when you’re listening to really fast music that pumps you up but you’re not doing anything particularly exciting so you just sit there super energetically
As you might know, for the last three years I’ve been studying costume design at uni. It’s almost time for me and my classmates to graduate and hold the degree show to showcase our work. We need to pay for all the materials for the costumes and the exhibition (mannequins, stands…) ourselves and as young students it’s a bit of a challenge. Even though we’ve already raised some money through events like bake sales, we could still use some help!
So if you have any extra money
I would be so grateful if you supported me, my spooky designs and my classmates by donating. (For the show I’m creating two dresses inspired by the In the Dark music video by The Birthday Massacre so you know I’ll be representing the spooky life at the exhibition.) Even a few dollars, euros, pounds, pesos, yens or rubles make a difference and we would appreciate your support a lot no matter how small the donation 🖤
You can donate and read more about our degree show here:
(And if donating isn’t your thing, please share this post to spread the word! Thank you, kiitos, tack, takk, spasibo, gracias, grazie, arigatou, danke, merci, aitäh!)
everyone, especially trans lesbians and gay trans men, should be sure to block & report a blog that’s shown up here recently called “youre-not-passing” which reblogs mostly trans lesbian and gay trans men’s selfies with nothing but insults and deliberate misgendering. quite a few members of our community have already been targeted by the terf running the blog, along with their followers. please be on the lookout and be safe. if enough people report them, hopefully their blog will be removed, but in the meantime i advise you all to block the blog so that you’re not targeted, i also encourage everyone to reach out to those who have been targeted and make sure they’re okay and give them some love and validation. be safe y'all
also PLEASE reblog this and share with other people so they’re aware !!!! i just wanna make sure everyone’s safe
Hey trans day of visibility is coming up soon (March 31st) and there’s going to be a lot of selfies posted so please signal boost this post
“artists dont work for the love of art anymore, they just rely on commissions and patrons”
this is how art has literally always been the fucking sistine chapel is commissioned fanart of the bible
Not only was the Sistine Chapel Bible fanart, but the Vatican looked at Michaelangelo'Cathedral commission listing and saw that it said: Will do: Marble sculpture Would prefer not to do: Painting
And commissioned him for a giant ass painting. Like yeah, we think of Michaelangelo as a painter, but it’s because the church kept paying him to paint. He thought he wasn’t that great at it. He preferred to sculpt. Like that was his jam. But noooooo the church wanted more paintings.
wow how Wacky is it that artists demand payment for labor given via a desirable skill, it’s almost like it’s a fucking job
A part of being an adult is living with regret and not allowing it to consume you. The older you get, the more mistakes you’ve made, opportunities you’ve missed, people you’ve disappointed. And every day you have to remind yourself to be kind and forgiving of yourself. You accept and love the you from the past and understand that it’s all a part of the process. Then you move on and live your best life, knowing now as old as you feel today, you’ll never be this young again.
The title says it all really. So if nothing else, please share and reblog this post to raise awareness for those that might be caught out - both artists and followers.
For a TL:DR, please look at the bottom of the post
What is happening?
Right now, there is at least one person actively impersonating multiple artists across tumblr in an effort to scam their followers into paying for fake ‘cheap commissions’.
The scammer will clone a tumblr, usually using a slight change to the url/account name to look like the real deal. They will then message people directly through Tumblr with messages along the lines of “Hey, i’m doing cheap commissions right now. DM me to get one”. Naturally, this is ends up just being a way to take their money without giving anything back in return.
Who does this affect?
Everyone. Simple as that. As long as the scammer in question works unopposed, they are free to spread their influence and continue to scam more people. Even if you haven’t been targeted yet, it does not mean you are safe or immune.
Several artists have already fallen victim to this scammer, and I encourage any artists that have to reblog this post with the details of their affected account(s) and the ones the scammer has set up.
How can we stop this?
Tumblr, like many other social media platforms, seems to care very little about ‘minor’ occurences like this one, and despite reaching out directly to them over a week ago through multiple avenues of contact - they have refused to comment on the situation, provide a recommended response for users, or take action on behalf of those already affected.
