I mean I'm well aware coincidence and accidents happen.

Like yooo, I like skulls. I want to make a species with skulls for helmets. Oh shit, Tentabulge had the same idea and I totally jacked her idea, nooooo! But I'm talking taking up a name similar, and taking up many different aspects of one specific species and slapping them on your own.
How is that coincidence? How can your species have so many similar traits and that be coincidence? And why does no one else see this |( *Puffpuffpuff*

*Permission from Tentanerd to say her name btw, woops woops

I'm not going to go on a spiel or whatever, but I will say that closed species, in general, make it extremely hard for someone to be creative without being labeled as an idea thief, no matter what the trait or name is it's likely there's been some variation of it already created and part of something else. Imagination and creation tend to rely on things we've seen that we find pleasing, such as the swirls in water or the rays of light through the clouds or complex things like glimpses of outer space during the pitch black of night, from that sort of thing we've expanded and created our own while still hearkening back to those iconic sources.

Not to say that closed species are bad or that traits can't be unique or whatever, but something that is closed should be more heavily reliant upon it's lore rather than it's looks for originality.

Oh yeah no doubt. I've seen some closed species that's literally X feral animal with angel wings, or antlers, or a long tail. And I also know a closed species can't © some specific thing. Like I'm not going to jump someone's ass for drawing a deer with a preference for orbs, or people who slap gems on their creature, what I'm talking about is like

I've seen species that are named Star___er, have gems, are dragons, have horns, trivial similarities like foofy hips, large paws, foofy ears, and some that have the same hair style as the original StarEater base.
Stuff that is kinda hard not to side eye, you know?
I get no one ©'s gems, or dragons, or foofy hips, or large paws, but when you're taking ALL of this and putting it on one species, it kinda has my alarm bells ringing.

It's one thing to be inspired by, or accidentally yoink something, or have no idea they're yoinking something, but when you're taking someone elses closed species and throwing a large portion of that closed species into your own thing, it's rather disheartening.

I hope this isn't confusing at all 6m9;

Oh, no no, I understand what you mean, if it's literally something like StarXXXers and they carry very similar traits and things to the originals then yeah, that's not okay in my books, I thought it would be something like "Starkillers" which have "big decorative orbs" as the only linking trait.

It does at times seem to be that delicate line of creativity. Where on one hand it gets really hard to make something that doesn't feel like it's been done 17 times over in 70 different variations of fluff bits so you often feel like you've seen "generic chibi style creature with random fluff placement #829" which then makes it feel like a person needs to up their ante to make something that sets them apart.

Which is what I figure half the trouble comes from when someone does come across a concept that feels unique and original and they finally start to lift off...and then that element starts appearing in other folks designs. So I imagine there is a general feeling of frustration. Which isn't to say that two folks cannot come up with a similar element on their own. Usually I find in instances where it feels a bit more obvious is like what cloneclone said is there are multiple traits, similar name, the person may even be a watcher of deletethestars/raptorslut. I recall seeing someone make a starfisher race and it was this lil otter-cat with a fishing pole who uses the pole to fish for actual stars. And that was adorable, and one can easily see how they had no ties to the stardragon races deletethestars/raptorslut had. Cause yeah, putting star(____) as a race name is certainly something someone could do on their own. It's only when its a star creature that happens to have a gem theme and several other traits/horns that make them look like a close cousin to another race that it kind of would cause a head-tilt.

I think what gets me is that while there can be a general feel of "no original concepts" anymore...what often makes a character unique isn't even a sum of its rare traits. There are buttload oodles of folks who have managed to make original looking dog or cat characters. Or characters who aren't a closed species at all and are just based off a hodge podge of their real life interests. I think the main thing I try to remember when it comes to adopts and closed species is that one of the reason uniqueness is more sought is that for a few folks their income is dependent on trying to offer a design and concept that folks will want so the need to be different from other folks is stronger. To a lot of folks its like "oh its just a trait" but when part of your income comes from design sales that trait could have been the thing that was giving you business.

I am rambling too much. gonna post before I tell myself to not otherwise. XU