almostgracefulair

[almostgracefulair]

Afflicted with a rural curse.

[almostgracefulair]

There’s a protest going on against AI art over on artstation, so I feel like now is the time for me to make a statement on this issue! 

I wholeheartedly support the ongoing protest against AI art. Why? Because my artwork is included in the datasets used to train these image generators without my consent. I get zero compensation for the use of my art, even though these image generators cost money to use, and are a commercial product. 

Musicians are not being treated the same way. Stability has a music generator that only uses royalty free music in their dataset. Their words: “Because diffusion models are prone to memorization and overfitting, releasing a model trained on copyrighted data could potentially result in legal issues.” Why is the work of visual artists being treated differently?

Many have compared image generators to human artists seeking out inspiration. Those two are not the same. My art is literally being fed into these generators through the datasets, and spat back out of a program that has no inherent sense of what is respectful to artists. As long as my art is literally integrated into the system used to create the images, it is commercial use of my art without my consent.

Until there is an ethically sourced database that compensates artists for the use of their images, I am against AI art. I also think platforms should do everything they can to prevent scraping of their content for these databases. 

Artists, speak out against this predatory practice! Our art should not be exploited without our consent, and we deserve to be compensated when our art is exploited for commercial use. 

[almostgracefulair]

can’t believe I’m only now finding out that hiro suzuhira redrew her anime goth girl in 2020 after finding out how iconic she is in the west

[almostgracefulair]

[almostgracefulair]

....& in case of election anxieties, break out computer and draw a cubone!

#cubone #pokemon #pokemon fanart #oldschool #90s baby #election2020 #biden2020 #my nerves are shot #someone help #pink #rose #cute

[almostgracefulair]

[up next for edgy halloween...] My Oc Cara Mia as a a reaper-wraith!

I can’t wait to finish this!

#oc #cara mia #wraith #halloween #halloween2020 #inktober #october #digital art #csp #Clips Studio Paint #death #grim reaper #dark #dark aesthetic #cute af #teen #ghost

[almostgracefulair]

𝙊𝙝 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙚𝙮 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙮 ♥

#gay #gayboy #gayblr #lgbtq #lgbt #lbgt teen #pride #demon #demon kin #demon boy #Clips Studio Paint #clipstudio paint #csp #art #my art #wallpaper #random lockscreens #anatomy #anatomy help #pose #soft boy #halloween #halloween2020 #digital painting #inktober #artober #pink #white #aesthetic #softcore

[almostgracefulair]

oof...so i guess i’m doing an edgy/sexy halloween thing, huh....?

#lgbtq #gayboy #demon #demon boy #my art #alt boy #pose #csp #Clips Studio Paint #clipstudio paint #wip #art wip

[almostgracefulair]

....ℑ𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔡𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔡, "𝔐𝔬𝔯𝔢, 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢, 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢" ♛ 

#halloween #halloween2020 #billy idol #inktober #digitober #digital art #art #rebel yell #monster girl #zombie #zombie girl #aesthetic #art hoe #pink hair #stitches #90s #grunge #green #monster #my art #clip studio paint #clipstudio paint #lockscreen #random lockscreens #anime lockscreen #wallpaper #completed #80s

[almostgracefulair]

a baby shisa/ fu-dog doodle! 

....judging by those feet, she hasn’t grown into them yet lol.

#shisa #fudog #foodog #fu-dog #lion #dog #sketch #doodle #monochrome #csp #clipstudio paint

[almostgracefulair]

This is the other piece mentioned from my previous post.

I took a break from it to work on rebel yell mostly because idk what to color my little fox girl as. Any suggestions?

#fox oc #coloring #digital painting #suggestions? #csp #clipstudio paint #anime #anime girl #cutesy #disney style #??? #idk really #my art #artwork

[almostgracefulair]

So this piece, “Rebel Yell” (yes, named after the Billy Idol song lol) is still a work in progress but i have to admit it’s been an emotional piece for me. And just looking at the progress blow me away... (Candid openness below)

You see, between this piece and another I will be posting shortly, I’ve had to undo the some serious art blocks caused by a serious depression that has lasted the last 5+ years of my life. (I don’t do math but this started around 2013/14. lol)  

I basically couldn’t flourish into my dream career as the artist I wanted to be because I let me get to me.  

