#I see them reblogging bigger artists than me and it's a little discouraging in a way

[chaos-potat]

I feel like being mutuals means so much less than everyone makes it seem

You literally just follow each other, that's it

Most of my mutuals probably don't even remember who I am after I stopped drawing for them

Edit: the rant in the tags is more about being annoyed with people who tell me they like my art and follow me, but that's it, no art support at all

[rielzero]

Goodnight Fellow Abyss lurkers! I'm RielZero | About Me | 2024

You can call me Riel! I am a gay, neurodivergent, disabled artist from the netherlands. I am dutch, though I primarily communicate and write in english more comfortably. Since I am not a fulltime employed human and can't work, I spend my days creating art, playing videogames and reading comics. Branding and Handle My Preferred handle online is actually.. ActualEvil! However, this one seems to be currently taken by another user on this website. Since this is a somewhat uncommon occurrence, my back-up handle tends to be the name of my OC Persona, Riel Zero. If you want to make sure an active social is mine, please check out my Carrd for my socials.

I don't feel comfortable sharing too much personal detail online, however there are some things I have talked about and will point towards because I think its important.

Disabilities (and Ableism) I've talked in detail about my experience with Dissociative amnesia and how it affects my day-to-day life. I am mute and not capable of speaking due chronic pain. When I happen to mention my disabilities or autism, folks will often do the thing were they offer unsolicited advice because they do not understand invisible disabilities. My only request is that you do not pity me for being disabled, discredit my experiences, ask for diagnoses or try to diagnose me with new things. Amongst these, I also suffer from IBS, chronic fatigue and light sensitivity. Please do not make up assumptions about my life.

I'm too gay for this shit If It wasn't obvious from my little blog blurb, I'm a gay dude! Yes, alphabet maffia! In all seriousness I do not tolerate intolerance and support my diverse community. Please do not send Homophobia, Transphobia or Queerphobia of any sort my way. Fellow queers, I see you, and I love you.

This Blog is for fun The world is pretty tough and awful lately, I am not a ''content creator'' Whatever work I make is mostly made for myself by myself. I blog about nerdy things, I come online to escape real life. I'm by no means an activist or even educated enough to speak out on politics.

Can I ask you... Where I live? My IRL name? Face reveal? Where I went to school? What my family is like? If I have friends and foes? No. Privacy is pretty important to me. You might find nuggets here and there on my blog, but I avoid sharing the bigger picture. Please respect this.

Boundaries I am pretty chill and don't mind being interacted with or making friends, being moots is cool! But if you are trying to start a conversation with me and I don't respond please don't take it too personal, I am more socially awkward than you might think. As I'm an adult, I would rather not interact with underage people. If you are a minor I humbly discourage you from following my blog(s). I curate my experience and I recommend you do as well.

Please do not steal, trace, or repost my artwork. Reblogs are appreciated!

Can I ask you some art advice? I am self taught, but I'm not exactly the right guy to teach others. I do have a few tutorials (1, 2, 3) up on clipstudio tips, but that's about it. You are free to ask me about my work and thought process! But don't expect it to blow your mind.

When did you start drawing? I don't remember to be honest. Digitally I started when I was 13, haven't really put the pen down since.

Why do you use 3D in your main work? Long story short: Work smarter, not harder. I have more fun this way. What do you use for art? Digitally: XP Pen 22 Artist Pro pen display (1st generation) Traditionally: A lot of different brands, usually ohuhu markers. Generic typical ink pens for scribbly doodles.

Do you take commissions? Do you sell Adoptables? Can I support you in some way? When commissions are open, you can find them on my Ko-fi! I also sell adoptables on there. Being disabled means my access to work is limited, so is my access to luxury spending. Earnings go towards funding my hobbies. Alternatively, I have throne.

Do you do art trades? Art trades are reserved only for friends and mutuals. Please private message me if you are interested in art trading. I may not always be available for this.

What is your favorite media? What inspires you? Difficult to answer really- I LOVE DEADPOOL! I love marvel. Marvel movies, marvel comics- COMICS!! I love anime, I love manga- I also love webcomics, I am a comic book collector and I am slowly teaching myself to make comics. I love all things superhero and fantasy. Hell yeah VIDEOGAMES grindy RPGs, fallout 4, skyrim, spiderman, horizon zero dawn, conan exiles, god of war- BALDUR'S GATE 3!! hajhsjdjhfgg I can't pick a favorite. Hyper-fixations are loud demons and they come out at night. And during the day. And while I sleep. I have a love for a lot of things.

