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I could use some advice.
10 years ago
Hello everyone! Sorry in advance about this mental breakdown, it's been like 2 years in the making *laughtrack*
I've come to the sloooow realization that I do not care for furries any more. Colorful designs in general I'm just... over. Recently I tried to get back into them because they used to bring me so much joy but I found that I got so depressed after drawing them. I'm stuck drawing cute people doing nothing, or porn. Visual appeal and nothing else. Nothing deeper, nothing meatier. Everything feels so shallow to me right now, like I'm desperate to evolve as an artist, and I feel like I'm being held back and I just need to shed everything in order to move on.
Anyway the thing I need advice on is this: Over the years I have amassed a pretty good number of characters, both designed by myself and adopted from others. Some of these things were given to me as gifts, some were part of a trade, and some I paid money for. I use all the characters I currently own, but - I now only use human alternative versions, which look barely, if at all, like their original design. Essentially they're the same in name only. I do not want to stop using these characters - many have intensely involved, long, intricate stories which I still deeply enjoy and love - but these characters are almost nothing like their original design.
There are a couple I intend to keep for nostalgia's sake (Raja, Capri, a couple of others). Otherwise, would it be morally acceptable to sell these designs? I know these things are still pretty damn popular and I think others could great a great deal of enjoyment from them. Here's a couple of sticking points...
1) if a design was traded/gifted to me (I did not pay money), but I have drawn or commissioned numerous art pieces of this character, is it still alright for me to sell this character?
2) if I did buy a character, but it was back when adoptables were pretty cheap-o and now this character has much more art, is it alright for me to sell for more than I bought it for?
3) the characters that I did not pay money for and have not drawn much, I will not sell. But I also don't want to trade designs, since I'm clearly not interested in amassing more. What would be the best way to give this character away...?? Draw-to-adopt, maybe?? Should I contact the original creator and see if they want it back...? Or should I just vault them away, forget about them, and not worry about giving them to anyone else?
Honestly, if you're a bro of mine, I'd probably just gift a design or two to you. I just want these guys gone and taken care of.
I've come to the sloooow realization that I do not care for furries any more. Colorful designs in general I'm just... over. Recently I tried to get back into them because they used to bring me so much joy but I found that I got so depressed after drawing them. I'm stuck drawing cute people doing nothing, or porn. Visual appeal and nothing else. Nothing deeper, nothing meatier. Everything feels so shallow to me right now, like I'm desperate to evolve as an artist, and I feel like I'm being held back and I just need to shed everything in order to move on.
Anyway the thing I need advice on is this: Over the years I have amassed a pretty good number of characters, both designed by myself and adopted from others. Some of these things were given to me as gifts, some were part of a trade, and some I paid money for. I use all the characters I currently own, but - I now only use human alternative versions, which look barely, if at all, like their original design. Essentially they're the same in name only. I do not want to stop using these characters - many have intensely involved, long, intricate stories which I still deeply enjoy and love - but these characters are almost nothing like their original design.
There are a couple I intend to keep for nostalgia's sake (Raja, Capri, a couple of others). Otherwise, would it be morally acceptable to sell these designs? I know these things are still pretty damn popular and I think others could great a great deal of enjoyment from them. Here's a couple of sticking points...
1) if a design was traded/gifted to me (I did not pay money), but I have drawn or commissioned numerous art pieces of this character, is it still alright for me to sell this character?
2) if I did buy a character, but it was back when adoptables were pretty cheap-o and now this character has much more art, is it alright for me to sell for more than I bought it for?
3) the characters that I did not pay money for and have not drawn much, I will not sell. But I also don't want to trade designs, since I'm clearly not interested in amassing more. What would be the best way to give this character away...?? Draw-to-adopt, maybe?? Should I contact the original creator and see if they want it back...? Or should I just vault them away, forget about them, and not worry about giving them to anyone else?
Honestly, if you're a bro of mine, I'd probably just gift a design or two to you. I just want these guys gone and taken care of.
As far as selling a character, you're free to sell any character at any time. I think it's all on the other people to buy them and I don't see an ethical problem in increasing the price because you bought a design, but you increased its value by investing in it, whether it was time and energy in your own works, or in money by buying commissions from others.
