#if you’re an artist making fun of other artists and creators (especially people who are just starting out) shame on you btw | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bao3bei4 · 5 months

Text

why zines? how zines?

i was on a panel at fanworks con 2023 about zines today. it was a lot of fun! i decided to turn my portion of the talk into a post for my friends who couldn’t make it to the panel.

this post includes my thoughts on:

why make a zine

how to generate ideas for zines

how to finish your zines

how to build an audience for your zines

so why zines? what are they? [ZEENS, rhymes with beans], pronounced that way because it’s a shortened form of the word magazine, are basically just that: self published magazines. but why make a zine over, say, a blog post? or any other piece of art.

i have basically three reasons. the first is that making little books is cool. it’s genuinely awesome to make physical zines and have the product of your labor in your hand. it’s a great feeling to finish a project and feel a concrete reward, and a lot of times we don’t get that in our lives.

the second reason is that zines give you absolute editorial control. you can put anything you want on a page. whatever layout, whatever order, whatever fold, whatever content. you name it, you can do it. this is something other venues rarely give you. for artists, it’s phenomenal. and for the rest of us, it gives us the ability to become artists for a little bit, as we lay things out.

the third reason is that zines can be absolute shit. in fact, the more shit they are, the more diy and punk they are. they have an incredible lineage of stolen copy paper and anarchist politics. all that to say, is that there are no standards. the zine ethos is say what you wanna say. it’s tremendously freeing to go fuck polish and respectability, i’m making my project.

because of these three reasons, i want to encourage you to get started making zines by describing common challenges and worries and giving you several practical tips for each on working past them. so, in order, they’re “i don’t know what to make a zine about,” “i struggle to finish projects,” and “no one will read my zines.” let’s get into it.

first up, “i don’t know what to make a zine about.” i think this one is pretty common, even for experienced zine creators. sometimes you’re in the mood to make things but you have no clue what. a lot of people suggest to just go with random words or whatever pops into your head, but i’m picky! i find that unsatisfying! so here are some tips for people in the same boat.

ONE: what’s distracting you? work with it. because anything can be a zine, let the things you’ve already done serve as inspiration. photos you’ve taken can be formatted into a zine. is there a game sucking up your attention? make a zine about it. the song stuck in your head can turn into a lyricbook, forgotten works in progress or sketches can be resurrected, cannibalized, or even published as incomplete zines. if you’ve been busy with real life, maybe the recipes you’ve been making—even if, especially if, they’re struggle meals, can turn into zines. interview your most interesting friend. summarize a book you read recently. even if you’ve just been doomscrolling, that’s a zine too! i got a zine last weekend called bay area newsreel which was collecting recent articles about local news from leftist perspectives gathered up into a handy volume. your attention is a gift, so look at what zine fodder it’s accumulated for you naturally.

SECOND: add a twist. sometimes i have an idea but it isn’t quite right. it just seems too straightforward. so i try to develop along a single axis of content or form. what this means is basically go against your instincts, or rather, your first impulse. that first idea is very hard to walk away from, but doing so often gives you an idea that gets you unstuck. so for content, add a different perspective. for me this is often a theoretical approach. when i was stuck on my scum villain zine, turning it into freud zine let the words start flowing. next, on form: present it differently than your first instinct is to. if my first thought is “essay,” i try to figure out how to chunk out the information into modules or how to add interactivity or what kind of illustrations to add. if my first thought is “this could be a fic or comic,” i try turning it into an essay. saying things a different way often gives you a new perspective on the content as well.

THIRD: copy! make your take on the same thing as someone else. it’s not stealing—well, ideally it isn’t. make your original take and give credit where credit is due and ask permission if necessary. but engage with the medium!!! making zines without reading zines is the same thing as trying to write a paper without citing sources, or a novel without reading your contemporaries. that is, you can do it, but it’s hard. zines are a genre into themselves so figure out how to situate yourself in their ongoing dialogue. an example of this from my own practice is that i own a zine about queer gods and mythological creatures from chinese history. reading it i was like. why don’t they talk about this. why don’t they talk about that. and that became the basis for my own zine, guaitai the strange and the queer which focused on queer chinese history and literature instead. different zine, same inspiration.

all of my ideas suppose you have SOMETHING going on. what if you truly have nothing. my advice? adapted from my “how to write an essay” blog post, is to read a book. read an article. read something. and then post about it. and then turn your posts into a zine. don’t start entirely from scratch — give yourself a scaffolding. so first. read something and tell someone about it. i wasn’t lying about calling myself a consummate poster. it’s a big part of my thought process.

second up, what if “i struggle to finish projects.” i’m no stranger to having a bunch of half finished half started projects lying around. but here are some zine-specific tips i have for addressing that.

FIRST! go smaller; go shittier. reduce the scope of your projects. make one pagers, lists. once when i was feeling stymied, i made a physical zine about movies i’d watched that month, just listing them with a couple bullet points on each film. i eventually turned it into a bigger digital zine where i listed movies i’d watched over the past several months with more thoughts on them, and nicely formatted. but that was something that came out of reducing my scope from “i need to write a manifesto on a movie i’ve watched recently” to “well i can just tell people about it” to “i can say two things about it.” and something actually got finished.

SECOND. your friends are a great tool for accountability. something i like to do is zine jams with my friends. nothing fancy, it’s just we’ll sit down for an hour and go we’re going to make something in this hour. or, for a bigger scope, we might work separately but commit to making a zine that weekend. it’s nice to have community and it’s nice to feel a little bit of a friendly deadline. i recommend this even if you DON’T have problems finishing zines. it’s a good time.

THIRD. a lot of times if the words aren’t coming easily, it’s because i’m not trying to say the right thing. keep in mind that your zines don’t have to be “content.” this little paper zine i made about movies wasn’t made to share online; in fact, it’s not available online. i didn’t make it according to what other people would see or be interested in. you can and will burn out on making “marketable” content. corollary to this: sometimes what i have to say is something i DON’T want to share online. it might not be that it’s boring, it might be that it’s too personal. and i share a lot online, i write personal essays after all. but some projects i stall on because they’re really just for me, and i’m again, focused on making content. so this piece of advice is about rejecting the tyranny of the imaginary audience.

and the next challenge is about embracing that audience! what if no one reads your zines, something that’s entirely possible. well there’s plenty you can do about that.

FIRST. cultivate zine community. read other people’s zines! talk to them about their zines! this greatly increases the chance that they will do the same for you. don’t go in expecting reciprocity; do it for its own sake, but it’s a great place to start. try asking people at zine fests if they’d be willing to trade with you, for instance.

SECOND. write for yourself. it’s cheesy but it’s true. you really have to. if you’re not proud and happy with what you’re making on its own merits, what’s the point. now because this is a cop out tip, i’m not counting it as a tip on its own.

so SECOND PART TWO. make your zines more accessible. if they’re not free, make them free—yes, you deserve to be compensated for your work, but it’s up to you to decide if you want a bigger audience first. if your zines aren’t short, make them shorter. make them short enough that you can post their entirety on social media or something else easy for your audience to consume. it’s a big ask sometimes to get someone to download your pdf! if they’re physical, hand them out to people you meet. remove all the barriers to entry.

THIRD. related to this, change medium. if you’re not making physical zines, try printing them out. if you’re not making digital zines, try digitizing them. both of these offer access to new audiences and new people who might be more interested in one form than another.

i hope these thoughts encourage you to make a zine! if you do, please let me see it. i love reading zines.

215 notes · View notes

art · 2 years

Photo

Creator Spotlight: @min-play

I’m Min! I’m an animator and storyboard rti t who also posts comics and fan art online. So far, I have worked on the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and LEGO Monkie Kid. I run on AAA batteries.

Check out our interview with Min below!

How did you get your start in animation and storyboarding?

Fanart! My hyperfixations kept me drawing and posting online since I was around 16. Later I dropped my Computer Science degree to study animation. After graduating, I worked as an In-between Animator, Key Animator, and Storyboard Artist. My fanart of a couple funny skeletons played a big role in getting hired.

What do you wish you knew when you first started out creating content that you know now?

It’s ok to make mistakes. All the flaws in a drawing make it look much more interesting. Also, it’s a lot more fun than spending ages perfecting one line.

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

I always get 3 different flavors of art block (that I remember):

Art block from perfectionism

Sometimes there’s this self-enforced pressure that what you make has to be of a certain standard. Gotta loosen up and forgive yourself for not meeting an imaginary quality. Do it for the fun of it. Instead of thinking’ needs to be better,’ think ‘eh good enough lol.’ It’s cool to strive for improvement! Just don’t do it to the point it becomes self-deprecating.

Art block from burnout

Art hibernation! It’s ok to take breaks. Not every waking moment needs to be productive. Treat yourself to something yummy, hang out with people you’re comfortable with, or pick up a new anime series. Take the time to get some well-deserved rest.

Art block while drawing as a full-time job

WELL DANG.

Switch your ‘drive.’ If you’re running off on passion or interest as a motivator for work, that’s great! I do too! But also, it’s finicky. Set up routines for when that high runs out. I have a ‘Do task’ mode where I play a song or a movie I already watched on loop in the background (sometimes for weeks on end). I don’t know why but it helps me concentrate. Last week, it was the movie Cars.

These are personal methods and may not work for everyone, but I hope it helps!

What are 3 things you can’t live without as a creator?

Music + Noise-canceling headphones + Big blanket = Comfort force field

What is a medium that you have always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

Does blacksmithing count as a medium? I’d like to try it out at least once, though.

How do you want to evolve as a creator?