Do you have a favorite artist? Everytime I try to answer this my brain breaks, this would require a large separate post on its own. I love a lot of artists and artistic works. If you want a classic work though, It would be the nightwatch by Rembrandt van Rijn.

Do you have pets? Yes! GUINEA PIGS!! Here's a post and another about them.

My question isn't on here.. I have an askbox for that! I don't bite- Ok I might. Just a nibble. ...Just a little nibble.

Man Made Fire (Original Webcomic, Currently on Hiatus) Webtoon Canvas tapas io Tumblr Blog

''A spark, all it takes to start a fire. Hope, light, warmth. What about the underlying destruction that never ceases to threaten all that exists?

Is the spark the start of change, or the warning sign of the endless cycle itself?''

Man Made Fire is a comic series following the endless cycle of death, destruction and rebirth, witnessed by a Multiversal Traveller we may come to know as Schrodinger's Cat; AKA ''RielZero'' or ''The saviour.''

Baldur's Gate: Don't Say Inevitable (Fan Webcomic Series) Webtoon Canvas Tumblr Blog

''Locke is an unlucky, nobody Warlock with very little going well for him. Growing up he's known nearly nothing but pain, loss, hunger, and death. Failing his apprenticeship as a Necromancer, Locke contemplates his life before being snatched away by mind flayers. Only to wake up stranded with 4 concussions. He is quick to find fellow victims, and without much else to go on with, decides to put his survival skills to use to find a cure for the parasite, fast.''

Don't say inevitable is a fan comic series based on my playthrough of the videogame Baldur's Gate 3 and the surrounding Dungeons and Dragon's universe. It mostly follows the misadventures of Locke and his companions.

99% Percent of art that I post that isn't Baldur's gate 3 related are Original characters and personal creations. Check out my Toyhouse!

Originality has flaws Please do not compare my ocs to pre-existing characters, or to the ocs of others. Any coincidental similarities between people's characters has the tendency to be just that: Coincidence. People like and enjoy similar themes and tropes in characters. Even if they're rare. Please do not intentionally take my character work, stories and designs and claim them as yours. Do not kin my OCs. Do not roleplay with my OCs.

Character Ages Unless stated otherwise, all my characters are adults. My art style is not super realistic when it comes to facial features, petite and soft-looking characters may appear younger than they are. Please keep in mind that hollywood movies have made us age-blind.

Mature Themes My Ocs are usually not of the wholesome-only kind, and may have mature themes associated with their backstories.

Can I ask something about your oc(s)? You can ask me, or you can ask the oc directly! I might draw the response. If your question requires me to spoiler, I may not answer it. Some questions will linger in my inbox for a long time until I feel ready to answer them.

Can I draw you gift art/ Can I draw my oc interacting with your oc(s)? You can draw my ocs as is if you want to. Please do not alter their design in any way if you do. I appreciate gift art! I save all gift works I receive, and may upload some of it to their toyhouse galleries. (with credit, of course.) As for interactive art, If the character has not appeared in any of my comics, please ask first before you draw them with your oc.

Can I ship my oc with your oc? If we are not mutuals, please don't. Please keep in mind while my characters have diverse sexualities, a lot of them are gay. Some ocs are Aro/ace. I'm not really interested in M/F stuff. If we are moots/friends and you want to talk about RP or fun shipping headcanons with me, my pms are open!

Can I buy/offer you something for your oc(s)? No.

Do you Roleplay with your ocs? I do not participate in TTRPGS, but I have roleplayed with friends.

Can I write fanfiction about your oc(s)? At the moment I don't feel super comfortable with this. This might change in the future. If you are a friend or mutual and want to gift a fic, I'm not against it.

Youtube: Actual Evil and Actual Evil - Games Twitch: ActualEvil

Other blogs: @ohnoestherestadpoles @manmadefire @actuallyevilgay @rielzero-adoptables

If you see this, thank you so much for reading this long ass introduction/pinned post, I've taken several hours of a day to work on this and double check. Still, it might miss some information you're maybe looking for and I'm sorry for that.

I'm not the best at conveying tone, so if anything on here makes me sound like I'm full of myself.. Or any other negative character traits- Keep in mind that I'm merely human. I'm flesh and blood, I am not perfect by any means.

I'm just some guy on the internet.

[otonymous]

⚠️ PSA: Everybody Hurts (When People Repost)

Hello @thebestaqua32​,

Thank you very much for your Ask.  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the fact that you are reaching out to ask me for permission before actually doing so.  Unfortunately, I do NOT allow my work to be reposted by anyone other than myself, on any platform, whether it is Wattpad, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

What follows is by no means directed towards you, dear @thebestaqua32​, but I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about something many creators (writers and artists alike) have been dealing with for a while now, and me, myself, recently.

Over the course of the past 3-4 weeks, I have found instances of my work being reposted to no less than 3 different platforms, once with attribution in difficult to see fine print with no links back to the original source of my work, and twice with absolutely no credit at all.  As you can probably imagine, it was quite upsetting to me that pieces I’ve worked so incredibly hard on was being distributed in such a manner, and a lot of time and energy was expended in order to rectify the situation — time and energy that could’ve been otherwise used to create more content for my lovely readers and followers.

Unfortunately, reposting without permission from authors and artists is a common occurrence, and some may not realize the damage doing so can inflict.  I seek here to try to explain why reposting in this manner hurts everybody, not just the content creator.

Argument #1: 

“How can I possibly hurt someone by reposting their work?  The more likes and comments I generate on this post of mine just means I’m giving them free publicity!”

This is something I’ve heard many reposters say in defence of their actions, and while publicity is definitely a good thing for content creators, that is only the case if the people consuming a piece could be bothered to check its original source — that is, if exposure is a guarantee of user traffic being driven back to the creator’s website, social media accounts, etc.  And oftentimes, especially in this digital age of “see it and forget it” fast-consumption, most cannot be bothered to do so — the action that is one-step removed proves to be too much of an effort, even if it is merely clicking a link.

Please also consider this: many creators depend on commissions to make a living.  This avenue of revenue has only become more important in current times because we are in the midst of a pandemic.  People are literally relying on these funds to pay their rent and feed and support themselves and their families.  The ability of a creator to support themselves is thus dependent on the size of their fan base or their numbers of followers.  If people cannot be bothered to check the original source of a piece of writing or artwork, this essentially cuts down on their potential earnings.  You cannot commission a piece from someone or support them if you don’t know of their existence.

This is especially so if things are reposted without proper credit at all, as was the case with one of my works.  The worst part was that the stolen piece was taken from a project where the proceeds from all commissions were being donated to charity.  In doing so, the thousands of people who liked this post had no way of finding out about this charity project, which means that even if they would’ve been interested in donating, they would not have known how.  In essence, this translated to less money being raised to help those who really needed it in dire times.

So please, please, please do not think that the act of reposting hurts no one because that is simply not the case.  There needs to be a direct link between people that engage with the content and the creator, which is why reblogging on Tumblr is excellent (feel free to reblog any of my content here if you wish, dear @thebestaqua32​) and retweeting (without quotes!) on Twitter is great.  These are among the best ways to support us!

Argument #2: The act of reposting could potentially contribute to the decline of a fandom.

Imagine you spent hours, days or even weeks working on something — pouring your heart and soul into a piece — and when you finally shared it to the world, not much happened.  Maybe you got a few likes here or there, a couple of comments if you were very lucky.  How would you feel?  What conclusion would you draw?  Some might feel discouraged, others might stop creating altogether.

Imagine then, that same post receiving tons of comments and likes and legitimate shares because someone with a bigger following reposted it on their own social media account without your knowledge.  Imagine what you would’ve done with this information — the feeling that others loved and enjoyed your work and wanted to see more.  Perhaps it might’ve encouraged you to continue creating.

Case in point:

I wrote this letter.  And if I weren’t alerted to the existence of this post, I would’ve never known that thousands of others had liked my work.  Also, that’s 124 comments I didn’t get the chance to read.  Furthermore, this was a piece that was written for the charity project.  Imagine how many potential donors we might have received if people knew about its source.

Feedback is absolutely crucial to creators.  It enables us to discover what others did and did not like.  Not only can it serve as a compass of sorts to guide our artistic progress and work (and create pieces that can cater to the needs and desires of those who consume it), it is also a point of communication between members of a given fandom.  It builds community.  And without a strong sense of community, a fandom flounders and could eventually fizzle out.

Without content creators, there is very little for people to consume.  Please support all of us by not reposting our work, especially without our knowledge and/or permission.

