#it’s not even the drawing other people’s OCs

[eeyes]

the more we obsess over "AI art looks better cuz its more polished" and copying "better" artists' artstyles the more this happens imo, "bad" art will be more full of creativity.. bc its more about the process and enjoyment, it looks more full of life

this happens to me a lot honestly bc i have to sell my art or get views, and it looks and feels stale. i make my best pieces when its OC stuff, or just cooling off doing truly inspired one-offs. i dont like to reference other artists anymore unless its something i find actually INSPIRING not just a money making tool, e.g. colour, form, anatomy, framing… (when i was growing up, i used to more heavily take inspiration from other peoples' styles, especially what was popular at the time, or just in general take reference of what was en vogue). im not a fan of riding fandom trends for this reason, although i do fandom stuff that actually inspires Me cuz that's still from the heart

all in all i highly agree… my art style has fallen apart these last few years and its the BEST thing for me. like i degrade my linework on purpose bc i want it to feel freeing to draw not constricting. struggled w/ it for some time bc id always put my pen to the canvas and obsess over perfection or "hows the audience gonna like it". well idgaf truly… and i dont publish a lot of it either!

i think it's a hard balance when you're highly competitive because you sell art to make money... it ends up looking stale bc you need to churn it out quickly and have an end product, so there's no time to render, thumbnail, or even think about what the image looks like before jumping into it. that can make it look lifeless. this goes both ways, on one hand an artist's gotta eat, but we also need to support artists who do original artwork, put effort into their pieces and don't just churn out full pieces every other day (dude, artist alley is COMPETITIVE AF), artists who don't trace/steal/only make AI art, and that kind of thing!

nothing sadder to me than when an online artist posts a side by side of the same picture from 5 years ago / redrawn this year, and the first one is fluid and energetic and full of character, and the second one is flat and static and clean to the point of sterility

[creatingblackcharacters]

hey so im sorry if im bothering you with this or youve already spoken about this before, but im afro-latino (Black + mexican) and i have naturally straight hair. its a lot thicker than a white persons hair obviously, but its never been super curly or coily or even wavy at all. seeing people say stuff like "Black people never have straight hair, drawing Black characters with straight hair is racist" really hurts. i have several OCs that have dark skin and straight hair like i do and im afraid that people will call me racist for them even though i just designed them to look similar to me because i rarely see actual representation of Black people with straight hair (outside of the "white person painted Black" characters like you talked about). i dont blame you at all for being upset when people only draw Black characters with straight hair, but it does hurt when i see stuff like "Black people never have naturally straight hair, drawing them that way is racist" because it makes me feel like im not allowed to call myself Black and im doing something wrong by drawing characters that look like me.

I hear you, and I get where you're coming from.

I've never said (afaik) Black people don't have straight hair. In fact, multiple times throughout my lessons I've said that we aren't a monolith, that it is completely possible for Black people to have thinner textures of hair (even though it is rarer!)

What I've emphasized is that a lot of the people drawing these Black characters with straight hair are not doing it for the sake of representation, but for the sake of ease and familiarity with eurocentric beauty standards. They are not entering with the intent of drawing Black characters with those features! Which, you said you saw me discuss in that lesson, and multiple times on my later lessons. And again, you're right! It should be done more thoughtfully! You deserve that!

I'm going to be honest, I think you are projecting your hurt onto me for things that you should be angry at those artists for. Because when I say Creating Black Characters with intent, that does include Black characters that look like you!

But even at specific times when it doesn't, your strength in your identity should not be shaken because I am emphasizing the importance of the depiction of others that may not look like you. If you're Black with straight hair, then you're Black with straight hair! Me emphasizing that we should see more effort into drawing Black people with thicker textures and unambiguous features more often (which is true) does not take that identity from you, nor does it mock your existence.

I'm sorry that my work caused you distress. I hope you continue to make your characters as you have, with the emphasis and care that you do. Because it is sad and annoying that people are approaching you without recognizing your work and your identity, ready to be performatively loud and wrong. Do it anyway.

