a hylian girl looks out her back window. the hero of time is out there, behind the shed, screaming and hitting a box with a dismembered skeleton arm. the box shatters, and he scrambles to gather all the scattered apples into his bag. then he takes down his manbun to tie a bandana around his head, and takes a flying leap at a flat and featureless cliff. he climbs. fifty feet up, he stops and shoves a fish into his mouth. “there he goes,” her mother says. “he’s going to save us all.”
it’s been over a decade, y'all. i think it’s time we addressed the whole… animal situation in the Avatar universe. we know technology wasn’t A Thing yet so that turtleduck definitely wasn’t a genetic experiment gone wrong or a bad teleportation accident. so what else. am i meant to assume here. but that a turtle.. . . fucked a duc k
If you draw in the steven universe style, that’s cool.
If you draw in that “cal arts” style, that’s cool.
If you draw in adventure time style, that’s cool.
If you draw in any currently recognizable style, that’s cool.
We all start somewhere. A lot of people who adapt art styles that have already been established do so because they’re just learning to draw. And a lot of people who do that also just do it because they like the style and think it looks cool.
It’s okay. Your art isn’t worthless or a cheap knock-off if that’s the path you take. If you want to improve and eventually move on to a style that is unique to you, that’s fine. If you’re comfortable doing what you’re doing and are having fun with it, that’s fine. If you are just getting your drawing sealegs and are learning how to put shapes together to create energetic, exciting compositions and characters, that’s also fine.
You’re allowed to do what makes you happy with your art, because you are doing it for you. Sure, you might also be producing it for an audience/because you want to participate in fandom, but first and foremost, it’s because it makes you happy, right?
If you move on to a different style, or to realism, or architectural drawing, or character design, or whatever path your art journey takes you on, it’s okay to start by adapting a popular style.
If youre just drawing for fun and for your friends, don’t worry about pleasing anyone but yourself, first and foremost.
I dunno. I just want people to know that you can start at any point on the map and still end up where you ultimately want to be, you know?
Ive thought about this a lot and i definitely grew up first drawing in a very very anime style, and then i moved forward to thinking anime was crap and no REAL artist would lower themselves to producing it, and then i moved on to being very staunch in my conviction that you HAD to start with realism and simple objects in order to be any good later on in your artistic career, and i’ve seen a lot of other folks repeat that same message as well, and now, i am not so sure i agree with it anymore.
Ultimately, if you get to where you’re going and where you want to end up, does it really matter where you start?
A visual novel made in a month for NaNoRenO 2017! I was contacted by my pal Aori to participate in this project last month, and with the help of our small team we managed to finish just in time!
mercy: torbjorn, I’m sorry about your arm but we can offer the most advanced prosthetics available to mankind, we just fitted a new recruit Jesse with a very realistic–
torbjorn: i want a crab arm
mercy: well you see we actually can give you an arm exactly like your old arm with fingers and everything we’ve done this before in fact it’ll be better than your old arm–
because it seems that for a lot of people there’s nothing in-between “I don’t like x thing because it’s bad for x reason and if you disagree then you are evil scum” and “yeah sure do whatever you want!!! give everyone a chance to express their creativity/opinions no matter what!!!!”
1. Know your shit.
One of the easiest things to do is to make yourself look like an idiot because you didn’t bother to look for more information. Before you form your opinion, be sure to rationally look at both sides of an argument and do as much fact-checking you can before you give your input. This goes for anything. Politics, shipping discourse, what have you.
(something to note: not everything works the same in other countries as it does in your country.)
2. If necessary, make a distinction between what is genuinely harmful/derogatory and what upsets you personally.
This is important especially when someone asks you how you feel about a certain subject. There is a difference between Actual Pedophilia and “there is nothing Technically wrong with this ship but the age gap is big enough that the potential for a power-imbalance bothers me greatly, and I want no part of this”.
3. Don’t start shit.
Callout posts, angry messages, and witch hunts. Anon or not, just don’t do it. You might think you’re doing the right thing, but you’re probably just going to make people want to spite you instead of listen. Calling someone names or telling someone to kill themself is shitty.
Also, don’t infest someone’s tag with opinions they don’t want to see. If you feel the need to vent but don’t want to start discourse, use read mores and slashes inbetween words (li//ke thi//s) so that it won’t show up in the tag.
Now, I’m not saying you have to be completely passive about things you don’t like, but there are other things you can do to avoid them, like…..
4. Just block people.
Let me say this again.
JUST. BLOCK. PEOPLE.
Or unfollow them. It’s super easy. One click, and they’re gone.
You’re allowed to have opinions. So are other people. And guess what, you don’t have to look at them. Shocker.
If you’re going to post something and it would make you uncomfortable if people gave it context that you specifically don’t like, say it. State it clearly,and let people know that if they do it anyway, they’ll get blocked.
Think of it this way: if you throw a party and someone shows up and starts doing things and telling jokes etc that make you uncomfortable, what do you do? You don’t invite them to the next party. And if they weren’t invited to begin with, then you take extra precaution to make sure they don’t come again.
Remember, it’s your blog. It’s your party. You’re the host, and yeah you want to make sure your guests are happy, but you can still set boundaries. How much tolerance you have is up to you.
(see also: blacklist. I’ve surprisingly never used it. But it can very easily control what kinds of content you see or don’t see.)
5. Be patient.
If someone is doing something harmful, it’s possible they just don’t know better. People are limited by their life experiences and might not know to think differently because they never knew they could.
People change. What were you like a year ago? Five years ago? Ten years ago? I highly doubt that you’re proud of everything you’ve said and done in the past. There were jokes I’ve said and things I’ve liked that I would never dream of saying now.
This is why I think it’s so, so important to not immediately condemn someone. People don’t often make complete 180s, so don’t expect them to. People don’t like being told they’re wrong, and might need take some time to sort out their thoughts/unlearn their behavior before substantial change happens. Does this excuse their behavior? No, of course not. Even without ill-intent, people can absolutely still do damage.
6. Know when to speak.
This can go a lot of ways. Certain fights aren’t yours to fight. Don’t talk over anyone else. Admit when you don’t know enough about something to give a proper opinion. Recognize when something isn’t worth the time or energy.
Also: learn to recognize traps. People will try to send “gotchas” disguised as innocent questions. These are usually done with the intent of twisting your words and making you sound problematic no matter your response. Even if you’re not sure, just don’t respond. Avoid confrontation and discourse whenever you can. Resist being petty if you know that it’d just start more drama.
That’s it. I hope y’all can go out and try to be decent people. Have fun. Your internet experience is up to you. You don’t need to make it someone else’s responsibility.
