I decided that tonight I would type up something that I've been hinting at
for a long time. Now I know it may be stupid, and you may laugh and
offer critisism, but I ask if you are only going to do that, then leave now.
For those of you who don't know me, Names Leafstorm. I'm a girl who fell
in love with designing about four years ago thanks to a close friend, then
took off designing like crazy. The feeling of making something new out of
a blank design was like creating new life, breathing the gift of color onto
something that had previously lacked any of that.
At first, I made lots of free adoptions. It was fun, getting comments and
people who liked the designs I made. I loved waiting to see who would post
next, what they'd say, and the thrill of knowing that someone out there actually
liked what I did. I can't explain how much that meant to me, how much I was
actually enjoying making designs for others.
But then I grew older. Older and wiser.
I joined the CAAA and started to see how some people cared for the designs
that they got. Happily, nievely thinking that everyone did this, I went back
and looked at the designs I had given out, expecting to see them loved and cared
for. To my surprise, I found that barely any of them had been used, and if they had,
it was for breeding. There were some still being cared for, but most just rotted away.
I can't say it didn't hurt. It did. It felt like I wasn't good enough as a designer, or
that soemthing I'd done made them not worth the effort. I've always thought down
on myself, and I just sort of faded out to making designs only for me and close friends,
hoping to somehow help the growing problem of thoughtless character making and breeding.
Now you're going to tell me that a character is just a character. To you, perhaps, but not to me.
I pour my heart and all my creativity into every design I make. I disconnect from this hurting
world and create something new, something perfect in iteself. Have you ever stopped to think
how many colors are out there? trillions of differnt colors and somehow, I can take them and
put them into new orders and patterns to make a design! It blows my mind how complex such
a simple thing can be.
To me, it's like this: Imagine a world void of anything. Just soild white, all around. No way to
tell up from down, or left from right. Suddenly, lines begin to form, and colors seep out of the
white and into the lines. And before you stands a small cat. The cat shivers, glancing down at
itself in amazement. A second ago, it had long been a thought in your mind, now it was sitting
in the void of white, a lone figure on the horizon. You were thrilled, and you used it for a few
things, then became bored. You see something far away, a design that you love, and go to it.
All is well, yes?
No. As you leave, the cat turns and watches you go. 'They'll come back, they still love me.' the
cat thinks to itself, settling down to sit and wait for your return. They wait for a long time, and
as they look around, they find something startling. The white is turning to black. It slowly fades
to a pitch blank nothingness. Within this, the cat spots horrible looking creatures with yellow eyes
and sharp shadowy claws. Tears well up in the cats eyes, and it looks desperately off into the direction
that you have left, but there is no sign of you to be found. "Please come back! I'll be the best cat you
could ever ask for!" The cat cries, but no reply is heard. You have moved onto the next, and the cat
is not in your mind anymore. Slowly, the darkness wraps its chilling claws around the cat, and the cat
knows that fighting is now useless. A few tears trickle down its face, and it closes its eyes as it fades
into the same nothing that it came from, forgotten and lost.
That's how I see it. Using a character has no real definition, and only you can tell if
you really do care about them. I guess its not my job as a designer to say, but I can
at least prevent some designs from that dark fate. I'd love to make adopts again, but
learning to trust has never been my strong point. People always ask why I impose
a one breeding per character rule on my designs, and its simply this. You will look harder
for the right one for your character instead of just doing every breeding you see with it.
I could be overreacting, but I see characters as a privledge. A responsibility. You at least
owe it to the creator of the design to say thank you, or to maybe do a color in of the design.
I can't tell you how nice it makes me feel to see someone actually use their character instead
of telling me they will over and over, but always making excuses when I mention it.
I use my characters. I think about them, i care about them, I have a bond with my designs.
I may not order art of them because I'm rather lacking payment, but I doodle them when I'm
sad or when I need something to focus on. They save me from sadness, and give me a boost
when I need it. So yeah, they're more than characters.
So to you reading this, I propose a small plan. Just say thank you to someone
who made you a character long ago, or make a color in of a design you found
long ago. The darkness isn't forever, and it can be baished by a sweep of your
hand. But you have to be brave enough to do it.
These are my reasons, all of them tangled up into a story of love. It's always about
love. Show that you care, tell the creator they did good, thank someone, just say
something nice without saying it to get a character, or a breeding. Think twice before
adopting something, before breeding, and before even asking for a design. As much
fun as they can be, how many characters have been lost because of our insenstivity and
shallow thoughts? Lets not let anymore go. <3
Thanks for reading, feel free to post your feelings on this. <3 No hate please.
for a long time. Now I know it may be stupid, and you may laugh and
offer critisism, but I ask if you are only going to do that, then leave now.
For those of you who don't know me, Names Leafstorm. I'm a girl who fell
in love with designing about four years ago thanks to a close friend, then
took off designing like crazy. The feeling of making something new out of
a blank design was like creating new life, breathing the gift of color onto
something that had previously lacked any of that.