[meo-eiru]

Tracing is something all artists do, I also trace sometimes (like taking pictures of my own hand and tracing over them to understand how i can get the positions right) and even industry professionals do it.

When I was younger and had just started posting my art online I was really scared to trace over stuff thinking people would witch-hunt me for it, which just caused unnecessary stress. I would prefer my account to not be a space that can cause another person that type of stress.

That being said, of course tracing isn't fine all the time. That specific drawing was alright because it was from a very famous scene from a very famous movie, I don't want to put down an artist for something like that.

But it would've been a different story if they had traced over another artist like me or themselves without permission and posted it like that. I won't excuse my ocs and other people's art being used in such a way.

Feel free to trace as much as you want while studying, it'll help you in the long run. Just make sure it's only for studying.

[liyuviq]

Can I be honest rn...? Ehe- I just want you to know that I have a big fat crush teenie-tiny admiration 🤏 for Shin for as long as the first time I saw them, which is honestly not that long ACKAIFJDJ BUT‼️‼️ CAN I BEG FOR YOUR BLESSINGS TO DRAW INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SHIN AND MY SONA PSPSPSPSPS, IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE MUTUALLY ROMANTIC, I CAN ACCEPT ONE SIDED TROPES 😭😭💔💜 I JUST REALLY WANT TO INTERACT WITH YOUR SHIN CUZ I LOVE THEIR PERSONALITY (I am literally simping so hard rn, please tell me I ain't the only one because I refuse to believe I'm the only one⁉️⁉️) But fr though, you draw saur GOOOOD that it's making me fall harder for your art and your oc🥰💜🫶✨

Have this very rushed drawing while I was in class earlier -

(p.s. is there a Shin admirers club??? Please inform me asap so I can join 🤩🤩)

u r making me blush???? WJAJIWIIWSKW 🫣🫣

is this what a proud mother feels when her child (shin) is becoming popular 😩😭😭😭

TYSM FOR BOTH THE ART N UR WORDS OUDCHFIUEHCD THEY R SO SWEET 😭💕💕💕 the art is so very adorable look at her flushed expression ☺️ n shin is so cute in ur styleeee. look at them being the shoujo manga love interest with those sparkles and flowers 🌸✨✨

n a shin admirer club??? i don’t even know if there will be enough members (in the first place i never expected people to like my child this much 😩) but who knows maybe u can start it as the president 👀👀

AND OF COURSE I CAN DRAW THEM INTERACTING IM CURIOUS MYSELF TOO ABT THEIR DYNAMICS

okay okay let me set the scene *insert classic shoujo anime bgm*

so wht if ariya was admiring shin from afar, but shin turned around n they met eyes! she panicked and ran right into a wall, then shin approached with worry in their eyes.

“Are you okay?”

ISNCFRIEFNIERFMIER (bro even im fangirling myself 😳😳)

canonically this admiration is gonna be one sided since shin doesn’t rlly care abt love and crushes 😭😭🙏🙏🙏 but IDC LETS BE A LITTLE DELULU

shin stop being so smooth u r gonna break her heart 😭😭😭 i can def see shin as the one who has unintentional rizz with women. to them they aren’t flirting but to others 💞💞

[greml1nb0i]

Besides the Viv situation, Gooseworx has personally created better demon OC designs than Viv could ever come up with

After TADC is finished and since Goose has been vocal about it only having one season I fully believe fans won’t have an issue with it. Her other personal works are so interesting that they’ve already have fanarts and she will likely remain popular even after the show ends. If she ever makes an official comic featuring them it would definitely achieve the same level of popularity

Coming from someone who has known Gooseworx long before TADC released its trailer I'm so happy to see more fans getting interested in her personal work Just look at these characters!!

