#why draw if no monetary gain?

[valarioncy]

Yes. Look, I used to be a frequent and heavy user of DeviantArt back in the day (uh oh, old person alert), when I was in junior high and high school. I'd probably still be using it if people had actually continued to engage with me on that platform. But they didn't. They stopped. People left the site and I lost that community. Spent years lingering around screaming into the void. Haven't found that sense of community since.

Early fandom to me was like this:

You posted your works because you wanted to share them with a community. People, often likeminded people of a similar skillset or mindset, would engage with your works. Just as often you would engage with them and their works too, and spur each other on in whatever art pursuits you and your mini-community were on.

I had a friend who didn't draw, he was only interested in perfecting his coloring skills. More power to him. I hope he got a job coloring comics.

I had a friend who drew art behind his parents' back because they believed it was a waste of time and would punish him if they found his drawings. This guy loved art enough to keep drawing despite the risks. More power to him. I hope he got out of that situation and is thriving.

There was one person who hated their art so much every time they'd post it, and I was just sort of like "dude what are you talking about your art is peak". I still think their art was peak.

(ART TRADES!!! Oh my gosh art trades. You know what people on DA would do if they were both moneyless but liked each other's art and characters? They would draw each other's characters for a mutually agreed upon Art Trade! Community!!! Friendship!!!)

I met people who became my closest friends, and if we were all still using DeviantArt we'd probably still be in regular contact.

In another fandom I frequented a chatroom (pre-Discord era, it was on a site called Chatzy) with a group of other writers within the same fandom. We'd just talk casually about our day to day lives, the fics we were working on, and it was SO down to earth. No discourse, just vibing. To think it happened 10 years ago. To think that fandom 10 years ago was so different. Gosh, some of you were actual little kids 10 years ago. ;0;

(Obligatory "Cyrokin feels old" mention)

Anyway it feels like in modern fandom there's this extra barrier between people who make the stuff and people who enjoy the stuff. I don't like that barrier, I think it sucks. Fandom, and internet community at large, is about social relationships, not parasocial ones. Drop the pretenses and let people be people, view all experiences as worth listening to and learning from, it's a good way to live.

Anyway thanks for letting me be a nostalgic old coot on main. :>

Passionate reminder to The Hollow Fandom, and honestly to any fandom on this website that’s currently struggling to stay alive, that fandom is a community of various creators and non-creators supporting each others’ interest in the same show. It is not a secondary source of consumer content.

“Our fandom is dying!” Have you recently reblogged a post where you shared your thoughts in the text or in the tags? Have you posted anything about the show yourself? Have you actually engaged with the fanbase? A fandom isn’t dead when there’s only a couple people in it, a fandom is dead when no one is talking to each other or supporting each other.

“I don’t need/want to reblog!” Tumblr does not have that kind of algorithm. If you don’t reblog a post, it doesn’t get spread out there. Yes, you need to reblog if you want a thriving fandom. Don’t call yourself a part of a fandom if you’re not even willing to reblog content that the members of that fandom create.

Stop expecting “top dog fandom creators” to constantly feed you the content you want without any sort of encouragement from you. They are not showrunners making a huge profit off their work. They are not gods. A lot of them have lives of their own and/or are struggling with their own issues, and usually they’re very approachable. If you like what a fandom creator is doing, pay them back with reblogs and engagement. Posting in a fandom where its members refuse to interact with its community in a meaningful way isn’t fun, so everyone needs to step up here and start supporting each other.

Talk to your fellow fandom friends. Ask them about their interests regarding the show you all like and what headcanons and AUs you all have of them. Create content for each other. Can we please bring back old fandom culture, folks? Does anyone here remember the old days of fandom where we were passionate and we made connections with each other? What happened to that?

Remember: the word “fandom” is a combination of “fan” and “kingdom”. This is a fan kingdom, not a fan restaurant.

Fandom isn’t just about content. It’s about connection. You are allowed to reblog a post and compliment someone and start a conversation with them. That is actually what you SHOULD be doing!

[sleep-token-confessions]

In light of recent events surrounding fanart takedowns let me bring up a few things for consideration:

Not every single Sleep Token fanart is in danger. Stop spreading that please, because it is not the case. Most of the accounts taken down were accounts that sell fan created works. Accounts that only share, without money being exchanged are seem to be safe or only mistakenly suspended and they are being reactivated if the copyright claim was provably mistakenly applied.

Additionally:

Not only the logo falls under copyright protection but everything Sleep Token (from music, to costumes, to names etc). Which includes the likenesses of the members. You cannot make money from that. You cannot draw Vessel and put a price on the drawing. Because legally it is not yours to sell.

Fair use does not mean you can use copyrighted material for monetary gain. This includes using it as advertisement. Please look up what actually fair use means. There is nothing there that states you are protected from the copyright holder if you are selling said copyrighted material.

Fair use is technically only in practice in the US. Sleep Token is not a US based business entity. Different international laws might apply in their case.

(sidenote: Creative Common licenses also do not allow you to sell or use as advertisment any sort of copyrighted material, it is in a very similar ballpark)

RCA does not hate fanart. They are not stopping anyone from making fanworks. They want to stop you from selling it. Because it is copyrighted material. They don't want you to make money off of someone else's property.

RCA is not here to kill your creativity, RCA is there to protect Sleep Token's property. (Which again, includes their likeness.) They are in a business contract. Which makes RCA's responsibility to protect the Sleep Token property from theft. They are going to protect what is their's. Both of their's. Regardless of personal feelings. There are things called contractual obligations. and there are laws. Anf rights. They have the right for their own creation and/or property. Which, again, is not yours to sell.

It is not as simple as "RCA is the bad guy." They are a business entity. They will act according to their interest but in confines of the law. If you want to object to what they do, learn every single legal clause that could be invovled to defend your stance because the "they hate fanart" not going to stand in a legal enviroment.

If you have fanart you do not profit off of on the same platform as you sell your other works from, it is going to be confusing to differentiate what is actually generating profit for you and what isn't. And by law it can be considered advertisement for the monetized creations even if they not directly generate money for you. The usage of copyrighted material as an advertisement is still prohibited by law and directly violates copyrights. So the entire account will be taken down. Keep it separate however much it sucks.

I understand why a lot of you are upset over all what is happening. I'm not a fan of it either. But that doesn't mean it isn't a copyright violation.

.

[melontoyo]

Gonna say something because this is a personal blog: Genuinely hate how as an artist on social media, you can only grow an audience if you either: draw the exact same thing in the exact same style over and over again OR dedicate yourself to drawing fanart of the current most popular shows / games.

If you wanna be like....... a normal artist, then you're out. You have no chance. This reality hits me every time and it makes me... sad? Especially because to me, the most rewarding part of making art is getting to show others what I made. But hardly anyone's gonna look, unless you focus on that one thing and recycle it into eternity.

I always challenge myself to draw unique artwork without any "repeats" (altho, I've also learned to sometimes go easy and let myself draw a comfort zone artwork). But it's clearly not a way to make an impression or grab people's attention. If you draw x and someone's interested in that, they won't follow you unless your profile contains a whole array of xa and xb and xc and xd and xe and xf etc.

And it's just so weird, because while you might find monetary success with one approach, each approach comes with unhappiness. Either you draw what you want, and are unhappy about nobody being there to look at your stuff OR your force yourself to drive down a single narrow road (is any artist happy doing that?) while gaining a following and perhaps financial success. And I guess many people work jobs they hate, but the reason why I wanna do illustration is because I don't want to hate my job.

So, the only way out of this dilemma is to get those sweet commercial jobs, but jobs for graduates chronically do not exist. And then you think like, if I'm working minimum wage (or far below) anyway, why don't I just pick up a minimum wage job. I know I would love some assembly line work, but then I won't have time to draw anymore!!!!

Incohesive rant about a dilemma: done.

Also I want to add: If you chose to stick with me despite me not drawing that One Thing or That Fanart - You are the best, I love you, thanks.

[jccatstudios]

SoC Comic Adaptation and General FAQ

General

Who are you?

Hi, I'm Claire (she/they)! I'm currently studying to become a professional comic creator. I love drawing fashion, expressive characters, and anti-hero action.

Where else can I find your work?

You can find all my work on my website! I'm also on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. You can find my fan art under the handle jccatstudios, and my original art under jcscottart (only on Instagram and Twitter).

How can I support your work?

Besides supporting my work through your lovely comments and reblogs, you can help monetarily support me on Ko-Fi. Your support helps fund my college education.

Six of Crows: A Comic Adaptation

Why are you doing this?

Ever since I read the duology, I always thought it would make a great graphic novel series. When my professor encouraged me to start a webcomic, I took the opportunity to make the comic I imagined into reality. I want to see the whole series illustrated through comics one day. If I got the chance to make the official adaptation, that would be one of my biggest dream projects. I'm also using this project as an opportunity to improve my skills before I graduate.

Will you post it on (insert webcomic platform)?

Probably not. Most online comic platforms are meant for scroll format, and I'm making a traditional format comic. Plus, I post on so many sites already, so I think adding another would take too much time out of actually creating the comic.

Will you draw the whole book/series?

I wish I could! Since I'm not doing this full-time or professionally, that's quite unlikely. It would take years to complete it full-time, who knows how long as a hobby. I'd love to add a six-volume SoC graphic novel series to my shelf, but that of course can't be done without some serious backing. I'm currently working on adapting Chapter 3.

Where's Chapter 1: Joost?

I never drew it! I started with Chapter 2: Inej because I wanted to draw the main characters first. The first chapter of the comic is the second chapter of the book. I name the comic chapters after the book chapters just to make it clear which part of the book they correspond to.

Can I repost your art, use your art for layouts/edits, etc?

Yes, you may with visible credit. If you use it for your profile layout, put my handle in your bio. If you're reposting it or using my art for edits/collages, put my handle in the description. As long as it's for personal use, you can use my art. Do not sell copies of my art, use it in merch, or use it for any sort of monetary gain. Do not use my art for prompting or generating images.

