#i really recommend any of you artists to do fanarts of people's designs / ocs | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

natsmagi · 10 months ago

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i was typing this in the notes to an ask but it gogt waaaay too long lol sorry. prefacing it with you know i love your artwork & i have nothing against what you choose to draw. also possibly worded weird cus i didnt write it in the sense of talking only to you alone

there is certainly this conflict between artists as random individuals and artists as a collective when it comes to how to approach this issue… as a hobbyist you can draw whatever you like but also when you have trends like a lack of fatness thats going to be disheartening too. i think the answer is getting more people into making art (& like general societal change of course since its an issue baked into bigotry.)

because as much as i agree with the sentiment of "there is significant under representation of fat women" (or characters in general) at the same time fandom is a hobby space and i dislike the notion of badgering individual artists to draw any particular thing especially when the source material does not have that thing. if you are looking for artwork of fat women thats great but i would not ever recommend something like enstars that has 1. no fat characters and 2. no women, barring a few exceptions. i think expecting to find fanart of fat women from a source entirely composed of thin men is unrealistic, even with the relative popularity of femstars.

plus there are other complications such as the typical modern fandom f/f scene sometimes being very strict and even vicious at times with their standards of what's enough diversity or what content is appropriate. ive heard a lot of anecdotes about people who WERE contributing to these things but whom were still harassed or got threats from other users over it not being good enough, and that's just not conducive to creating the environment or diversity you want. nobody is going to want to be in a fandom space where they have to walk on eggshells all the time. and i bring this up because of how you were clearly harassed by randos. accusing you of misogyny or shaming other womens' bodies as being "unrealistic" is not the way to go

the only reasonable solution i can think of to this is, again, to just encourage more artists to start drawing in the first place, or even better start contributing yourself. individuals should have the freedom to draw what they like without getting flamed for it AND people should be able to see themselves represented in artwork. i would like to see some more fat characters too, this is definitely something ive thought about before myself

(personally all the fat people i draw are ocs or portraits of people i know that i dont want to post online but maybe if i get some inspiration i will draw the long-sought chubby mugi myself. i am not super interested in femstars though so whether or not itd actually be fem mugi is up in the air. but all the talking here about this topic has had me thinking about following my own advice and putting what i want to see into the world.)

OUGHH THESE ARE ALL GOOD POINTS!! and i agree! the main thing we should be doing is ENCOURAGING people to add more diversity, not harassing them into it! people who only draw for fun arent really obligated to draw anything outside of their comfort zone, which again is why i think its better to simply uplift the idea of trying out new things and new appearances that you dont often draw

theres also SO MUCH room for more femstars artists too! and like ive said before if you wanna see something done right you gotta do it yourself. and i kind of like that. i like that everyone gets to craft their own little femstars variant of the enstars cast, and you can make them look however you want! and honestly? you SHOULD! seeing personal touches to designs always brings me joy, so even if you dont feel very confident in your art, if you have a specific vision for a character that you want brought to life please go ahead and draw it!! (or if you really dont want to you can always commission someone)

i also wanna highlight one of ur last points too bc yea. its unfortunate but often times whenever i see someone try adding diversity to their art for the first time they end up getting flamed because its not an accurate depiction of what they were trying to represent. and that really sucks! obviously we should strive to have accurate representation, but if its an artist that hasnt tried their hand on it before, ESPECIALLY a beginner artist, we shouldnt flame them for it. rather we should educate them on what went wrong and how they can improve for the future. these are people who actually WANT and are TRYING to add diversity to their art, but because in animanga circles theres a lack of education on how to draw more diverse features of really any kind. which is why trying to educate is far better than shaming. because if you shame these artists theyre gonna be too scared to try again, giving us less diversity once more

so yes basically what im saying is i want us all to encourage diversity and to help each other out by sharing resources and tips when it comes to drawing it!! one person is Obviously not gonna be able to do every single thing, which is why i want more people to pick up the pen and bring life to their visions!! also i really want more femstars food pelase pick up the pen i am a starved orphan and only femstars yuri can satiate me!!!!!!!!!

#long post #<--felt warranted KAHJSDFK #but genuinely though i want diversity to be requested and desired #and i want it to be done so in a positive and respectful manner towards hobbyists #if we're talking megacorps u can shittalk them all u want and send all the angry emails in the world #but for artists on the internet who are only here to have fun its important to remember to be kind and encouraging!#bc asking them for rep in a hostile manner is only gonna create negative associations #which. would be counterproductive #diversity is a wonderful thing so please do not make people resent it by being rude!!!!#that is not what we should strive for!!!!#ask

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thegoodomensdumpster · 5 years ago

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I would like to officially start my contributions to the Good Omens Celebration with an appreciation post for the wonderful fanartists and their gorgeous designs! Because beyond the original GO material, the content creators among us have brought me much joy and deserve to be celebrated as well. This fandom is full of skilled and creative people ! Don’t hesitate to click on the pics and enlarge them, I wrote little comments below ;) These fanarts of fanarts gallery were a lot of fun to make. I felt like I was collecting Panini cards making them lol. All these artists are fairly well known, but I hope if you are discovering their work now that you’ll take a look at their blogs and the rest of their art. Here are the links to their Tumblrs! @10yrsyart @tio-trile @petimetrek @gayforgoodomens @moeyandchandon @two-nipples-maybe-more @writingelizabeth @smoosie

#goc2020 #goc #good omens celebration #good omens #fanart #my stuff #fandom #it genuinely was so much fun to do this guys #i really recommend any of you artists to do fanarts of people's designs / ocs #if you ever need a little drawing exercise

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rennybu · 3 years ago

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hey man, so i've been wanting to start taking art commissions, but i have no clue where to start or how to advertise for myself or anything like that. do u got any tips u can lend 2 a newbie?

HMM!!! A COMPLEX ASK i will do my best to keep my answer concise! my first disclaimer is that my PayPal account is a business account, and I don't know how a personal account is different or if it lacks any of the features! my second disclaimer is that this stuff is hard and i'm constantly adjusting my own methods around organization and pricing! READ ON

For starting out, it's good if you have a fairly active following (amount of followers doesn't really matter, as long as a handful of folks are willing to engage with your posts and share them) - you can bring up your interest in taking on commissions, and see what the immediate interest is in your circle, and plan from there.

I got a lot of my following from DA fanart, and that helped when I first started. Most of my commissions starting out were portraits of Dragon Age OCs!! So it can be helpful for the advertising/awareness side of things if you have a small niche to fill!

For your first time taking commissions I would recommend sticking to what is most comfortable for you to draw. A limited selection (for example, only portraits with some colour or line options) is less overwhelming for someone to look at and choose from, and it helps to manage your own expectations of the workload. Put an emphasis on fun style stuff or techniques you enjoy using!!

Offer what you know you can reasonably do and feel proud of! And don't be shy charging more for things like backgrounds or things outside of your comfort zone, if a request for one comes up.

PLEASE go wild with all the relevant tags when you post your information! Commissions, commission info, character commissions, character art, art commissions, fantasy, portrait, fullbody, GO NUTS! its helpful to cover everything in the post if you're worried about your reach!

as well, you can link your commission information in the captions of your other art posts. It makes it a bit more accessible and obvious that you're open for commission work! AND DONT BE SHY TO SELF-REBLOG!! and if you have multiple social media accounts, share you information on all the ones you're active on.

it also helps to spend some time making your information and examples look neat. I Am Not A Graphic Designer so this part takes me hours/days because I'm picky, but I try to keep in mind things like legibility and eye strain and lay out my information in as accessible a way as possible. Also its fun to play with fonts

I still struggle with undercharging on my work, so I think a good way to consider your pricing is to think of what you would be willing to pay someone else for a similar amount of work. Nothing should be single digits. On your invoices, allow the option for customers to tip you. If you're just starting out and your prices are low out of self consciousness or uncertainty, someone who's excited to work with you or who enjoys your style may surprise you with a very generous tip!!! Tips in the past have helped me reevaluate my rates!! If you're a commissioner who regularly tips I'm kissing you on the forehead so so sweetly

PayPal does take a % and fee on every invoice BUT for archiving and organization its great. I would recommend looking up PayPal invoice tutorials for digital artists, and writing up a simple Terms of Service you can post with your commission info and attach to your invoices. (The TOS basically serves to say what people can or can't do with the art they buy from you, whether or not you do refunds, what the turnaround time is per commission, etc. the Professional Stuff)

um. umm other than that. Try out spreadsheets or other types of organization to keep track of contact information, $ amount, type of commission, etc!!! it's nice to be able to look back at what you've done in a more data-oriented way than just the images alone!

#asks #GOD SPEED YOU ANON

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thechekhov · 6 years ago

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how would you recommend an artist make themselves better known on tumblr and in general? ive been drawing and painting almost my whole life but its hard to get people to notice me, any advice? thank you, you're my fave artist

Thank you so much! That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside…

As for your questions… hmm… it’s for sure a good one.

I’m going to get a bit… strategical on that one. Hope you don’t mind this approach.

Tumblr and real life are definitely alike in a lot of aspects, while in others they’re polar opposites. For the sake of keeping things neatly shelved, I’m going to focus on tumblr in this post.

＊*☆HOW TO GET ART NOTICED ON TUMBLR☆*＊

by chekhov

1. We have to understand how the tumblr sharing system works.

I know this sounds a bit too obvious. I mean, we all know HOW. It’s by reblogging!

I know that there’s a BIG opinion on tumblr that we should share and reblog art as much as possible to help artists get noticed. And that’s TRUE. It’s absolutely correct.

