The Web Fanartist's Credo

(1) I am not Akira Toriyama or Naoko Takeuchi. I am not Masamune Shirow, Kenichi Sonoda, or any member of CLAMP. Nor am I Kia Asamiya, Ray Omishi, or Hayao Miyazaki.
(2) Further, it is highly unlikely that I am Keiiii, Julie Dillon, or Chika. I am not Lex, I am not Akane, I am not Juno, I am not Kyubi Kitsune or Kon. Nor am I a member of Estrigious. I am not Kyrn. I am not Kouryuu. I am not Queen Vera.
(3) Therefore, I will do my utmost to develop my own style. Copying is an excellent way to learn and a pastime I am guilty of, but I will attempt to create something with a style that I can call my own.
(4) I will not steal pictures and claim them as my own. I will not steal pictures and claim them as my own. I will not steal pictures and claim them as my own.
(5) I will not trace artwork and claim it as my own work. Nor will I copy artwork exactly and claim it as my own work. I am a reasoning thinking human being and I will come up with my own compositions.
(6) I will not be embarrassed by my own works. Everyone starts somewhere, and I started here.
(7) I will, eventually, learn to ink and color.
   (7a) I will, eventually, learn to draw action poses and facial expressions that convey emotion.
   (7b) I will, eventually, learn to draw backgrounds.
   (7c) I will, eventually, learn to draw hands and feet.
   (7d) I will, eventually, learn to draw members of BOTH genders.
   (7e) I will, eventually, learn to draw drapery and clothing folds.
   (7f) I will, eventually, learn to draw animals. Mecha are optional.
(8) I will realize that while I, personally, may not care for hentai/yaoi/yuri, others do. I will respect their right to draw/display such things and I will not abuse them for it. Conversely, if I an a fan of hentai/yaoi/yuri, I will not attempt to forcibly convert those who are not.
   (8a) However, if I do choose to display hentai/yaoi/yuri, I will label it clearly and put it in its own section. I will have, at least, a warning page, and I will consider passwording the section if it is sufficiently explicit.
   (8b) I will heed warning pages. If I don't like it, I won't look at it. If I am underage or living with my parents, I won't look at it. Or, at the very least, I will be extremely careful. No one will thank me if the page is yanked.
   (8c) Yaoi/yuri is an acquired taste and requires a particular mindset and a certain amount of background to appreciate. Writing to an artist to protest that a certain character 'is not gay' will accomplish nothing and make me look stupid. If I don't like it, I won't look at it.
(9) I will not abuse clever CG tricks like lens flare or Impressionist brushes. Indeed, I will attempt not to use these tricks at all.
(10) Criticism is not the end of the world. But it can be cruel. I will realize that my words carry more weight than I thought possible, and I will realize that my harshest critics are emotionally crippled losers.
(11) Even the most well-meant and kind critique is uncalled for if unasked for. I will not make suggestions unless I am asked.
(12) A simple webpage is the best webpage, until I am more comfortable with HTML.
   (12a) I will stay away from autostart MIDI, excessive frames, enormous background pictures, and pages that take more than a minute to load.
   (12b) I will keep my pictures below 200k in size if at all possible, and warn visitors if a picture is unduly large.
   (12c) Blinding visitors is not a good thing.
   (12d) My thumbnails will be neither the entire picture crammed into a 20x20 space nor an entirely uninformative picture of an eye. I will attempt to make it clear what each thumbnail represents.
   (12e) Commenting on my own work, however briefly, is good.
   (12f) I will have a links page, and I will attempt to keep it up to date. I must realize that the Web does not end at my site. If there are links in, there must be links out. I will understand what link-free means. I will be link-free unless it causes repeated specific problems.
(13) Everyone needs encouragement. I will sign someone's guestbook with a sincere compliment today.
(14) I will never sign a guestbook or a BBS simply to promote my own webpage. I will have something to say beyond 'nice site' or 'great work check out mine'.
(15) My art does not suck. And I am not alone. Somewhere out there, someone is enjoying my site. For them, and for myself, I will continue to draw and write. I can only get better, I can only get better, I can only get better.

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