Can I use your character designs and headcanons in fanart, fanfic, etc?

Absolutely! Please tag me if you do. I don't need credit since I didn't create any of these characters, but I definitely want to see what you create. :D

How do you make the comic?

The comic is made with mostly traditional methods with some digital editing. I pencil and ink all of the pages on bristol board. I mainly use the G-pen nib for characters and technical pens for the backgrounds. Once I scan the pages, I do light adjustments to the line art and correct any mistakes. The gray tones come from a single sheet of ink wash adjusted to be lighter or darker. The bubbles and lettering are all digital.

If anything else comes up, I'll add it here! Feel free to send me an ask if you have a question that isn't on this post.

[lazysublimeengineer]

Hello. Let me exposed this kind of reader who is a coward and toxic to the fanfic authors.

Usually, when I received this kind of reviews in the past it doesn't faze me and I just don't care in general or if I'm in a happy mood I don't have any qualms of obliterating them online.

But what I can't tolerate is these kind of readers shitting on the other author's work just because they want to and abusing their freedom and rights to be critical of their story just because they don't like something in there.

As a fellow writer and author myself let me tell you this to you readers and to this cowardly reader who hides being a guest reviewer in this platform. I have an intention to respond to that story but since I can't find it anymore there (most likely that it was deleted), I'll be giving a piece of my mind:

As an author, it is very delightful and inspirational to receive a simple commentary or review to the works that we publish on an online platform. We appreciate it really. It fuels us to share more stories to the fandom itself. Now if you don't like it or if it doesn't cater to your taste then that's fine. Not all readers share the same taste as you. If you leave an objective critique about our work then that's great. BUT TO OFFER A DISGUSTING COMMENTARY ABOUT HOW DISAPPOINTING YOUR FIC IS AND WILL STOP SUPPORTING THEM THAT'S WHERE I DRAW THE LINE. I don't care if I lose a reader or whatever. I'm publishing stories since the dawn of a lifetime but to see privileged readers being a BULLY TO OTHER WRITERS SUCH AS MYSELF I WON'T TURN A BLIND EYE TO IT AND I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS OF OBLITERATING YOU ONLINE. Words are powerful. It can make or break a person's morale and mental health.

To wtf (Guest) reader, if you're reading this, your response exposes you on how much of a moron you are. The day you humiliated an author online because they decided to write an ISARIN fic on BL fandom is the day you lose your right to say to me to STOP BEING NOSY AND MIND MY OWN BUSINESS. BULLY READERS LIKE YOU ARE ONE OF THE REASONS WHY SOME OF THE AUTHORS ARE HESITANT TO SHARE THEIR FICS BECAUSE OF YOUR DISGUSTING WORDS. If you're abusing your freedom of speech to shit on a fellow author like me, then I'm using my right as well to EXPOSED BULLIES LIKE YOU ONLINE.

Lastly, to the other readers who are reading this. Please refrain from being a reader like this who doesn't READ A PROPER TAGGING AND AUTHOR'S NOTES. It's not our obligation to cater to your whims and needless whines just because you don't like the story and failed to read the taggings and warnings first. FANFIC AUTHORS DO NOT GAIN ANY MONETARY VALUE FROM SHARING THEIR FICS ONLINE. We write because we want to. And not to satisfy the other reader's taste. There's a back button there for a reason. I won't be revealing that story online and the author to still provide a confidentiality to them.

I know there's a ton of toxic readers like wtf (Guest) and I can't probably stop them with a post like this but I want to spread awareness and kindly request to stop being an idiot like this reader.

[economicsresearch]

page 562 panel a - Of course you are welcome to tell yourself that the machine connects you to more of your life, in the same way having access to wikipedia makes you smarter. It doesn't. You are an empty vessel that sometimes feels filled but moments later you are drained and vacant. You don't remember anything. You just look and move on. You have farmed out the hard work of memory to a tool and you are now slave to it, your abilities of recall atrophied. Plenty obliterates all nuance and subtlety. Unless your goal is to be a shit cyborg whose experience of the world is a shallow one, you are not better for your tools.

The cost of it all only adds to the humiliation. Not just the cost of having emotional profundity erased and overridden by visual overabundance, but there is actual treasure we hand over to be treated in this way. A worse product at a higher price. Remembering for ourselves is free but now there's rent. Maybe only cents on the day but still we tithe a corporation to keep a dead parent alive or remember an ex who we hated at the end. Why are they still here? Monetary cost, emotional cost, such small amounts you barely notice, but real all the same. The ghosts of memory we can't quite see, the ghosts of wealth drained that we never knew we had, they all grow fat and laugh at us.