One thing I don’t agree with on that front is the guilt-tripping factor of it all. Like somehow people are responsible for the downfall of less popular artists because they didn’t reblog stuff enough. People are really quick to point at their followers and say “I GOT 100 OF Y’ALL HERE AND ONLY 3 ARE REBLOGGING ANYTHING”.

I get it. It’s frustrating!

But the fact of the matter is, you can’t force people to reblog stuff.

Instead, I recommend we harvest the power of the sharing we already have. We have to be smart about this. What I’m going to go into is a bit less concrete. We have to think about the PEOPLE who are doing the reblogging.

Artists aren’t the ONLY ones with motivations for getting their stuff seen. And because they create media they are, for lack of a better word… a vendor! The buck STARTS with them, but it doesn’t stop with them.

They have to also think about what the people are going to do with their product once it’s reblogged. Once someone buys from the vendor, they don’t just keep it forever. They distribute it to the others. And sometimes, those others distribute it again. We have to think about the bigger picture, and think about how FAR your art has the potential to go!

So, to get started we need to know… WHO are the ones buying from the vendor… and why?

What kind of rebloggers ARE there?

I’m going to give my own opinion here, and feel free to disagree. But the 3 biggest rebloggers most important to the artist are these:

1. The Pleaser

Sounds sexy, right? In fact, the pleaser comes in many different forms. But essentially their goal is the same - they reblog stuff like aesthetic posts, and other pleasing things. They themselves tend to like a lot of stuff and reblog mostly beautiful photos, nice designs, and lots of fanart of whatever they’re into at the time. Comics and story-like posts are good here (although if they’re too long, people tend to lose interest.)

How to get reblogged by a Pleaser?

Appeal to their fandom, their interest, and make something that moves them. Pleasers are most active around the time when the new episode of their favorite show comes out, or when their favorite holiday comes around. Drawing fanart during its peak popularity will usually catch a Pleasers’ attention, as will drawing aesthetic Halloween posts around, well, Halloween.

2. The Teaser

The Teaser is the class clown and the shitposter, and they reblog memes and jokes voraciously. In the Teaser’s audience are other teasers - and they also tend to be very generous rebloggers. The fact of the matter is - memes sell reblogs faster than any aesthetic art will. We’re social creatures and getting a laugh out of our followers is worth a LOT of fake internet points.

How do I get reblogged by the Teaser?

Memes. I mean, you knew this was coming, right? During the height of some new tumblr joke, people usually welcome any unusual spin, or any funny variation of an old joke.

My meme redraws have consistently been popular and have ‘boomed’ very quickly. For example, this redraw of sapphire from Steven Universe doing ‘the scroll of truth’ jumped to 5k almost within a day.

Many people peek at my page ‘for the lols’ but end up staying for the art, or because there’s another thing I post they’re interested in. Either way, memes are a gateway drug… to your blog.

3. The Librarian

The Librarian is a bit more rare, but they’re still important, because they tend to reblog a lot. They’re a bit unusual in the sense that they do this for themselves, instead of for an audience. The blog of the librarian is mostly just a replacement for bookmarking interesting stuff. These people tend to reblog tutorials, reference posts, and things they want to read later on.

How to get reblogged by a Librarian?

Make things that people want to keep around. Charts, references, tutorials. Chances are, the librarian will snag it up eventually.

Of course, these 3 aren’t the ONLY type of tumblr blogger. In fact, many of them are a mix of these 3. But the main point is…

2. What do most of these (and other) people on tumblr have in common?

Just like you, many people (although not all) want to get their stuff SEEN. You might be creating the original product, but they choose whether or not to distribute it to their audience.

Everyone is playing the same game, no matter which part of the chain they’re on.

You, as an artist, have the biggest responsibility to think about this long-term. Not only 1 reblog down the line.

For example, let’s return to one of my meme-posts that I did about wrist pain (carpal tunnel). When I made this, I had a vague idea of who would consume it. Obviously… other artists. But the reason that this got so popular? Is not only because fellow artists follow me. It’s because the artists that follow me also have followers who are also, conveniently, artists. That’s why despite the fact that many people reblogged the post directly from me - even MORE of them reblogged it from @sergle (shoutout to sergle! u rock) who is also a popular artist and also has an audience who were prone to want to reblog the post.

See that orange dot? That’s me. See that bigger blue dot? That’s sergle.

In a way, this is a game of chance. Will something you reblog be seen by someone with a large enough audience to keep it going? The thing is, we don’t know until it happens. And oftentime, the only way to achieve this is to keep trying. Stubbornly.

But you can’t just headbutt the wall in the same place and hope it eventually crumbles. You have to look for a door.

3. So what’s the door?

Take a look at your art. Is it consumable BEYOND the surface level of your followers?

Sometimes people get discouraged because their fanart is way more popular than their original art. Although I share their frustration, there’s a good reason for this, and your followers aren’t to blame.

The thing is, fanart is consumable at deep reblog levels. If you post fanart, there’s a good chance that even 3-4 reblogs down the line, there’s going to be a person who sees it and thinks ‘hey, I know Steven Universe. My followers know Steven Universe. I’ll reblog this!’ Fandoms are efficient because they already have a lot of context for the consumption of the art. They have a story (humans love stories), they’re invested in it, they’re interested in it, and there’s a good chance that sharing more stuff about it will get them more interaction with their mutuals, even if they’re not consciously thinking about all this as they reblog.

Unfortunately, that’s just not true for your original art. Many of us have beautiful, wonderful stories - but they’re not available to a wide audience. They’re not easily consumed, they’re not easily accessed (in comparison to being on netflix, for example). If you post a picture of your OC - maybe your immediate pool of followers who know that OC will reblog it. But their own followers who aren’t directly following you will not have any connection, emotional or otherwise, to that character. They simply don’t have a reason to care, and they don’t have any means to. Even if they visit your blog - will it be easy to find similar content? Have you got your links available on desktop AND mobile? Is it easy to find the beginning of your story? Is it free of mistakes and easy to read?

Large companies that make shows or comics funnel tons of money into making their media consumable. There’s a LOT of effort that goes into advertising, too. You, as an independent artist, simply don’t have that kind of manpower. That’s not your fault - but it’s also not your followers’ fault. Why are they supposed to reblog things that their own followers will never understand and connect with?

4. Back to square one: how do I get noticed?

I’m gonna keep this short and sweet because I feel like I already took up a lot of your time. After everything I’ve said, hopefully this will make sense:

Make content that has a connection to your audience somehow. Make it relatable to their life. Make it relatable to what’s currently going on. Make it worth their while to look at it.

Make content that’s easy to understand. Super detailed drawings, with nothing to focus on are difficult to digest. Simpler, sharper drawings that someone can understand within 3 seconds of looking at it are the most digestible of all. This isn’t a museum.

If you’re creating content that goes with a story, MAKE THE STORY. I know it’s tempting to create just a whole bunch of character sketch sheets and leave it at that, but you can’t complain about not getting an audience when your audience doesn’t have anything to consume in the first place.

Make the story AVAILABLE. Organize your tags. Make sure those tags are easily accessible. People will never like 100% of your art, so many it easy for them to find what they WILL like.

Don’t be afraid of fanart. Fanart gets you connected with people who like stories and content similar to yours.

Don’t be afraid to follow and reblog people that you want to connect with. Don’t be afraid to make them stuff and @ them.

Post your stuff to a LOT of places! Your audience is somewhere out there - probably not only on tumblr. You have to spread yourself thin sometimes, but make sure the account can all lead back to your main hub.

And last but not least…

Critically re-evaluate your art at least once a year. (I’m personally working on this.) Just because you’ve been drawing for years, and just because your art might be incredible doesn’t mean it’s appealing to people. Sounds weird, right? But think about it - there’s TONS of people who are not that amazing at anatomy, or coloring… but they still have a huge audience, and people connect with their art. A lot of times, it’s because their art is straightforward and easy to read/understand.

Ask a friend to critique your art. Ask them if they understand your work, or if it’s difficult to make out. Ask them what your work inspires in them. Ask them what they DO like about your work - and exaggerate that!

There’s a LOT that goes into art… no matter it’s a whole industry! Doing it all on your own is HARD and it’s a bit unthinkable how much artists have to do to compete with industries. But it’s not impossible, and it’s definitely worth it. :)

Hope I didn’t bore any of y’all who made it down this far.

Thanks!

#reblogging #art #artists on tumblr #arting #Anonymous #long post

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howtobeaconartist · 6 years ago

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Hi me and a friend were planing to try our hand at doing a convention together and table to save money. Is there generally any good way to design fandom merch that is popular. (not sure if i am explaining this well but sometimes prints and merch made for cons always have this certain looks to them)

Nattosoup: I’m really not a fan of creating fandom merch, unless I’m super into the fandom in particular.

My recommendation is: Make fanart that reflects what you enjoy, not what is popular at the moment. If you follow your heart, you will build an audience that will follow you.

My other recommendation is that you focus on creating original things- stuff no other artist is offering. Design and create your own OC’s, find a unique artistic voice that doesn’t look like every other artist in the alley, and do your best to stand out as an individual. As competition to even get tables at conventions increases, your chances to table will improve if you’re offering something unique.Kiriska and myself have both focused on creating our own paths as convention artists. Kiri makes gorgeous animal and botanical inspired artwork, and has a gorgeous unique artstyle that is distinctive in any alley. I focus on making comics and zines, creating traditional watercolor originals that are available for purchase. Every large piece is create by hand, with a lot of care and love. Both of us fill commissions in a distinct style, and I think both of us really enjoy creating art that makes others happy. If I had focused on mass producing fanart, I would have quit the convention game years ago, because I’m not happy as a mass production artist, I’m happy as a comic artist reaching out to her audience, and interacting with those who enjoy my work.

—

Kiriska: If you think that there is a “certain look” con merch has, then you are seeing a visual trend.

If you want to mimic an idea, then you have to break it down to its core components. What are the common themes you’re seeing across the board? Chibis? Flowers? Text ribbon banners? Certain colors? Certain palettes? Break it down, and then reconstruct it in a way that’s unique to you. This is usually what artists mean by “stealing.”

Chasing popularity for popularity’s sake has many detriments, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being aware of visual styles or techniques that resonate with an audience or particular market.

Design concepts are independent of fandom. If you choose to apply them to fandom, cool, but you aren’t limited to that. For example, flowers and text ribbons are popular across basically all fandoms and genres; they are common themes in art nouveau, and have been used for decades in tattoo work, advertisements, etc. I have used them. A million people have used them. And they still work, despite that.

So, “is there generally any good way to design ... merch?” Study what works for others and make it your own.

—

Was this post helpful to you? Consider patronizing or following HTBACA’s contributors. It takes time and effort to write these answers, so we appreciate your support!

#artist alley #merchandise #design #fanart

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sheepydrawrs · 6 years ago

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YOU HEARD RIGHT. I’M TAKING COMMISSIONS. IT’S A MIRACLE. I’ve been wary to take commissions as in the past juggling a long list and a 40~50+ hour work week wasn’t a possibility. But at this point in my employment situation when it seems even the slightest misstep is treated as an offense against god and country, I have to make it work. So read on for terms, conditions, slots, and info! It’s a bit of a read but I’m attempting to put terms in place to protect both me and you as a possible future client. Please read carefully!

So for prices: These are set rates, I have a hard limit of two characters per illustration and I’m not offering backgrounds at this time. These are all priced as fullbody illustrations. Prices will only increase when multiple additions are asked for (such as extra outfits, etc.) These prices are subject to change as my situation fluctuates (An increase will happen if I ever have to 100% rely on this as my income), but will never affect any active commission. Please send all inquires to ssmith.comms @ gmail . com

Options!:

Tattoo Design: I have designed my own tattoos and I’ve provided an example of both the arm tat I have on my body (the snake) that my own artist worked with to adjust, and the clean linework, ready for transfer, I intend to get. My designs all include blackwork or detailed linework and if color is your thing I would recommend taking it to your artist to work on or finding a different person. I am not a strong enough colorist to feel comfortable taking them. If you want rough color blocking for an artist to work with I can do that to better define shapes, but I can’t do complete tattoo-ready colors.

Sketches/Lines: Details are my thing. Want a character illustration? You got it. I do prefer to work with visual references, even if it’s just a pinterest board for character inspiration/design details. If you have a 100% creature character I would please ask for ideas on how a character moves or what real-world animals would be best to pull anatomical reference from. (A big magical cat will look different if based on a cheetah compared to a tiger)

Design Sheet: Got a character you want outfits for? You got it. This isn’t a full front/back and portrait sort of thing but “Outfit Set Designs” didn’t fit very well on my template. Each design sheet will have 2 outfit designs. lined and colored, and the paper-doll base I make for it. Want more than one? +5$ for each extra outfit.

D&D Sets: A fullbody lineart with flat colors of your D&D/TTRPG character for a character sheet, and 2 circle OR square (your choice) icons to use for your tabletop needs. Want one default and one injured? A special masquerade second icon? One happy, one sad? You got it. +3$ for each extra icon. +7

A note on what I will and won’t do: I won’t do nsfw content that includes nudity, gore, etc, but I will do slight stuff, like scantily clad fantasy armor. I won’t do commissions that’re 100% fanart, meaning I won’t just draw you Naruto. I will however draw your OC ninja holding hands with Naruto.

These commissions, unless agreed upon before hand, are meant for personal use only and may not be used for production or profit. If the commission is going to be used as an asset for a monetized production I must be notified before hand and agree to separate terms in regards to credit and possible changes to pricing.

All payment will be made through paypal. I will work up a draft and once that is sent (it will be watermarked) and agreed on I will then send an invoice. I don’t like holding onto money for projects I have not started and I want to protect any prospective clients who may be in a slot and end up waiting an unsual amount of time as my workload/life situation changes with nothing, so please do not pay in advance. Payments sent without an invoice ahead of schedule without a draft forfeit the right to approve the draft before finals are started. Clients who do not receive art within 90 days of payment date and can provide proof are eligible for a complete refund of purchase price. (Those that pay ahead of time without invoice forfeit this refund clause.)

I reserve the right to decline a commission I do not feel comfortable taking or ones I know I will do poorly on. I reserve the right to cancel a commission outright if a client decides to attempt to force blocked content into the piece that’s already been accepted.

Complaining about my prices will not make me change them. Too much? Find a different artist. Too little? Tip me.

SLOTS!

Slots are taken in a rolling set of two. I do not have a waiting list at present but if it becomes something people really want I’ll look into what’s believable for me to handle.

Slot One: @kc5rings

Slot Two: Taken!

#commissions #it's a bloody miracle

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38sr · 6 years ago

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i love your art style so much! i completely forgot that i’d followed you, but i saw once of your klance comics on my dash and thoughts it was sooo good! 😋 anyway i’ve been going through your blog all morning and it’s just so amazing and your art style is so cute! i would literally buy comic books from you! anyway, i do traditional art a lot and haven’t really gone into digital, but i kinda really want to nowadays.. any advice for just starting out? (tablet suggestions, marketing, etc.) 😊

Hello and thank you so much for the compliment! It’s going to be a while since a lot of planning, writing and drawing needs to be done before I can print the comics, but I’m happy to hear that you would buy. ^^

Advice about starting digital drawing….there’s so much this post could become a novel! But I guess I’ll start from the main thing: software and tablets.

Software

Okay, so, there are a lot of different programs for digital drawing and it might take a while before you find the one that works for you. Most artists that I know of either use Photoshop, SAI, CSP, or Procreate. As of now and for the last 3 years, I’ve been using Clip Studio Paint (CSP for short) for both my digital illustrations and animation. CSP is kind of like…a Mac version of SAI if that make sense? There’s so much to the program but it’s not as daunting as Photoshop. Also! Right now, they’re having a Black Friday Sale, so, the program cost only $25 for the whole weekend. It’s far more affordable than Photoshop and you can do the exact same stuff without having to take out a loan or something haha. Also, Photoshop isn’t and was never meant for digital drawing since it is originally a photo manipulation program. You can still use it for digital drawing if that what suits your tastes, but SAI and CSP are specifically made for digital drawing so the interface, brushes, and all that stuff were made and designed for the digital drawing. However, SAI is only for PC users. If you’re a Mac user (like me), I would recommend CSP. But if you don’t have money, there are free programs as well! Medibang and Krita are free drawing programs and are just as good (and I would argue good dupes) for SAI and CSP. I would suggest trying out the free programs before making a purchase for CSP, SAI or Photoshop though. Going from traditional to digital is an odd feeling so it’d be such a waste if you spent money and found out that digital drawing isn’t for you, ya know?

Tablets

Alright! So, here’s the thing about tablets: buying the most expensive one isn’t always the right choice. There are plenty of tablets that are far more affordable than a Cintiq. Also, you’re only starting out so I would never advise to go out and buy a $1000+ tablet when you don’t really know if you like digital drawing yet. My first tablet was a Bamboo tablet by Wacom and it was only $100 (at that time). I would suggest buying a small tablet like the Wacom Intuos Small or a Huion since their prices normally are under $100. There are some mid range ones ($200-$300) like the Intuos Pro and XP-PEN that perform just as well as a Cintiq but I wouldn’t buy those unless you were really starting to think about working as a digital artist.

For digital artists, tablets are an investment. I currently own a Cintiq 13HD and iPad Pro but one is for personal use (iPad) and one is for work (Cintiq). Since I mainly do computer animation and digital illustration as my job, I needed to get a tablet that performed better than my small Bamboo Intuos. Also, I needed one in order to improve my workflow and efficiency. So, don’t go out and buy a Cintiq. Try out a smaller tablet. Or even better, if you have any friends who have drawing tablets, ask them if you can try them out and see if you like the feel of it.

Tips/Advice for Digital Drawing

Okay so I’m just list off certain things I’ve learned along the way that I wish I knew when I first started digital drawing haha.

1. Take the time to learn your drawing program. Learn the interface, the hot-keys, shortcuts, tools and customize it to your liking for optimal efficiency.

2. Use references! It’s okay to use references!

3. Don’t compare yourself to other artists. You’re only just starting so it’s not good to compare yourself to someone who has had more experience at digital drawing than you. You’re going at your own pace and that’s okay.

4. Your first drawings are going to be bad, and that’s okay. Sometimes you gotta make a hundred bad drawings before you get a good one.

5. Be willing to try out new techniques and different methods.

6. Flip the canvas while you draw, don’t wait until you’ve finished the drawing. Flipping the canvas can help find inconsistencies.

7. Layers are your friends! You have friends, right? You know their names, right? So how come you don’t remember your layers’ names? Label your layers so you don’t end up sketching on the wrong layer!

8. This is if you own a Cintiq (or something similar): If you’re right-handed, customize and put all your hot-keys and shortcuts on the left-handed side of your keyboard. If you’re left-handed, put it on the right side. Efficiency boosted by 1000%.

