Artist Who Are Popular Just Becuase of Fanart

[Miscellaneous Artist]

There are a lot of those people on DA.
What do you think of them?

Some of you may already know my stance when it comes to fan art. Fact is in the States, it's illegal if you don't have permission, not fair use, or not a satire/parody, though that has nevered stopped anyone from making fanart. That's besides my point though. I can't say it's morally correct to take advantage of someone else's sucess like that. It's easy to draw someone else's character and get a bunch of attention. It's not easy to create a work and get it known to the point of establishing a fanbase.
Sometimes people genuinly enjoy a work, but I start to doubt that when I see a gallery where a majority of the art there is fanart.
*********************************************************************************************************
*edit*
There is quite some variety in the responses, however I think most of you are misunderstanding the original idea proposed. It's not a question of the ethics of drawing fan art, or fanart's as a legitimacy as an art form, rather, what are your thoughts on using fanart SOLEY for the purpose of gaining recognition? What about artists who exclusively draw fanart? Further more, can you think of other legitimate ways to get attention as an artist online? Community involvement is the first one that come to mind for me.

[wine mom]

I don't mind fanart in moderation. I've never done it and posted any myself though. i've had people try to take advantage of my minor success though by sending me fanart because for a while, i would try to post every piece of fanart i received on my blog. but i noticed people just sort or taking advantage of that so i stopped.

[The Frostinator]

I used to get upset over people making money selling fanart and having huge followings only for copying other people's characters but I realized it's a lost cause to be upset about. There are no consequences for it so people will continue to do it because it's easy cash and easy fame... Most artists on the internet have no moral boundaries about this, it's not a good thing but that's the way it is.

I've never sold fanart for real money and I used to be hardcore against it but at this point if someone asked me to do it I probably would. I'm slowly but surely giving up the fight on this topic.

[Old Cat]

It can sometimes be irritating but it is one of the fastest ways to get popularity by leeching off of whats in at the moment, doing that or porn
OR if you wanna do something extra special doing porn of some hyped anime, show or book.

Personally i wouldn't draw fanart for popularity and only do it if i really love the characters :3

[thante]

Fanart is a difficult one. It's something that I have pretty strong views about, but at the same time neither full like or dislike it.

First off, it can be a great gateway to bigger and better things. There have been hundreds of examples of fanart starting someone's career. The most recent example I have hear was the new intro for Doctor Who. Billy Hanshaw may be a professional but there is no doubt that his concept was created and posted online as a personal brief because of love of the show, it's fanart. Obviously he has done other work before, but it's unlikely you'll have seen or heard about it. A pierce of fanart is going to be the real kick start to his career, and there is absolutely no shame in that.
It's every artists dream to have there work noticed my those who inspired it, and just because it is rare doesn't mean it doesn't happen, if your ideas are good and your skills are at a professional level then it really wouldn't be a first.

Fanart is also a great way to earn a little money. Although I don't think it is right to advertise that you will copy a character, or to market copy righted images to a mass audience. I have painted all sorts of things from my little pony and inspector gadget to game of thrones. I've done it because those ppl have addressed me personally and offered me money "hi! Would you be able to paint inspector gadget on my helmet? I'll pay you" . To me there is a big difference Between this, and mass marketing the same Image.

Fanart is also a great way to get past artist block, to commemorate peoples lives and say thanks to something or someone that has inspired you.

Problem is a lot I find a lot of fanart (espeshaly on DA) incredibly disrespectful. If what you are doing will insult the creators or the show/comic/movie whatever, then you are doing it wrong. My favourite example is the Sherlock fandom. Many regularly draw Sherlock and Watson as a couple. Both actors have displayed massive distaste for that work, they hate it. In creating it you are not honouring the show, you are insulting the actors.
If you created a painting, and someone came along and said "I love this so much!! It's amazing, incredible!....... But these two people shouldn't be in the relationships you placed them in you got that totally wrong, they need be together " you would start to wonder why they thought it was amazing to start with, if all they want to do is change what you created.

[Itchy the Hatter]

Consumers are fickle and easy. Can't really get mad when people figure out how to tap into that and become successful - it's not like you can't, too. The problem is what people are willing to consume, not the people catering to it.

[Artlic]

I really can't say much about people who do it for pure popularity, because through all mediums of art, there are always people who are doing it for attention. For me, I just let them be. If I end up liking a piece of artwork from them, then so be it. There really isn't much we can do than hope that the artist will figure out in time that trying to get all the attention on the internet is just a lonesome act for desperate love. o__O

[YuukiPinkuu]

I think it's bad when artists start looking down on other artists. Everyone likes something different. In US, drawing fanart isn't illegal unless you sell. Fanart is good because it means people are interested. It can only help the original creator.