Memories gained, memories lost. It feels natural, like the moon and the tides, ceaseless and without worry. As the night draws on this moonrise is lost but there will be another tomorrow, it goes. But once we decided to hoard and fortify, make memories permanent now that they're safely stored outside our fallible biology, it all becomes brittle and a loss is catastrophic; there is trauma in preservation now. Our technological aide-memoire (usurper-memoire?) make us think it can all be retained, we just need to use the tools, pay the toll, be conscientious, have some goddamned personal responsibility. But a harddrive melts, a password is lost or a company goes bankrupt and once again there is the same old loss. Only this time it's your fault. If only there had been a third back-up or a fourth, then I wouldn't have so foolishly deleted this piece of my soul. And we are left ill and worried by a buzz inside us as we try to keep it all safe, but we can't. We can't control the corporation that dances and sways in capitalism's breeze or even the micro solder that has some imperfect weakness at an atomic level, We can only pray.

[finalboyyy]

i don't wanna format this its not a full thought its just im kinda obsessed with the new ovw event and like. bro they gave him a voiceline where he says kneel.

——

galactic emperor sigma has it for told that someone will soon come to bring him untold riches.

the someone of course is you. he expected money, weapons, monetary gain. he did not expect to pace his throne room with the only thing on his mind being you. you consume his every waking thought until it feels like you've swallowed him whole, like a black hole drawing him into the unknown. it's too much that you're not constantly by his side.

that's why he had you arrested. the falsification of evidence was simple for his all knowing seer and the job of arresting you without hurting you was left to the captain of the guard. all that's left is chaining you to his throne and keeping you as a good obedient pet for the rest of your life.

be good, it pays to be the emperor's pet.

[not-gray-politics]

I think something that's important for people to recognize is that you can like something and also call out/be aware of its problems at the same time. Like, you can like the amazing animation in spiderverse and also acknowledge that it has a fatphobia problem. You aren't a bad person for wanting to like some aspects of something and not others. I think a good way to draw lines is to see: - if the problematic or bigoted parts of a piece of media are central to its plot (if removing them would change large parts of the story or characters, it's time to reconsider what you gain from consuming it in the first place. It can be hard to let go of media you grew up with or feel attached to, but sometimes it's worth it if it means not internalizing harmful ideas and caricatures) - how much money from purchases/support goes to the creator if the creator is the problematic part and not the contents of the media itself (this is easier solved than the other points cause if the answer to the first point is no, you can always give things the ol yarr harr 🏴‍☠️ yknow what im sayin) - whether the person/people creating said media is using their monetary gain or popularity to actively influence politics or has made it a direct clear personal goal to attack certain groups of people (For example, a handful of insensitive or harmful jokes will always be bad, and it's up to the individual if they want to forgive something like that or not, but there's a point of no return when it goes from shitty jokes to active intentional malice and outright attacks. It's why I can try to enjoy other aspects of an anime that has a small handful of fatphobic jokes in it that can be skipped, but I will never support anything the kardashians make because they actively work in the diet industry which destroys people mentally and physically every day. Or how I will never be okay with anyone supporting J.K. Rowling because she didn't just write some bad tropes into her books, she's actively attacking marginalized communities in real life and has become a supporter of outright fascism. There's a line and it's pretty clear.) These are just my guidelines and thoughts though, lmk if there's something else I should've included or mentioned

[genericpuff]

A lil' disclaimer.

Just because it's come up a couple times in the past, I wanna make something perfectly clear - I would never encourage people jump on other comics the way I do LO. The reason why LO is so heavily criticized by so many of us is because it's a multimillion phenomenon that... doesn't act like it is. It's so massively advertised both on the app AND outside of it (to the point it's gotten real life ads in New York) that for many people, it's an entry point into webcomics and yet it's functionally one of the worst webcomics out there, lacking in every major facet from composition to writing to character consistency.

Webcomics are an amazing medium that are loved so much for being accessible. Literally anyone can draw or write a comic. There are no rules, no restrictions, no corporate control. It's a lot of work, and not every person who tries to do it will be good at it or make money off it or become a worldwide phenomenon, but all you need to make one is an internet connection and an idea. You don't have to do it digitally, you don't have to be published through a platform, anyone can make webcomics. It's frankly been astounding to me to see it become an actual industry over the past several years.

Unfortunately, that industry has been led by corporations that do not value their creators, and comics that do not represent the best of what the medium has to offer. I only rip into LO as hard as I do for the same reason people rip into Twilight or Harry Potter or Overwatch 2 - it's a piece of work that's being professionally made with the expectation that people will pay for it and thus is held to a different standard and context than what you would hold a first timer or a hobbyist to.

If my rants do make any of you budding artists out there worry, then I apologize. But rest assured, I do not apply the same scrutiny to creators like you or myself as I do to LO. You're someone who's making this for fun, for free, for learning. You're doing it on your own time for your own personal gain, and very likely little to no monetary gain. LO is a commercially made project with millions of dollars of investments backing it, merchandising deals, a TV deal, and print books, not to mention multiple assistants ensuring that RS hits her deadlines, more assistants than most Originals creators can even afford. LO is barely even in the same playground as other Originals comics on the platform that can only afford 1-2 assistants and have to hope they can even get 2 hours of ad time in the banner reels; let alone compared to the Canvas comics or hobbyist-driven comics being made by someone like you or myself, which it isn't even neighbors with and hasn't been for years now.