Despite this, there are still tools at our disposal that we can use to make this scam more difficult, and to increase its visibility to those within Tumblr staff that are required by policy to take action.
Tumblr has the following to say on the topic of impersonation:
Confusion or Impersonation. Don’t do things that would cause confusion between you or your blog and a person or company, like registering a deliberately confusing URL. Don’t impersonate anyone. While you’re free to ridicule, parody, or marvel at the alien beauty of Benedict Cumberbatch, you can’t pretend to actually be Benedict Cumberbatch.
They then provide a link to this online form that you can fill out if you suspect someone’s identity is being confused. Unfortunately, this can only be filled out if you are the victim of impersonation. In other words, only the artists can fill this out legitimately.
So, what about the followers and users of tumblr whom aren’t being impersonated?
Our most valuable tool in this online platform is the platform itself. It enables us to spread our word near-virally across all the many sub-communities on Tumblr with remarkable efficiency for a user-driven system. We can take advantage of that effect to increase awareness of the situation. Even if you - the one reading this right now - aren’t an artist or don’t know an artist, the act of reblogging this post or sharing it directly with friends improves it’s ‘ranking’ in popularity increasing its chances to be seen by more people.
We don’t need everyone on Tumblr to see the post for it to be effective, just like we don’t need the entirety of the human population of the world to be immune to a disease for that disease to be rendered ineffective or eradicated. If enough people are aware, the likelihood of pulling off a successful scam increases dramatically reducing efficiency to a point that it no longer becomes profitable to continue.
Why should I care?
It disheartens me to say this, but of the many artists I contacted directly over the past week to warn about this issue many of them refused to listen or dodged the responsibility with lines like;
“I’m not being impersonated, so it doesn’t affect me”
“I’m just one person. I can’t make an impact”
“I need to take care of my community. Other people can look after theirs”
This is honestly disappointing that so many artists or art-rebloggers care so little as to intentionally wave the responsibility of keeping their followers and fellow artists safe from this, that they cannot spare 10 seconds of their time to share an informative post.
I’m not here to bash artists, but it is time that everyone takes responsibility for their own communities, and of those around them.
Artists: You have a responsibility to ensure that your followers and fans aren’t being abused by someone who may impersonate you. If they succeed, your reputation will be damaged, and your followers will resent you. Your followers are also almost guaranteed to be following other artists meaning your efforts can spread beyond your own circle of influence, so don’t be naive when you think you have little effect.
Followers: You have just as much responsibility to be aware of those that might try to scam you or your fellow followers. Don’t just sit in silence when you see something wrong: Ignoring the issue only makes it more resilient to our efforts to stop it. You are the vocal majority if you just use your voices to be heard!
TL:DR
A scammer is impersonating artists and scamming money from their followers under the guise of ‘cheap commissions’. If we ignore the issue, it will get worse.
Every single person that reads this can afford to spend just 10 seconds to reblog and share this post. Those 10 seconds can save others from being scammed for hundreds of dollars.
Reblog & Share
I think my followers already know my commission style, as in how I market them and how I run my business. But just in case:
I NEVER outright DM someone to get a cheap commission from me.
I NEVER discuss the terms and conditions of the commission through DM, just through email. I only discuss drawing progresses through DM. Initial contract for commissions will ALWAYS be done through email.
I ALWAYS post my signature “Saera’s Commission” or “#Saera’s Comms” post on my blog to signify I’m currently taking commissions. NEVER through DMs.
Lastly, please please please be aware of the URLs, check the authenticity of the post and always think logically.
Be safe guys! :)
All of the above my friends.
As a note: I’m currently in the middle of con prep and won’t be taking commissions for a while nor will I ever DM you directly. Be wary of “artists” sending messages directly guys and be safe.
Reblogging this in case anyone somehow tries to impersonate me (lol): my commissions are currently closed as I work on projects for TCAF and Anime North. I always have my status here on my commissions page: http://om-nom-berries.tumblr.com/commissions
I also will never cold-message people for commissions. I advertise and people message me/email me. That’s how I always have done stuff, because I don’t have time to do it the other way around lol
