So after seeing *another* artist talking about making a change with the direction of their artwork, I feel the need to say something. I've seen a trend where artists who tend to draw fetish/kink art will have some kind of existential crisis, start questioning their professionalism, their artistic integrity, their artistic merit and value, etc. and the conclusion for them always seems to be to either move away from fetish/kink art or drop it like a cinder block off a roof in a Tik Tok video.

Now, I'm not in any way trying to say artists shouldn't draw what they want to, what gives them a sense of personal satisfaction, of making what they feel is an improvement in their artistic output. I'm also not trying to say moderation is pointless and/or unnecessary; it's a very, VERY good thing to exercise. However, I would say that if artists are going to start shifting their focus, they be sure they're doing so because they personally want to and will be pleased to diversify their artwork more, and NOT because they've been made to feel like their artwork lacks value because it only appeals to a small audience. If there's one thing that the modern mainstream entertainment industry has shown us, it's that media made for the purpose of chasing demographic appeal or because the artist feels they're being pressured into conforming tends to result in really crappy work. So to those artists who are talking about making a change, I would say if they want to broaden their subject matter, by all means, go for it. BUT, don't feel like you *have* to create things that don't actually appeal to you because you think that's what it takes to be a "real" artist; as long as your kink/fetish stuff doesn't consume your entire life and take precedent over things that are intrinsically more important (family, friends, faith, etc.), your kink/fetish art isn't without value or merit.