I hold LO to a higher standard because I hold the industry to a higher standard - one that should be observed, analyzed, and discussed because of the precedent LO and top-earning comics like it sets in the industry and in the medium. Whether RS likes it or not, that's the reality of being a top creator in an industry, especially one that's still as new and unstable in the west as webcomics/webtoons.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

[immobiliter]

so i wanted to talk about furina + mora for a moment because for pretty obvious reasons this girl has absolutely no concept of money or monetary value. she may have been the archon and ultimately in charge of fontaine for all those years, but as is often the way with heads of state, they may deal with overarching political issues but there are usually very busy people behind the scenes actually dealing with the day to day running of a country

any and all of her assets are tied up with the palais mermonia ( seeing as that was her home for all those years and she had no freedom or life outside of that. she had a job but was never paid for it, hence is the nature of her sort of public service ), so it means that when she leaves following the archon quest, she is entirely dependent on the palais and neuvillette to provide the funds to live from day to day in her new apartment

BUT there is an interesting little tidbit that comes up in her teapot voicelines~

i'm fully of the opinion that furina had no idea about this private reserve until some time after the AQ ( i imagine it came to light as palais officials went through the bureaucratic officialdom involved in "retiring" their archon and transferring power to neuvillette. nation of hydro? nation of justice? fontaine is the nation of paperwork, truly ), nor that she had ever actually been paid for performances or that the money was sitting in an account accruing interest for centuries. why would she? she has never needed mora before lmao

i do think though that once this was discovered, this was her ticket to some sort of financial independence — which furina would want not just for the sake of burdening neuvillette/the palais with the costs of supporting her but also for the sake of their joint reputation. she knows that, in certain circles of fontaine, she is somewhat of a contentious figure and that many would want her break from the palais to be absolute. if it came out that "public" money or money from neuvillette, the most powerful figure in fontaine, was being used to fund her lifestyle ( particularly given her tendency for frivolous purchases that she admits to in her voicelines lmao ), that could damage the palais' reputation as a whole. so knowing that she has this reserve she can draw on ( and as i hc that she does eventually engage in artistic consultancy on the side, a lot like what she did in her story quest but without actually going on stage, she would be paid for this too ), she does eventually gain some measure of financial independence

[amewinterswriting]

Something that troubles a lot of new writers is the concept of ‘idea theft’. They are reluctant to share their concepts or plans, even amongst peers, because they are concerned that people will steal their ideas. Because of this, they don’t seek feedback on their ideas and hinder their creative growth.

The thing is, ideas are cheap, they aren’t original and they cannot be copyrighted. As tough as that can be to hear, the sooner you internalise it as a creative person, the more opportunities for growth you will have. But let me explain a little bit.

Ideas are cheap. A very good practice for anyone writing is to carry around a small notebook (or utilise the notes function on your phone) and brainstorm ideas in your daily life. Catching the bus to work? Observe people. Take note of what buildings you pass. Notice road names. What is the story behind them? How did they get here? Where are they going? How about writing down as many names for WIPs as you can in five minutes? Bonus points if you can work in a pun or innuendo into them. Make notes of local slang and dialects in your area/language. The point is, you can fill a notebook with ideas relatively quickly. The hard part is deciding which ideas you want to dedicate more time to, fleshing them out, writing the many thousands of words, editing, editing, more editing. Not to say anything of actually getting the idea out there, whether via an agent and traditional publishing or going it alone. Why would someone steal an idea for monetary gain if they still have to do 99% of the work? They could be spending that time on their own ideas, and probably be happier to do it.

Ideas aren’t original. You’ve probably heard that there are seven basic plots (if not, I highly recommend searching it up) - while you might disagree with the number or type of plots there are, the vague premise is true - stories and story shapes, characters and archetypes, tropes and themes have all been around for thousands of years, and I promise you that you haven’t suddenly discovered a new one that has never been done before. The more you read and consume and analyse story-based media, the more apparent it will be: works reference the works that have gone before it, sometimes blatantly, sometimes with a wink and a smile, and most often, entirely subconsciously on the part of the author. All of this is part of our cultural makeup, whether you like it or not. We are a species of storytellers, drawing on the tales we remember to craft anew. The creative part of creative writing comes in when we choose how to combine these story elements to convey the story we want to tell. The specific addition of details, the reinterpretation of themes, the unique point of view of the writer - that’s where the originality is. Two people can be given the prompt: ‘a werewolf gets into trouble on the full moon’ and both people could write wildly different stories. The trouble could be danger from a monster hunter, or the actions they took while transformed and can only barely remember. Or they could be as clumsy as the average greyhound and get themselves tangled in a fence. Or their mother could be telling them off for marking their territory inside the house! Depending on your interpretation, it could be straight-up horror, comedy, or a metaphor for being drunk. 

Ideas cannot be copyrighted. Given the above paragraph on all ideas being part of our cultural consciousness, this is a good thing. Star Wars could not exist without drawing on the ideas of samurai films, westerns and fairy tales. Modern fantasy as a genre draws from Tolkien, who referenced folklore and Shakespeare and filtered it through his own lived experiences and cultural identity. Modern Dystopian YA would look very different without the previous ideas of Orwell, Heller, Huxley and Bradbury. If anyone could have locked those ideas away, never for anyone else to use again, we would be culturally poorer off, and creating anything would be such a legal nightmare that no one would ever be able to do it. 

All this to say that idea theft is rare, and even if it does happen, their interpretation of the idea will be different to yours. (That isn’t to say that full works don’t get stolen, and it is prudent to have some kind of way to prove that a manuscript is originally your work. That is a topic for another time.) But sharing your ideas, especially with other writers, is a great way to refine, polish, and clarify what your concept is. Feedback from others is one of the best ways we can grow as creative people and make our work the best it can be. It doesn’t need to be public, it might just be a private chat with a writer friend. But expose your idea to new points of view and see where it takes you. You might be surprised!

This essay is also available on my Ko-fi. You know, just in case something happens to Tumblr in the near future.

[eerna]

Hello! This is incredibly random, but as a fanartist, enjoyer of critically examining media, and critic of capitalist corporations (*cough* Disney), do you have any thoughts about fan art being a form of unpaid labour?

Context is I’m writing an essay about digital labour and how fan creation is basically kind of like free PR for big corporations… and now whenever I do fanart I can’t get that thought out of my head uGH. I want to believe that drawing fanart is my own form of creative expression and way of showing love for the media, but at the same time I’m like “am I being exploited???” since I’m helping advertise smth for free and these corporations are just capitalizing on my love for said media??? and I can’t reconcile these thoughts 🥲🫠

Also I’m struggling with the essay LOL my eventual conclusion is that we as fans do have agency but we kind of still are being exploited… so it’s not a very optimistic outlook haha. Doesn’t help that the scholars’ articles I’m reading are all very negative about this digital labour thing. Help.

Sorry if this is unexpectedly deep!! 😅 just really curious to hear a fellow fanartist’s thoughts, and I respect you a lot for being unafraid to criticize media 🙏🙏

Hi! First of thank you for your kind words~ Second off, what a cool concept to discuss. Your message is pretty much how I feel. It is very frustrating to remember that so much of the media I love is so closely tied to the harmful cycle of capitalism. I grew up in a country that didn't have access to merch or much in the way of official media so piracy was my go-to most of the time. This means I was introduced to the concept of consumerist aspects of fandom via the Internet as a teenager and started feeling bad about "not supporting" stuff I love, but I told myself "Well I pay back by doing fanart and talking about it online". And then I found out about the way capitalism shapes the media landscape and started feeling bad for playing into it, the same as you. It gets even more conflicting when I am talking about something I dislike made by a company I dislike - yeah, I am probably preventing some people from interacting with the media for themselves, but I am also probably making others interested. What makes me feel better about the entire thing is that the "digital labour" I do is that I'm doing it for other fans like me, and to express myself. I love things so much that it makes me feel like I am going to explode, but pouring it out onto paper helps with it! Of course, I don't have to post it online for it to be worthwhile, but sharing it with others who feel the way I do makes the feelings even better. BUT one of the most important aspects of the issue is how willing those companies are to let me gain something monetary from the relationship. Are they ignoring fanworks being sold as fan merch, as commissions? It is illegal, but I feel like it should absolutely be allowed as a sort of unmentioned perk of being a fan worker, and the companies that don't allow that are evil. My audience gets bigger, I sell more prints, and so do they. (This is also why I never accept money for fanworks made by small creators, such as webcomics)

There's also the fact that lately I've been seeing the rise of "If you REALLY love this piece of media, it is your DUTY to consume it as much as possible and spread the word about it as much as possible and make the company as much money as possible if you want to see more things like it!" takes. These are utter bullshit and where enjoyment of media goes to die. The moment you reduce your love for something only to how much money it can make the evil capitalist overlords who allowed it to grace your eyes, you completely deny any kind of artistic worth. Media should exist because we deserve to have our hearts touched by stories, not because it makes someone money.

I don't have a clear answer or feel like my approach to the issue goes entirely along with my morality. But I don't think we can find a way to feel good about the entire situation as long as our media is dictated by capitalism. It's the sad reality of loving something in a system that will squeeze any money out of you that it can. But we gotta march on, remember that we are the ones allowing them to survive and not the other way around, and love while we do it. Good luck with your essay, stay positive!

[lokuhapuarachchi]

The Working-Class Candidate Gaining Global Attention as Sri Lanka Seeks a New Path

In recent weeks, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of Sri Lanka's National People's Power (NPP) alliance, has emerged as a formidable presidential candidate, drawing significant international media attention. His rise is particularly notable as Sri Lanka grapples with an unprecedented economic crisis, a situation that has left the country in dire need of new leadership capable of steering it toward recovery and stability.

Dissanayake has positioned himself as the candidate of the working class and the disenfranchised, groups that have been hit hardest by the country’s economic collapse. The crisis, which reached its peak in 2022, was characterized by severe shortages of essential goods, including fuel, cooking gas, medicines, and food. These shortages were compounded by unsustainable debt, poorly timed tax cuts, and the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The public’s frustration culminated in mass protests that eventually led to the ousting of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa​.

