why don't you talk about your fandoms and headcanons and stuff anymore? and why haven't you drawn baylee (either human or hobbit) in so long? i miss your fandom stuff :(
A rather simple answer, anon: Lack of interest and a bit of burnout.
I'll be the first to admit, my headcanons for things tend to be very....plain. Boring, even. That, and my headcanons have a tendency to go against popular fanon beliefs (for example, Bofur being a stoner. I'm sorry, as someone who grew up around all sorts of marijuana enjoyers, I just can't see it). And since barely anyone interacted with those posts, I stopped making them and deleted them when I was going through a rough mental patch.
The one headcanon I've discussed that seems to have caught people's interest, though, is Fili being a knitter. That one seemed to catch on with a few people, lol.
As for drawing either human or hobbit Baylee...that's the burnout. But it's not burnout specifically with her.
It's burnout with fanart in general.
For a good chunk of years, I only drew fanart because that was the only way to really get more than a few notes on a piece--pretty much still is, to be honest.
People know fanart. They know the characters. They know the world they come from and that familiarity draws them in. Even fan characters draw people in.
But original art? Yeah, no. If it's not recognizable, most people just glaze over it. Just like they tend to glaze over fanart for fandoms they're not in. Even incredibly skilled and popular artists get far less engagement on their original art because people crave the familiarity of fanart.
Does it suck? Yes. It sucks horribly. Will it change, though? Probably not.
And I got real sick of only ever drawing fanart in hopes of trying to get the algorithms of the various art sites I'm on. Especially when I've had so many original stories and characters stirring around in my head. I think that's part of the reason why I've had such an extensive bout of artblock this past year and a half. I'm still suffering from it, but I'm managing to claw my way out.
But back to my point, I'm a bit burnout on fanart. So I've said 'Fuck it' and don't care about the algorithm as much (because let's face it, the algorithm of certain sites will always be itching in the minds of artists and writers) and am instead trying to focus on original art and original characters.
That's not to say I won't still draw fanart, because I will still draw it, especially when I open commissions. Especially fan characters--I've always adored drawing other people's ocs/fan ocs (and it's even more fun when I get to draw my characters interacting with theirs!)
But for my personal art? I'd liked to try and focus on my original stuff for a while.
On this date, 9 years ago, I gifted a coffee painting to William Kircher, depicting him as Bifur the dwarf
I tried to find a full body reference picture, but simply couldn't locate one at the time 😅 My lovely cat Bambam kept a watchful eye over the process. William was lovely, and he was happy to keep the portrait 😊
Painted with instant coffee on smooth heavyweight paper
why don't you talk about your fandoms and headcanons and stuff anymore? and why haven't you drawn baylee (either human or hobbit) in so long? i miss your fandom stuff :(
A rather simple answer, anon: Lack of interest and a bit of burnout.
I'll be the first to admit, my headcanons for things tend to be very....plain. Boring, even. That, and my headcanons have a tendency to go against popular fanon beliefs (for example, Bofur being a stoner. I'm sorry, as someone who grew up around all sorts of marijuana enjoyers, I just can't see it). And since barely anyone interacted with those posts, I stopped making them and deleted them when I was going through a rough mental patch.
The one headcanon I've discussed that seems to have caught people's interest, though, is Fili being a knitter. That one seemed to catch on with a few people, lol.
As for drawing either human or hobbit Baylee...that's the burnout. But it's not burnout specifically with her.
It's burnout with fanart in general.
For a good chunk of years, I only drew fanart because that was the only way to really get more than a few notes on a piece--pretty much still is, to be honest.
People know fanart. They know the characters. They know the world they come from and that familiarity draws them in. Even fan characters draw people in.
But original art? Yeah, no. If it's not recognizable, most people just glaze over it. Just like they tend to glaze over fanart for fandoms they're not in. Even incredibly skilled and popular artists get far less engagement on their original art because people crave the familiarity of fanart.
Does it suck? Yes. It sucks horribly. Will it change, though? Probably not.
And I got real sick of only ever drawing fanart in hopes of trying to get the algorithms of the various art sites I'm on. Especially when I've had so many original stories and characters stirring around in my head. I think that's part of the reason why I've had such an extensive bout of artblock this past year and a half. I'm still suffering from it, but I'm managing to claw my way out.
But back to my point, I'm a bit burnout on fanart. So I've said 'Fuck it' and don't care about the algorithm as much (because let's face it, the algorithm of certain sites will always be itching in the minds of artists and writers) and am instead trying to focus on original art and original characters.
That's not to say I won't still draw fanart, because I will still draw it, especially when I open commissions. Especially fan characters--I've always adored drawing other people's ocs/fan ocs (and it's even more fun when I get to draw my characters interacting with theirs!)
But for my personal art? I'd liked to try and focus on my original stuff for a while.
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