Don't let people guilt you too much on that second point and I say and will harp on this because this is something people like to bring up when they want to pretend to be the person saying something everything is thinking. "That's not worth that!" or "You didn't buy it for that, how dare you sell it for more!" It's a pretty strange thing to say given there's not really a distinct unit of measure for a character design's value. (Do more spots increase value or decrease it? If you draw porn of it, is its value depreciated because it's no longer an "art virgin"? And so forth.)
Just do what you feel comfortable with. Just be careful with what you give away. You can sell something any time. The furry community isn't disappearing. But don't give something away that you're going to want back, later.
2) Usually this also depends on the original artists rules - a lot of people have the rule to only resell an adopt for the original price you bought them for. Either you could go and check their TOS/ask them, or to stay safe, use the original price you paid and additionally whatever the extra art would be worth in your eyes? It might save you some trouble later.
3) I think a Draw-To-Adopt would be good if you want to make sure the character goes to a good home. A less involved way would to put them up e.g. with numbers, and make raffles for each, so you have people commenting on the one they want up until a certain date, and then you essentially give them away. I'd personally say Draw-To-Adopt would be best, as too many people nowadays just collect adoptables for no other purpose than to have them. (Only downside is that people who DO love their adopts sometimes aren't artists themselves) But yeah again, contacting the original creator never hurts. Maybe they would like them back, so if you're able, I'd recommend you do that. They'll probably also be thankful that you're mindful of that.
1) This one is tricky and it would be best to note the artists who made the designs to see if they are okay with that (especially for gifs, some could get pretty upset^^;).
2) If the art was made by you or paid for. Trades and gifts can't add monetary value.
3) Trading them for art of your OCs might be a good idea, if you are up to it. And you'd get something in exchange for the design, as opposed to giving it away as DTA.
And a suggestion, it would be better to get approval from the artists regarding the differences between the human and adopt versions before getting rid of them, to avoid issues.
However you could always do a draw to adopt or get art in exchange if you wanted to give folks a chance who maybe don't have money/worried about interest in design.
I think the typical rules are to not sell for more than what you paid unless you have additional art and then only sell for what you spent in art. (if you drew it price accordingly to your commission pricing)
If you didn't pay for the design but bought art normally you can only sell, again, for the art you bought.
If you made the designs sell for as much as you feel free to. Usually tough those are the typical restrictions I see. @A@!! <3
yes you can resell these designs, but it would be best to ask first to avoid any hurt feelings or awkward situations. Most folks allow resale, but not every does. Provided your buyers also understand they aren't buying the copyright to the art is also good.
2) Heck yeah. I sell adopts and if someone got a bunch of art for the character I sold them, I would be hella concerned if they sold a character with 20+ art pieces for the 5$ i sold it to 'em for.
3) I'd say draw-to-adopt, honestly. Those are always fun. Or raffle 'em off?
Those that you want to give away and can, mix up the ways you want to give them away. Makes it more interesting and gives those who can't draw themselves, the ability to possibly get a new character.
As for your points:
1. Some people have rules against re-selling things obtained in trades. I'm personally one of those people, because I've come face to face with people who trade up for the express purpose of turning a ~10-20 dollar adopt into a profit of a $300+ adopt just because they peddled enough to find people who didn't value the money put into their characters over the appearance of a new character.
2. My golden rule is that it's fine to charge what one would for commissions, though I've also seen people massively hike up prices just so they can sell their art for exorbitant amounts due to the fact that the adopt itself was popular. I haven't made any rules to avoid this though, so it's whatever on my part. I wouldn't know how to approach that.
3. I usually just trash characters or give them to friends in that case. I feel really responsible for people who don't treat gifts properly (turning around and selling/trading them) when I'm the one who gave it to them, so I just avoid it entirely by giving them to people I know I could trust, rather than strangers.
TBH though! I kinda feel you. There are some furry designs I like to kemono/humanfy for fun but for the most part I just stick to human-ish stuff these days myself. I can't see myself using furries in plots for anything except god-like characters because of their surreal appearances. I like drawing them purely for the sake of cute, but when it comes to serious stuff, its' all about my human characters and such.
Also I miss you :p
2. If the character was a gift from an artist and you've bought artwork or done artwork for it, I would talk to the artist first. A lot of artists would love to have the characters back and will pay for the artwork of the character in exchange. However if they don't want it back, then sell the artwork at around the price or a little cheaper than what you got the artwork for. If you aren't sure about it, you can always put up a character auction like a lot of people do.
3. For characters you bought from artists, the general rule is not to sell it for more than you paid. That includes the whole paypal fees being covered. Unless you covered the fees for the artist, don't ask others to cover the fees (it's been a huge issue with a lot of artist I watch lately!) For some of the more popular designs, you may want to check out the artist pages and see if they have a TOS about their adopts and reselling. Some require you to contact them first. The last thing you want is to ruffle any feathers.
4. For the characters you have and just don't want anymore and don't plan to sell, try a raffle! Make sure to take a screenshot of the number that the generator generates so no one can get upset and claim it was rigged. Or you could do a draw-to-adopt. That's been something people are getting used to doing also so they know the adopt goes to a good home and is used! Usually if someone draws the adopt, they'll make use for it since they took time to draw it~ :)
As far as the overall issue with the drawing stuff you have right now. Why not do theme'd artwork that requires some sort of story? That way the artwork does have depth to it instead of just porn or cute looking poses? Personally when I get commissions I usually have a story behind them to explain what's going on. 9/10 times, the drawing is from a RP I've done and wanted to see it brought to life. Maybe that could help you a little bit artistically.
I hope that I've helped in some way and I wish you luck with whatever you chose to do with the characters. ^_^
1) Personally, I think if you're the current owner of the character, it's your choice to sell them or not. I'm of the opinion that once the design is sold or given it should be let go by the creator... You shouldn't give or sell something if you're not prepared to see it go!
2) I think in theory that's alright, though personally I don't think that additional commissioned or drawn pieces of a character increase their value. I can see why people do think that, but to me it's not really a factor... When I buy a design, I buy it because I like it and intend to use it, not because it has a library of art attached to it already. That being said, you should charge what you think the character is worth to you, don't undersell! If you personally believe that additional art makes them more valuable, than I think you should price accordingly.
3) I think in this case, you should first check with the original creator (if possible), then maybe go for draw-to-adopt (though I'm honestly not sure what that entails), and then a raffle or other kind of giveaway if you still have leftovers. A mind--and a design--are a terrible thing to waste, in my opinion! But at the same time, it's your call.
Now that the opinions are dispensed... I'm sorry to hear that you've been having a hard time about this! I'm hopeful that this will help you to grow more into an artist you want to be once it's over, though I will miss seeing your animal people drawings. BUT, your people-people drawings are fantastic too! I hope you'll stick around the site, but I'm not counting on it either: it's your choice! I hope you'll be happy, whatever you choose
I hope you feel better soon though! I would hate to think that someone as awesome and special as you would feel so depressed over something like this.
I get that way a lot too, hell I'm in a huge rut right now and have a few people badgering me for free art I promised them, making me less than willing to work on it. I will just not while he'd bugging me.
But that's beside the point, I really do hope you feel better soon, and maybe if furries doesn't make you as happy anymore, just draw what you wanna draw. Hell I know I'd be willing to throw money at you for a complete artistic liberty project. I think you know I would too XD
anything you paid for should be bought at the same price to break even, and anything you bought over time could be bonus expansions they could pay for if they want them but not up the price just because there is artwork out there already paid for for it. its unreasonable.
just sell everything individually if it was bought, get permissions from original owners because they of course would love to know where their stuff floats around too it is their drawn work.
and in relation, sometimes it better just to keep it close to yourself.
but Draw to adopt are great because then people who really want to invest in the characters could show you they really want them too, not OH HEY IMA GET THIS FROM YOU AND HIDE FOREVEVERRRRR
nah
sell what you bought at the same price, and half the price of paid work for character to be included, or give to them, or trade human artwork for it.
everything runs it course, and i used to love and try SO FUCKING HARD with anime and humans and other shit and HATED IT. it felt like i was forced to like it, and then fantasy in general gave me a freedom i never could have in the outer rims of the artistic realistic world.
do what makes you happy.
normally i just hold unto everything because i heavily regret letting a ot of things go later on
hope this kind of helps and good luck :)