9. Have fun! Draw what makes you happy!

Lastly….marketing….well, I don’t really do that? Ah, it’s one of those things I’m not sure what to say cause even I don’t know if I’m doing it correctly haha. Or at all. But if you’re looking to establish a following centered around your art, I noticed there are 2 types of digital artists: the one that solely makes original content (OCs and their own stories) and the other one that makes fanart. Now, there are a variety of different digital artists. I’m just saying these are the most 2 common types I see. I’ve noticed…that if you make fanart…you’re more likely to gain traction faster. Since fandoms are such a huge thing now on social media, it’s easier for your art to get noticed if you draw fanart from a popular show, movie, game, etc. However, this doesn’t mean that if you don’t draw fanart you won’t build a following. In fact, there are tons of artists who solely create their own original content and hardly draw fanart but have a following that’s 10x bigger than mine. It really comes down to what you want to do. Actually, you can do whatever you want as long as you are enjoying it haha. If drawing fanart makes you happy, go for it. If drawing your OCs makes you happy, go for it. Personally, I love drawing fanart cause I enjoy creating scenarios and comics of my favorite characters outside of canon. I do have OCs and stuff, but I hardly post them cause they’re a bit more personal (and also I think no one would be interested in them haha). But yeah…I just think you should draw and make work that you enjoy cause that attracts people to your work. Sorry, that was a really long and confusing(?) answer but I hope that helps you haha.

#ask #send me asks #send me anons #txt

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naruto-scenarios-plus-akatsuki · 7 years ago

Note

Fanfic question meme: 6, 7, 10, 11-14, 23, 26-28, 43, 46!! Sorry if that's too many!! xoxoxoxox 💖💖💖💖

Thank you so much for asking me some questions and its not too many at all ^.^

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

I’m mainly going to focus on pairs I like in Naruto, because that’s what I’m heavily involved in at the moment. I’ve only written fanfiction for 3 different fandoms and I’m considering that’s what the question meant by “involved in”.

For Naruto: SasuHina (I just love reading fanfiction on this pair), ShikaTema (right from the start, I knew they be together

For Batman: BatmanxCatwoman, JokerxHarley (I usually stick to those two as my favorite because I like angst but most fanfictions on them get repetitive)

For Twilight: EdwardxBella, LelaxSam (don’t judge me 😖)

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

For Naruto: GaaSaku (this pairing has always confused me; to me its a no), ShikaHidan (also a no), ItaSaku (its an interesting idea but I really cant see Sakura falling for Sasuke’s brother when she’s so hung up on Sasuke), KakaSaku (no student-teacher relationships), ItaSasu (No incest).

For Batman: BatmanxHarley, BatmanxJoker

For Twilight: EdwardxAlice, RosexJacob

10. Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in

There’s probably lots of fandoms I dont write for. Some of them I want to, others I know I cant write fanfiction for.

X-men

Attack on Titan

Hunger Games (I have a few drafts of story I never posted that I had lost inspiration to)

Fast and Furious (I had an outline of a story I wanted to do, but never wrote for it.)

Inuyasha

Vampire Knight

The Walking Dead

Death Note

Avatar

Sherlock

Host

11. Who is your current OTP?

Oh gosh, can I say my OC Saryie with Sai? Lmao Uh probably still heavily like the idea of SasuSaku together out of the canon pairs. Otherwise, I’m mostly reading oc stories with cannon pairings.

12. Who is your current OT3?

Hmm can’t really answer this because I don’t have one, sorry ^.^’

13. Any NoTPs?

Again, I say no to Gaara and Sakura ever being together. Also all the ones stated above again. Haha.

I also find the pairing of Naruto and Temari weird.

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

NaruGaa, ShikaChoji, KakaGai, HidanKaku, KisaItac

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

I’m honestly fond of my most current story that’s about my OC Saryie with her team. Its called Stirring Emotions. I know I have mentioned it before and I know some people may be sick of me talking about it. However, I am so fond of it because it was the first multiple chapter story I finish in less than a year, that’s how pumped I was to write it even when I was busy finishing up school.

I like it so much because I knew I wanted to create something different that could be added on to the Naruto world. I am rather picky though, and I don’t like how most oc stories try to mess with Naruto’s life or his background. So I knew I didn’t want to do that with my story. I wanted a character to bare witness to the plot of Naruto without actually changing anything. Now my oc Saryie had been in the drafts for years. I created her when I was 13 years old when I first started watching Naruto. She was a very blunt and unrefined character that I created. I truly got to test out her personality in a different story that was a Naruto AU fic I created. It got me use to writing her character. Then before this story came along, I had worked hard to develop her story and her background. Which also led me to develop more OCs because I wanted to put Saryie on a team that was going to help add to Saryie’s background.

So the whole process of preparing and designing characters was very fun for me. Plus, I really wanted to write a proper story for Sai where he is neither the perfect boyfriend or the worst boyfriend. Some people will either write Sai as too dumb or they will write him as too sensitive. I wanted to create a slow burn of how Sai discovers his feelings and wanted to portray a real life feel of a relationship.

I’m very proud of my story for that reason. Also, figuring out ways to add to the Naruto story was what made my story even more enjoyable, because I wasn’t just working on creating a romance fic but an all encompassing adventure and romance one. I’m still working on the Sequel to my Stirring Emotions story with Sharing Emotions where Saryie and Sai’s relationship grows further and takes places during the war. So yea, that’s what I’m most fond of… can’t you tell? lmao

Sorry for rambling.

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I am not the best at naming stories 🙂 I perfectly agree. Some feedback I have gotten is that my titles are too dull and dont catch reader’s interest.

So how do I pick titles? Well for instances with these scenario requests if I write the scenario first, I try to pick a title that summarizes the event. However if I choose a title first and then write the scenario, I just make the title generic.

As for my stories on fanfiction… I kind just go with the first thing that pops into my head which is bad sometimes. 😅

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Titles. Summaries are ok. I’m not the greatest at it, but I try.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

I always thought it be cool too see fanart of my Naruto AU story where most Naruto characters are at an Art college. This story was like created when I was 14 years old so its not the greatest but… can you imagine like…

Naruto all deck out like a pop artist as he has dreams of being a singer

Hinata in cute ballet outfit

Sasuke as a hiphop dancer

Tenten as a painter with her colthes splattered with paint and pencils in her hair

Temari as a violinist with combat boots and piercings with a rock band shirt on.

Shikamaru with a man-bun, smoking a cigarette, with a guitar strapped to his back

Sai looking prestine and formal, but always caring a sketch pad with him.

Ugh… I want it. I tried drawing it myself once. Didn’t come out well.

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Yes, the whole reason I wanted to refine my own oc was because of an author on fanfiction. She had created a neat Kakashixoc fic that wasn’t at all mary-sueish and didnt affect the plot of Naruto and made me fantasize creating my own story in a similar way.

There are also a few authors on tumblr that had inspired me to start my own imagines blog.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?Probably my latest story with my OC because its more well-written. Frankly my Naruto AU story embarrasses me when I read back on it and even if I do like the compliments I get on it, I know its not the best. I was a young teenager when I wrote it and I just wish I had thought about it more.

#text post #about me #thank you for asking #you so sweet #ten gold stars!!!#feel free to ask me more questions #or if youre curious about anything else

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olicitysmoaky · 7 years ago

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Fanfiction Questions

Fandom Questions

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

2. What is your latest fandom?

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

10. Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

11. Who is your current OTP?

12. Who is your current OT3?

13. Any NoTPs?

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

18. What ship have you written the most about?

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Author Questions

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

30. What inspires you to write?

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Fanfiction Questions

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

source: @vorchagirl

THE SOUPY MIND OF A FAN FIC WRITER

To me, every fan fic writer is my kindred spirit – some more than others. The fic writers in my OTP fandoms rest in a sort of collective love of my life status. So, when I saw these questions, I was excited to both answer them for myself and read the responses from others. Below you will find my latest answers from the latest three asks I received – I’ve taken like a month to answer!

Read further at your own risk…

The first set of questions were asked by --

@thebookjumper

19, 31, and 51

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

I think there are ships I am behind but I don’t get the feels for. But otherwise, no, I don’t think I have any I’m not behind that I want to. I’m pretty decisive about who I think should and should not be together. lol

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

I don’t know. I love every bit of feedback I get. But I think the nicest things – that I can currently recall come from my book, Forget Me Not. These two snippets stand out –

**...is the very best coming of age story I have ever read. I really, really hope this book becomes part of high school students curriculum soon because this is a new classic.**

Then....

**Reading this book has been such a superb experience! I can say that Calvin and Teddi will always be in my heart, I have loved their love that much. And every chapter of this book has touched my heart. **

And the time a book blogger wrote that the story made her scream out in the plane and had everyone staring at her. I thought that was kind of cool.

There are tons much more talented writers than me in the fic world and all around, but it is nice to hear nice things said about the thing you love to do most in the world. Helps you keep going for sure.

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Here we go. This is sort of a rant/gush –

Of course, not all fic writers are created equally, BUT my goodness is there insane talent in the fic world. (Yes, fic writers are writing with other people’s characters, but the talent that it takes to rethink those characters situations and worlds is amazing.) I know that I’ve said this before, but it’s true. And I think that fic writers are undervalued – whether they are fic writers and fic writers alone, meaning it’s in a way a calling, their home, their true artistic space and they are not looking to be “another type of writer” or using fic to keep writing and learning while they pursue a writing career. I don’t like the “stigma” fic writing gets. I don’t like that it has to be a secret … I get when people WANT to keep it a secret for whatever reason. That’s totally okay and up to them. But I don’t like the way society makes it into – “it’s just fan fic” – Ugh. Really?! There are some fan fics – especially in my Olicity fandom – that are loads better than any book I’ve read in recent years. Not just because it’s all about my OTP – which admittedly helps – but because they are beautiful, heartfelt, thought-provoking, exciting, hilarious, and memorable. On days when I’m sad, they can lift me up. On days, when I’m stressed, they can ground me. On days, when I just need to chill out, and I find a good fic, they take me to a world I want to revel in. I’ve started telling people I write fic – including my literary-focused writing mentor. I don’t want to be embarrassed. I notice many authors don’t write as richly as fic authors do. Sometimes, I reach for Fitzgerald, et al for inspiration – or an exercise on how to use language – other times I find the top fic writers. It’s true! Fic has its place, and that place is valuable, entertaining and fantastic. It keeps those of us who love one creators’ world in that world with all sorts of possibility. That’s why I am a fan girl / fan fic writer for life.

The next set of questions were asked by --

@miriam1779

3,4 9,18,21,22,23 & 30

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

I’m going to pick two. This is not in order of preference. It is in chrono order.

#1. The Pacey and Joey fandom in the late 90s/early 2000s. It was strong, fierce, small-ish, connected, fun, supportive (people built me websites – like complex expensive ones, did graphic design for me for free for my real life, not just fandom. I was more involved, so I got to run the “True Love Awards” fan fic for a few years and run a mail-in campaign “Operation True Love” lol and send gifts to the actors and letters to writers snail mail haha. What a concept. We even created a print magazine together that we sent out to I think thousands of people, including interviews with writers and fans to raise money for charity. It was so fun. I went from my parents’ house to my dorm room 3,000 miles away from home in NY. Right after 9-11, things kind of dwindled, but I still had my friends. The main actor’s mom was involved with us. LOL. It was a blast. I met tons of friends have about four or five still on my FB I consider friends today. Back then, a group of us went to Tahoe together, a few came over and we had a Joshua Jackson weekend and then went to Disneyland. The few I’m still connected to are still great. We may not talk everyday, but they are closer than any random HS classmate. They read my writing, buy my books, cheerlead for me in everything I do. I’ve watched them go from teens with parent problems to moms with kids and hubby problems -- and lots of grown up joys, too. I guess since it’s been so long, I consider them my first loves.

But that brings me to my #2 --

The Olicity Fandom. What can I say about this amazing group of people? Where to begin? The Olicity fandom gave me a second family when I really needed one. When I found a new OTP after over a decade, I needed a group of people who “got it” and boy, did I find that! It helped when I found myself drowning in work and when my bestie had to move away. I am a newbie, so I won’t be the way I was in the Pacey and Joey fandom, but I love the talent I find here, the love I feel from so many of the people here for our actors, our show, our ship and each other. I haven’t met anyone yet in person – other than my bestie who loves Olicity a bit too, but I hope that will change when I go to HVFF SJ in December. I’m bravely going alone with little no connections, but I hope to make some great friends and enjoy the fandom outside of Twitter and Tumblr. It’s totally difficult to be seen or make friends, but the few I’ve made in this fandom I hope will be friends for life. They are amazing, kindred souls. The Olicity Fandom is my second family as of 2017. I hope it lasts for much much longer than that. I don’t ship easily nor do I ship hard enough to enter fandoms often, so I treasure the fact that this fandom has been so amazing. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for all of us.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

Not really. I can say why I left a couple. I left X-Files because I was getting stalked by strange male fans and threatened. I was really young so it was scary. With Harry Potter, my fandom got what it wanted so I was good to go. Also, I felt like it was sort of elitist in fic world. Though my stories were accepted, it wasn’t easy to make a lot of friends. It was okay. I met @emmilynestill there in about 2005-ish, so it was extremely worth it!

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Really AMAZING fan fic. Lots of photos everywhere! Beautiful fan art and fan vids! Wow. I’m never bored with this fandom. Connected even when we don’t know each other. Loyalty. Passion. Brilliant minds everywhere – No matter what people say, Oliciters are amazing and so diverse in the backgrounds, jobs, and lives – I love it!

18. What ship have you written the most about?

Pacey and Joey. I just checked, and I wrote 67 fics for the fandom. I’m sad I don’t have the time like I used to – or maybe I’m just really slow and writing too many other things – for the current loves of my life – Olicity. I wish I could do the same for my beautiful lovelies!

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Wish Upon A Star – a three part Mulder / Scully Fic set at Disneyland hahaha! – It was in response to the episode “Emily” about Scully’s baby --- in 1999. -- It’s horrible, but not as bad as it could be tbh. I was a baby and the weird thing is that a lot of stuff I touched upon in the story happened to me in RL later.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Hmm. No. I don’t think so. I don’t like that my first book had so-so reviews…In hindsight, they are actually not bad, but they could have been better. I didn’t really know that writing a book was different from writing fic – in some ways. I also hadn’t written a word in about eight years. My advice to all writers is don’t let that happen to you. Write at least once a week if you can’t do a bit everyday. Write fic, write poems, journal. It will keep your juices flowing.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

100 percent this is my fic Forget Me Not that I turned into a novel and is now in TV pilot form—the latter looks NOTHING like the original did. Dark and creepy and yeah. But I love it because it’s so AU. And I used it to become brave enough to write a book. It still took me nearly 10 years to pull it out and convert into a book, a process that took nearly two years in terms of adding to the world and re-imagining new characters and replacing the fic ones with new ones – which led to adding in new reactions and all sort of plot points, but I just loved doing it. I hardly remember the fic writing process, but I think it was building the setting and the twists of the heart that was so much fun. It’s set in an era I love – the 1930s and 40s. And in the rewrite, I got to explore topics I was interested in not touched on in the fic.

In the Olicity fandom, I love The Summer People. I wanted to try an AU that brought the characters to a place where they came of age together and fell in love. The setting was fun, attempting a bit of action was also fun. I really wanted to see if I could do long form fic again. It took me so much longer than I wanted it to, but I really loved the experience. Thanks to anyone who’s read it. I’ve really missed fic writing. So, happy to be back doing it when I can.

30. What inspires you to write?

Ahead of time apology for incomplete sentences:

New ideas. Story worlds. Compelling characters. Character arcs. Excited readers. Amazing writers I get to read. Amazing stories on television – mainly CW and Netflix. Books on story. Possibility.

****

@coal000 asked ==

51, 43, 1 💖💖💖have fun!

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Not really a rant. Maybe a bit of a gush: I love that I can read all the time and there is always more to come. I sometimes get greedy and wish I could have fic tailor made to exactly my mood lol, but overall, I’m just happy and feel lucky to have what we have. I do wish I had more time to contribute, but I feel fortunate that I can share anything at all. I’m grateful to all the readers! They are the best.

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Yes. Many… I’m afraid to leave people out! So, I’ll just say, pretty much all of the artists and writers that keep the fandom going all the time. People who seem so organized in ways I could never be, so dedicated in ways I only would dream to be… People who love what I love and keep it alive for me even if I need to fall away to work life. They’re always keeping my wonderful fandom alive. The people who go to cons and hang out and make friends and … everything. The people making the videos that we rely on, writing the blog posts we all read. Those who keep the fan fiction archives, keep up fan fic recommendations, run summer fic-a-thons and collect all the latest news and spoilers for us….the people who get us exclusives, the people who read our fic and keep us writing, the people who share our posts, make us art, get excited about the same things we do, make movie nights on Twitter… EVERYONE makes this fandom amazing. AKA the Olicity fandom is the best fandom ever!

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

X-Files… in 1999.

Thanks all! Sorry it took so long!

#fanfic #olicity #writers #ask me anything

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todokori-kun · 7 years ago

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The

queen is back and I’m so freaking happy <3

‘annoyed’ nothing you say is annoying ok, I’m actually just really relieved and happy that I’m helping in any way at all. Also you listen to my rambling all the time and you supported me with my anxiety (you have no idea how much our convos helped after I first saw a doctor about it and was feeling really confused about what to do) so ‘what did I do to deserve you’ is probably what I should be saying to you.

Tbh when things are as serious as you’ve described then you’re definitely not overreacting. Like I said before, I’m always ready to listen/talk when you need to. And you don’t have to stress about replies; I honestly don’t mind at all as long as you’re ok.

Thank you Queen Luna you’re the best ;-;

Also, good news and bad news:

Bad news- A bit after I sent the last message mom apparently found out about Tumblr and decided that I probably shouldn’t get an account here because of all the NSFW content. I get why she’s worried so I guess I won’t be getting an account here for a while.

Good news- HOWEVER, I was chatting with someone on ao3 and they asked if we could move our convo somewhere else. They recommended something called Discord so I got an account there. If you’ve never heard of Discord it’s basically a voice and text chat system usually used by gamers, but it seems to be pretty popular among non-gamers too. PMing is possible there :D (The only flaw is that you can’t send very long messages, so you have to send multiple short ones, which is a bit annoying…but otherwise it’s pretty neat so maybe we can try it if you’re ok with that?)

XD yeah that’s actually pretty accurate.

*reads Luna’s message*

*inhale*

UM. DO YOU HAvE ANY IDEA HOW AMAZING YOU ARE. LET ME TRY TO BE A GOOD, SUPPORTIVE FRIEND AND TELL YOU

Yep it was one of the grossest things that ever happened to me OTL I’m still swimming but I’m taking a long break right now- a break that started because my little sister broke her toe and we were basically stuck at home taking care of her (the pool is a bit far for me to go on my own so if mom’s stuck at home so am I), and then got longer because the pool’s old and some things had to be ‘fixed’, and then got even longer because my coach is getting married (just reread that and realized that I sound super annoyed, I’m actually not, I have no problem with my coach getting married XD). I’ll probably start again around next month, though :)

Thanks ^^

Oooh are you a comic fan??? I haven’t read any superhero comics because there seem to be so many AUs(?)/different timelines so trying to figure out where to start is really confusing, plus I actually sorta prefer manga/manhwa art styles (not that wester comics are bad- a lot of them have really good art too, I just personally prefer the manga/manhwa styles (especially for the panels). Also the ecchi-ish costumes/anatomy for almost every single female superhero gets a bit ridiculous sometimes lol). Some of them seem really fun, though, and I’d like to try them out someday…

It’s really cool that you’ve been a fan of T'challa for so long, it must’ve been even more exciting to see him in the movie :D

Imagine everyone watching The Winter Soldier together. Then the 'brainwashed bucky’ scenes start.

