Adoptables are kinda an entryway into the fandom, if that makes any sense. Let's say I want to get into, say, the animech universe, but I can't draw at all, or afford a major commission from you. If you normally charged 100$ for a standard piece, but 10$ for an adoptable, I could buy an adopted Animech from you and start from there.

I suppose.. I just don't see what you'd do with it after that point if you couldn't draw it yourself.

It gives you something to give to other artists as a reference.

I used to do that back when I used to be on DeviantArt several years ago and I just think it's now pointless. I'm not sure what else I can say and I apologize if I offended anyone with my opinion on this matter.

You're good dude.

the way i see it. I haven't had any nibbles on my adoption pieces. turns out...and a little Uncle Grandpa told me, it was only a pointless thing to do. so i gave up

a little uncle grandpa? lol

yes XD an Uncle Grandpa. anyway I stopped with the adoptables since no one was interested.

It's just a fun way to own a character design you like. I'm not very creative at designing my own characters so if I see a character design I like, I'll buy it. I have probably about 6 characters that I bought as adoptables.

Do you DO anything with them?

Yes! I draw them, commission art of them, and sometimes commission tangible goods such as fursuits, plushies, or hoodies.

There are some people however who "hoard" adoptables. They buy them just to have them, and not really do anything with them. Which is kinda pointless I feel? I like using the characters if I am going to buy them. I usually don't buy adoptables unless I see myself actually using the character and getting attached to them.

If you're capable of drawing yourself I just.. I don't understand why you wouldn't just make your own character for free. <X D

Pokemon/Adoptables.. gotta collect them all?

I'll admit it, sometimes I'm very lazy and don't wanna deal with the frustration of trying to design a character for myself. Yea it would be free, but honestly? For some reason or another, I tend to like characters other people have made a lot better. XD Don't know why that is.

I guess a good way to explain this is like... I could make a burger at home, sure, and it tastes okay, but if I don't feel like cooking, I could go out to a fast food place and get something already made that tastes (imo) better, even though I could have made it from scratch at home for free.

Also there are some artists I have repeatedly bought character designs from because I really like what they make.

I've always been a little confused by adoptables myself, but I guess that if you can't draw, they're usually cheaper than getting an actual commission of a character? I've never tried to create or sell them because...I don't get them.

Lol so they're a loophole.

It's pretty popular among people who can't draw. Many of the people who've bought some from me have said they use them explicitly for RP purposes.

Obviously you can use whatever character you want for that, but it's also obviously a dick move when the the artist that 'owns' that character has said they don't want you doing that. Mostly just a courtesy, I guess. Though even as someone who can draw, I've bought one before, because I liked the EXACT design that was on display.

Well I didn't think of the RP community.

I still really don't see the value in buying a character though. I mean how much does copyright really matter in these circumstances? You're drawing a character you don't own? So the fuck what, you're not claiming its yours or selling the design to other people. If just drawing other people's characters was against the law then no one would draw fanart or rule34 of characters from TV and movies.

Literally the only thing forcing you to pay is FA itself since the artist can tell the site to take your submission down if it their character which.. honestly I think is kind of bullshit for the above reason.

I don't get it either, but like I said, sometimes you want THAT exact character and don't want to be a dick about it. Some people apparently will also refuse to RP with people for that very purpose. Dem unwritten rules, man.

OH, also I've had people use them as their fursona. Again this is for people who don't draw. And, you know, when they need a reference for art they're commissioning.

Well, I can give some insight! As someone who can't draw and done a lot of buying characters, along with getting custom ones made. There's a few things that could help explain things!

It's mostly that great divide, since I can't draw myself it cuts off an avenue for me. Other times, I'm not 100% on what I want in regards to a character and will look at adoptables as a kind of jump off point. Thankfully, I've continued to use most of the characters I've bought but yes, I find if the owner completely relinquishes everything but the art credit, the character does feel like mine. Since, it'd be the same thing if I got a custom character made as the art will never be mine.

And getting a custom made is expensive. Adopts are cheap! Typically cheaper than having someone make you something from scratch and depending on who get adopts from, the adopts can be wildly different and not so cookie cutter. I'm talking about base adopts vs non base adopts for that instance.

But for me, I use the characters for other things like short stories so I get to flesh their background and how they fit/exist in the worlds I create. They do usually end up gaining some individuality along the way, either changes in their design/art or they simply just appear that way to me through me getting more art of them. I keep my eye out for unique adopts and I have a healthy roster of them that are fully developed for me along with the occasional custom I can afford.

So in short; I do it because I can't draw and the art will never be 'mine' anyway. Customs are more expensive than base adopts so that's why you see many base one. I think that buying an adopt is buying a blank canvas to made into something more unique or individualized rather than just buying the blank state and leaving it that way. So it can still be 'mine' without having it's start from my brain.

And it is a money pit lol, I do it all for my own pleasure at this point. Creating, buying and individualized characters all for my own benefit. No one elses. It makes me happy in a sense that I can create worlds like that and I'm okay paying for that slice of happiness. But yeah, totally it's a money sink lol.

That's the idea I'm getting from people, they're kind of just a commission loophole of sorts because they're cheaper then other avenues.