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/759972522780459008/heres-a-backlog-of-various-arcwell-things-because?source=share

They're so good I can't wait to see more of them in the future and she showed just four panels that are more compelling than the entire Hellaverse combined

Excuse my simping but the Lich, Dilf demon and that fem guy demon have way hotter and sexier designs than those two-inch-waist twinks. I wouldn't be surprised if Goose made a official comic introducing them and it became a major success while Vivziepop secretly stews in jealousy. Especially since demons are supposed to be her thing yet Goose is out here doing it better

(Knowing Goose has composed soundtracks for Viv’s shows and has gained way more popularity with TADC plus after reading those screenshots of what she said to Dana I wouldn’t be surprised)

Well said Anon.

I agree, and also THATS what those lil drawings were for?! they looked sick af, ive seen them on my fyp before, but didnt know what they were for.

my only apprehension with this is,

"After TADC is finished and since Goose has been vocal about it only having one season I fully believe fans won’t have an issue with it."

Do you remember how the Murder Drone fandom acted when Liam said this exact same thing and to this day, people are still begging him to make another seasons or series of murder drones.

I ofc believe Goose is gonna STAY popular and that will def make Viv seethe, im more worried about the pressure some of the fans put Goose and Liam and even Dana under for their indie projects.

OFC whatever Dana and Goose make ill end up loving regardless, they are so fucking talented it make me want *explode.mp4*

thanks for the ask Anon

[kuromipuzzles2000]

"Boss, Boss!! we need you to see something very important right now! if you please. . ."

"ugh, what now, #1?"

"come and SEE!"

". . .fine"

*sigh. . .*

AHEM

these. . .are the rules, Kuromies

draw any of my Mr. Puzzles AUs OR Mr. 4 OR my other 4 ocs, even me, KuromiPuzzles2000, your favorite, the most underrated, overrated, is on you, here's all their references:

2. any theme, celebrating, doing anything, clothes swap, mother and kids moment, the 4 puzzles hanging out, only not do proshipping or nsfw, that is sick. . .pls (if you draw some ships like Swap Puzzl3 and their kid too, will appreciate lol)

3. please no force yourself on join if you no want. . .

4. no insults, no indirects, no hate, no drawing my ocs and sona dead

the prices?

well here are the prices for the first 3 places (yeah only join if you love my art and no care how the drawing will end)

1st place: a drawing of your sona or OC of your preference with your favorite Puzzles AU interacting, or doing anything or posing

2nd place: marketable plushie of your sona or oc! you'll be a cute plushie :D

3rd place: a fanart of your favorite character of any franquise (pls let it be a easy character i can draw, i am still a noob drawing)

the contest will end on: February 28th (knowing people is busy on school I'll give an entire month! even if the 200 followers event finishes when i post a special pic as thanks)

along side some drawings i had planned do and idk when but i will do it for this special~

oh, you can ask my sona (me) something, just. . .no go so far of what i had tell you already. . .~

hope you all enjoy this little event i'll make. . .not everyone hits 200 followers every day

[otakubagimlisiumi]

I have a different oc than the others but I'm happy to post this-!

And I warn you, English is not my native language, I may make mistakes, please ignore or warn me guys.

Thank you to Nora - @aquaberryvanilla - who encouraged me and was very helpful! <3

i wanted to interact with their other ocs, because why not (Bullworth academy is a lively place, afterall xd)

She lost her face in an explosion after mixing the wrong ingredients in chemistry class, that's why she wears prosthetics.

Her mother is Turkish and her father is British.

She is a cool-headed person, generally neutral towards people except for her close friends.

She thinks Claire is a helpful and cute young girl. (Claire by @casinf )

No one knows Tammy's face without prosthetics expect Nora, Volt, and Gary.

She wasn't even upset about losing her face, she thought it was different from others and stood out.

She usually hangs out in the art class and spends most of her time there.

She doesn't like the preps because of their snobbery, except for Nora and Tad!

She considers Volt to be her best friend because she loves how he listens to her without complaining. (Volt by @paullll-novg )

She enjoys reading books and manga, as well as watching anime.

She missed Halloween because she was too engrossed in her drawings (Unhappy about that.)