Illumi: *stares intently at the screen*

Illumi: I see no problem with this.

Watching Civil War and Leorio goes Dad Mode and covers Gon’s and Killua’s eyes when Hisoka starts making…innappropriate…noises during the fight scenes

(Hisoka low-key writing reader insert lemons about various MCU heroes. Most likely Natasha (because she’s a lot like Machi, his only female crush so far), Bruce (how Hisoka would love to unleash the beast), Thor (he’s a literal GOD imagine how badly he could mess Hisoka up *schwing*), Wanda, and Vision (he probably liked Loki too before Loki got beat up by the Hulk and Hisoka was like ‘oh I have a new senpai’)

Then Illumi gets Milluki (his tech genius little brother) to hack into Hisoka’s computer for info and is like 'what is this Hisoka I do not understand why you derive pleasure from this trash’)

Everyone thinks Gon should relate to Tony on a personal level but he doesn’t, because despite being a sunshine angel he’s also a freaking weird kid who doesn’t hate Ging. At all. (Though that might have something to do with the fact that he doesn’t even consider Ging his parent in the first place; he never even calls him 'dad’ or 'my father’)

Killua, on the other hand, relates to Bucky a bit too much and thinks HYDRA is basically the Zoldyck family.

Everybody’s Team Cap except for Illumi, who’s Team Iron Man (“Why would you want to break the rules?”), and then Hisoka randomly shows up like 'Team Hulk ;)’

Every time Howard Stark is mentioned everyone just stares at Ging, who shifts uncomfortably

(Yeah did I tell you about the time Leorio punched Ging for being a trash dad?)

OMG. Thank you for that. I’ve seen a lot of 'Hisoka as the clown from the 'It’ movie’ posts on tumblr but never any fanart for that idea. Run, Gon. Run.

I’m considering teaching myself to animate just to make those animatics XD

(Also, random thing: it’s Chuseok over here (basically like the Korean version of Thanksgiving, I guess?) and usually, people recieve money from older relatives during holidays like this in Korea. I got about 80 dollars (50 from my maternal grandparents, 10 from my paternal grandfather and 20 from my uncle) so I’m debating on what to spend it on: It’s either a tablet so I can learn how to do digital art (I’m thinking about polishing my drawing skills for a while and then making a webcomic. My parents support this so they’re willing to pay a little extra for a tablet) or a ukulele (I like the piano but I realized a while ago that it’d be great to have an instrument that I can carry around, so I did some research and the ukulele seems good. I really like the sound so I’m willing to put some effort into learning it). Idk which one I should choose, though. Technically the tablet should be my priority but I also like the ukulele…

(and idek why I mentioned this either, guess the talk about animating reminded me of the tablet lol))

I thrive on angst. Tragedy fuels me. (But tbh HxH is a LOT darker than I was prepared for. I’m currently shipping an ant king with a genius human girl and I know from spoilers that they’re both going to die)

Yeah, she’s alive :D but apparently Kaneki is now 'dead’ (though I don’t think he is really, if Ishida kills him off now (after all the stuff with Hide? All the character development Ken hasn’t gotten yet? When he still hasn’t talked about anything with Shuu or Hinami or even Akira?) and gives us a new protagonist or something I might finally rage-quit this series.

Or not, since with all the Touken stuff and Kaneki being sorta insensitive ever since he became the OEK…maybe a new protagonist is what we need?). I was liking all the parallels with Arima in the first series until this, because it was just…um. I think my main problem with the whole thing is the freakng PACING because it just feels so clunky and awkward. This is probably one of those chapters that will be really good if Ishida somehow manages to connect it with the next chapters and has everything make sense later, but if he doesn’t do it well it’s going to suck forever OTL

At least TG finally confirmed Naki’s death, though. I mean, the ideal situation for me is if he never died in the first place, but at least a confirmed death is better than Ishida suddenly bringing him back to life after that panel with Yamori. And his death scene was handled well. (Now please just tell me that he, Kanae and Hairu aren’t coming back as Kanou-Furuta zombies and I will be semi-satisfied)

Also AOT if you haven’t read the new chapter yet spoilers but

(The-Reiner-Eren reunion I HAVE WAITED SO. LONG FOR THIS

Also Eren’s grandad ;-;

And maybe we’ll finally be seeing Annie again soon since she’s been appearing in so many flashbacks and Reiner’s probably going to ask about her if he and Eren get to actually talk

Love those hints about something finally starting to change

ANOTHER PERSON FROM MIKASA’S CLAN? I hope we see this lady again, she’s lovely

I can’t believe how much the art has improved, it actually looks GOOD now 0.0)

Aw, that’s ok! I’ll be looking forward to seeing it when you get a new skirt :D

Yeah, I’m really excited for OC’s name too…must be something important if they’re keeping it hidden for this long. I guess it’s French (or a word from some other non-English language) since 'Ciel’ is French for 'Sky’…and it probably has a meaning related to the sky since they’re twins. Idk. Maybe it’s the word for 'star’ ('etoile’) since stars are also a big thing in this arc?

Looking forward to your reaction! I haven’t read the novel yet but from what I know it sounds great :D (also I cannot resist the L + Naomi duo even if they never actually interacted in manga/anime canon)

Btw, is it ok if I ask how far you’ve gotten with the DN anime?

(Also fun fact: Ryuk was originally designed to look like a handsome young man (an 'attractive rock star’, in the words of DN’s creators. You can find a pic of his original design on google). His design was changed because the creators felt like he was overshadowing Light XD

But also, I just found a post on tumblr that said Takeshi Obata (DN’s artist) mentioned that Ryuk’s face in canon could just be a mask to hide his true appearance…which means that he could technically still look like that in canon. Wow. I actually think I have the book where it says Obata mentioned that, I have to go and check it now lol)

Watch it if you dare and prepare to weep over all the wasted potential, because now that I read/watch more about it I guess the saddest thing is that it COULD have been great. I mean, like I said, the visuals are REALLY good, L’s actor could have been a good L if not for the bad script, Ryuk’s actor/design were also super great (it’s just his role in the movie and his motivations they messed up ;-;)…

I don’t watch Avatar (I’d like to when I have the time, though, because it seems like a great show) but I’ve heard of that movie and tbh I can’t even.

Ty :D (Ayy the queen said I’d make a cute Peridot *fangirls*

You’re also my closest friend right now and I love talking to you so much <3 thank you for everything Luna.)

See this is why you’re awesome. Thank you so much ;-; (and what, did Queen Luna mention me to her parents. Did I make a good impression. Omg. (jk, jk lol))

Also: I’d like to rec a song to you, it’s called 'Lovely’ by Twenty One Pilots :D

Oh look I actually replied within a week :’)

OK ILL START W DISORD BC IM EXCITE. I already have one, from a while ago, my # is 5773! So add me whenever you want ^^ ((But please just send me a short message here, cause I turned notifs off for it, so i can turn them on again ^^)) Well, uh, here’s the thing about short messages. If a site/app has an instant message feature, you can bet I’ll be the one to split a sentence into 10 separate messages for dramatic effect… So, uh, prepare to have 42 new messages instead of like 4 waiting when you open the app ^^

I never ever ever have any problems with listening to you. I just appreciate you’re comfortable enough with me to be able to come to me. Honestly, I truly appreciate you in my life, especially considering that you can always reassure me with your words ^^ Truly a writer’s talent :p

Well, I’m going to a psychologist soon, so we’ll see what they’ll say. Idk tho, I dont think I even care anymore. I just want this stomach thing to pass as soon as possible.

Ouch, I hope your sister is better now… I’ve never broken anything so I wouldn’t know the feeling. Aww, coaches getting married is actually the cutest thing ever XD My archery coach got married a few years back and she was practically glowing. Ah, if you don’t mind me asking, do you have a particular stroke you specialise in or do you just swim everything?

I could say the same about comic/manga styles. Tbh, I don’t really consider myself a comic fan? When I was a kid, I used to buy the children’s comics to ward off boredom, but never really continued after I got into reading actual books. Black Panther happened to be among those comics and I remembered him when they mentioned T’Challa in CW. I wonder if i still have those old comics somewhere… But yeah, i was pretty excited when they mentioned him XD

That viewing actually sounds amazing… I get the feeling they’d all want to do an in depth analyzation of the characters? (But idk i don’t really know the characters that well) except for Hisoka, who’s probably just schwinging around being creepy per usual. I’m torn between wanting to read those lemons and just backing the fuck away…. Probably read like a paragraph and then set everything on fire. Yeah, that sounds good.

I presume you’re not gonna watch IT? Random, but i thought of it bc of the fanart… Tbh I won’t watch it either. I’ve never watched a single horror movie in my life and i intend to keep it that way. Unless you count Coraline as horror, which I actually would in some ways? Idk tho, that movie traumatised me. Not even joking when I say I occasionally have nightmares related to it. Advice; if you haven’t, DO NOT WATCH CORALINE. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s a cartoon. I mean 9 is a cartoon, but it’s also freaking dark. HAPPY TREE FRIENDS IS A CARTOON AND I WOULDNT TOUCH THE VIDEOS WITH A 9 FOOT POLE. Long story short, cartoons are not a joke.