To connect with other creators more. Especially writers. They are so powerful.

Warm tones or cool tones?

Cool tones! Especially this one particular blend of blue and green.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

So maaaanyy. At the top of my head, though: @northpen. I am obsessed with their vivid-imagery writing style, and immaculate characterizations. Their character banters always have me in a gigglefit. They have this fic I binged in one sitting and left me crying and empty in a good way.

Thank you for such amazing answers, Min! You can check out more of Min’s creations over at @min-play!

#creator spotlight #animators on tumblr #storyboard artist #artists on tumblr #min-play

2K notes · View notes

kaz-oooo · 2 months

Text

I’ve already done music recommendations so, you can check out these posts (playlists and list of artists) if you’re looking for that specifically. But Wilbur made a lot of content over the years and idk, i figured I’d make a a list of recommendations for similar content to fill that void as well :)

Minecraft SMP’s (specifically DSMP)

The same SMP’s but other POV’s — I’ll just start with this cos it’s the most iffy. There’s plenty of enjoyment to be had with these fandoms still, and I personally don’t think we need to let the actions of a couple shitty guys ruin the silly Minecraft roleplay we all enjoy. That said, if you aren’t comfy watching these anymore that’s perfectly valid as well, especially since Wilbur’s character will be lurking around in the background of plenty of these. But yeah, we can also uplift other creators by watching the fun stories they made, especially those who got buried by bigger creators at the time. So Dream SMP, QSMP, Origins SMP, SMP earth, SMPlive all have content you can enjoy.

Different, completely unrelated SMP’s — hermitcraft, the life series, empires SMP (shubble was involved in this one, I’m planning on watching her POV when I find some time) etc. I’ve had plenty of people recommend these to me before, from what I’ve seen they’re very enjoyable :)

Hamilton — not even joking, if you enjoyed the L’manberg era of DSMP and you didn’t watch Hamilton, I’d heartily recommend it. Great music, lots of politics but all in a fun and silly way, also tragic endings!

Editor Wilbur ARG (I’m a massive ARG fan so I have tonnes of recommendations here)

Generation Loss — Ranboo’s very awesome Horror project that they’ve been working very hard on!!! Ranboo’s been teasing new content lately as well so that’s exciting

Analog horror series — Local 58, Gemini Home Entertainment, Mandela Catalog, Kane Pixel’s Backrooms videos, etc. All very good and spooky videos, definetely an inspiration for Gen Loss, and I know Wilbur enjoyed this content as well (though the editor Wilbur arg predates a lot of this genre) those are some of the biggest on YouTube atm, and some of my personal favourites, but there’s plenty more to find (I recommend channels like Nightmind and Nexpo who do analysis videos for all this horror and ARG stuff if you wanna find more)

Marble Hornets — gets its own category! One of the original analog horror genres (predated the genre actually) it’s basically one of the biggest and most comprehensive Slenderman series out there. There’s a LOT of content here and lots of lore and mystery (though a lot of the game clues have been lost to time) (Jack Manifold also reacted to this on stream, it was very chill and good fun)

Horror podcasts — Magnus Archives and Magnus Protocol, Malevolent and Archive 81 are some of my favourites, but there’s plenty more out there to find and enjoy :). Also very spooky with lots of mystery to involved, the Magnus Protocol is very new as well so great time to get into that!

Just Chatting / Geoguessr / other chill content

Geoguessr streamers / YouTubers — honestly I genuinely didn’t watch much geoguessr content outside of Wilbur’s streams so, I don’t have many recommendations here. I know Eret has been doing geoguessr streams lately and their content is very good and chill. Jacksuckatlife plays as well and last I watched he was fairly good at it (like similar skill level to Wilbur), otherwise Rainbolt is a geoguessr legend, he terrifies me a little ngl.

Other streamers — I think the thing with the just chatting streams is that we watch for *that specific streamer’s* personality. It’s hard to really make recommendations other than just saying go watch more of the streamers you enjoy. Personally I enjoy Phil’s hardcore streams, and Sneegsnag’s Crime Time the most, but there’s plenty of other people both in this MCYT space and outside of it that you’ll probably enjoy :)

Sorry boys (unlike horror I don’t watch much comedy so, sorry, this’ll be lacking)

Just Roll With It — Charlie Slimecicle’s DND podcast. I’ve only listened to a little bit of this but it’s really good and REALLY silly (oh, and emotional sometimes, gotta have a bit of angst y’know) Wilbur was a guest on a couple of episodes, but you can always skip past those if you want.

Tommy’s videos — so Wilbur features in a lot of the early vlogs and *minecraft but* videos, but Tommy’s content has always been good fun, his recent stuff is excellent as well! He’s been doing a lot of comedy content lately, specifically a live show so definitely check that out if you want :)

Smosh pit — not something I’ve watched a lot of, but I’ve seen clips of their try not to laugh videos and they’re definitely on par with the bat shit improv you get from Sorry Boys.

Game changer — again, not something I’ve watched much, mostly consumed through osmosis, but the show is funny, the cast is always silly and it’s a lot of fun all round

Whatever else Sorry Boys make after this — judging by some of the responses to Wilbur’s “statement” I think it’s fair to assume if Sorry Boys do continue making content Wilbur will be cut from the group. Of course don’t feel obligated to stick around if you don’t want to, but Wilbur won’t be compensated if he’s kicked and the rest of the guys are still fun :)

YLYL and similar goofy stuff

Just… other streamers again — Jack Manifold does YLYL streams with his friends. James Marriott does a lot of reaction videos as well, sometimes YLYL, sometimes reacting to content his viewers send in (like TikTok’s and break up texts), those are my favourites atm.

YouTubers — that niche between video essay and reaction content, people like Danny Gonzales, Drew Gooden, Kurtis Conner, Pinely, all good fun YouTube channels that make good, silly, and easy to consume content.

Other gaming streamers and YouTubers — Slimecicle, Ranboo, Games Grumps, RT games, and SneegSnag all play a wide variety of games, they’re all relatively chill but none of them take the games all that seriously either so it’s fun and goofy as well :)

And of course Fanfiction!!!

I might be a little bias here cos I write myself but fic is created by and for fans and it exists to give you even *more* content about the stories you love, whether it be reimagining canon events or just dumping your favourite characters into a silly au.

I know a lot of authors (myself included) are feeling super conflicted and weird about writing Wilbur in the future. Plenty of authors have been moving onto new fandoms so if you find something you enjoy make sure you check out the author’s other work and who knows, maybe you’ll find some cool new fandoms that way!

And do the same for artists and other creators, or even go check out some of your mutuals fandoms, you guys might have more in common than you originally thought!

#wilbur soot #dsmp #the sorry boys #editor wilbur arg

72 notes · View notes

colleendoran · 11 months

Text

OK, so you are looking at a comic I did back in 1990 that changed my life in so many ways. Not the way you’re thinking of.

It taught me some very important lessons about the comics business, fame, and more importantly, how fame doesn’t rub off. And how having reasonable expectations will keep you centered and on the right path.

Many people don’t internalize this lesson. And now that our industry is no longer just Fandom Culture but is now Celebrity Culture, we see more and more creators with incredibly unrealistic expectations getting into comics, expecting the sun and moon to rise out of whatever they do, and being disappointed and frustrated when they don't.

I got occasional mainstream comics work in the early 1980’s, but I was still looking for my big break years later, especially since a major gig I was working on got shelved forever. I cannot even begin to tell you just how much being out of the eyes of the market for YEARS at a time while you work on a gig - and then the gig never coming out - can absolutely sink your brand.

Nowadays we have social media. Back then, you had no way to be seen if your work wasn’t being published. People forgot about you in about 15 minutes.

So when I got a gig working on Amazing Spider-Man, you bet I was thrilled. And even more thrilled when the darned thing sold like crazy. This issue of Amazing Spider-Man outsold previous Todd MacFarlane issues. And I knew Marvel was looking for a new artist. Huzzah! I outsold Todd! Maybe the new artist should be me!

You can imagine how pleased and excited I was to go to conventions and sign copies of a book that hundreds of thousands of fans bought. It was fun getting my first big lines of fans. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to push my other works to them as well.

But few Spider-Man fans were interested in my other books. They could not possibly care less about Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld, that’s for sure.

The Spider-Man glow was gone in no time. And Marvel picked Erik Larsen to be the regular artist.

I might as well have never worked on Spider-Man for all the long term good it did. Were it not for that one brief shining moment of royalty check (which was darned good,) it had no effect on my prospects.

While I got more work at Marvel, I was scrambling to make a living and took on too much, doing sub-par art that didn’t please anyone.

I realized pretty quickly that Spider-Man’s fans weren’t my fans. I might as well have been a spark plug on that issue. Fans lined up, got me to sign a book, and forgot about me the next day.

(Yeah I know some people say they love that comic, but I often hear from people who tell me how much they hated my art back then and how much they grew to love it later. Thank you, I’ll take it.)

Anyway, it was all a very tough lesson. But I appreciate that I learned it early before I got to the point where I could never learn it.

Fame isn’t transitive. It doesn’t rub off.

The public needs more than your proximity to something they know to transfer their attention to you and your work.

A lot of people got a taste of this in the early 1990’s. For a while, self-publishing was The Big Thing. I self published A Distant Soil and did well for some years, at one point making more than I could in mainstream comics, until the market crashed in 1996. A lot of creators thought if they just went to Image Comics, they’d all be millionaires.

That didn’t happen for almost all of them.

An old frenemy saw how well I was doing self publishing and assumed that if they just transferred their mainstream comics fan base to their creator owned work, they’d get rich.