With that being said, please accept a giant THANK YOU from me to you for reading till the very end.  It is very much appreciated. 🙏🏻💕

[bnha-kokoro-zine]

Tips for first-timers in Zines

Hello! I hope you don’t mind if I show your question like this @angel-of-darkness-217 ; this is something I would’ve loved to know when I started applying to zines myself, and that I’m sure it will help more people who are thinking of applying to this one.

There are many different types of zines out there; free, for charity, for profit, only for artists, focused on writers, focused on merch (like tarot projects), and with all kinds of contributors working in them. Every zine is unique, so their applications may vary, but there are a few essential things you always need to take into consideration if you want to be a contributor to one of them.

I will divide this answer into the different stages of a zine for a better organization.

Getting interested in a zine

When you first bump into a zine, all zines look like shiny little jewels you want to get your hands on asap. However, a lot of zines sadly fail through in their earliest stages, so you need to take into consideration a couple of things before thinking of applying:

Who’s the mod team? Try to find a list/post with some information about the mods of that project. See if they have prior experience in modding a project like this one. If they have experience, there are more chances that the project will follow through until the end. Be careful, though! Zines with heavily experienced mods can also fail for multiple reasons, and people without experience can also produce a really good product. It all depends on the next points.

Check their FAQ and guidelines. A properly structured FAQ including details of the project shows very well the organization of the team. A good FAQ makes a good project. I’d also advise you to read through the FAQ to make sure you’re really interested in the project.

Is the mod team communicative? Do they answer questions regularly? Are they clear in their answers? Are they polite? Do you think you’ll be comfortable working with them? Have they answered all the questions you’ve left in their ask box? (check if it has been answered before or that you’ve left them enough time, though) If you have answered with “No” to one or several of these questions, I’d rethink my wishes to apply to that project.

Remember, if a project doesn’t follow one or two of these points it doesn’t necessarily mean the project itself is bad. However, this is what you ideally need to find in a project like this.

Applications

Now it comes one of the most nerve-wracking parts of a zine: applications. You really want to get into this project, and you want your application to knock the mods off their feet. Applications may feel daunting, but they’re pretty straight-forward once you get the hang of them!

Follow the guidelines carefully. Mods usually leave some rules for applications, like the number of samples, the maximum word count, the theme, etc. Make sure you follow all these rules, or else you risk your app being disqualified.

Make sure your work is easily accessible. Make sure the mods will have no issues viewing your samples (for example, that the links you’re posting aren’t restricted only to your followers, that the link is still active until the end of the applications period, or that you’re sending the correct link). Mods can’t give you a score if they can’t see your work. 

Answer all the questions as clearly as possible. Make sure to read them all carefully before submitting your app. Don’t worry if you have to take a while to write a proper answer, or if you need to ask the mod team about clarifications for some questions -- Mods will gladly answer any doubt you have. 

Make sure your application fits the theme. Normally, it doesn’t matter much if your samples stray a bit from the theme of a zine, but some zines ask specifically for samples that fit a certain, general theme, like nature, love, fairy tales, etc. For zines like that (and essentially all zines if you want to get more attention from the mods), it is nice to make a bigger effort to find samples that fit the theme. A very important note! To all artists who also apply as a merch artist, please don’t apply with the same samples you used for your artist application. It shows a lack of care and it might hinder the mods’ opinion on you. Including actual designs for merch in your samples and/or portfolio helps a lot.

Offer pitches if they ask for them. Sometimes it’s not obligatory, but well-explained pitches really show how interested you’re in the zine. It will leave a good impression on the mods! Again, don’t worry if you need to take some days to think about them, and get feedback if you need it. Just make sure you submit it before apps close.

Have a good portfolio. Our dear Mod Dev has written this post about what makes a good portfolio. It’s a very interesting read, so I recommend you read it, guys!

Again, if you don’t follow one or two of these rules it won’t affect your application much. Mods are pretty flexible, and they can adapt to most situations without hindering their opinion on the application. However, it will look really good if you do follow them.

And remember the most important rule of them all:

Don’t be discouraged if you get rejected. Sometimes zines get too many applications and have very limited contributors spots. Mods see themselves in a situation where they have to choose between several really good applications and discuss for hours to see who they accept and who they reject. 

Being rejected doesn’t mean you’re bad; sometimes, someone else’s application fits the theme better, they explained themselves better, or they were just very lucky and were chosen over you. So, please, don’t let a rejection email let you down and keep trying! 