For some reason I confused the Ukulele with a Lute and was like ‘I’m not gonna judge, but… why?’ then i actually googled it and realised I’m an idiot. But, um, I can’t say anything other than it’s your choice and you should do whatever would make you happier? There’s that trick of throwing a penny in the air and if you’re disappointed when it lands heads/tails, you know you want the other one. Idk, tho, both options sound equally nice!

… HxH gets weirder every time you tell me about it

KANEKI IS WHAT NOW Um, okay then.... alrighty...

guess who dropped TG again

WELL FUCK IM SCREAMING ABOUT THE NEW CHAPTER WHOAH EREN’T GRAMPA WHOAH THE REUNION However, the best part is Reiner acting like a dad during the festival

Oooh Etoile would be interesting!

I’m still at the ep where L dies ;-; I haven’t had the time to move forward, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to watch some during this weekend

Well, uh. My mom came into my room while I was writing this and had to ask me why i was crying (I’m pretty sure she thought I was having one of my all-time-lows again). The reason why I was actually crying? The song. Words can’t express my gratitude. I’d download it, but tbh I feel like I’ll start ugly sobbing again every time I listen to it...

random note, i started going to school by train! It’s actually a lot nicer than the bus and cheaper XD Idk why i put this here but yay

#evans #submission

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movedto-insom-art · 7 years ago

Note

hi!! i just found you while poking around for gobelins students on twitter and i love your art, congratulations on passing!! i was wondering if you have any advice on the written exam or tips on how to prepare for it? i heard that the written exam can be given in english if french isn't your first language...

I’ll try to be very concise about this andmaybe pin it to my profile because I was in your shoes exactly a year ago, andif I made it here I think you have a considerable chance of making it too as long as you’re willing to put work into it. I want totell you what I wish I had been told.

Disclaimer: I’m definitely not the best personto ask. I’m self-taught and my situation may and will differ a lot from yours,but on top of that, bear in mind Gobelins has a ~5% admission rate. During theinterview I shared room with a person who had a stunning portfolio and had been doing two years of prepclasses to get in Gobelins specifically and didn’t get in. I don’t even understand what brought me in, but I will try to at least give you a detailedguide of what *I* did to prepare.

Important: READ THE “MODALITÉSD'ADMISSION” DOCUMENT THREE TIMES AT LEAST. It has so much usefulinformation and so many points you can’t afford to skip. If your French isflaky, ask for a friend who speaks it fluently to help you out. You *must*understand it fully if you want to get in and avoid needless calls to theschool.

Also, keep an eye on the website often. Allthe information I provide here vis a vis dates only applies to a time periodthat’s already gone and I can’t predict if the dates will be exactly the sameevery year, so double check for yourself!

French

If you don’t speak French now start asap, anddo your Duolingo and “Apprendre le Français avec TVMonde” exercisesevery day. The lessons for the 4-year program are in French and while they canbe understanding with foreigners I just strongly recommend for the sake ofcommon sense that you pick up the language, just to make the most of the chanceif you’re given it.

However, you can def do the written exam in English! The exam will be printed and handed to you in both languages, it’s not so much a test to see your writing skills (ironically) than it is to prove your drawing ones.

If you pass that first round, while they won’t require any certification, they *will* test how good you are understanding and responding in French during the interview process of the second round.

I also recommend you take special conversational classeswith a private teacher or with a French speaker the couple of weeks before theoral exam to really gain fluidity, it makes a difference.

Mental Health

Preparing for all this will be sustainedstress over a long period of time. While it’ll be intensive and will demand alot of you, bear in mind that a mentality of “every minute I spend notworking on this is a minute lost” is only going to harm you. It’s alrightto take breaks, have a social life, and space for leisure while you do prepwork. It’s alright to not be drawing every single hour and rest your mind soyou can go back to work with all your might.

Try to be demanding and to pushyourself out of your comfort zone, but do it at your own pace and alwaysleaving space for breaks and stuff that will take your mind away from it whenyou need to, like friends, videogames, or just drawing for fun. A healthy business to leisure ratio is always between ½ and 2/3.

Meditate if you can, too, just 10-15 minutesevery day. I recommend the Headspace app and it has helped me keep my coolduring really tense moments.

Open Days

Go to the open days at Gobelins in January ifyou can! I took a plane for the weekend just to go, it was expensive but Ireally, really do not regret it. Here’s why:

DONOT MISS THE FIRST DAY. They hold portfolio reviews and while you may not haveyours ready just yet, it’s the perfect chance to get an insider point of viewof how well you’re doing right now and how far from your goal you are. Make aprovisional one (or do like I did and just make a tumblr blog and throw inwhatever you’d want them to assess) and arrive early to ask for a spot at thequeue.

Youget to talk to other first-year students, who will showcase their portfolio andanswer all your questions about the admission process, the school and whateverother questions you may have.

Youget to attend conferences where they explain each of their programs in detail,and the head of the department will also answer all yourquestions.

Admissions usually open right in the middle of the open days. By all means grab a seat at the computer room and save yourself a spot in the exam process asap.

Also,if you’re a foreigner like me, you should totally go to the international classand see if you can spot somebody from your same country (or who at least speaksyour language) to hang out with for a bit.

Site note: That international class is adirect entry to 3rd year specifically for English-speaking students who alreadyhave animation experience. I didn’t apply for that so I can’t tell you muchabout it, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you want in, they say it’seasier than the main track, too.

Preparing for the written exams

First off, draw every day. Even if it’s notprep work or studies all the time, you can indulge in your OCs, OTPs, whatevermakes your heart race, but draw it and do it every day. It doesn’t have to beideal or finished either, but what really matters is that you get used todrawing a lot and make a habit of it. Quantity, consistency and speed areimportant skills for animators to have as I’ve been told and they will be looking for it since one of the parts of the inteview includes evaluating how much paper you’ve filled in a year.

Grab all the exams you can get a hold of fromthe Gobelins site and do them in the specified time (they’re on the Concepteuret Realisateur de Film d'Animation class page). When you’re done with that do themagain. Ask for feedback from your teachers and improve on them. Take aperspective book (I recommend “Perspective for Comic Artists”), take a gesturedrawing book (“The Vilppu Drawing Manual” or “Gesture drawingfor animation”), take a storyboarding and character design class (I tookSchoolism’s, which are 15$/month per class, it’s very affordable) and that’llgive you a good frame of reference. And when you’re done with the exams andknow them by heart, make your own exercises. Then do the exams again. Andalways ask for feedback, critique to train yourself against every weak pointthat you don’t want the jury to catch you doing when you do the actual exam.

Sign up for figure drawing class right now,with or without teacher (I signed up to an art club without one), the soonerthe better, and go there frequently, once or twice per week, to the short posessessions (up to 15 minutes per pose, 2 to 5 minutes would be ideal). Don’tbother doing portraits or long poses because again, what you want is to producea lot, fast. Put a lot of focus on gesture drawing, movement and speed. It’llnot only be a big chunk of your portfolio if you do pass the first round, butit hones your draftsmanship like no other exercise. You can additionally trainat home with websites like QuickPoses or the New Masters Academy figure drawingvideos, but I’d really want to stress that live models work so much bettersince they force you to interpret a 3D person.

Go to your local zoo as well, once a week oronce a fortnight, and do animal studies. If you can bring a friend it’ll help alot making it more fun but try to get used to drawing shapes that are nothuman. Understand their anatomy and try to apply what you’re learning aboutgesture from the figure drawing classes.

Draw in the street, in museums, go to a placethat inspires you or that you find curious and draw it. Draw the people topractice your characterization and caricature skills. Draw buildings to showyour perspective skills. And just whatever catches your eye. Environments and perspective are important and I strongly recommend you start by drawing from observation.

If you have a cool idea in mind or find agood exercise on tumblr to try that isn’t this, do it! The teachers appreciateinterest in several fields and if you can showcase that you’re a curiousstudent with plenty of interests they’ll consider you more seriously. I didconcept art and digital painting on the side and it ended up being a mainthing of my personal project.

And finally, go to @gobelins andraid it for advice, it’s a great point of reference to start with as well. Goto the current @crfa20 and past CRFA blogs to see what the students are up to if youwant inspo and check their profiles too.

Do this for the whole year.

Admissions open inJanuary and the earlier you can sign in the better (especially if you are aforeigner like me, you must get the equivalence with French studies recognizedofficially asap, it usually takes a while to get and it’s necessary).

On a side note, for the written exam, simplifyyour tools. You don’t have much time to elaborate or fix your mistakes so Iwould recommend you do your practice with pens (so you get used to not erasinglines and being confident with your strokes) and pencils (especially if you canget both regular, mechanical and color pencils to layer your drawings forcomplex exercises like perspective). During the exam don’t even think aboutbringing pens in case you do make mistakes you need to erase though, they arejust really good training.

Side note: if you can, all this while, make space for personal projects.Nothing that you must finish, but just produce a lot of your own content. Pick apodcast and do visual development for it, do fanart, iterate on a movie’s shots, developyour own stories through visual storytelling, do character design, storyboards,comics. Steal ideas if you must to get the creative juices flowing (but don’tpost it or pretend they are your own :V). Get acquainted with projects, explore a fewideas so that the moment you’re out of the exam room when you’re done with thewritten exam you not only have a deck of projects to choose from but are alsoacquainted with the process of carrying one forward (and also have a littlework already done).

Preparing for the oral exam

The oral exam consists of 3 parts.

A first part in which you’re not present, andthe jury will judge your portfolio, sketchbooks and demo reel without you for 30 minutes.

A second part, where you must introduce thejury to an original personal project of your own made for the admissionprocess, and defend it (in French).

A third part, where the jury will just ask youquestions (they’re usually very friendly) and judge your viability as a futureclassmate. Just be yourself!

The portfolio should just have your best, besweet, short and to the point. There is a limit of 40 pages including coversand the personal project so choose your best pieces from between your projectsand your practice. It should also cover three main points

Your skillset, which should be covered byyour studies, schoolwork, observation work and partly (but not mainly) the rest of your artwork.

Your capacity for creation and personal vision(aka what your interests are as an artist), which should be covered by the restof your artwork and other projects of your own.

Your capacity to convey and develop ideas, messages andstories through visual narration, which should be your main, personal project.

I recommend you throw in both sketches andunfinished stuff along with your most detailed and refined pieces so the jurycan have a good idea of your process, your way of solving problems and how faryour skills go. Storyboards, animatics and comics will always be a positivesince you’re aiming to study a medium that is sequential.

Also, if you can, pick other students’ portfolios for reference. They don’t need to be Gobelins or even students though, if you find a good philosophy to build your portfolio around, by all means go for it. It’ll give you a good idea of what needs to be there and what can be left out.

Lastly, while they stress that you *don’t* need toknow animation to get in since that’s what you’re applying to, you can bring ina 2-minute demo reel. I made mine with an animatic and a few animationexercises on my own, but I want to repeat what they told me, the intentionisn’t to show how good you are at it already (then what can they teach you?)but to show that you’re interested in the medium and are eager to learn.

Final note

You’re applying for an animation school, keepthat in mind always. An animator is not an illustrator or a concept artist(even if they can easily become one), and what sets them apart in my opinion is the focus on speed, gesture, quantity, and most importantly, making drawings that feel alive andthat tell something. Understand the craft, ask other animators, read books onanimation, anything you can get your hands on will help.

One of the points that I feel are the mostimportant about all this is included in the Modalités d'Admission text, whichsays that they look into a quality that would literally translate to “opennessof spirit”. I think that speaks for how open minded you are to new ideas,to working with others, to learning and to considering new points of view.

Again I don’t have all the answers, but if youare “open of spirit” and really make an effort to dive into theanimation world, look for resources and friends in this world I’m certainyou’ll find them.

#gobelins #daeseungie

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meggannn · 8 years ago

Text

race and character customizing

this is a post about a discussion other people have been making before me for ages but i’ve seen it spark up again on Andromeda’s release. a few comments i’ve seen over the past few days on white fans who are interested in making non-white Ryders have made me want to talk about it.

this is not an argumentative post. this is a post documenting my understanding of different sides an argument to help me to get my thoughts down. please do reply or reblog if you have thoughts or comments, especially if you’re a BW fan who’s not white (and a writer).

so there’s this discussion i see going around with white fans of bioware games asking whether or not they’re “allowed” to make non-white characters. to fully document my perspective on this, i need to first list reasons that white fans, in my experience, won’t or don’t make poc characters in customizable games. reasons tend to be the following:

they don’t want to “mess up,” ie, accidentally fall into stereotypes about poc characters when they don’t mean to

they don’t want to offend poc fans

they genuinely just don’t want to make poc characters, either because they’re only comfortable playing white people, or they don’t want to spend the energy to connect with poc (when they have a million other white ocs....), insert racist reason here, and some of them have learned to hide behind reason #1 or #2 when confronted about it

and there are so many problems that occur when white fans do make poc characters that i’d consider it really irresponsible to say “if you consider yourself an ally, you should probably consider making a non-white character,” which was more or less a recommendation i’ve loosely supported until recently. and yet, i’ve seen white fans making characters of color:

as a way of earning ally brownie points

then oversexualizing their character/using them for an “aesthetic” with no substance

then ignore criticism of their character from actual poc they’re representing

then trying to “claim” a race, ie, saying things like “i got angry at [my friend/a random person on the internet] for making an [asian] character, because i was going to make an [asian] character!”

that last one isn’t a joke, i actually saw it yesterday, the day of andromeda’s origin access launch -- someone making the default character heads at bioware must’ve done a really good job, because one of the female asian models is supposedly very popular, and someone posted that in response. i really hope i don’t have to explain why these things are wrong, but needless to say, when i want to encourage people to write outside of their comfort zone and create diverse rep, that sort of fake ally shit doesn’t help anyone and in fact actually hurts fellow fans by making character customizing into some sort of contest.

i was part of a discussion on @omegastation‘s blog this morning and an anon said they were interested in making a non-white oc but didn’t want to because they had been more or less intimidated out of it. i replied voicing my support for them to do it because, if i’m honest, i’ve started to view “i’m too nervous to mess up a coc” as a socially acceptable excuse not to bother caring about coc -- even though i do know there are people who genuinely mean it.

the thing is, if someone is a writer or content creator of any sort and consider themselves an ally to marginalized groups they aren’t apart of, i think this way of facing our fears and stretching our boundaries is necessary as creators who want to write inclusive and respective material. (it’s just a responsibility to not act as though these characters are the epitome of representation or the best that will ever be done, so those marginalized should be nice to you for it.) as a mixed wlw and aspiring writer, i think examples like character customizations in games like mass effect and dragon age are great ways of stretching a writer’s legs with diversity. largely the characters are technically already written for us -- characters like shepard, hawke, and ryder are free of bias or racial leanings, they already have depth, and they’re just waiting for you to fill in the blanks with headcanons and fanart and fic and whatnot.

and yet that seems to be where white fans trip over the most. either they fall into stereotypes; or they’re so afraid of messing up that they avoid engaging or thinking about their coc too much, so they end up flat and more or less ignored for their white characters; or they oversaturate their coc so much it doesn’t even become a real person but just a empty mould with a diverse face for the sake of Peak Representation. it’s been a rare instance when i’ve seen a white fan of a BW game create a poc character that has actually been, like, a decent, fully-rounded character; on this site i see coc by white people fail usually by either doing too much or not enough. i am usually guilty of doing not enough when i make characters who aren’t my race, so this isn’t exclusive to white fans. i’m attempting to rectify that in andromeda by making my ryders multiracial with largely ambiguous heritage (mostly out of annoyance tbh, because mass effect takes place 200 years in the future, right? and bioware has confirmed that most humans are at least biracial by this point, so why are there so many natural blondes and redheads???? it drives me NUTS). mixed rep is representation I personally feel really passionate about because so many of us are misrepresented by being forced into one ‘category’ or another, but even with a narrative reason for widespread multiracial heritage in the mass effect universe, I feel like mixed characters are so rarely explored in this fandom.

ANYWAY. for most of my time in BW fandom i’ve largely been theoretically supportive of white fans making diverse characters because i’m quite frankly tired as shit of seeing white people complain about BW’s diversity and i figure interest is at least step in the right direction. hell, my friend is looking into MEA fan boards right now and is reporting to me that there are white fans complaining there is no good ‘pale white’ skin color. like frankly, if that’s your biggest concern, i don’t care about your feelings on representation and don’t expect you to understand what real underrepresentation feels like. (and no, you’re not actually losing hairstyle options when some of the designs are specifically for black women so they can have natural hair options. what the fuck?) so if i see other fans who want to stretch outside their comfort zone and be more inclusive in their character designs, like sure, why not? at least some people are stepping in the right direction, and if they’re friends, at least i can help them if i see them making a wrong turn and know they’ll respect me.

well, okay, more seriously: why not? after reading other opinions on this, i have a few reasons.

sometimes i see poc characters written or drawn by white ‘allies’ and i literally want to run my nails down a chalkboard. it might be well-drawn or -written, but even in tumblr’s relatively liberal atmosphere, it can still offensive, and it can still clearly done for attention or ‘friendly’ stereotypical jokes, not for actual love of the character. i want to think most people know better not to make obviously stupid mistakes, but I’ve driven people away with unintentionally offensive jokes in the past, so i know absolutely nobody is above this one.

even unintentionally, it can still drown out characters made by actual non-white fans -- who are just as talented, and spend just as much time creating and promoting their work, and consistently are paid less attention to on average than white fans.

fetishization. ties in with the ‘aesthetic’ point above.

it’s not enough for me to say “okay, only DECENT allies can make poc characters” because obviously everyone considers themselves a 'good’ ally, and even people that you thought were ‘good’ allies can get defensive when they’re confronted with the fact that they messed up.

i’ve also been thinking and i don’t think i’ve ever seen a white fan make a mixed race character who’s been my specific mix of heritage, but if i did, i don’t think i’d be offended. i’d be offended if they acted like they should be rewarded for it, but just the character? sure, go ahead. but i totally understand why other people would be offended, and i one-thousand-percent respect that and don’t want to talk over their feelings just because i happen to be more of a “do whatever you like so long as you’re not hurting anyone” kind of person anyway.

i also 100% think that white fans making non-white characters might actually make us better writers and storytellers and artists, but i 100% understand why poc consider that absolute bullshit, because we’ve seen the evidence and sometimes it does more harm than good.

so, i guess i have a question for my followers: if you’re a bioware fan who’s not-white, what’s your stance on this? if you’re a content creator, do you feel overshadowed by white creators when they make coc or does it happen so rarely it doesn’t affect you*? am i overthinking or not considering a point? do you have an opinion on this? (or do you care?)

this is not intended to start discourse. this is meant to be a question post to ask how other non-white BW or custom RPG fans feel about a common problem I personally feel very divided on.

(*personally i see white OCs far more than non-white OCs in BW fandoms, so much that it’s a fair assumption on my end that 95% of the COC i see are made by poc, which makes it practically a non-issue for me, but that's just be my experience.)

#race #da stuff #me stuff #bioware stuff

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