Why Sri Lanka Needs New Leadership

Sri Lanka’s current situation demands a leader who can address both the immediate economic hardships and the underlying issues of corruption and governance that have plagued the country for years. The existing political elite has been widely criticized for prioritizing personal gain over public welfare, leading to widespread disillusionment among the population. Dissanayake’s campaign is built on the promise of anti-corruption measures and economic reforms designed to benefit the broader population rather than just the elite.

Dissanayake’s leadership of the NPP, a coalition of 21 groups including political parties, trade unions, and civil society organizations, highlights his broad-based appeal. His commitment to systemic change resonates with those who believe that Sri Lanka’s traditional political structures have failed to serve the people effectively. This sentiment is particularly strong among the younger generation, who see in Dissanayake a leader capable of breaking away from the old, failed system.

International Perspective

The global community has taken note of Dissanayake’s rise, particularly his pragmatic approach to Sri Lanka’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While he has acknowledged the necessity of continuing with the IMF program, given the country’s financial collapse, he has also stressed the need to renegotiate terms to alleviate the burden on ordinary Sri Lankans. This balanced approach suggests that Dissanayake is not only aware of the need for economic stability but is also committed to ensuring that recovery efforts are equitable and just​.

As Sri Lanka prepares for its next presidential election, the need for new leadership has never been more apparent. The country stands at a crossroads, and the choice of its next leader will determine whether it continues to struggle under the weight of its challenges or embarks on a path toward genuine recovery and renewal. Dissanayake’s candidacy, with its emphasis on anti-corruption, economic reform, and working-class representation, offers a vision of change that many Sri Lankans—and international observers—find compelling.

[21iskindafunny]

Can we know about your version of yugotalia? :D like personalities and stuff

OMG… a yugotalia ask… I’m flattered… here are the basic characteristics of my versions of the ExYUs

IDEMOOOO!!!!!!

(I’m sorry if any of the personalities don’t seem fleshed out enough, being honest I’m working on a lot of different stuff at once and haven’t ever properly characterised them LOL. To summarise they’re a mix of the canon crumbs of Hetadesigns that Hidekaz once gave, Tixs Ideas and [mostly] how I’ve seen each country/their citizens act.)

Serbia / RS

Obv an Asshole. He has the heart of a fighter(seen on his eye-scar which he gained from Ottoman-times), and takes loss of his precious land horribly (very greedy in that sense!). He’s hated by a lot of countries, but his main enemies in the current days are Croatia and Albania. He can be caring if he gets something worthy in return; nowadays he tries to be a little more western to get closer to that sweet sweet EU money. Huge Ego, and I mean HUGE. Shares the biggest Ego with his Enemies LOL

Croatia / HR

A more westernised asshole. He cares about how he looks, now that he’s in the EU and getting lots of tourism. He can be very charming if needed, but once he’s drunk (or high on coke) he releases his more.. careless side. Of course, he can also be ruthless on purpose, seen when interacting with Countries like Serbia and Bosnia. The "whore"-ist out of the cast.

Bosnia / BiH (I haven’t thought about making Herze honestly… this might change in the future)

Bosnia is quite the paranoid man, having arguably the most annoying neighbours in Europe. He faces a lot of struggles in life (you can guess why), which he often either drinks/smokes away. If he doesn’t turn to alcohol/cigarettes, he likes to draw triangles frantically. Of course, he’s also an asshole, but I think that’s a given for the ExYUs. He can be quite unstable at times.

Montenegro / MNE

Very lazy and tired most of the time. His sleep schedule is questionable, ranging from multiple hours to multiple weeks. When he’s not asleep, he does work on himself! He doesn’t have the success with Tourists like Croatia, which is why he doesn’t work as hard, but manages to do alright for the short hours he’s awake for.

Slovenia / SI

A greedy, but shy guy. He still holds a lot of the influence that Austria had over him long ago, wishful to be as amazing as any Central European country is in his eyes. A bit of a pushover, having been under the reign of others for long, though he is slowly working to get stronger in that sense. He’s the most western out of the ExYUs.

(North) Macedonia / MK

A happy girl, who loves nothing but dancing and drinking. Though when the illusion of optimism is broken, she can be just as much of an asshole as any other ExYU. Similarly to Bosnia, she has a ton of annoying neighbours who (when extremely drunk) claim to rule over her, which causes her to lash out. Despite all of that, she tries her best to once be in the EU (obv for monetary reasons!)

BONUS…… BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT LOLOLOL

Albania / AL

Cheerful but also a fighter! Serbias Number One Enemy right now. He can be kind, but isn’t afraid to judge anyone who gets in his way. He takes pride in what he has.

Kosova / KS

In a Rough Situation, being annoyed at the constant discourse of whom he belongs to. He’s a free spirit with a huge love for anything US-related.