She is not interested in old-time fashion, but thanks to Ruth, she sometimes likes to talk to her about 1950s and 1960s women's fashion. (Ruth by @fairyk133 )

Gary's only friend (maybe more than friends), but Tammy is still suspicious about it (she thinks he'll betray her like he did to Jimmy.)

Other alternative outfits and what does Tammy wear?

[spinnenpfote6]

Regarding your author's note I think it's actually a good way to let ppl know that you are able to make them enjoy stuff they otherwise wouldn't! I've had a few comments on my video edits about the (infamous) Star Wars sequels saying that while they didn't like the movies they *did* like my edits. There were a few discussions about these types of comments on Tumblr that they might be considered kinda rude in disguise but I took them as a compliment because my skills made them look at the movies (or parts of them) a different way that was able to make them happy.

But I know what you mean! I love Frodo (obviously lol) and would love to see more Frodo x OC/Frodo x Reader but most of it is Sam x Frodo, though I have found a VERY good Frodo x OC story on AO3 ("Left The Tenderness Of Tears" by Lurea, for those who wanna know).

My best guess is that fandoms in general lean heavily on shipping and we already have an established emotional connection featuring lots of tender moments in both the movies and the books between Frodo and Sam that everybody loves. The LOTR fandom has LOTS of queer fans who see themselves in the characters where I believe the ambiguity of their relationship even fuels it instead of calming it down (what is something some would expect instead) because it's normalizing to the platonic/non-sex love parts of a gay relationship. It would be a perfect tragic love story which people simply want more of - even if the fandom has spawned some weirdly black and white corners where there's either extreme homophobic hatred for SamFro shippers OR extreme hatred for Sam/Rosie/OC or Frodo/OC shippers where the mere idea that the hobbit boys could be straight or bi/pan is simply outrageous, even if it makes total sense for Sam in canon. Much of the fandom seems to actively try to fight all the "heteronormative stuff" and while that can be good, they sometimes go overboard with it, so there's no place for Frodo x female OC for such an "obviously gay" character and it's probably also the reason Rosie isn't too much of a beloved character (not that she's hated, she just seems overlooked and more of a stepping stone or even replacement for Sam in order to get to his "true love" Frodo. Some believe she was just shoehorned into the story because of the 1900's homophobia and/or Tolkien's Christianity).

As for Frodo x OC, the fan fictions we've mentioned have female OC's where I think Frodo's personality and role come into play. The books and especially the movies establish him as a soft and more quiet and less obvious hero - someone who cries, has weak moments, fights very little and has to be saved a lot by his friends. He seems cozy and innocent, more childlike (more so in the movies but ya know) than the other heroes and his small size, huge hairy feet and Elijah Wood's youthful cutesy face with the big blue eyes certainly add to the feeling of character who is coddled and taken care of like a child or adorable fantasy creature (even in the books other characters are constantly like "OMG you little funny guys are so cute haha", despite the hobbits being grown men - well, except for Pippin). This is a stark contrast to the female fan's most popular men, Aragorn and Legolas, who are badass manly fighters whose friends are their equal. Even if they have soft and lovely moments they still fit the women's fantasy of a strong man who can protect them, while Frodo is less the type of guy to draw his sword and throw himself into carnage. He *is* good-looking, but more in a pretty, cute way and Aragorn's good-looking in a hot, handsome way, and especially since elves like Legolas are considered more traditionally appealing than hobbits (Frodo is often seen as a sort of 50-y/o rich, stoned farmer who lives in a teletubby house and just eats and writes all day) - even if most of us find hobbits more relateable lol. In theory you'd have less hot and cool adventures with Frodo n' his hobbit gang than with other LOTR characters. So people - especially straight women - are less likely to ship themselves with Frodo aka a hobbit by default and therefore do not seek out these types of stories while all the queer folks look for the cute SamFro content. (Not to mention that Frodo is more often overlooked than you'd think of the main character because he's so quiet and misunderstood)