Most of the people who have participated in a zine sometime have been rejected heaps of time before. I have been rejected dozens of times before (at this point it’s part of the zine experience*). However, if you keep trying and learn from your mistakes, it’s only a matter of time until you get into one yourself.

You won’t get in if you don’t try.

*And please, remember not to bring someone else down if they have been accepted in the zine you wanted to get in, and never, never say they got accepted because of their popularity. Most mods score blindly or know they can’t be influenced by someone’s popularity, and that someone has already been rejected dozens of times before, just like you.

They have tried just as hard as you, and they were lucky enough to get in, so make sure to congratulate them.

Creation process

You’ve finally gotten into a zine, cool! However, there are still a few things you need to take into consideration while working in a zine.

Follow the zine guidelines. Be it dimensions, standardizations, limited word counts, etc., make sure you follow them. Every contributor has a limited space assigned to them in a zine, so make sure you can stay within those limits and ask for help if you need it.

Be communicative, ask questions and be patient. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to your team -- mods are there to organize the project, and they will gladly answer any question you may have. But remember to be patient; modding a zine is a hard job, and sometimes the team needs to discuss the answer to your question before they can give you an answer. Don’t worry; your answer will come eventually. Feel free to remind them if they haven’t answered you in a while, though; they may have forgotten about it!

Follow check-ins down to a T and in time. Check-ins are there to help you go through your workload seamlessly while letting the mods see what you’re creating. It still shows the mods that you’re still very interested in the zine - they won’t know if they have to find someone else for your position if you don’t answer. Don’t be afraid to ask for an extension if you need it.

If you’re a writer, find a beta. Some zines offer betas for their writers, but some don’t. However, that doesn’t mean your work doesn’t need to be anything less than the best (after all, it gets to be in a zine!). Try to find a beta to spot any mistakes you could’ve missed before submitting the final piece.

If you follow all these points, I’m sure the mod team will love you forever. 

Preorders/Shipping

All the final pieces have been submitted and the zine has been assembled, so now preorders start. You obviously want this project you’ve worked so hard on to succeed, and you can actually help to make that happen if you follow these little tips:

Reblog the Preorders open post in all your social media. And if you have social media where the mods don’t have accounts for, post the link yourself! You want to attract as many buyers as possible, and that will only happen if we spread the word.

Make sure you post a preview of your work if the mods ask you to. Previews help hesitant people to finally decide to buy a zine. If you like the concept of a zine but you don’t know if you really want to pay $X for it (remember, zines are usually quite expensive), some cute art and snippets can convince even the most stubborn of buyers!

Ask for updates. See how things are doing and help promote preorders and events like giveaways if necessary. You can also ask for photographic proof when the physical zines get to the mods in charge of shipping; who doesn’t love to see shiny, beautiful products all of you have worked so hard for?

Sometimes, zines don’t make enough money to provide their contributors with a free copy of the zine. It’s really sad, but it happens. And if you’re sad, believe me when I say that the mods are absolutely devastated; they’ve made their biggest effort to lower the expenses as much as possible, but math sometimes just laughs at them in return. If it comes to this, be supportive and, if you want a copy of the zine, try to find alternatives; see if you can buy the zine at production cost, or if you can pitch in with the shipping/fees expenses.

And that’s about it! If you follow these points, I’m sure your experience in the zine scene will be very enjoyable! If you have any questions about them, feel free to ask. Our ask box is always open :D

Lots of love,

Mod Lie

[smokedcapybara]

there’s something that’s really surreal to me about what I’ve seen of the online creative community, I’m a little worried about people getting upset at me for this but I feel like I should say it

I wasn’t a part of the online creative community at all until roughly two years ago - I mean, I did online role play and read fanfic but I never actually posted my art or stories anywhere

then I joined tumblr right around my high school graduation at 19 years old and proceeded to post absolutely nothing on it for six months

it took me another few months to start posting art and stories; and even then I didn’t know there was a community for that stuff on here, I just posted it with a convenient tag for finding later and hoped my followers enjoyed

even when I made my writing blog around the beginning of summer I hadn’t realized that there was any kind of cohesive writing community

because of all this I spent a long time thinking it was completely normal to get less than twenty notes on a piece of art or a story and that getting more was just something that happened if you were popular or your post somehow blew up

I’ve spent about two years happy any time I got over five notes on my art or writing, any reblog was something to be celebrated