Vojvodina / VD (i know she isn’t a country LOL)

A lazy princess with a slow way of taking things in life. She lives in Serbias house, with the thought of leaving it roaming her mind, yet never becoming true. She was once a good fighter.

[yautjalover]

Fair Use & Fandom Content

Fair Use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair Use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and have use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.

Why is this posted?

There is a guide that has put in a claim barring permission for any other guides to be posted after a specified date. Frankly, such a statement is false, as in the case of fanfiction writing and all it encompasses, no one outside of the owner(s) and legal right holder(s) of said fiction can bar another from compiling, writing, drawing, or using said intellectual works. This is being posted to precursor any attempted questioning of any guides compiled and posted henceforth. Why is this relevant?

A group of collaborators got together to compile our joint knowledge into a guide, with the intent to provide an easier way for others to search and find information. At one point, one of the three contributors decided to pull out and had stated they wanted nothing to do with the project. The other contributors still wanted this project, and there had been feedback with much interest in it; so the rest reworked what was already done in a way that would fit best with the style that the guide was going to now be in, and to honor the request of the previous individual who wanted no association with it.

Lately, a guide has been posted, with statements attempting to prevent any further guides from being posted. This is not the collaborative guide that has been in the works, it is in the final stages, and will hopefully be released soon. The intent of this post is to remind/educate others that only the creative style and wording of an individual is held under copyright, within certain conditions, but things like guides, rules, methods, etc., which can be compiled by anyone and used for educational purposes, no one individual can lay sole claim to such things. Outside of the aforementioned original creator(s) and legal right owner(s). A lot of hard work has been put into this guide by the contributors and others who have offered assistance, and the contributors are putting forth this guide with no monetary gain. To reiterate, no one outside of the original creator(s) and legal right owner(s) can prevent others from creating their own works in fanfiction. However, using the exact style and same words as another is copyright/plagiarism, so if one does intend to use an image or written work within their own, to make sure proper credit is given.

We cannot wait to present this to you guys and are working to have it published before the end of October! I wanted to put this out there for the fandom in the hopes that you do not let any false claims hinder you from putting together your own project within the fandom.

Credits: Wikipedia | Copyright.gov | copyrightalliance.org

[dinoburger]

to try to put an earlier thought about fan work and commodity in a less frenetic, more cohesive way, it's one of those things that thrives from being divorced from context that also makes it fraught as a way of feeding back into media consumption

it's easy for us to see on one hand, there are artists who are independently creating work, where monetary gain is minimal and means maybe this week it's a bit easier to pay rent.

On the other you have "buy a Disney plus subscription and watch this show the 'correct' way so they can keep making more content!" and it's a celebrity cast with a zionist director or something. Also Disney. Also the corporate subscription system.

Good job, you've helped set the pieces for the diabolical Rue Goldberg machine of capitalism and encouraged others to do the same.

Most things are more blurry. This platform, for instance, is less than ideal in countless ways and at worst, morally bankrupt, but it's still a resource that can be taken advantage of to the ends of spreading word about other resources, or helping drum up awareness - if nobody knows what's going on, they're going to listen to what's being told to them. We know which voices are the loudest.

Paying attention to which accounts have checkmarks, though, it's not as if we aren't complicit in some ways. When we use this site and it encourages others to do the same, we're paying indirectly.

There's always going to be more decision making than electing to shrug and say "no ethical consumption under capitalism" - that absence of a decision to decide where to draw the line is a kind of crime of omission. This "I just wanna draw my silly guys from my funny shows tee hee ^^".

I make and weigh up my decision to use this site every day that I do. I still think, ultimately, it is more optimal than a subscription service, it's... reasonably... user friendly (although, that gets less and less true by the day) and it's fairly accessible. I like that fan communities are a free, open space for people to chat and hang out.

I might change that decision tomorrow. I think it would be a shame, considering how long I've been around, but I don't need to fortify my identity as a "tumblr user".

That should extend to fan work. I don't guarantee you my patronage. If TF2 became a subscription service, I might rescind. I already feel very on-the-fence about supporting Valve - while it was a pioneer company, it's still encompassed by the vast and profitable Steam, which is corporate in its makings and as such, dubious. I wouldn't really encourage anyone to give them money, but I can't stop it either.

The other thing about this kind of disconnect is how most people online treat you as only the sum of your parts. The entity that is you is comprised of commodities they enjoy. Most people who find your work will do it through the frame of whatever they were already looking for, people who don't necessarily have any ideas about these conscious decisions we make.

I do know of artists deliberately making themselves harder to find because of this. Either disappearing any trace of the person behind the work, or obscuring the work to begin with. To a degree, it kind of undermines the joy of open accessibility that made these sites appealing, but I also understand why.

The sad part of closing yourself off from a community is that it can make it harder for smaller artists who just want to get by, doing what they do, to be seen at all. It's harder to reap the benefits of using this platform, with a lot of the same risks anyway.

I think everyone, to some degree, has an obligation to encourage conscious decisions like this, and show awareness of the strings attached to whatever their new shiny thing is. You're never really going to get there by trying to purge everything or double down about why you're allowed to stop caring.