I told myself I wasn’t a real artist nor capable of being what I wanted to be because I lacked the skill and former devotion I once had to my craft. I also compared myself to others a lot and my taste grew at an exponential rate compared to my technical skills. Now all that mixed in with a friend group that wasn’t exactly supportive and quickly becoming toxic, I slowly killed my own dream. 

And in the process, I kinda committed emotional suicide. I did not want to create any longer and did not see a need for expressing myself through art.  Especially because I’d start pieces and give up. Or I’d work on a piece for months and never get past sketch/line-art because the will and confidence left me as soon as I put pencil to paper. Really, it was a fight and it phys/ment/emotionally was hard for me to produce any real work I was proud of.

But all the while I knew what I still wanted.  I wanted to be who I was prior to the depression; a creator in my own right. So I still called myself an artist (and writer for that matter) ...despite feeling like a liar when I told others this is what I truly am....and yet not having anything (imo worthy) to show people.

Then there was this elevation of my self in 2019. I got a really fulfilling job, albeit outside the art field, experienced joy on a level I haven’t in years and so much more... And it really changed my disposition thank God! Because all the while, this voice in my mind (call it my inner child or higher self or whatever have you) kept opening new docs and drawing on my then hard-drive failing computer. 

So this brings us to pandemic. While I am a naturally introspective person and have been all my life, this time period tested my fortitude of spirit. It made me choose which wolf to feed, so to speak, and I chose the optimistic, forgiving one. And I forgave myself for all my shortcomings and pushed myself forward to try officially once more.

Now here I am putting my best foot forward, and still working hard to become who I want to be. I know this process will be unending until I die, but I’m happy and okay with that. Because, at least I can proudly say to myself I never 100% gave up. The fire was always there, just a little diminished, but never extinguished. 

...And for those who made it this far into reading this, I just want to say, keep pressing forward and don’t give up on yourself. Take it from me, who’s especially gone through my share of dark tunnels; there is light at the end of tunnels and in the in-betweens and I promise, they aren’t trains.

#emotion #emotional #mental health #pandemic #art #demon #demonkin #demon art #rebel yell #billy idol #2019 #2020 #artist #thoughts #depression #introspective #colorful #keep fighting #don't give up #you got this #you are loved #tea time #storytime #toxic #friend #friends #relationship #art community #wip #art wip

[almostgracefulair]

Idk if anyone else is ever drawn toward certain historic figures but one of my favorite lesser known ones  in history would have to be Mata Hari.

Maybe I was her in a past life...? lol

From Wiki:

Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari  was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. Despite her having admitted under interrogation to taking money to work as a German spy, many people still believe she was innocent because the French Army needed a scapegoat. She was executed by firing squad in France.

#mata hari #dutch #espionage #spy #ww1 #germany #Margaretha Geertruida Margreet MacLeod #france #french #firing squad #past life #war #1800s #history #historical #historical fanart #feminism

[almostgracefulair]

Quaren-season got me remembering the better times...like when i was looking forward to a possible spin off for colleen and misty... <3

#colleen #colleen wing #iron fist #iron fist fanart #fanart #she deserved better #she fights like a girl #warrior #sword #samurai #sketch #clip studio paint #art #femboss #feminism

[almostgracefulair]

Wow! it has been a minute!

I finally have a fully functioning computer again and it’s time to clear out all the old doodles that will most likely remain unfinished

#Connie #Connie the Feurian #siobhan #siobhan the faunite

[almostgracefulair]

....oh Connie! Summer is pretty much over! Can't wait to draw you for the fall!♡

#tada #my art #connie #connie the feurian #space #lesbo #beautiful space lesbo #summer 2018 #art #pink #anime #new style development #big ass hat #lol

[almostgracefulair]

Working on a witch-themed art trade! This time, it’s for @fawnzies ‘s OC Vince. I think I’m going to be opening up my commissions soon though you guys! (so you have that to look forward to!)

#art trade #art trade request #fawnzies #not my oc #my art #oc #snake #witch theme