(finally posting fanfic to ao3 was overwhelming - getting at least three comments each update and over a dozen kudos each day - I really didn’t know how to handle such a bigger response than I’d grown accustomed to)

throughout all that, every now and then, a post would come across my dash talking about how reblogs/comments are better for creators than likes/kudos and as long as they weren’t overly aggressive I’d always reblog them - mostly hoping maybe it’d convince a couple more followers to reblog my work

some of those posts were very relatable for me - little comics about the joy every reblog gets and how it can be discouraging to not get any notes at all on something you worked hard on - these cemented the idea that so little notes was normal and probably how it’d always been

others had a general idea I agreed with but with numbers that felt very off - talking about how discouraging it is to get 20, 50, or even 100 reblogs when you’re getting 5-10 times as many likes; the ratios were familiar but the numbers boggled me - sometimes even making me upset (“they’re complaining about only getting 100 reblogs when I’ve never even gotten 10”)

within the past few months there’s been a sudden influx on my dash of posts from artists and writers talking about how appreciation for creators online has been declining severely - often using the same large numbered reblog:like and comment:kudos ratios that’ve boggled me so much - and often saying that this is leading them and others to consider quitting

I’m not sure what my point is with this, I just felt like I should share the perspective of someone who never knew the ‘good times’ everyone else talks about and how confusing, upsetting, and terrifying it is to see all your ‘senior’ creators giving up over losing something you’ve never had

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi I was wondering if you could give some advice? A while ago I started a fic but I’ve completely lost enthusiasm for it now. It hasn’t received much attention either and it was just a kind of unnecessary sequel to another fic anyway. Is it worth deleting and forgetting it ever happened so I don’t feel guilty whenever I see it, or should I try and push through and continue writing? Thanks

Hi Nonny! *hugs*

Well, that’s completely up to you, to be honest. I fear this may not be what you want to hear, but I feel it’s best to be truthful and upfront with you.

Writing and art should be done because YOU LIKE DOING IT. If you’re doing it “for the views” and not doing stuff you’re enjoying writing, then you’re not going to have fun, and in turn you certainly don’t have the mindset to “be popular”; this isn’t meant harshly, this is simply if you try too hard to get popular, you will inevitably have it become “too much” or you’ll be too full of yourself and the crash and burn will be painful. Gradually easing into a fandom space, I’ve found, was always more fun and you meet more people along the way. But that’s just my opinion; I think I was lucky that my “popularity” or whatever it is was a gradual thing. I certainly do not have the mental health or mindset to cope with Sudden Big Nameness. It’s a LOT of work to maintain that Public Persona, certainly.

When I first joined Tumblr 7 (?) years ago it was because I wanted my art to be seen and get notoriety. I’ve been posting art online for over 15 years, and I am not considered popular at all, and when I first did it was because I wanted popularity and feedback and I wanted to be the artist everyone fawned over. 

It was a harsh, cruel reality when I realized that I can’t force people to like my stuff, despite my petty jealousy and thoughts and especially in fandom spaces like Tumblr where it’s all niche and the same people are constantly reblogged and recced. So, I just... stopped. I started drawing stuff _I_ wanted to draw, took con-crits where it was offered, and gained a small and loyal following of people who love my art, and in turn I LOVE drawing what I want, when I want. Same thing happened with my writing; I wrote meta because I WANTED to, and I enjoyed it, and it was an outlet for my need to psychoanalyze characters. It just happened to catch the eye of other like-minded people and here we are today.

Sadly, in fandom spaces, notoriety is all about luck and word-of-mouth / reblogs, and it is unfair that some people seem to just come into the fandom and are instantly popular – I GET THAT – but it is what it is, I’m afraid.

So, Nonny, you have to ask yourself: Am I writing this story for me, or because I want to be popular? If your answer is the latter, I think it might be best for you to take a step back from your writing, and look inside yourself and decide what is important to you. For instance, for me, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that my audience are a majority of smaller and newer blogs and a number of bigger blogs who all respect me FOR ME, not because I’m a brilliant writer (HAH) or artist (HAHAHAHHAHAH), and I feel my best self when I make OTHER PEOPLE feel better and happy. And if just 4 people like my story or art, then I get fulfilled in a way that I never would have thought I would be able to in the past. That, to me, is satisfying and it’s what keeps me going in this blue hellscape. When you let go of that need to be important, I’ve found my time here a lot more enjoyable.

