. Okay, after reading your story, let me first say this was amazing! It kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked how Daphne and Thelma were lovers and how the whole plot was dystopian! It’s a new mix on Scooby and the gang! And props for having Scooby Doo as a robot with his brain inside! But your grammar is really off. I mean it was an easy read but some of the word structure was funny and I couldn’t understand most parts. How about I give you my corrections? Also, grammarly is your best friend. It has really helped me out with my writing. Happy Writing!

            b. Your grammar is really off. I mean it was an easy read but some of the word structure was funny and I couldn’t understand most parts. How about I give you my corrections? Are you sure English is your first language? Also, grammarly is your best friend. Other than that it was amazing. I liked how Daphne and Thelma were lovers and how the whole plot was dystopian! It’s a new mix on Scooby and the gang! And props for having Scooby Doo as a robot with his brain inside! Happy Writing!

Looking at these two examples, just by adding the positive before the negative made the entire mood of the critique more positive. It wasn’t a complete bash on the person’s writing nor was it a kiss up. This made the artist think “Let me go back and fix things” or “Hey, good idea! Help me fix this!” vs. “The hell do they think they are?!” Don’t be a Holly Rorke, no one wants to be that.

3. Respect the Artist: Remember, the person behind the computer screen, on the blog, or at a con is a person. A person who deep down thinks their art is already bad. Ask ANY artist if they think their work is good. 90% will say “I’m good but I’m not the best” or “No! This is terrible! I could have done better”. When they’re feeling attacked or anything where they have to go on the defensive. Some of you might be saying “Well why are they going on the defensive if they already think their work is bad?” Well the same reason why most mothers defend their children, because they created, nurtured, and brought this thing to life. It may not be the best but it’s THEIRS, therefore you’re going to defend your creation. Most artists know their flaws and try their best to make sure everything is okay before posting. Some try to get the product out before they get bored with it and not post it at all. Some finally get motivation and what to start, finish, and post because they lose that motivation. So problems can happen. I’m sure they don’t mind it, just remember, be respectful. Also, if you’re blunt in real life, don’t think someone else is going to pick it up via computer. Bluntness, even in person, can be seen as a rude trait unless someone knows that person. Masking a mean or rude comment as “being blunt” is generally a cop out. And don’t call an artist “sensitive” if they call you out on it.

4.  Think about why you want give the critic: Unsolicited critics are ALWAYS rude. Because usually it’s someone who wants to feel important, wants to be a troll, or just want to be a general pain in the butt to get a reaction from the artist. If you’re a follower, active commenter, or a friend of the artists, your critiques will be well more received because you know how the artist works. You know their style. You know how they do things. Therefore if you want to help them, they’ll know you’re only trying to help. However don’t be a follower who backs up an unwarranted critique from someone unknown. It’ll make the artist feel as though you didn’t look at their work but just following someone else’s comments. Seriously just don’t do it. Many of you will probably say “Hey if you don’t want to be criticized, don’t put it on the internet” and that’s true, but at the same time, if the shoe was on the other foot, would you really like it if someone out of nowhere just come at you for no reason? You wouldn’t go up to a person you saw on the street and completely insult them and not expect retaliation so why do it online? You also wouldn’t disguise yourself as another person just continually harass that person more. Like this fine example: 

or: 

Don’t be like monstershouse aka Holly Rorke and create two accounts just to harass someone. Just don’t.

5.  Always know that all artists, writers, crafters, etc.: Appreciate all followers and fans: This is true because many of us like hearing “Good Job” once in awhile. We like getting positive feedback from something we created, whether big or small, as long as it’s something that shows we did a good job. Just because fans of the artist leave feedback doesn’t mean the artist is joining in as Holly Rorke called “a circle jerk”. Just because you’re jealous and envious of another artist, doesn’t mean you can go after them because of it. Sometimes, the friendly and encouraging comments are the only things artists have to keep going. And this really bothers me because dear Miss Holly Rorke or Holly Green is a freelance artist and I’m sure she knows how it would feel for someone to go after her art and things. But from what I have witnessed firsthand, she doesn’t care if another artist gets harmed, as long as it’s not her or if she’s the one who’s breeding the harassment and hate. It’s really sad when you think about it.  

6. Don’t like something? Don’t read it. Like everything else, if you don’t like something about someone’s writing, you don’t have to read it. There are MANY things on DA I don’t like. One artist in particular, I love her style but I HATE how she portrays a fandom. After awhile, I just stopped reading. I didn’t message her and criticize her comic, her portrayal or anything because there are MANY people who love it. Why mess up her day by sending her hate? Also, if an artist wants to try something new, send a little encouragement their way. Sometimes, everyone just needs a change of pace and doing the same thing over and over can became really boring and repetitive. Also with monsterhouse aka tattewdiepie aka justgowithit, her art wasn’t the best in my opinion. As much as I thought she was a not very nice human being, as a golden rule, I don’t speak ill of someone’s art. She was actually a professional artist and still thought it was okay to harass an artist she never knew. Don’t be like this person. If an artist tell you to not read their work if you don’t like it, drop it. Don’t call them out for any reason. It’ll just snowball into something worst and everyone will end up feeling worst than before. Also, don’t keep harassing the artist, especially after they told you in a respect manner to leave you alone Don’t leave comments like it: 

or 

Once again, I will admit, my hands weren’t clean but this is the level of crazy I’ve been dealing with. 

7. If you’re going to be a troll don’t post your email or any contact information about yourself. Yes, we live in a world where artists have their contact information posted for commissions and things and that's a great things, but like you harassed someone before blocking them and still continued to harass them, all gloves are off at this point. People like Troll Rorke believes that being a 30 something edge lord behind a computer screen is so cool and sticking it to the person for whatever reason. However, she did post her art and email expecting that it won’t come back to bite her later and it did. Which comes to my conclusion:

8.  Artists: DON’T go after trolls! Seriously, it won’t end well. Thanks to DAs new blocking system, just block and they won’t have access to your page anymore. Just glance at the comment and click block. Yes, you can warn your users but just ignore all drones of Troll Rorke and just ignore and block. To make things easier, get the premium account and nip things at the bud. Seriously never go after a troll. Yes, I know there’s a need and want for payback, revenge, anger fueling justice that you want from someone who for hours wouldn’t leave you alone but in the end, just BLOCK. Don’t email them and troll them back like I did, you’re only stooping to their level, and if you can, just shut down your blog for awhile recollect yourself, and try to move on. If you do choose to go after your troll, remind yourself, you’re only human and you are allowed to have these emotions. Trolling back doesn’t make you a bad person, if makes you a fed up person. But in the future, just remember: Be the bigger person and block.

So in conclusion: We are all human beings in this world and sadly, hate breeds hate. This entire incident has taught me to just block and ignore people like Holly Rorke because in the end, they will get their comeuppance, not today, not tomorrow but soon but in the end they will. As for me, I’m going to keep doing my best to grow as a writer and keep this ugly incident behind me. I also want to thank all of my followers who have stuck with me for this long! I love you all and I appreciate every single one of you! This incident really got me for the sole reason that I thought I was going to have to quit DA and leave you all. For many of you found me and gave me enough positive vibes to keep going. I’m forever in your debt!