But that didn’t happen. Their self-published work sold a fraction of what mine did. Their project died in the red. I never got my art back, including work from an unpublished future issue of the project. I remember being with this creator at a show and enduring their fury at how fans weren’t paying attention to them and their project.

How could this happen? They were a star mainstream creator!

The mainstream cred did not transfer to the other work. The fans wanted the famous characters, not the indie project they were trying to push.

There was no point in explaining this either. I’d learned this lesson myself, but this person never learned it.

Most people never learn it.

How is it that I work on Famous This or with Famous Person and why am I not famous Too?

Because fame isn’t transitive.

I’ve worked on projects that got a lot (and I mean a lot) of buzz, but there are projects that didn’t necessarily set the world on fire that did more for me as an artist and for my finances than “big” projects did.

Reign of the Zodiac and The Book of Lost Souls, both early/mid 2000’s comics with mediocre sales set me on a solid financial footing because they are two of the few regular monthly gigs I’ve done in all my years working in comics. That monthly paycheck paid more than the projects I’d done before them. The financial and emotional stability was beyond price. I loved everything about those projects.

Except for their premature demise.

The one and only famous project that had a major transformative afterglow effect re: me and my work was Sandman. I met Neil Gaiman years before I worked on Sandman, before he was famous. I only worked on two issues. Many other artists were far more important to the project than me, of course. Then I went for nearly twenty years solid without working with Neil at all except on a pinup and short story adaptation of Troll Bridge that almost no one remembers.

I started working with Neil again when he saw some art I did for a book for Tori Amos back in 2008. Tori Amos fans didn’t flock to my side when they saw it, yet another example of how Famous People Fame Doesn’t Rub Off. But I lavished time and attention on the project, did the art on spec with a completely new style and process, and showed it to Neil. I asked Neil if he’d take a chance at working with me again after lo, these many years and let me have a go again at adapting the story Troll Bridge that I’d botched in 1998. Neil said yes.

After The Book of Lost Souls got killed back in 2006, I could barely get arrested in comics and I wasn’t sure I had a future. I was shocked that Neil said yes.

That Tori Amos job reestablished my working relationship with Neil and brought me to Dark Horse Comics, a publisher which had shown little prior interest in my stuff.

It took me years to complete Troll Bridge and during that time, Peter David contacted me to ask if I’d work on Stan Lee’s autobiography. That came out of the blue, and boy did I appreciate it. It sold like crazy, which was unexpected, really.

So I went from Not Being Able to Get Arrested in Comics in 2008, doing 1$ sketch cards and working for page rates I worked for in 1986, to Not Being Able to Remember What I am Doing Because I have Too Much To Do in 2022. I mean literally couldn’t remember I did a pinup for a gig back in February, and I not only forgot about it, I didn’t know it was published last June.

It looks like I had a super fast and fun run up if you’re just looking at my highlight reel. But it wasn’t. I’ve had peaks and valleys, (a few very fine peaks, the best being around 1993 and the other now), and sometimes the “big time” projects I thought would make my career held me back worse than the “small time” ones. “Big time” projects got shelved or came and went, quickly forgotten, and I said no to other projects while I was busy, and the one that got away ended up getting made into a multi-million dollar film franchise that would have set me up for life.

Ow.

If just being next to a famous person or working on a famous project was a guarantor of success, than I’d have been hugely successful every day of my adult life.

That is not how it works.

Even the famous people are not as all that as you think, otherwise you wouldn’t see so many actors with haunted looks on their faces at conventions.

I met Neil before he was famous, but it took over thirty years for me to establish a solid working relationship with him.

Thirty.

Years.

I’ve worked with famous wrestlers, actors, musicians, politicians, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, and on almost every single major licensed character there is. And I’m not super-famous or rich. I mean, I never wanted to be famous in the first place, but I’m not completely unknown in my field, and I’m not poor (anymore). Still, seriously, folks. I’m not going to movie premieres and living in Hollywood.

I actually get asked about that, and I think it’s so funny.

I was watching some recent art auctions, and I was absolutely shocked to see original pages by an Eisner-nominated creator go for rock bottom prices, mainstream interiors at around $50 per page. I could not believe it. This artist is over 40 years old. I wonder if things will turn around for them.

Time will tell.

In the end, it’s not all about the people you’re standing next to. Or the character. Or the company. Or the award. And it's certainly not all about you.

Fans are here for you one minute, and forget about you tomorrow. Then you get $50 for your Eisner nominated art.

Art either takes off or it doesn’t. You either take off or you don’t.

And then you can fly too close to the sun and fall.

Worse yet…you just fade and no one even notices that you crashed beautifully into the surf.

If people knew what the magic formula was, they’d be selling it and everyone would have what they want out of their art life.

But there is no magic formula. There just isn’t.

Everyone wants to be special to someone. Especially artists. Everything you create is special to you.

But it is extremely rare that what you create is as special to others as it is to you. Sometimes artists are just like everyone else.

Here and gone.

Fame and success is not transitive. And they're not forever.

That’s the lesson.

I'm working on Good Omens right now. The Kickstarter pre-sign up news is here. No, it's not an icky newsletter, it will just let you know when the Kickstarter launches.

I have a Patreon. I'm funding the final volume of my space opera A DISTANT SOIL with it, but I won't be working on it again until Good Omens is complete. I have one of the most active and productive Patreons on the site.

I'm also on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram. Not too much though, they are distraction pits.

Make art because you love it. Because the rest...well, good luck. If it happens for you...it happens. And I hope it does.

#comics #neil gaiman #sandman #essays #comics industry #fame #spider man #tori amos

152 notes · View notes

frogdiedbutcamebacksomehow · 2 months

Text

THE URGE IS REAL

Ok, so this’ll be my first zine! and, i’m planning on it (hopefully) being free to read online :o)

so if you’re an creator (who is ok with not being paid [it’s out of my control currently :( ]), who would like to do stuff for a silly little Homsad fanzine, be my guest! please just let me know with like a reply or something and link some of your work :o) (and no stealing other peoples work and passing it off as your own! especially because of what went down a couple of days ago.)

i’ll probably need artists, editors, actual fanfics spread throughout (if people want it), and maybe people who actually know what they’re doing in terms of zine making so they can help me, so that’s fun

oh yeah, Homsad is the ship between Homsar and Strong Sad from Homestar Runner if you don’t know!

#froggi speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks #homestar runner #fandom zine #so exciiiiiited #!!!#also #less of a chance for people who work on the zine to ghost us and take the money if it’s free for everyone!#yippie!!!#homsad

42 notes · View notes

quanticq · 7 months

Note

Hey Q! Sorry for bothering you, but for some reason I can no longer find any of your tik tok accounts 😭 Did they get deleted or something?

Hi this is Q! I’m coming out of the woodwork to address this, since I did went radio silent out of the blue so it’s not a bother at all

The short answer is Yes, I deleted my tiktok

Yes delete not deactivate, I’m not coming back to That app or IG or Twt, I deleted my socials except here and YouTube, I honestly felt so overwhelmed with everything, I realized I’m not even posting for myself anymore there. A lots of people crossed my boundaries time and time again I felt so helpless, bitter with myself. I guess I was just overwhelmed with the attention I got; both positive and negatives ones.

Im done and I want to start over so that’s why I’m here and on YouTube, I already posted some of these on my community tab on YT but here’s what I have in mind for the future of the content I want to create: more detail under the cut, and also;

CW: very brief mention of spiraling, harm inflict oneself or others, paranoia, etc

•Long-form content: my attention span is a bit messed up from consuming and making short-form content to the point where I can’t focus in university. I want to create something meaningful. It’s not that my previous content was not meaningful, no. I had fun and no time is wasted when I have fun, it was warm… but as I mentioned earlier, I just felt this lingering bitterness the longer I stayed making those short-form content. It really felt like I was on the verge of losing it. Especially with how the bigger following I have the less people think of me as a person than just another content creator you see on the internet,

I want to create long-form content, I’m so tired of forcing myself to generate 15 second content. On tiktok it just feels like I’m just creating and not really connecting. I want to try something new, maybe create an open space for meaningful discussion in the comments. I don’t think I can stand another copy-paste tiktok comment anymore. You know what I meant if you’re frequent on that app.

•Art Content with Commentary: and don’t worry this won’t be those petty artist drama issue, but I will still cover anything serious

it could be love letters or video essays ranging from fan fictions, fandom culture, the art scene and so much more. I may even share a bit of my personal life, this will be self indulgent after all! I want to make it fun for myself and as well to those who comes across my channel. I really REALLY want to create a genuine following.

On tiktok it’s so easy to gain following but not so easy to retain them, it’s mostly because of the algorithm and the FYP feature there.

On Tiktok most content that would get featured as an artist there would be creative work has to be either; more than exceptional which is pressuring enough already to consistent posters, straight up suggestive content shown to minors (tiktok doesn’t really have a blocked keywords feature but it’s so disheartening to see these creators intentionally not using the sensitive warning since it could limit their reach significantly) oh yes we can’t forget the negativity surrounding beginner artists or “art lore”

All of this cesspool of negativity, it’s a whole can of worms but it will be one of my prominent topics that I wish to discuss in my future art commentaries. I hope you guys are looking forward to those! I might bring in a few people or so to talk about it with me

and finally;

•Streaming: I used to do a lot of streams during the weekends on the clock app and it was super fun! I want to bring that back but that would have to wait since I’m unfamiliar with some features on YouTube, and I’m aware that YT does not have a discoverable feature for stream but that’s alright, I want to start something small first.

In short; I’ll figure it out! just need some baby steps before I start streaming again.

I apologize for deleting everything out of the blue, if I’m gonna be honest it was partially planned because I’ve been thinking about deleting my tiktok, twitter and Instagram for a while now but how it happened? In my breakdown I realized that I don’t want anyone to see me spiral, especially now that I realized how young my audience are, I’m not sure how that happened but I guess posting fandom contents does attract the young ones somehow inevitably, even though my content is nowhere near as suggestive, but I do talk about serious topics from time to time… but I digress, its not fair for them to deal with me if they see me spiral publicly,

it is especially not fair to them to console me. When I was younger than 14, I’ve been in a position where I have to talk down someone who was older, maybe 4-5 years older than me, from harming themselves or anyone, it was traumatizing and unpleasant. I don’t wish for anyone to go through that, it’s very painful.

It’s been… hard for me to ground myself. Ive been seeing things through a kaleidoscope of emotions; I was trying to focus on everything but it’s just too overwhelming so eventually I cracked. But please don’t worry I’ve been doing better now, after some time away from my online persona, and of course spending time with my beloved girlfriend, I see things much more clearly now.

Thank you to anyone who read this and much so appreciate those who understand where I’m coming from

Also now that I think of it can my stuff be considered as lost media now? Amazing! But please don’t be sad the fun I had was genuine!

Thank you again to those who genuinely enjoyed my content on tiktok but it’s time for me to try my hand at something new, I will still be dwelling in my creative headspace just.. away from public for now,

if you’re looking forward for my future post, make sure to check out my YouTube! I still have a lot I need to cook hehe, this is one of the few!

More post soon, Bye bye! -Q

#vent #mental health #mentions of unhealthy habits #I’m not sure how to tag these but I’ll try my best!#social media #q myers #tiktok #burnt out #creative fatigue #sorry for the rant #rant #content creator #art community

74 notes · View notes

d-criss-news · 8 months

Text

The GLEE Cast and Creative Team Reunite to Support the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes: ‘We’re At a Turning Point in Our Industry’

The GLEE cast and creative team. (Photo credit: Marisa Roffman/Give Me My Remote.)

The GLEE cast and creative team reunited on Wednesday, August 23 to show their support for the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. And while a number of the key players have regularly picketing, the official reunion stemmed from an unexpected source: Aspiring actress Aly Fabrizio.

—

After filling out a form to host a themed WGA picket at Warner Bros, the ball started rolling. The day included multiple food trucks (including one sponsored by GLEE vet Jane Lynch), as well as show-appropriate grilled cheese, slushies, and cupcakes made by Fabrizio. “My heart’s still racing a little bit,” Fabrizio says. “Seeing them all back together makes me want to cry, in a good way. Knowing I organized it makes me really happy.”

Former GLEE star Darren Criss was picketing at the WB lot earlier in the week when “somebody, in passing, mentioned to me that there was going to be a GLEE day,” he shares. “And so I said, ‘F— yeah, I’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it.’”

Criss joined co-creator Brad Falchuk, as well as a gaggle of stars including Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Heather Morris, Iqbal Theba, Max Adler, Becca Tobin, Jacob Artist, Dot-Marie Jones, Vanessa Lengies, Patrick Gallagher, and Josh Sussman on the picket line, snapping selfies with each other and fans, and having some fun with the GLEE-themed picket line karaoke. (Gallagher sang “Sweet Caroline,” tweaking the words to reflect the ongoing strike—and joking there’s a reason he didn’t sing on the Fox series.)

—

“There is an unfortunate disparity in wealth that needs to be sorted for future generations,” adds Criss. “We’re not just looking out for us, we’re looking out for the ones that come after us and our families. And [we’re fighting for] the people before us who wished they could have organized and galvanized each other, to put systems in place to protect the work.”

youtube

—

“For the writers’ strike in 2007…we didn’t have social media, and there was this sort of this, ‘Oh, it’s happening over there’-ness to it,” Criss adds. “What is convenient about this go-round with the strike is that it’s very public and in the faces of—and hands of—people who aren’t part of the union, who are on the outside looking in, and understanding the inner wiring of it a lot better.”

“So I would encourage anybody who is a fan of this show to show their support on social media, perhaps to educate themselves on what this is and what labor disputes are, in general,” he continues. “This is a labor dispute, much like any union going on strike. It’s a very measured course of action to accomplish a goal. And I think educating yourself to understand what we’re trying to do here, especially if you’re a young fan, so that moving on in any business, whether it be the entertainment business, whether you’re an actual writer or even a producer in the future, you’re understanding what the grievances are.”

#darren criss #give me my remote #sag aftra strike #wga strike #wga west #glee day picketing #press #youtube #video #aug 2023

40 notes · View notes

himboskywalker · 1 year

Note

Tag what is your opinion on fandom cliches and hierarchies? There’s been talk on Twitter about how hard it is to break into the obikin community (which I disagree wkth) but I wondered if you had saw this going on and what your thoughts are as someone who’s been here longer than me

*sighs for a solid 10 minutes* I’m going to sound extremely grumpy answering this and it’s because seeing this kind of stuff pisses me off like nothing else in fandom. I wholeheartedly disagree,as I’m sure you guessed I would,and I have seen similar arguments on tumblr,as I avoid fandom Twitter like the plague. I’ve never seen a more welcoming,friendly,community driven fandom space as I have in the obikin community,and I’ve been in a lot of fandom spaces for a long freaking time. Back in 2019/early 2020 when I made my existence known in obikin,I felt like I was welcomed with open arms and a heartwarming level of love. For the vast majority I’ve found this space to be extremely uplifting,supportive,and positive. And I’m not saying this now as a creator who’s well known in some circles, I’m saying this as the nobody who everyone was extremely kind to when I wasn’t known from Adam,I have been treated the same way from my first chapter to now in regards to peoples’ welcoming kindness.

I’ve seen a couple people on tumblr complain about how hard it is to break into the obikin space and how they feel like nobody cares about them or what they create,and that they feel there’s cliques guarding the supposed gates of…obikin success? I don’t even know. But in my opinion that’s folks waltzing into fandom with an agenda and need that just isn’t compatible with the community spaces of fandom. If you come into a space with the expectation of accolades and popularity you’re not here to actually make friends and have fun,you’re here as a popularity contest.

And I think the fundamental misconception people have is that they are inherently deserving of space and attention just for them coming in and existing. And like, I’m sorry but you have to put in the groundwork to make friends and connections and to find a place you feel you belong. It goes both ways, you have to reach out to people and be friendly and chat,don’t just expect people who have been in this space to magically be your friend and know you when you’re brand new and haven’t made an effort to flag you exist. And that’s what people call “it being hard to break into the space and it’s cliquey.” Because no,that’s how socializing works, you introduce yourself and you chat and you get to know people and you put yourself out there and engage with others. Sometimes you create art and people engage with you over that,sometimes you have funny things to say and people can laugh and bond over that,or sometimes you let other artists know you love what they’ve created. Imagine it as going to a cocktail mixer at an art gallery, you can’t just stand in a freaking corner staring at everyone talking and interacting and then get mad and storm out like “those people are such a clique and not welcoming!!!!” Like bro did you make an effort?

And if you’re coming into fandom as an artist or writer or gif maker or whatever,not everyone is going to like or engage or interact with you and what you create. People in your fandom space are not obligated to reblog your posts or comment on your fics. Especially a space like tumblr,it can take a while for people to notice you and start interacting with you,it’s how algorithms work and is just one of the pitfalls of an online community space. If you make a fandom tumblr I think it’s extremely conceited,self-centered,and like weird to expect to be a popular creator instantly. I’m sure there are people who think I ignore them or am cliquey and barring the door for them when in fact it just takes me a while to notice people. I’m not going to magically remember your username,but what I will notice is you making posts and tagging it in my ship tag, I’ll notice you systematically engaging with people and creating stuff,and l’ll notice if you engage with me. It takes time to build connections,and it takes work.Friendship and community is not owed to you, you must be the second half of the bridge and you must build those relationships and that space for yourself.

We’re a small community, this isn’t a huge popular ship. And it always boggles my mind when people are like iTs sO hArD tO bE iN oBiKiN. Like I notice new artists and writers and gif makers after they’ve made a couple things. We don’t ignore new people but on the flip side it’s not a popularity contest and you’re not owed fame and worship because you were popular in another fandom or because you create art. If you’re here for those reasons then you’re not going to be happy in fandom,especially a small niche part of it where you’re not going to get anywhere near as much attention as you would in a big popular ship.

And I don’t completely buy into the write for yourself mindset and ignore all else. I get what it’s like to want people to enjoy the art you pour yourself into,that’s not a crime. The very act of putting something on tumblr or ao3 means you’re not just creating for yourself. But the key it not to just “create for yourself” but to create what you love. We’re here because we love the same characters and the same world,we want to share that love! And be excited over pouring our love into our art and sharing it with other people who feel the same way!Create and engage in fandom not for popularity or attention,but because you love this thing and it’s inherent human connection with other people who feel the same way. That’s how you build friendships and a community. That’s what fandom is,connection with others over shared love. So engage and create and participate and laugh and chat and cry and connect through shared love. It’s not about our differences,or how we sometimes like different things or find different meanings,that’s what makes these spaces eclectic and fun,it’s not about liking the wrong thing or liking it in a wrong way. If fandom isn’t fun for you because you can’t stand people loving what you love in a different way,or not giving you the attention and praise you want for creating what you love,then that’s a you problem that you should self examine about.

We’re treated like lepers in a lot of spaces for liking the “wrong” thing,and we’re tight knit because of that. Which just means all the more that we can’t afford to be cliquey snobs about “allowing” new people into our space. From every avenue I’ve seen obikin fans are ecstatic to welcome new faces in,it’s just more friends to connect over what we love. Sometimes you like parts of this world or dynamic others don’t,sometimes you create art that means a lot to you that doesn’t mean a lot to everyone else and that’s okay. We’re allowed to have our personal preferences and our likes and our dislikes. But when you start treating other people in the same community like they’re bullying you for not liking the same thing as you and engaging with your content simply because they don’t vibe with it and then accuse the entire fandom of being a gatekeepimg snobby clique,then that’s you just being a whiny baby and I’ll say it to their faces. Your are not oppressed or being bullied because people in obikin don’t like what you do and you’re the one creating divisiveness by saying it’s a problem,no one is obligated to love what you do. And for those who are saying their content isn’t welcome,we’ll that’s just a further cry for attention because there will ALWAYS be someone who will enjoy the dynamic you do,and just because everyone doesn’t,it doesn’t make you a martyr.

So create what you love,put forth a fucking effort to connect with people who like the same shit you do,and don’t push half your fandom away by being a negative black hole in the tags and acting like everyone is out to get you and being mean.

#old man yells at cloud #also lol at me misspelling clique as cliche because anon did don’t mind me guys #obikin #fandom #fandom salt #long post #star wars

68 notes · View notes

anachrosims · 10 months

Text

I had an epiphany about the greige luxe aesthetic disk horse and I’m here to share it:

Aesthetics are (mostly) neutral things, provided the aesthetic itself isn’t evoking/promoting an ideology that’s rooted in bigotry and/or harming other people. You’re allowed to like greige luxe, which is what I am personally going to call it from now on. Basically, an aesthetic on its own is not good/evil, it didn’t kill your sensei, etc.

Trends, however? Oh, my friends in Christ! My Dear Honeys and Bunches of Oats! Here’s where it gets fun, because trends imply a group of instances within a period of time. A trend is something you can chart out using a graph to say, “this style is being used X (how much it’s used) over Y (a period of months/years).”

When people gripe about the greige luxe nightmare, it’s because we’ve been experiencing it in a gradual crescendo for well over a decade. When a person gripes about a trend, it isn’t a personal attack against people who happen to genuinely have that personal taste, though I’m sure it can often feel like one.

The problem in this specific case is that greige luxe has a lot of cultural baggage rooted in classism (this aesthetic has been promoted by companies sponsoring overpriced brands--looking at you Magnolia Home) and the diluting (literally) of other styles into being watered down. It’s taken the sleek and often fun pop of midcentury, Scandi, and midcentury modern and even rustic styles and literally neutralized them, sanding off the “rough” edges to make it all more appealing to a wider audience.

Don’t believe me? Check out this article from the Guardian from 2022, which discusses that “... the origin of this great wave of grey goes back through centuries of western culture to a longstanding prejudice against bright colors, as explored by the artist David Batchelor in his 2000 book Chromophobia.” It goes on to explain, “Goethe’s Theory of Colors, published in 1810, maintained that bright colors were suited to children and animals, not sophisticated adults. ... Still today, words such as ‘lurid’ and ‘garish’ have negative connotations. ‘Color is often represented as feminine, or Oriental, or primitive, or infantile, rather than grown-up and philosophical and serious … and it’s clearly indexed to issues of race, culture, class and gender,’ says Batchelor.”

The article further elaborates on this by comparing the trend to what is associated with “’refined taste’”-- “’...a desire for the muted, the minimal, the sparse...’ Over the past 15 years, ‘what we have seen is a move from the yellow end of the spectrum to the cooler one – from beige, to greige’, amounting to what Fox calls ‘a desaturating effect’ across culture.” (Context: British art historian James Fox, author of The World According to Colour.)

As for the Sims community? Well... I personally associate the greige trend with permapaywallers and even well-known early access (but contraversial) creators following it excessively, leading popular builders to make lots based almost entirely around this greige luxe nightmare. In addition to cultural baggage, it’s now got community baggage heaped on, and I expect that’s what’s led to the visceral reaction we’re seeing. Basically in the Sims community, greige luxe is a whole thing associated now with appropriated styles that have been watered down, commodified, and associated with “upper class refinement”, especially to the detriment of variety and vitality.

The article does also point out that as society has become more and more polarized, the trend has grown, “...[s]ince the mid-2010s especially, people have sought not to be energized by their homes – but soothed.” And yeah, that tracks-- people want calm, want simple. And that’s okay! I myself genuinely like soothing rooms, color schemes that are softer--neutrals and pastels and washed-out rustica with a soft pop of color here and there. Absolutely lovely.

I also think there’s merit to wanting something more uplifting, and the article references things like recent tentative trends toward more color, like interior designs leaning for warmer tones, red dining rooms coming back into vogue, and even Apple’s more colorful line of products: “It suggests that post-pandemic people are prioritising not serenity in their homes, but joy.”

To bring it all back home: Yeah, like what you like. Just please try to understand that trend fatigue and changing times can and will lead people to yearn for something different, and it never hurts to branch out into new palettes and decor styles. While I understand the “mass appeal” of simple neutral colors and sleek styles, my own personal happiness needs a bit more levity, more vitality, lest I feel washed out and uninspired.

(I do recommend reading the article; it isn’t an actual indictment of greige, but rather a discussion illustrating opinions both for and against and the history of the “neutral” trend.)

Further suggested reading: How Are Color Trends Decided? Article from DraperyStreet in 2017, & Color Trend Predictions for 2023, from LuxeSource in 2022, & Greige, the Color That’s Taking Over Pinterest, from Business Insider in 2015.

#greige #color theory #fashion trends #sims 4 #sims community #feel free to rb if you want #I know it's biased I'm not pretending it isn't #but I hope this can bring a little perspective to the whole discussion

33 notes · View notes

one0p1nk · 10 months

Note

Hey! BEAUTIFUL PERSON AWARD! Once you are given this award you’re supposed to paste it in the asks of 8 people who deserve it. If you break the chain nothing happens, but it's sweet to know someone thinks you’re beautiful inside and out. 💞💕

// goodness- that many people??? I don’t have the exact energy to make this a chain loop DJDMDNDN I won’t do this in order, because I love my moots equally :D Also, I have many other moots- so all I can do is mention the first 8 that I have first in mind oof- I simply have so many words to say to each of them because that would be fair and would make up the fact I’m not sending this to 8blogs/ih

if anyone else happen to send the same chain, I’ll just do a part two/hj So let’s see,,,

Yami, my lovely beloved Angelfish bestie artist partner-in-crime mafia world co-creator with silly but wonderful ideas of their OCs that I love to read about with a great passion <333/ih

Four, I will never forget the Floyd kinnie bestie that comes in and out every once in a while just to check on us- also threaten us with twst pics if we don’t take a break especially on Yami FJFJFJF I love you/p and your artistic skills and scrunkles you offer for us to cherish 🥺♥️

Nakki, the other Floyd kinnie/ih yet is the big bro I feel comfortable to talk with,,, Everything is just all fun and good vibes when we hang out and I hope that stays that way djdjjd <3🌸

Beth, she is such a sweetheart,,, I like helping her in Minecraft- having to talk to her about AUs and ships is soft vibes,,, She’s now our mafia group’s cookie supplier and I have no regrets about that/ih/pos 🥺💕

Klai, they always give me this mix of “hehe so silly and fun” and “oh gosh what to do with this problematic gremlin” Floyd kinnie djdjjddj- don’t blame me, nonetheless, ily/p bestie, even if it’ll take ages for me to comprehend certain parts of your humor- yet, they’re so understanding with my autistic tendencies everything doesn’t seem to be so awkward when talking with them 😭🥺✨/ih

Tae, they’re so nice to me and I’ll forgive their wrong-doings they ever have/ih(well I’m not sure about their spouse forgiving them tho/ih),,, one reason why they’re somehow in the mafia group (yeah Angelfish, we should start raising some standards for the growing group we have/ih) ily/p the same, and I’m hoping you’re always happy everyday <3

Kory, ily/p and your scrunkles (and you might be tired of the many times I keep apologizing for missing Law’s bandanna- the event was just life-changing and I took that personally since I adore him- 😔) Having talks with you about ships make me giggle like a dork you have no idea- well, you kinda do know in an extent I would lose track of time(adhd moment??? I probably have unfortunately/ih) you’re a wonderful peep I somehow ever met, idk if it was such a great coincidence that we happen to meet jfjfjfjf

Besides feeling so indebted to my bestie Mandi- I’m just sobbing softly the times she helped me while I was kinda having a boomer tech moment😭🥺😔/ih, especially when it comes to Ai voices,,, I always love hearing about Pearce 🥺💕🌸 as we share the same passion for his majestic chest fur✨/ih I love Amanda just the same- this strong woman is scary, not like this silly of a man like Laurence minds about that :D♥️/ih

#pins speaking

7 notes · View notes

cartograffiti · 1 year

Text

Kinds of fan creation events and how they work!

Challenges, including calendars and bingo

This is the broadest event type. Many challenge types have distinct own names and format designs, but all involve a time limit and a theme. The best way to organize one is to pick a subject or format with a medium degree of specificity, like supporting characters or drabbles, but big fandoms can get more granular and still have a great turnout. I recently ran a 6-week challenge encouraging a fandom with a lot of new growth to “weird the tag,” and that was a blast!

One popular subtype is calendar challenges, mostly aimed at artists. These are classically daily prompts for a month, like Inktober and its many riffs, but some more narrow prompts like mermaids for Mermay have widely been reinterpreted to make a single, substantial piece during the right time. Bingo cards are also fun for all mediums, though they can be tricky to balance—whether you’re issuing everyone the same card or letting them be generated from a pool (like in Bad Things Happen Bingo), a funky distribution of difficulty can make a line hard to complete.

There are very few stumbling blocks in a challenge. If you don’t finish, you just try again another time! They’re also easy to run, as most of the work is preparation. They tend to be less social than many events, but that can be a blessing, and they’re very new creator-friendly.

Prompts, including timed events and kinkmemes

Timed events with prompts work a lot like challenges, but with works being submitted under a given prompt instead of simply responding to the general theme. Usually multiple people can fulfill the same prompt, and nobody is assigned to any particular one.

Sites with nested commenting, especially LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, work best for hosting prompt lists with no deadline or end date. People list prompts they’d like to see in the fandom, and when someone has posted a work fulfilling it, they reply directly to let OP know. These can be called promptmemes, but they’re more often called kinkmemes, even when not specifically sexual.

Bangs, including big bangs, mini bangs, and reverse bangs.

In a big bang, a group of writers submit summaries of a wip to the event mods, and the mods anonymize them for a group of artists to name their favorites. The mods match them into pairs so the writer-artist team can collaborate to complete an illustrated fic. Everything gets posted on a set day or period of days, so it’s like an explosion of new work (“bang!”)

Big bangs usually have word count minimums in 5 digits and sometimes ask artists to complete multiple pieces, while mini bangs do the same process with a lower minimum, usually a 4 digit number, and consistently ask artists for a single piece. Reverse bangs have artists create an artwork first, and then writers are paired with them to write an accompanying fic inspired by the piece.

All types of bang really shine for pulling together different corners of a fandom. In addition to introducing people who work in different mediums, because submissions for matching are anonymized and wips are kept secret until posting, there’s a leveling effect: big name fans and newcomers share the shine, and it’s hard to game the system to get paired with your friends. Most bangs make a chat group for co-working (Discord or elsewhere), so it’s easy to bond with other participants!

They’re a bit complex to run (matching is real work!), and deadlines matter a lot, since there’s at least one other person relying on you to finish. I’ve seen the bang format criticized for reminding participants of business transactions by emphasizing these timetables as a commitment. Good mods always frame it as fun, but if you don’t have a handle on how fast you work, or how to gauge the size of a new project idea, it’s easy to bite off more than you can chew.

Exchanges

These are often fic-for-fic or art-for-art, but many are mixed. In all exchanges, participants choose some tags (subjects they’re willing to offer), and some they’d like to receive. They then create a work for their assigned recipient, respecting wants and do not wants (DNW), and receive a work from the person assigned to them. These are almost always different people, but it’s common for people with shared interests to get assigned into “loops” (A wrote for B, B wrote for C, C drew for A) even when matching is done by Ao3 code.

Exchanges are really exciting since there are waves of anticipation—what have I been assigned? What did I get? Who wrote my fic, if authors were kept anonymous for a week? They work great for any size of group, and for multi-fandom or single-fandom events. The tags to choose from can be assembled by event mods, or submitted by interested folks and then approved, so it’s easy to see what directions people are interested in before you sign up, and solicit people to join you. Exchanges also have a strong culture of “treating,” writing additional fics for requests that caught your eye, or your friends, even if you didn’t formally sign up.

Like bangs, there’s a greater degree of commitment to finish on time because someone else is counting on you. Well-run bangs have rules about when you can default without penalty and let a “pinch-hitter” take over the assignment, how to get off the blacklist if you didn’t follow through, and what they’ll do if anyone doesn’t have a gift when the collection is meant to open. Sometimes exchanges that are having trouble finding a pinch-hitter for someone whose assigned gifter had to drop will delay reveals (“hold the collection hostage”). If you struggle with things not happening on time, stick to larger exchanges, since they’re less vulnerable to this.

Fandom parties

In a party, everyone is grouped into teams to make the greatest number of fanworks during the event. They usually run for a week, with broad daily prompts (like a character name, season number, or motif), and every work submitted is a point. These works must be put together, from beginning to submission, within the 24-hour period of the prompt.

The first time I did a party, it rewired my brain chemistry for the better, because it pushed me to let go of some perfectionist and self-critiquing habits. I’ve put out more fics I’m proud of ever since. Better still, the party culture emphasizes inclusion of fan creations beyond the big two: Gifs! Edits! AMVs/fanvids! Cosplay! Crochet! Filk songs!

The competition and short turn-around can be hard on those with a tendency to overwork or blame yourself if your team falls behind, so they require some self-awareness to stay fun. Parties often allow submissions to count for points without being publicly posted, which can help! (For example, you might submit an unpolished fic and post the revision later, or submit a cosplay despite not wanting your face on that blog.) My experience with team rivalries has only been low-stakes and appropriate, but it’s another unusual element to not be caught off guard by.

Jams

These are most popular with any kind of project or fan labor that involves the word “edit.” Video, gif, and screenshot editing; podfic recording; fandom wiki and resource brush-ups; sharing your wips around and leaving each other feedback.

They usually run between a few hours to a week, and often don’t carry any expectation of being done at the end. They’re more about making progress, camaraderie, and sharing techniques.

Zines and e-zines

This is the trendiest event format right now! They spun off the broader culture of zines: self-published arty magazines and short books, popular for sharing ideas in the diy, punk, and queer scenes as well as fandom spaces. Outside of fandom, they’re usually printed by the creator physically operating the machinery in limited runs. In fandom, they’re usually digital (e-zines), and when they’re physical, the organizers have usually paid a printer to do the run for them.

Unlike any other format on this list, fandom zines usually work on an application and approval process. Instead of signing up and being for sure in, the mods choose a selection of interested people to proceed with their pieces and be included in the zine. Unfortunately, this means the barrier to participate is higher, with big name fans and personal favorites or friends prioritized. I do like that they’re more art-forward than many formats, even often art-only, and it’s fun to be in a group exploring an interest or making a point together.

E-zines are often free, and physical zines almost never are. Either way, profits might be given to charity, donated to the creators of the canon (such as in the case of indie podcasts), or split among the contributors. Whether you’re applying or buying, read carefully about paid zines to make sure you’re comfortable with where it’s going, and know that there’s always risk involved. Scams and mismanagement do happen.

Auctions

Fandom auctions are charity events, raising money for organizations or sometimes the fandom’s own community members in need. Like parties, auctions put more than usual emphasis on fan edits, and also labor such as bookbinding, sensitivity reading, and proofreading.

Usually, participants donate their time by offering a small number of tasks and fandoms, and their resulting work is a gift in acknowledgement of bidders’ donations, with their preferences in mind. It’s a lot like exchanges, but instead of getting a gift back, the creator gets satisfaction from raising money for a good cause.

Like with paid zines, when there’s money involved, you need to read the details with care. It’s also easy to fall into the trap of thinking of bids as what your work is “worth” to people, and you really need to have a backlog of completed projects for bidders to see your style, so this is better attempted after you’ve been around the block a few times and feel confident in yourself.

Other games (masquerade, round robin, art rotations, exquisite corpses...)

A lot of other fun games are worth knowing about if you’re thinking about an event for a small or existing group! One I love the sound of is masquerades like this one, in which people disguise their styles and even imitate each other, and then have a round of guessing. Round robins involve sending a fic wip to a succession of people, who each write a suggested amount of words (usually in the hundreds) to further the story that’s there. Have people volunteer to be the beginning and end before you start! Art rotations aren’t actually a coined name, I’m inventing it on the spot. This is when a pair or trio of artists each do a different layer of a drawing (like one does lines, the other does colors, or a trio does pencils, inks, colors) so that they have the same number of finished collaborations as people in the team. Exquisite corpses are drawings, stories, or image sets where you only see what the previous person did (or a sliver of it) when adding your part.

~~~

I’m sure there are others I’ve overlooked, but hopefully this helps inspire you to look out for or organize some new events in your fandoms!

#lol almost tagged this fandom like that would help #fanfiction events #fanart events #fanwork events #fandom guides

9 notes · View notes

dez-wade · 6 months

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/dez-wade/733361994079617024/two-green-team-members-arent-dropping-out-though

The fact that you refuse to have an actual conversation about it because you’ve already made up your mind about blaming everything on one group of people tells me everything I need to know too.

Etoiles is also not dropping out because he spent time yesterday with Foolish and Tina playing valo and they talked about everything and how he was feeling. He said that he went out for dinner and had some chill time as well as enjoyed playing with foolish and Tina after to decompress. I know that’s wild because you seem to think that the only innocent parties in this whole thing is the members of any team that’s not the red team because from your previous posts you seem to be holding a lot of the “blame” for the ccs themselves on the red team and how they’ve been playing the event. Foolish is one of the closest people to Etoiles on the server, he literally said that hanging out with him yesterday was like a breath of fresh air. I’m sure the green team members helped him and supported him a lot and he deserves that I’m very glad they did that but to act like the only reason he’d ever even consider coming back is because green team spoke to him is ridiculous.

“It's truly amazing how a bunch of CCs are getting hate but you're more worried about defending the Red Team's fan honor.” Is a crazy sentence when all I’ve seen (RIGHTFULLY SO) after the ccs spoke out is rallying of love and support yet I’ve seen an overwhelming amount of posts here and on Twitter being awful about people just trying to tweet or blog about red team and have fun who have NOTHING to do with the hate being sent but they’re not famous ccs who you support and idolise so you’re right everyone should shut their mouths about people being hated on unless their famous and your a fan of them, my bad!

Complaining about one team having higher viewership is crazy as if that’s in the hands of fans and not the admins who, if it was such an issue, shouldn’t have put the most watched creators on one team? And complaining about lack of fanart is ridiculous. Artists are allowed to draw whatever and who ever they enjoy, unless they’re being commissioned they don’t OWE any fans or any ccs art. If that’s such a big issue for you produce some fanart of the team you like or commission some.

I haven’t seen any Red CC complain about hate because Phil deleted Twitter, Foolish very rarely uses it and the rest may not see it and but there’s been PLENTY of tweets especially in the past 24 hours of people hating on red team and therefor the ccs. NO CC SHOULD BE RECEIVING HATE AT ALL. It’s odd to me that I said “hey maybe people shouldn’t be being hateful towards normal fans trying to enjoy something” and your response was “YEAH BUT ARE THEIR CCS BEING HATED ON” do you want them to be? Would that make you feel better? Would that make this entire situation better in general? Such an odd argument to make.

All I was trying to say was that people can love and rally behind a ccs who speaks about the hate they’re receiving without then turning around and being awful to people who are doing nothing wrong and just enjoying the event. I’m glad Bagi and the others have spoken out and I hope they receive all of the love and support however I also think that you can’t stand on some moral high ground when fans then turn around and shit on other fans and ccs as if that’s not exactly what you’ve been complaining about happening to other people.

Forever, Fit, and Quackity just were talking about Etoiles's receiving hate. Fit trying to explain to Forever, dancing around words saying "Uhh, certain communities, from certain people that got killed". They're all very aware of who it is.

They're not sure if he's coming back. Quackity said they talked to him and hope he does. Forever got extremely disappointed that he went through this. Bagi is going through the same.

Who is saying "Red team fans are annoying for sending massive hate to streamers who are almost quitting an event" the same level of what they're going through at all??

I'm not blaming the Red CCs, I'm blaming their communities. They are to blame to the point they complained so much on the first day, that the viewers complained the same and didn't stop despite the Red CCs clearing been having fun and not giving a fuck they were being killed. Quackity was just talking about how the team, the team of developers that created this whole event, were feeling discouraged because they got so much negative feedback in the first hours. Especially because they've been working for months.

Stop shifting the blame. If you're so worked up over this, maybe you're guilty of something?

The reason why I talked about the Red CCs not receiving hate is not that I want that to happen, it's that your argument is that they're "equally" being hated on white they're literally just chilling. If someone is hating them, because sure there is with this situation, it is an worthless percentage unlike the Green Team went through.

Honestly you should be grateful that I'm answering so politely, because it's really tiresome how you keep strawnmanning about the situation when it's shown very clearly what the problem is, and who is receiving hate.

#qsmp discourse #fandom neg

2 notes · View notes

aroacemisha · 2 years

Text

About Me & The Blog!

Hi! My name is Misha (he/him). I’m a queer Russian artist and writer [art & writing tag: #misha’s creative stuff; original characters/stories tag: #misha’s original stuff]. Born in February 10, 2004. I’m also an atheist and likely neurodivergent.

I also like The Owl House. I have an AU [tag: #retired leaders au]! It’s focused on Belos, Steven (the AU version of Steve), Hunter and Kiki, aka the Wolf Fam, and they’re the characters with the most significant changes. More info about the AU can be found under the #rlau info tag. It’s a good uncle AU btw.

Small summary: The Day of Unity turned out to be a massive disaster, and once Belos finally returned from being stuck in the Human Realm with Hunter and the Hexsquad, he publicly admitted to his lies and resigned. The other highest ranking members of the EC - Hunter, Steven and Kiki - left with him, hence the AU’s name, and the Empire dissolved.

Some more info about the AU can be found in this post. I’ll make a proper, better structured info post eventually.

[Edit]: Since I changed my username, the link in the long thread no longer works. Here is the updated link.

If you’d like to ask anything, whether it’s about me or my content, or if you just want to say something to me, feel free to send an ask!

I have a positivity tag: “#positivity”, and I’ll link it here if you wanna scroll through it.

I’m not really into n$fw content, but some (mostly mild) stuff might show up, mainly in text form or character dialogue. I tag non graphic/less graphic stuff with “#cw: suggestive”, and more graphic stuff with “#nsft stuff”, though I’m not 100% sure on where the line is for me.

(I also try to tag triggers, generally with “#cw: [thing]”, like “cw: flashing” or “cw: blood”, and some are censored like “cw: sui mention” and “cw: sa mention”. If there’s anything you’d like me to tag, send me an ask)

A few more things, in no particular order:

Do not repost/reupload people’s art without permission. If you like an artist’s work and want to have it on your blog, press the “reblog” button (the recycle looking button). If you want to share it on a different platform, just don’t, unless the artist gives you permission. Or just post a link to the work instead of the work itself!

And stop with the “idk who made it, I found it on Google” bs - don’t post the work you found, and if you want to share it, do reverse image search and find the author and share their work the proper way instead of stealing. Have the bare minimum of respect for the creator.

“Do not repost” also applies to downloading someone’s work, tracing or editing it, and then posting that version. It’s fine to trace art as a form of study/learning, but only if you either keep it to yourself and don’t post it, or you get the artist’s permission to post the traced/edited version.

Please tag your ships when you post content with them. It helps people who like it find it, and helps people who dislike it avoid it by filtering the tag. This includes “OC x canon” stuff (tag the specific OC/ship btw, not just “OC x canon”), “s3lf insert x canon”, and I’d say especially “x read3r”, or frankly, any kind of read3r insert stuff, even if it’s not ship.

Pr0shippers will get blocked. “Pr0shippers/anti-antis/c0mship/pr0fic” or whatever you call yourselves, get out. If you treat p3do and inc3st relationships as some kind of “cute/fun tropes”, or you willingly associate with people who do, I want nothing to do with you. This includes people who ship distant relatives (you are still shipping relatives and doing so knowingly)

No, this does not mean I’m some kind of puritan who doesn’t want dark topics to ever be touched on in media, it just means I think they shouldn’t be watered down into a “cute/fun trope” and should be approached with sensitivity.

If you’re an exclusionist, you’re not welcome here. This includes people who tag “queer” as “q slur”, as well as label and pronoun policers. There will be people whose identities you don’t understand, and that’s fine, leave them alone. Stop doing our oppressors’ work for them. Queer discourse also comes and goes every few months and it’s always the same “trust me bro my exclusionism is totally legit this time bro this group of queer people is totally evil and harmful bro just trust me”

“Tme/tma” (transmisogyny exempt/affected), are meaningless labels that do nothing but cause infighting within the trans community about who has it “worse”, or who has “privilege”, when no one does. A violent anti-trans bigot is not going to ask your pronouns before assaulting you if they perceive you as trans (or any kind of queer). Drop the labels if you use them. Also read this post by an intersex person.

If you attack people for criticizing cops, billionaires, large corporations, etc, gtfo. Go lick those boots elsewhere.

Russia/Putin stans/apologists are also not welcome here. Same for those who are “neutral” or think that “both sides are bad” (no they are not). And if you’re one of those people who act like Ukraine has no autonomy and is only resisting because the West is pushing it to do so, sincerely, go fuck yourself.

That’s about it I think. Though remember that you won’t fully know all of my beliefs from a couple sentences or even a couple paragraphs.

(Edit: For TOH fans, filter “#huntl0w negative” if you don’t like seeing negativity towards the ship. I try not to mention it much, but occasionally I voice or reblog criticisms of the writing (it’s pretty bad if it’s meant to be romantic), and some behavior from particularly aggressive fans. Btw in case you’re wondering, no, I don’t like L*nter, they are a canonically familial relationship)

[This post gets updates sometimes]

#misha's text posts #oh look it's misha #thought i'd make an intro post

22 notes · View notes

scifrey · 6 months

Note

Howdy! My names Paradox, or Para by some of my pals. One of them, the good lady Trinity, actually directed me to you to ask this question!

I’m a budding writer, comic artist, and so on who’s been enthralled by a book project of mine lately. Trinity suggested I use Wattpad as a publishing venture because of your personal experience with the company!

I just wanted to ask some questions about using Wattpad to publish one’s work, anything will help!

First off! Would you suggest it for first time publishing?

If not, what would your suggestion be?

Any tips for me in this pursuit?

I hope you find the time to, and I hope you’re having a good day!

Hello! I'll DM you in a few minutes for a more detailed conversation about your actual book, but my first instinct would be to ask:

a) what the project is, and

b) what your goal with it is.

Depending on both of those things, Wattpad (or any of the other serializing platforms like it) may or may not be the right choice for your project.

What is Your Project?