@jbaillier wrote a REALLY GREAT post for new authors that I recommend you read. It pretty much addresses your exact concern, and gets down to the harsh truth. Jay has a lot of great advice in other asks for new authors, so I suggest you read a few of them; I think they will help you in a way that I really can’t since I haven’t written more than ficlets in a long LONG time.

Anyway, Nonny, I’m not here to discourage you, and I absolutely think you should continue on with your story – don’t delete it, please let us know which one it is! – but only do so when YOU feel like you want to continue your story. When I was a “prolific” Sonic fanfic author, I inevitably never finished my huge novella series because it felt like work by the end, and it wasn’t fun for me anymore. It’s one of my biggest regrets, but I still go back to it from time to time to tweak it and add more to it, and I hope to one day complete the final 4 stories to the series. But again, it’s because I didn’t enjoy it, which is why I stopped, but I know I had and probably still have a devoted following of people waiting for the rest of the series, 15-something years later.

It’s the little things, Nonny, or in this case, the smaller following, that should keep you happy and wanting to finish your story. Your devoted ones will understand if you need to take a break or leave fandom all together. Interests change, we change, and such is life. People are generally understanding of that.

I hope that you find a bit of comfort in my words despite their message, but know that we would all LOVE to know which fic is yours!

Love you Nonny!

[yukipri]

I never experienced art theft until one of my works became unexpectedly popular- since then, I've found my work reposted, redrawn, and used as reference for cosplays. It's been exhausting, both seeing it, and not knowing WHERE I should stand on the issue. I've let redraws slide (with credit), but I plan on not allowing future ones from occurring. How do you deal with art theft? How do you continue drawing without thinking about the disrespect thrown at you during bad/failed confrontations?

I am so, so incredibly sorry this happened to you, and empathize very strongly with you. Art theft SUCKS, few things can be quite as demotivating as a creator than having something you’ve worked your ass off on swiped by someone else. And unfortunately, given the current internet culture, if you continue as an online artist it’s inevitable that it’ll happen at one point or another.

Because sure, of course part of the reason why we create is because we want to, but a large part of the motivation for sharing it is to hopefully get some response that people like it, whether it be in the form of likes, reblogs, comments, asks, tags, or anything else. That is the tangible PROOF that our work touched someone, and for someone who put in zero effort and has no idea how we felt while creating to receive all of that instead of us…sucks.

I think where you stand on the issue is up to you, and it’s okay for it to change. YOU always have the right to decide how you’re comfortable with people sharing your art, and your feelings are valid regardless of how they change.

Ironically enough, I just had another art theft on Instagram (my Anniversary post) super recently, so I was like HAH when I got this orz

This rant got a bit long, so the rest beneath cut but here’s a rundown about how my feelings towards art theft have evolved over the years.

For example, over the years I’ve gotten much, MUCH stricter. My earliest online art, I just put it up, no url, oftentimes no signature, no warnings in the comments or my blog bio. Admittedly I was starting out and didn’t have much viewers anyway, but the point was I still had Trust at the time.

Then the art thefts began. I started adding my url to all my illustrations, even if it was just small in the corner, as this’d let people at least find my website. Most people are too lazy to type out a url though, and I’ve seen people asking “Who drew this??” on art theft comments EVEN WHEN THE URL IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE…

And then people started cropping my watermarks. I made my url bigger, and started adding an additional “DO NOT REPOST” to the image itself. I used to allow reposts with credits on platforms I’m not on, like fb, until I realized that people were then reposting from THOSE communities without credit and putting them into their videos and fics and I just…decided it wasn’t worth it.

I switched to no reposts PERIOD. I have lengthy disclaimers on all of my art that leads to an even lengthier FAQ post that, should people wish to look, leads to even an even more detailed post about WHY art theft sucks, as I’m explaining now.

(EDIT: ALSO, reduce the quality of the images you upload, and NEVER upload the full resolution, and try to keep you unmerged original files. This is for several reasons: no matter how much an art thief reposts your work, they’ll never have access to the higher resolution, and if they ever decide to try to print to sell for profit it’ll be shitty quality compared to anything you make with the original. ALSO, you having the maximum resolution with no watermarking with additional unmerged psd files will be proof that you are the true creator should you need to prove it, which I’ve heard is sometimes necessary to show when your art is stolen at say, an artist alley)

I also used to bother trying to talk to art reposters. I’d comment on the post, try to send messages, etc. It’s fucking exhausting, and while there are some exceptions, the VAST majority of art thiefs will feel attacked and immediately get rude and defensive. (the failed confrontations and disrespect you mentioned orz) If it’s a large community, they may even try to gang up on you. I’ve unfortunately experienced this most frequently in communities centered around other languages (mainly Spanish) because of different mainstream attitudes towards art reposting etiquette combined with a language barrier.