Additionally I think many fans believe that Frodo staying in the Shire somehow undermines LOTR's main message and purpose, as in him getting a happy ending at home makes it seem like his trauma and wounds have no real consequences (since him leaving for Valinor is a big thing), even if the "Happy Ending In The Shire"-trope is popular, and the SamFro fan stuff at least has them sharing their mutual trauma and therefore aftermath of the journey. With Frodo - if you go by canon - you are somewhat bound to have your fanfiction contain heavy themes like PTSD in a homely place like the Shire and if it's not SamFro that's unappealing to many fans because they are just not interested. With an OC you don't know what to expect and, well, you simply have no audience even if the small number of people who like it absolutely love it.

(I actually found myself to have 2 reasons why I as a woman like to ship myself (or my OC) with Frodo - aside from the fact that I love the character and find Elijah Wood incredibly cute. One, I think his quiet-observing, introverted and sensitive is very much like mine and I like to see myself in him and two, with my history of chronic illness I can get some catharsis out of imagining myself as the caretaker while Frodo is the one suffering. Idk, it seems like I have a general interest in more niche and heavy topics lol)

Now I realize I still have to read your story haha. But your discussion about why the LOTR fandom seems to be so allergic to Frodo x (female) OC caught my attention because it's SO true! They're hard to find on AO3 and I wish the fandom had a bigger space for it!

(Btw with this post I'm not trying to be mean towards SamFro or queer LOTR shippers in general - or Aragorn/Legolas girls - all that was just my observation of how the shipping stuff in the fandom works^^. I very much appreciate the soft sweet queer and Stan-The-Strong-Hot-Guy content! It makes total sense! But c'mon, we should give Frodo some more of our own love as well!)

You know what's interesting?

I may have posted about this before, but the literal number one piece of feedback I get about The Flowers of Mordor is "I was skeptical about the premise, but now I'm sold!"

Which is great. It means something good about my writing - that I've been able to tell the story in a convincing way, that the characters acted in believable ways, and won the reader's hearts.

What I still don't understand, however, is why the premise seems to go SO much against the grain.

After all, I can't be the only person who wishes Frodo could have healed in the Shire. I can't be the only person who wants to ship themselves with Frodo. (Let's face it, canon/OC is sometimes, though not always, a vehicle for self-shipping, and that's totally fine! Fandom is all about wish fulfillment, and I am all for it.) In the end, I can't be the only person to wish Frodo could have found his happy ending with someone else besides Sam-maybe-eventually-in-Valinor. (Yes, sharing Sam or a poly arrangement is an option, and so is Rosie-as-a-beard, and so is erasing Rosie, but none of those approaches have felt satisfying to me, and again, I can't be the only one who holds this opinion).

Yes, I get that Frodo/FOC is not canon, but canon/OC rarely ever is. (And yes, I know I've made a fuss before about how Marigold is not an OC, but she is quite similar to an OC: she is mentioned briefly in canon, but all of her character development in FOM is my own).

Also, there are many non-canon premises that people absolutely go wild for, such as Boromir lives, or Thorin lives, or even Boromir and Theodred, so why exactly is it so difficult to see Frodo with an OC? It's been done with almost every other character, even ones who have canonical partners.

I mean, yes, to begin with, Frodo is positioned in canon as a confirmed bachelor, and Samfro is a very popular ship. But at the same time, Sam and Frodo are written and portrayed ambiguously enough that there is room for interpretation. They could be lovers, there could be unrequited pining, it could be one-sided on either of their parts, or they could be good friends. All of those things are possible. And similarly, Frodo could be a confirmed bachelor for a number of reasons: perhaps he is asexual or gay, or he is too much of an oddball, or he had a relationship that didn't work out, or it's the Ring's doing, or he senses he will someday follow in Bilbo's footsteps and is reluctant to put down roots. All of those things are possible.

So I have to wonder: maybe Frodo/OC or Frodo/someone besides Sam is not the most common ship, but why exactly is it such a hard sell? I just don't see it.