At first, I made lots of free adoptions. It was fun, getting comments and
people who liked the designs I made. I loved waiting to see who would post
next, what they'd say, and the thrill of knowing that someone out there actually
liked what I did. I can't explain how much that meant to me, how much I was
actually enjoying making designs for others.
But then I grew older. Older and wiser.
I joined the CAAA and started to see how some people cared for the designs
that they got. Happily, nievely thinking that everyone did this, I went back
and looked at the designs I had given out, expecting to see them loved and cared
for. To my surprise, I found that barely any of them had been used, and if they had,
it was for breeding. There were some still being cared for, but most just rotted away.
I can't say it didn't hurt. It did. It felt like I wasn't good enough as a designer, or
that soemthing I'd done made them not worth the effort. I've always thought down
on myself, and I just sort of faded out to making designs only for me and close friends,
hoping to somehow help the growing problem of thoughtless character making and breeding.
Now you're going to tell me that a character is just a character. To you, perhaps, but not to me.
I pour my heart and all my creativity into every design I make. I disconnect from this hurting
world and create something new, something perfect in iteself. Have you ever stopped to think
how many colors are out there? trillions of differnt colors and somehow, I can take them and
put them into new orders and patterns to make a design! It blows my mind how complex such
a simple thing can be.
To me, it's like this: Imagine a world void of anything. Just soild white, all around. No way to
tell up from down, or left from right. Suddenly, lines begin to form, and colors seep out of the
white and into the lines. And before you stands a small cat. The cat shivers, glancing down at
itself in amazement. A second ago, it had long been a thought in your mind, now it was sitting
in the void of white, a lone figure on the horizon. You were thrilled, and you used it for a few
things, then became bored. You see something far away, a design that you love, and go to it.
All is well, yes?
No. As you leave, the cat turns and watches you go. 'They'll come back, they still love me.' the
cat thinks to itself, settling down to sit and wait for your return. They wait for a long time, and
as they look around, they find something startling. The white is turning to black. It slowly fades
to a pitch blank nothingness. Within this, the cat spots horrible looking creatures with yellow eyes
and sharp shadowy claws. Tears well up in the cats eyes, and it looks desperately off into the direction
that you have left, but there is no sign of you to be found. "Please come back! I'll be the best cat you
could ever ask for!" The cat cries, but no reply is heard. You have moved onto the next, and the cat
is not in your mind anymore. Slowly, the darkness wraps its chilling claws around the cat, and the cat
knows that fighting is now useless. A few tears trickle down its face, and it closes its eyes as it fades
into the same nothing that it came from, forgotten and lost.
That's how I see it. Using a character has no real definition, and only you can tell if
you really do care about them. I guess its not my job as a designer to say, but I can
at least prevent some designs from that dark fate. I'd love to make adopts again, but
learning to trust has never been my strong point. People always ask why I impose
a one breeding per character rule on my designs, and its simply this. You will look harder
for the right one for your character instead of just doing every breeding you see with it.
I could be overreacting, but I see characters as a privledge. A responsibility. You at least
owe it to the creator of the design to say thank you, or to maybe do a color in of the design.
I can't tell you how nice it makes me feel to see someone actually use their character instead
of telling me they will over and over, but always making excuses when I mention it.
I use my characters. I think about them, i care about them, I have a bond with my designs.
I may not order art of them because I'm rather lacking payment, but I doodle them when I'm
sad or when I need something to focus on. They save me from sadness, and give me a boost
when I need it. So yeah, they're more than characters.
So to you reading this, I propose a small plan. Just say thank you to someone
who made you a character long ago, or make a color in of a design you found
long ago. The darkness isn't forever, and it can be baished by a sweep of your
hand. But you have to be brave enough to do it.
These are my reasons, all of them tangled up into a story of love. It's always about
love. Show that you care, tell the creator they did good, thank someone, just say
something nice without saying it to get a character, or a breeding. Think twice before
adopting something, before breeding, and before even asking for a design. As much
fun as they can be, how many characters have been lost because of our insenstivity and
shallow thoughts? Lets not let anymore go. <3
Thanks for reading, feel free to post your feelings on this. <3 No hate please.
My OCs take up my every waking moment in some tiny way, I swear. When I'm in class and bored, poof Bob appears on my notepad making silly faces, and I sometimes even snarl at him to stop, only to find people looking at me funny while I'm doodling. Sometimes when I'm on the computer I can hear my OCs interacting with each other or commenting on my activities, being crazy and sweet and my closest friends. Or when someone asks about my OCs, I speak about each one of them more passionately than I can describe many people. There's even times when I find myself in such a saddened state where they all come up and snuggle with me, giving advice and cheering me up. They aren't real, I know. But they feel real and are individuals. And they are just there. They're there for me and me alone. It makes me feel so special... -///w///-