You will, and no doubt already have, encountered people who will argue with you, like the people I describe above. “You should be grateful for the bigger audience!” “We just want to appreciate your art, how can you be so horrible?” “We’re all fans together!” “This is fanart and doesn’t belong to you anyway!” Etc. etc. etc. It’s exhausting, it’s repetitive, it’s neverending, and you already felt awful before it even began and the stress just continues to build.

So I personally have just begun reporting people, if the service allows it. Use DMCA takedown request forms (and YES, even if it’s fanart it’s still yours if you drew it). This is stressful too because it sends your real name + info to the reposter (and wow I clearly can’t trust these people to begin with, why would I want them to have that???) but most sites (facebook, instagram, certainly tumblr, twitter) are very efficient and responsive, and in the end the relief of receiving that email that the art has been taken down is worth it. Especially with facebook, they also send a scary official warning email to the reposters which I sincerely hope will help educate them and discourage future art thefts.

I try to avoid posting public urls because yes I’m aware how mob mentality Tumblr can get, but sometimes it’s just too much. There’s no convenient form of getting my content removed (perhaps bc it’s in a compilation with a ton of other content), or for some reason my attempts to communicate have failed. In those times I have occasionally asked my followers to help, with a reminder to PLEASE always be polite and respectful, regardless of the offense. Y’all have been amazing, and this has saved me many nights of crying in the past.

I will sometimes also write lengthy posts (like this one!) to help educate. Because I do feel that art theft will continue so long as people don’t understand what it does to artists, and it’s up to the community as a whole to make that change, which also depends heavily on the consumers not just creators. A lot of art theft really isn’t intentionally meant to harm, but IS super ignorant.

But in the end, all I’ve ranted about so far is how I’ve dealt with actually removing/dealing with the shit. But the emotional pain, it builds. Sometimes, when it’s too frequent and the stolen art gets way more attention than my original that I worked my ass off on that basically flunked on my own platforms, I feel a bit of me break.

And in the end, it’s up to you what that threshold is, where posting art and feeling good about it is overwhelmed by the pain, fear, and anxiety of art theft. I’ve crossed my own threshold too many times, and once had to take an art hiatus because of it (fandom was BH6). This lead to a break in my productivity and motivation and my eventual complete departure form the fandom. I’ve seen many other artists just stop posting art entirely or moving everything to private. It’s terrible, but my feelings are with these artists, and I feel so, so sorry that they were hurt so much to the extent they had to do this.

With my current fandom and followers, I feel that regardless of how niche an audience my content tends to be geared for, I have a community that is really satisfying for me to create for, one that is responsive to me and gives me tons of feedback. This is the number one reason why i continue to feel motivated to post a ton of online content despite the risks.

The takeaway form this long meandering post: Posting online is a hobby, it’s for fun, and I don’t make any money off my public audience (unless they come to Patreon! LOL!), so I’m a firm believer that once the anxiety + misery starts outweighing anything positive you personally may get from sharing online, which for me heavily depends on my audience and their responsiveness, there’s no reason to subject yourself to that anymore and you are in no way obligated to stay. There are various methods to more efficiently get rid of art thefts without dealing with them in person which is stressful AF, and also ways of marking up your content in ways that may look less aesthetically pleasing, but will hopefully discourage art thefts, and at the very least give them very little leg to stand on should they do it anyway. How forgiving you are in art thefts also depends on you, but the more forgiving you are, the more it can get away from you. And in the end, YOU as a human are more important than any complaints about art looking less pleasing or the feelings of art thefts who don’t get to do what they want with YOUR hard work.

Sorry this was so disjointed and literally just me spewing at you, but I hope some of it was helpful ^ ^; Please let me know if I can give you any other advice, and I’m sorry again that you have to deal with this ;_;

(and to respond to your second ask, I do try to respond to most of my asks, but sometimes it takes a while (sometimes even months orz), especially if it’s one that requires a lengthy detailed answer like this one ^ ^; thank you for your patience!)