[Jiyori]

As others have said, I don't have a problem with people who draw fan art. I myself draw fanart in fact. However, I'm still iffy on the selling part. I haven't really gathered an opinion on it myself. I always see people at conventions selling them, and I've even noticed some sort of drama from people taking others' designs while it being fan art... so idk what to make of it.

I do think it's good to establish your own fans and following though? Like, if you're ONLY drawing other people's established characters, I hope you know people are following you just because you draw the fanart. It's good for making friends who are fans of the same stuff, and getting to talk about things you really love.

But if you want to establish yourself as a real artist, you probably should lean more towards doing your own stuff more than not

[Beena the Mystery]

who cares
people like fanart, and tend to gravitate towards good fanart
remember, that a lot of those top notch paintings that we study in all our art history classes are fanart of myths and real life events

people don't get popular because of fanart, they do good work that happens to be of whatever pop culture thing, think of how many unpopular artists there are who also draw bad fanart

[Silmarili]

When it comes to fan art, it is very tricky. Drawing it for fun is one thing, but making a profit from it is another. It only really bothers me when people make a huge profit from it when they do not have permission from the original creator (and I'm talking about the ones that don't do parody/satire). I'm ok if they have permission to sell, and do a limited run of prints, like a lot of DC/Marvel comic artists do for conventions.

Currently, it's the prime way to get known. And to be honest, those who tend to draw good fan art usually are good artists in their own right. I've seen a few people start off drawing fan art and then eventually shift to creating their own stuff after they have a decent following. In a way, it's a trick, but it tends to work.

But I agree with what has been said above, if you create things that appeal to the masses, you will be noticed faster. We may not like it, but that's how it is.

[planetABXY]

I say fanart is a go, unless if you plan on selling it.
A thing i read someone say once was "The quickest way to learning to draw better is to find a character you really like, and draw them all the time." haha. Whether you post said fanart is left up to you, but selling works of it is a different story entirely.
I do feel like fanart does help advertise for the creators of the original works, however.
A good example I consistently find is that on tumblr, a lot of the art blogs I follow who do fanart for Homestuck will often get asks like "I wasn't into homestuck when I followed you but your work inspired me to read it, and now I'm a huge fan!".... But that isn't to say there aren't also people who will say things like " I'm not into it but I love your works enough that I follow you anyway." So I mean....take that how you will.

Using Homestuck as an example again, and going back to the "selling fanworks" topic..Only do what you know the creator has given you permission to do. Hussie (creator of homestuck) has explicitly said on a few occasions that fanworks of Homestuck can only be sold in the form of 2d art (so, drawings.) Nothing else.

Idk, tho.
In my personal opinion, I don't see much harm in fanart if it's posted with the only intent being to share your love of something, along with your artistic ability. If someone gets popular from it, then one can only hope that they do more of their own original work someday.

[mayakko]

I deleted my tumblr last year (for unrelated reasons) but I remember seriously considering drawing fan art just so that someone would look at the rest of my stuff. I draw my OCs exclusively so no one even knew I existed. rofl

[The End`]

Fight Me Bro

There are a lot of those people on DA.
What do you think of them?

Some of you may already know my stance when it comes to fan art. Fact is in the States, it's illegal if you don't have permission, not fair use, or not a satire/parody, though that has nevered stopped anyone from making fanart. That's besides my point though. I can't say it's morally correct to take advantage of someone else's sucess like that. It's easy to draw someone else's character and get a bunch of attention. It's not easy to create a work and get it known to the point of establishing a fanbase.
Sometimes people genuinly enjoy a work, but I start to doubt that when I see a gallery where a majority of the art there is fanart.

I feel mixed about it.

Artists need to make a living too- and catering to public demand is one way to get food on the table. Knocking a really great artist for copying a popular cartoon into their style as a way to pay the bills I don't think is right.

As for the artists who are just doing it for popularity and don't have intentions of making money or anythng from it, I guess to each their own. Many years ago, I was a fanart whore. My art wasn't really worth looking at, but people would favorite it a lot (on da) I was so in love with certain cartoon series I felt a duty to fanart, and people liked it. There IS something special about a popular fanartist- they know how to reach the viewer with how they art, that's something I think people can learn from. It's not always how well drawn, but if the viewer can connect with the piece. Haven't you seen great works of art you can't connect with?

But then, I grew up and realized that while the popularity is all well and good, I was copying someone elses style and way of rendering with no concept of how to draw realistically or on my own. The people that I was copying knew what they were doing, I sure as h--- didn't. Now, I can't even bring myself to do fanart, even if I really want to outside of rare exceptions >< I don't want the baggage that comes along with it

So yeah, mixed bag here...

[Shivaj]

Tumblr made me realize that fanart is not really that bad. It brings artist together and maybe even the original artist closer to the crowd. Im okay with it.