In fact, Flowers of Mordor is in part written for much-younger me, who first encountered the books and movies and genuinely wondered whether things could have been different if Frodo had found a nice hobbit lass to love.

Granted, at that age I was probably too young to understand the import of Frodo's burden, and the scars it left behind. Today, I understand that the ending was tragic but necessary, but a part of that hopeless romantic remains: I wish it could have been different. I wish Frodo could have found love. I wish that love could have conquered all. And as I said before, isn't fanfiction all about wish fulfillment?

[raskies456]

genuinely no idea how people do art fight. like even disregarding the fact I now have as full time job and no spoons left to spare I am also just allergic to making character refs for my own OCs

[nyaa]

「QUMARION（クーマリオン」は、「CLIP STUDIO PAINT」 2013-08-03

[blackkatdraws2]

The narrator and the ugly ahh protagonist [Blank Scripts AU/non-canonical]

[katiekatdragon27]

Guys what is this book and what is the Bill on it? All I know is gay shapes-

A. Sphere: I'm not calling you "Good Boy" A. Square, that court case was SHIT.

Me earlier: Wow! The Book of Bill just came out, that's cool ig.

Everyone recently: *being super active in the tag, watching the movies, relogging and liking my art*

Me: *me carrying some small doodles over* WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE???

Thanks for bringing me back to brainrot by spam-liking all my old posts guys I forgive none of you (/J I LOVE YOU ALL)

More stuff below cut (BE WARNED NEW FLAT-PEOPLE SOME OF IT IS LOWKEY SPOILERY):

A. Square and A. Faux Line: Damn, that circle kinda a hottie- ...

I had this silly idea after my 29374th time watching Flatland that a majority of the first part of the movie is just A. Sphere watching all the shit go down like the worst telenovela you've ever seen. Also, that A. Line was originally going to be the apostle, but... uh... she can't really do that anymore, so he banks all his money on A. Square.

Also, I thought it would be super funny of A. Square and A. Faux Line both crushed on A. Sphere when he first showed up lol. Crazy smooth priest spawns and everyone swoons.

Older Hex doodles too. I love Hex, they're such a real one the whole time. With all the faults of Sphereland, I do like Hex maining in that one. But I also like picking and choosing which things I take as canon in my own work, so you get young adult Hex with their totally not-romantically-involved-with-at-all partner Punto (P. Octagon).

It's been a bit since Flatland happened in this hypothetical, so A. Square's still around. He's trying to be supportive of his masc-nonbinary kid who likes kissing boys, but still has to be annoying with dad jokes and the occasional backhanded compliment. He means well tho.

A. Tesseract: Hello A. Square!

A. TESSERACT OH HOW I'VE MISSED YOU POOKIE <3333. She's probably one of my most favorite ocs I've made (and the one that gets the most art <3) She's also the one I feel the least awkward about shoving into the source material lol. I yearn to work on A Heightlander's Escape again, but we'll see.

I just wanted to draw something cute between her and A. Square. She may or may not be the voice at the end of the movie hmmmmmmmm.

At least A. Square would end up in good hands.

"There is always something beyond. There is always INFINITY."

Just a little doodle of smth I may or may not render cuz I really like how it looks. There is always something greater after all.

Thank you all for the recent support on those old-ish drawing, y'all made my week tbh. I have a new AU cooking for this so look forward to that lol. Have a good one :)))

[myokk]

🥺

[deoidesign]

quick traditional piece for fun ^^

[gwinverarrouz]

A timeline of Bisig!! Since I've decided her birthday was in July, I felt it was time for a little retrospective :>

Thought it'd be fun to see how the way I've drawn her has evolved over the years!

[blujayonthewing]

fucking stupid how much damage has been done by 'but why don't you ever do [thing] for ME 🥺' + 'this art you did is so good that you SHOULD be doing something More and Better and actually it's super disappointing that you're not' like I'm a grown ass adult woman now when will I stop being haunted by the fucking spectre of the guilt of things I Should Also Be Doing