I guess I can kind of understand, I guess I kinda did the same thing with Pinky from Brave Little Toaster. I didn't design her or anything but where-as the movie used her for 20 seconds and killed her I was able to turn her into an actual character with personality.

I wouldnt say all artist's put in " barely any effort "... Kinda harsh. Myself being ak artist who makes adoptables. It's fun to create a character and put them into the world. Then when someone comes along and takes them and brings them to life in their own ways it warms my heart. I have seen some adopts go for 400$ before wich honestly to me is ludicrous. But your paying for the artists name moat od the time in that situation. But its also ok of someone wants to pay that let them.

I really like the idea. I think alot of people who arnt artists and are new to the fandom enjoy them too. Some adopts can be as little at 2$ :)

Point made, I changed my wording I guess it was kinda harsh. I guess I was more venting about those cookie-cutter re-color pics make of like a bust, or an ass, or a vag or ect.. kinda annoys me.

I could see that I suppose.. kinda like having a kid and watching them go out into the world and become their own people. XD

ohhh ive seen the ones you are talking about! yeah those are rather odd

for some, it's a way to make a quick buck. adoptables i really don't understand are "closed species" that only sell in once-a-year auctions with a $500 SB with a $150 minimum increase, and the artist i known for hunting down and cancelling people who even think about making one of their own.

What a scam.

I always believed that adoptable were for people who couldn't draw to have a character with references without having to pay for a commission, but I've seen some of these adoptable reach over the hundreds of dollars sometimes while some reference pictures can go for half of that... It genuinely confuses me as well.

I suppose your lil avatar-self could kinda be considered an adoptable maybe? lol.

Maybe-? I dunno!

The way I see it, you get the design and a very very base level of 'personality'. It is up to you to give them the finer details of their character and backstory, sorta like taking a shell that interests you and giving it your own filling.

What I HATE is base adopts. Never ever ever buy an adopt from a base, buy an adopt that is a proper character the owner wants to unload.

What's a base? https://cdn.suwalls.com/wallpapers/.....-2560x1600.jpg

let' say you draw a very basic looking car, with the only real details being the eyes, mouth, etc. everything else like the rims, paint, details, grille, etc is all blank so the artist can fill in their own details how they prefer them.

Oh , I love drawing those. : D

Bases are FUN and great for the community

What is less fun is, when people try to fill those bases then sell them for money :>

fun fact i had the idea of making a crudely drawn made-up animal, putting random patterns on them, and selling them for $100 each as "shoomalky adopts"

I’ve never quite gotten it either. I have taken in an adoptable character one, but only because the artist was giving them away for free. X) I’m quite attached to my characters, and I just can’t imagine creating a character just for the sake of giving them away.

Well I suppose making adoptables does kinda give you an excuse to experiment and make lots of different characters...

It's a lot of things like other people have said: Decent money for the artist (I've seen some damn good high quality ones), characters for people that don't draw, and so on.

As someone who does draw and has them, I find they're a good way to stretch out in making better character designs. I've found some non-base ones that I really liked (And even some base ones) that I picked up. And I've adopted characters from other people that I liked that didn't want them, so it's kinda cool that way, in my opinion.

Yeah funnily enough I said that just above you.. it kinda lets you go crazy with wild ideas..

Have you ever noticed people pay money for base packs they just recolor, ans other people pay these people to recolor these base packs?

Same concept, laziness.

Lol funny enough the first thing I thought of wasn't about the artist making them it was.. damn.. people will really pay for dumb shit!

i allways thought the same thing, my conclusion has allways been "cheap, easy and fast way for someone to get money"

i mean some even use a base, so all people are paying for is just the colouring, the colouring of somone elses picture, and as i said, its easy money

though looking at it from the other side, for "closed species" it is sometimes the only way to get an "offical character", and/or if it from an artist you like commisioning them makes it a bit easier when wanting art of the character "they look like this thing you made" and the artist knows both the style a colour palette to use

What is this base stuff???

base, i.e getting a line art from somebody else then colouring that line art in and selling that as an adopt, so you just paying for the colour then

Well, really the character is just a template.
You're the one that gets to make up who they are and how they change as you do stuff with them.
One of my most popular characters was an adopted design.
And TBH, I think I might have drawn them more than the original artist at this point. XD
It's fun stuff if you see a shape you like, and are inspired enough to work with them~

Ideally its a thing that helps build and strengthen community ties withing an artists fandom, but yeah I've encountered some artists who push them a bit too hard because yeah they can be a "money pit" as you said.

I only ever bought one adoptable before, I still feel a little iffy about it. The reason I bought them was cause I'd been meaning to make a macha/plane/car for a while, and this was close enough, but mostly the reason I got them is cause they already had like 10 art pieces of them made, and were being sold for $60, so that's basically an unbeatable deal in terms of value for having artwork :)

I since managed to come up with an interesting enough backstory and thus a character for them based on the art that came with them, and now he's one of my 2nd tier characters, so yeah :P But it was only those 2 factors really that led me to make an adopt purchase. 1: Lots of art, 2: a desire for the class of character already.

The adopt ended up becoming my Aileron by the way ^^ https://www.furaffinity.net/gallery.....169326/Aileron