you were too good to be true, gold-plated
but what's inside you? but what's inside you?

I deleted the AI art post because people pointed out that the original artists who’s art were used to create the pictures I used as examples might feel violated by me posting them without their consent, which is perfectly fair. It’s a huge blind spot for me because I feel very differently about my own art and it’s good to be reminded that my feelings about my own art are a bit unconventional. This is going to be a bit rambling but just know that I’m not saying this because I think other people should feel the same way I do. I just want to talk about it because I’ve realized it isn’t the norm.

First off, I have very little nostalgia about my art. I care very little about any of my creations that are more than a year old. It’s something I see a lot of book authors talk about, how their old stories means nothing to them now. I care about comics I’m continuously working on but once they’re concluded they disappear into the background as I start on a new universe. I don’t worry about lost art either. If it gets deleted along with an old website out of my control I don’t even think about it.

I feel zero ownership of fanart I’ve made because I stole those characters without consent to do with as I pleased so even though I spent time on it the characters weren’t mine to take to being with, and certainly not to make money off of. While I understand the defense that a lot of those original creators make so much money now they shouldn’t care if people sell fanart I’m not surprised when even big artists get upset about it because they came from the same place as us so how are they supposed to know when they’re successful enough to not mind? If you make it big when will you be okay with people selling your OCs? Some of those controversies come from managers and corporations but a lot more come from the artists themselves.

I love when people make fanart of my characters but more than once I’ve seen people sell the fanart and had to ask them to either stop or give me a small portion of their income. But I’m not alarmed by seeing my art in unexpected places as long as people aren’t making money from it. I suppose in my mind it’s because I see it as people sharing appreciation for my work and the traffic usually comes back to me once people start searching for the creator.

And I already made a post about how I’m not worried about people “stealing” ideas from me because that’s different from stealing stories or characters. Copyright is build on the idea that you can’t steal an idea. Anyone can make a super strong man who can fly but you can’t call him Clark Kent and have him wear a blue bodysuit with red underwear and a red cape. Even Disney can’t stop you from making an anthropomorphic mouse who’s friends with a duck. And I think I’m not worried about the “theft” of ideas because I know where my own inspiration came from and I can see where the inspiration came from in literally all other stories and characters. If the fact that a lot of people consider Danny Phantom derivative of Spider-Man doesn’t tell you something about how pedantic people can be about what they consider “theft of ideas” I don’t know what does.

People have expressed surprise by me handing out ideas in the hopes that someone can do something better with them than me, or that I’m open about where my own ideas come from. Why hide it? Even if you didn’t know the exact spark for Red Prism came from the movie The Night Flier I’m sure the idea of a vampire’s helper being in a relationship with the vampire isn’t anything new to you. But again, maybe I’m just assuming my inspirations are transparent because I see where other people’s creations come from. And I’m not saying that to lessen the work of anyone. People love following the the evolution of culture and we all know everything is build on something else. It’s cool!

And just repeating myself: I don’t think you should feel the same way as me about your work or fanart or anything else. But I would like to hear how you feel about your art and fanart and why.

This is a very interesting take to have about your own art and honestly I don’t think there’s anything wrong about it, but it will be considered very different than a lot of the artistic population right now.

For me, ai art, no matter who it takes from, I don’t think is ethical in anyway because no matter what, it’s someone stealing attention away from someone that actually put time and effort into their art. Even if you try to utilize it for ideas, it’s still pushing those artist’s art through the system against their consent. Even if someone pushed my old art through the void, art I no longer like, I still would feel gravely uncomfortable as I never once gave consent for such a thing.

In terms of fanart, if I ever became big enough to have some sort of insane anime following of people creating art if my ocs, I understand I would have to bend a bit and allow people to do as they wish or else become terrible like Anne Rice or Disney. That being said, fanart usually in not something considered terrible unless you’re some strangely uptight artist that’s mad people get more attention than you for drawing fanart. Most people agree that fanart, though it’s not the characters of the artist that made it, is still the property of the artist that created it as they still spent time, love, and effort into the piece and finding someone steal it in any capacity would be heartbreaking to the artist. While often, those that are receiving fanart usually love the act.

I often hate my art after a certain amount of time simply because I update and grow my style quickly. However, it’s still my art and don’t enjoy the prospect of it being utilized against my wishes. I make art for myself and out of the love of it and the ideas I make. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s something I made and cherish, and just because it post it online doesn’t mean those that view it are allowed to do with it what they please. I have a very strong attachment to things I create. Which brings me to the thought of ocs…

My ocs are my babies, I have a very strong sense of self around them and cannot stand when people mischaracterize them, even for the sake of a joke. When I play dnd, I have to make sure the dm is okay with the fact that I don’t want my character to die because I will not make a new character if they do. I have had friends do such things all for the sake of either wanting to draw them the way they feel or in hopes that they could make a joke/insert their oc into a situation with them. Often without my consent as well. So the suggestion that someone would draw them against my will, throw them in an ai box, or would use them for their own dnd sessions makes me incredibly uncomfortable as well.

In terms of ideas though, I don’t think those can be stolen so I see no deeper thoughts about such a thing. Ideas are meant to be shared and there’s no such thing as too much of the same idea as every version of a story will be different.

"oh no!! the wga and sag striking means there won't be any new shows 😭 what can we watch now"

columblrinas who have been watching the same 70s detective show for years: