Bad good fan art

Fucks sake, enough.

>>78235171
Wow.. someone spent a lot of time on that.
Its creepy.

>>78235171
How the fuck do you know it's bad? It's a living alien rock, maybe she was supposed to look creepy.

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>wasting talent on bad shows

>>78235696
>wasting talent
>On something you like

You must be fun.

>>78235696
You really don't know how art works nowaday?
You need to build a following, because following in age of social media is everything. Followers are free advertisement, will boost kickstarters, commission you for artwork and now you can even milk them for money directly with Patreon.

But the thing is, noone gives a fuck about original art unless you're drawing some generic shit that will look recognizable to everyone else, hence ten thousand "concept artists" who keep drawing generic horror shit, generic cyberpunk shit and why there's so many mediocre fantasy/slice of life webcomics.

So, the other way is to draw fanart! That can be tricky but if you're good, people will follow you for fanart, and some will even stay for your original work, so drawing fanart allows you to do non-generic non-mediocre work and still have a following on the net, and ergo make a living and don't starve.

Like, do artists like the shows they're drawing fanart of? Yes, but don't ever believe when they say stuff is spontanous or any of the "my hand slipped" variation, art is tiring and a finished piece can take multiple hours to complete, and almost every artist has a huge backlog of things they'd be rather doing. So if they do "casual" fanart it's mostly a calculated attempt at broadening their fanbase.

>>78235696
pandering to large fanbases is a good way to start a following

>>78235696

Those fingers bother me.

>>78236046
>>78236080

Listen to these guys. The only thing better than pandering fanart is pandering "lol i'm so depressed and awkward and #relatable" gag comics.

>>78236046
So what else can artists do? You say no one gives a fuck about original art but you seem like you do. Will drawing original art get an artist followers?
I've been thinking of starting a webcomic myself but it probably falls into the 'generic fantasy' category and most of what you're saying hits close.
So what do I do? Do I stash away my things in a corner of the net, hoping that with enough effort and time, that thing's quality will eventually be recognized?

>>78235694
Her skin color is wrong.

>>78235696
wow Rose looks like Silver from Treasure Planet

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So her hair is combed back into a point, okay, I've seen that hairdo.

But why doesn't she have parted hair... anywhere? Her hair should be parted at least near her forehead and temples where it switches from being combed back to being combed forward.

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Tumblr go away

>>78236483
The hair isn't growing out of her head. That or every hair is T-Shaped.

>>78236187
you would not believe how much money you can make off of those stupid lol awkward gag comics

>>78236583
I can see some hair growing out the back of her neck, so at least some of her hair is real. The top part may be a rug, though.

>>78236649
How much are we talking? Do you have examples of cashgrab gag comics?

>>78236394
Her skin color is literally pearl.

>>78236187
I wish I had that kind of depression that allows me to draw regularly without wanting to put my foot through my monitor, and interact with people on social media.

>>78236803
>>78236187
What are you guys talking about? I only know of a couple of those, are they really that prevalent? Can you link some?

>>78236484
Yummy

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She looks like The Mule

>>78236371
The thing about fandoms is they often have people obsessive enough to look through hundreds or thousands of results of bad fan art to find good pieces, then latch onto those artists. There aren't quite so many people willing to sort through many thousands of undifferentiated generic fantasy art pictures to find you. Think of the fan art as click-bait.

>>78237101

Is that...

Is that that crazy mutant nigger from Foundation?

Man, I haven't read those books in years.

>>78236371
Haha, no. There is a lot of great webcomics noone heard about. The thing is, art appreciation is a learned skill and when you do a webcomic, you usually aim at people who don't read comics. So you kinda need to make it "comfy" and entry level enough to not scare casuals away, think TV tropes shit - use cliches and tropes to ease your audience. So if it's "generic fantasy" it's probably gonna be okay. In general, taking a page from Silver Age comics might be a good idea - more silly than serious, little or very simple continuity (you can't expect everyone who reads your comic to read couple hundred pages of backlog - episodic chapters with status quo might be a good idea) and focus on likeable characters, or pander to specific demogprahic like Penny Arcade, XKCD or Order of the Stick do. Also writing is WAY more important than art in webcomics, just come up with a relatively neat looking cartoony style that's fast to draw and recognizable. And most importantly, be nice to your fanbase, only /co/ will mind and loyal fan is the best thing.

Mind you, that is if you want to play it safe. If you want to make it big - I have no fucking idea, obviously, as I am not a famous artist, lol. I'd personally suggest examining internet phenomena like Homestuck and noticing what brought their rise (e.g. trolls as a perfect fodder for original characters facilitating fanworks very well, fast updates, quirky cast, witty dialogue and interactivity) and their decline (convoluted bullshit continuity that even Hussie doesn't understand, hiatuses, videogame fiasco, too many characters to keep track of them, plot losing its thread).

Like, remember to think on your own too, cause I am just a rambling fuck on the internet who's a hack of an artist who likes analyze patterns on the interwebs. I'm currently planning to start Undertale fancomic first, and then try to use it to see if I can kickstart my original comic, for example. Will I succeed? Who knows.

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>>78237225
>>78236371
Like, an artist, Chloe, does a pretty generic most of the time slice-of-life strip about some lgbt people's lives called Go Get A Roomie. Mostly harmless and cute, but barring some dream sequences also pretty generic in a rigid 4-panel grid.

Except, same artist also does Headless Bliss, unique metafictional fantasy tale about what happens to unfinished stories, and also demons, in page format with a lot of interesting ideas.
Comparison of both comics in the pic.

Now take a wild guess which of her comics is more popular.

>>78235696
they both look like niggers

>>78237645
I've read and fapped to one of these
Can you guess which?
The answer MAY dissapoint you

>>78235171

This bitch got FRANK'd hard.

>>78237780
Rose has afro-textured coily hair in the show (proven cuz her son has afro), so it's fitting.

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>>78236046
>>78237168
>You can't make a career without fanart
Oh shit, do I really have to draw fanart to bring up the clients? I don't like drawing fanart

>>78236371
Deviantart and 4chan itself have "groups" for OC creation, this cant happen on tumblr because its projected as a blog. Not our fault most people are dumb enough to only acess tumbrl nowadays (keep in mind thats just a trend), also dA collapsed itself by hiring retarded staff and that logo
Drawing what they want give you exposure but not money in long term.

>>78237645
Chloe is a hack, no wonder only her pandering comic gets attention

>>78237168
I don't see how that's a bad thing, at worst it's dishonest. Every band starts out with covers of other bands' songs. Most music I listen to I found through covers or looking for 'more of the same' song. The 'my hand slip' quip is BS though.

>>78237225
That's pretty much what I thought too, follow in the footsteps of other comics but avoid stepping on the same shit they did.
I don't know how I feel about the 'simple continuity' thing though. I though of writing something that reads like a novel because I'd hate to write a status quo comic but there'll always be the fear the comic will crash because I didn't listen to this advice.
(You'll post your thing in the HYW thread when you make it right? Sounds promising)

>>78237645
That's horrible, like watching someone but themselves through music school by stripping.

>>78237918
Couldn't someone make a patreon with just fanart?

>>78237859
Try doing redesigns and alternate versions/crossovers, it lets you be more creative while principle ("draw something I like, well") is the same, and you might get some free publicity from clickbait sites.
Also, try digital painting. Everyone on the internet is a huge sucker for photorealistic digital painting (again, because art appreciation is acquired taste and every rando can say "wow, it looks just like a photo!") and it will get you called "unique" even if you do the most cliched shit out there, and it's easy to learn with shitton of speedpaints to watch and tutorials on sites/YT channels like Ctrl+Paint, Cubebrush and FZD School of Design.
Stiepan Sejic aka nebezial on da managed to even use his digital painting skills to break into commercial published comics.

>>78237976
Yes, specially porn. Also I meant "drawing what they want" as in you not liking your own product but just making for a crowd's attention.

>>78237101
>foundation
ma ni ga

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>>78235171

>>78238069
I'm learning digital painting right now but I wanted to tell myself apart by having a painterly style but if linear art is what sells I may have to change that.

The world of online comissions just gets worse and worse as i dive in.

>>78237976
Well, maybe do recap pages at start of every chapter, or ensure that any change in status quo is known long-established trope that readers will instantly recognize and won't need explanation.

For example, Akira manga goes from "cyberpunk city at the brink of destruction" to "open civil war on the streets" to "post-apocalyptic ruins of the city spread among two factions, with good guys led by monks and bad guys led by an emperor". Because of this, you can pick it up and start reading at any point without having problems with understanding the plot - as a kid I read all of it but I was missing first chapter but that wasn't a problem at all, because situation in the book was so self-explanatory that my 12-year old self wasn't confused - and this is in the manga that nukes entire city where it's set midway through its run.

Also yeah, I guess I will post my thing whenever I will make it - and I plan on following my own advice, since I plan on panderind to SJWs (since a), I am one, and b), it's gonna be cyberpunk and SJWs love cyberpunk stuff).

>>78238212
Who is that supposed to be?

>>78238250
Comissions are only good idea if you literally want to be a starving artist. Patreon, kickstarter, selling comics or getting a cushy job as in-house artist (designer, concept artist, erotic artist for porn paysite...) is the way to go. Commissions should be addition to your finances, not basis, because all freelance work is by nature unstable and one month you might be good but next maybe you won't get any work at all - and if e.g. you computer or car suddenly breaks down and you're fucked.

>>78238369
Dominator from wander over yonder.

>>78238212
>>78238574
And if anyone doubts what was said in this thread: just look at it. Hyperrealistic digitial painting fanart redesign of a character from a popular cartoon. You could make a bingo card out of this pic.

>>78238508
I ment fetish comissions and furry art, I know clean comissions don't make a living

I will consider selling a zip with exclusive illustrations and a comic if that gives me more money.

>>78238728
If you're willing to do porn then Patreon is even better of an idea, and you can even combine it with commissions e.g. giving exclusive priority commission slots as pledge rewards. If you're having problem with work discipline setting up Patreon with per-piece payment might work wonders since it's combining money with positive affirmation, and if not then monthly payments will stabilize your finances.

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>>78236803
I've made some zine pieces about depression, but it's not #quirky and #relatable, because, surprise, mental illness fucking sucks.

>>78236870
Something like this. There's thousands of them on tumblr.

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>>78238671
The artist is usually pretty good, I just posted that one because it was a bad piece and fit the thread.

>>78239578
I'm not saying that artist is bad, rather that artist took concious artistic choices to make their art more popular/marketable.

>>78236046
ding ding ding ding ding

>>78236484
Am I the only one bothered by how pointy this artist draws chins?

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>>78237976
>Couldn't someone make a patreon with just fanart?

The highest grossing Patreon is literally just that.

>Over $25k every 2 weeks

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>>78240295
https://www.patreon.com/sakimichan?ty=h

There's the link, by the way.

>>78236483
Shit, I can't unsee it now.

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>>78240295
>how much I make in a year
>they make fan art
>26 times as much money as me
>FAN ART
>probably 5% the work I do now
>FUCKING FAN ART
Fuck them.

>>78240466
>probably 5% the work I do now
She spends like 8 hours a day, 5 days a week drawing. Plus about 10 hours per week video editing and social media management.
By any means is just a full time job.
Don't be so salty, bitter, and jealous. Jealousy brings nothing good. She got there with hard work and dedication.

>>78236046
thats mean my shit doodles done in 10 minutes that are somehow praised are good?

>>78238069
>even if you do the most cliched shit out there
>mfw all i have to do is draw a generic eye with above average skill and everybody on my facebook 'likes' it.

normies dont know shit about art. what looks like shit to me looks god tier to them.

what they say about fanart is true.

I called it the "multiplier" theory. there are certain factors that go into the popularity of art before youre already established. for example, fan art is a big multiplier, and so is porn.

the biggest is fan art, short of directly pandering to a community in need of decent artists. and there's a lot of them out there.

when i post art, i can see that certain things will get 5x the views and favorites, while original art always doesn't get so much until you get popular.

>>78240666
>>78240642
you draw comic art, it's popular trash, or it would be if you were popular.

>>78240726
Fanart is only good for you as an artist if your 'real' work is on the same vein, or your 'real' work IS fanart.

If you want to make gritty underground comics for a living and you draw fanart of Steven Universe to gain attention, you'll get Tumblr reblogs of your Steven Universe fanart and still zero on your comics. Quality doesn't really matter.

I feel like I've got it in me to make comics, I love drawing so much. I can say I'm pretty good at it and I have a lot of enthusiasm that hasn't waned over the years / highs and lows / economic problems. I really want to make it.

But sometimes I just look at the situation and I don't know what to make of it. I'm not jealous of people who "pander" with porn or fanart, or weird phenomenons like Homestuck, but it feels so unpredictable and fickle.

I know this is what I want to be doing, I'm taking the criticism, I have patience and I'm putting in as much effort I can, but sometimes I feel like I'm digging myself into a hole.