Original Work - make sure that wherever you choose to share the book, there's a clear ToS that indicates that the copyright of the novel stays with the creators at all times. Also take a look at the recommended chapter/part/episode length on the different platforms--you may find your work better suited to one or the other based on the platform's word length requirements or best practices notices.

Genre and Medium - different sorts of projects thrive on different platforms. Radish is great for steamy, spicy, dark, sexy romances. Tapas seems to be the shrine of BoysLove/BL graphic novels/thumbscrollers. Wattpad is great for fandom work and YA. Webtoons seems to be a great place for KDrama style comics. Take a good hard look at your work's genre and where other works like yours thrive, and figure out which platform already comes pre-loaded with your ideal readership. (Note: some platforms have strict rules about how many other places you can publish the same work, and at what times, especially if you're monetizing it.)

Fanfic - Like the above, consider the different sites and see which one has the legal protection, curation, and fandom/readership that would best suit your tale. You can't monetize fanfic, so going where the readers are is the best way to get all those kudos and warm fuzzies.

What is Your Goal?

Just Sharing For the Fun of it / Practice - I'd say dive right in, then! Who knows what will happen! You might get some great feedback, make some awesome friends, garner some great moots and build a wonderful and supportive community, and learn loads. There's nothing saying you can't share one for free and then look into monetizing the next project.

To Make Money - people can be stingy and judgy with things that are behind paywalls, so make sure your work is the most polished it can be, and fits the best practices of the site you've chosen as well as you're able. On some sites you're allowed to control whether you'd like to monetize your work, and some others you have to apply to/ submit to be considered. Take a good look at each of the models on the sites you're considering and decide which one works best for what you want.

To Get Traditionally Published - the path from selfpublished on a serialization site to traditionally published is a very thin, not particularly well-worn one. Besides the books specifically hand picked by the Wattpad Books and W by Wattpad publishing teams (usually through the Watty Awards), or their graphic novel/comic side Webtoon who publish the Webtoon Unscrolled books, I can think of vanishingly few novels that have been selfpubbed first and then picked up for traditional publication. If you want your project to be tradpubbed, maybe try querying agents and indie publishers first.

That said, having a project on a site like Wattpad will give you a lot of experience and metrics that you can brag about if you elect to query around a second or different project. I cite my serialization site readership numbers in my tradpub marketing documents all the time.

Have a Movie Made - Maybe take a screenwriting class instead? If the ultimate goal is to get a movie made of your story, why not just write a movie? It is a lot rarer than it seems from the outside for a novel to be adapted, and if that's the only reason you're doing it, consider that maybe you're writing for the wrong medium. For more info on that, read my article about How Books Become Movies.

Become Internet Famous - You do you, I guess. I have no idea how it would work, and no advice for that because I am deffo not Internet Famous, and have no desire to be. Looks exhausting. But don't let me stop you!

Already Available

No matter what serialization site you choose to publish on, be aware that this means the manuscript will forevermore be what is considered "Already Published" by the whole traditional publishing business machine. It's out there for free already--so why should any agent or publisher pick it up when they won't be able to get readers to pay for it?

There are very, very few agents and publishers willing to look at Already Available projects , and generally only those with massive pre-existing readerships and fanbases.

If you're okay with that, then by all means, selfpub on these sites. But go into it knowing that the tradpub world considers posting to serialization apps to be basically equivalent to selfpubbing (and that's neither good, nor bad. No value judgement here. It just means that they'd have to approach the marketing and business side of things in a certain kind of way. For all that they deal in stories and sell beautiful pieces of writer's souls and imagination, never forget that tradpub is An Industry (tm), and many, many of the decisions are made because Capitalism.)

Do your Research

Talk to other writers on the site if it seems scammy, or the offers are Too Good to Be True. Be careful where you share your original work and what you agree to. Read all the contracts thoroughly.

Be Prepared to Hustle

That's not to say that there's no hustle involved with getting your work out there, particularly on social media, if you are a traditionally published author. There's loads, especially post-publication as most marketing efforts and budgets are spent on the pre-release leadup.

But if you're selfpubbing on a serialization site, you're going to have to do all of your own marketing and talking yourself up. That includes joining and participating on forums, discords, chat groups, writer's groups; creating and sharing graphics and book trailers on social media; BookTokking (if you like that sort of thing); volunteering at conventions or meetups; hosting workshops or free writer's lessons, and answering qs like these (* winky face *); submit it for on-site promotions and contests; etc.

You'll have to review recent trends in book covers for your age market, genre, and platform and create a cover that will attract the right readers. You'll need to craft pitch copy for your book using the same research and meticulous editing. And you'll need to look into metrics to figure out what time of day/day of the week it's best to drop new parts/episodes/chapters.

And of course, what took you months, perhaps years to write and perfect, it takes readers a mere matter of hours to consume. So you'll always need to be thinking of the next project if you're looking to build a sustained career and readership out of the posting.

Or you know, maybe you don't have to do any of that. Maybe you can just share exactly how you want to, when you want to, why you want to, and enjoy that too! Again it all depends on what your goals are.

What you choose to put into it, you will probably mostly get back out of it. Sweat equity Return on Investment is always a crapshoot.

(But hey, I keep doing it because I enjoy it. I love sharing stories and reading people's comments and enthusiasms for my tales.)

In the End, There are No Guarantees

So wherever you decide to post, however you decide to post, make sure that you keep your expectations realistic and your heart open. Everything you hope may come to pass, or your story could sink and get no views. Make sure you're okay with either happening, and remember to celebrate all the little wins, and have fun.

#words for writers #wattpad #writing #writing tips #creative writing #writing blog #writing community

2 notes · View notes

chatonnoir · 2 years

Text

It’s just very funny (derogatory) to me how fandom will dehumanize you and how people you disagree with will readily victimize themselves when they perceive you to be a “big blog” (whatever arbitrary follower threshold that is)

Someone made a post saying they envy the platform fanartists have while saying carelessly hurtful things about artists who write fanfic, implying that people only supported their fanfic because of their art, that their writing would never be the same “quality” as longtime fanfic writers, etc. People, especially fanartists who write, were naturally upset by the elitism and gatekeeping and general mean-spirited tone of the post and replied with their disagreements. Suddenly that person switches gears and starts talking about their age, even though the “““big blog”““ who replied to them was the same age. Suddenly they’re talking about how they're a “small blog” with only a few hundred followers (as if having over 500 people following you is a small amount). Suddenly they’re talking about how it was just a poorly-thought-out rant post that wasn’t supposed to be seen (as if they didn’t self-reblog it seeking validation and stating that they were “correct”) and basically insinuating that it was morally wrong of the people they’ve decided are “BNFs” to reply in disagreement with that post for those reasons. Suddenly follower counts are being brought up in every response more than the actual content of the arguments themselves, because y’all love to categorize people as just “big blog” or “small blog” and the things we do are interpreted in completely different ways based on which of those two camps you fall in to.

Just .... the irony and the cognitive dissonance in doubling down and insisting that the platform these artists have has given them an unfair advantage because of “advertising power” and saying that they wish they had that platform, while simultaneously not being able to handle the smallest amount of attention that was anything other than praise. Not to mention making a post ABOUT a specific group of people and complaining about how their popularity isn’t fair, and then self-victimizing and acting like its wrong for those very people respond to it....

And somehow it doesn’t occur to these people that if they had the kind of platform that we do that they so covet and make these posts about, they'd get even MORE backlash for making these “poorly-thought-out rant posts” on main??? Not just one but at least a DOZEN hateful anons in their inbox???? Not to mention people acting towards them the way they acted towards us in this situation, basically dehumanizing them and telling them that they can't be upset and respond to someone else's ignorant/hurtful post even if it was clearly about them/their friends/people like them because they’re a """BNF"""" and the person they’re upset with is a """"small blog uwu"""" who they’re """dogpiling""" on. You don’t GET to have a bad day and make a poorly-thought-out mean-spirited rant post and get away scot-free when you’re a ~BNF~. If you can’t handle being watched and scrutinized by thousands of people and getting even the smallest bit of negative attention for a post then ... no, you DON’T actually want our “advertising power.” Sorry to tell y’all that having a few thousand followers comes with a cost and is not just a free faceless reblog/kudos/praise farm to feed your ego.

Nevermind the way some of y’all talk like a follower base/reblogs/likes/kudos are things you’re Owed for the “quality” of your work rather than, idk, real individual people who follow creators whose creations and personalities they Personally like? Creators are not Granted followers as payment for their fanworks. Artists did not start out with a Booster Pack of 10000 followers “simply by virtue of being artists” (to quote the fun words from people complaining about this). People follow creators when they want to see more of what they post. Fandom is social, not a competition based on merit and not a business. I know some of y’all seem to think it is based on the uses of “advertising power” and “stats” I’ve been seeing, but this isn’t some pay disparity in a workplace or a competition where someone got a gold trophy and you got a bronze one because they were friends with the judges. Fandom is a community experience of sharing things with other people who you’ve found who like that thing. It’s not some grand injustice that engagement with fanfic doesn’t directly correlate to technical skill because art is so incredibly subjective. It’s entirely based on personal preferences, on what people like, on who people are friends with and who they follow because people are more inclined to read something by someone who they already know and who they know has similar tastes as them, rather than something by a random self-proclaimed “quality” fic writer whom they don’t know just bc they have “””higher quality”””” writing.

“I wish fic writers got more engagement” was just fine on its own without tacking on “it’s not fair that artists get more engagement.” When it turns in to “this person shouldn’t get more attention than me,” it’s jealousy. You can phrase it in any pretty way you want and try to spin it as an injustice but what y’all are really doing is dressing up jealousy towards artists as a hot take, comparing the engagement of two Completely different art forms, and treating fic engagement and followers as something that artists with a bigger following haven’t “earned” and that you are owed instead

#that BNF shit is still irritating me #'all the blogs that reblogged this are semi-BNFs' as if a point was made with this statement #the funniest part being that the ''''bnf artist''''' who responded was someone who we all followed because we loved her ///////fics///////#and before any geniuses try to discredit my opinions bc i'm a ~bnf artist~ like the op of that post did -#worsties i've BEEN the non-artist fic writer back when i didn't know anything abt digital art #& I've also been the artist who only got a few notes/followers bc I was drawing for dead or dying fandoms and unpopular blorbos <3 #So yes I DO know what it's like to be on the other side #and I sure didn't act like this lol

52 notes · View notes