[AlexG]

Sadly, if you venture outside your own community with what is considered abnormal… be that furry, giant breasts, extreme muscle or whatever it's not uncommon for people to make it patently clear that they don't much care for having their perceptions challenged.

Some artists seem to have had a particularly rough time of it on DA but I think that's more in the past than anything. Still, you shouldn't be surprised when some small minded person has a hissy fit – don't worry, they're the same strata of society that shouts "HOOOOEEEE TITTIES!"

Or at times, even within your particular community – such lesser beings are known as Trolls and/or Haters.

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[TC2]

Sometimes it's also that people just do it to get a rise out of the artist.  I do remember one time a former poster at our community would mention that she would intentionally troll certain artists or DA accounts just to piss the artist off.  It's how you deal with the situation that is more important, for me I haven't had too many run ins but I try to respond as neutrally as possible.  If they say something insulting, try not to argue back with them because they will keep coming back for more to fight with you.

But don't take it personally, it's just something that most folks end up going through.

[wasobipizza]

Hi I'm a long time lurker that felt he needed to comment on this topic because of the interesting nature of it. I agree that one should not argue against these people because it will only beget more insults and jeers from your attacker. You must remember that there are still other people who appreciate this certain type of art and actually have constructive criticism for you. In the 1920s alcohol was illegal but cocaine was not. But in the decades after alcohol is now socially acceptable to drink well cocaine is not. Perceptions change so don't worry about petty assaults now and continue to add to the growing community with your wonderful artwork.

[Cindy Tortio]

Wow,words of wisdom. Being a newbie myself I made the catastrophic mistake of responding to the "established" artist. He had critiqued my drawing with a single word….grotesque.I pointed out that a critique was a assessment of form and technique not just a personal opinion. He hates body builders and bulging veins but it is OK on the hulk because the hulk should have them(not she hulk though!).I tried to point out the hypocrisy of this and the point that art should spark thought and questions of why we feel this way.As my time at Amazons has for me.I stated that everyone has different tastes and there should be room to explore those tastes as long as we play within the rules,no porn etc.
Yup,reason will win right? LOl. I was ripped apart. None of my points even mentioned and a wave of personal attacks began.One person stated he had shown my picture to coworkers and they had hated it as well.Wow! I was labled a no talent hack and dog piled on by a bunch of people I never knew. To be fair a few people loved it and even requested more and I did get a great pdf of all the loomis drawing books.Ha ha. The venom in some of these peoples posts was scary though. Just drawing a woman with a massive physique warrants this? I am stunned.It is simply amazing the intolerance and hate people will vent over a sketch.Great art gets a single post and a amateur sketch with muscularity gets 3 pages? Just scary.I have learned a valuable lesson though. I will speak through my art and keep my mouth shut!

[wasobipizza]

well said SinD, well said. Displaying art publically outside of certain communities indeed invites much more praise as well as attacks. People such as Galileo were widely criticised by people in and out of their communities. As you well know he is considered a genius today. Everyone has the right to their opinion and as long as nobody is actually physically preventing you from drawing and posting I say you should keep on as you are

[mikazuki]

Sin-san, I applaud you for speaking up, because the experience is so much more valuable than if you were to shy away. Now when you come across such situations again, you can say, "Ah, I understand." And you'll be more sympathetic than most when you see others going through similar trials.

Or at times, even within your particular community – such lesser beings are known as Trolls and/or Haters.

Sir AlexG's words reminded me of the hypocrisy that very much exists within this scene. You may be interested in reading an excerpt from "The Encyclopedia of Amazons" that touch on this. Apparently, it is not so uncommon to be called a "freak" by such Haters of the fetish, only to find that these Haters are themselves a secret patron of such fetishes. It becomes all very amusing after a while 🙂

[Amazon Lover]

A lot of people don't like characters that don't fit their standards of beauty.  A character that they find "ugly" will rarely be worth a second glance to them.  I can't necessarily say that any of us – myself included – would necessarily be any different, as we, too, have standards of beauty.  Just different ones from the norm.  To make a point; would you like Tetsuko LESS if she were, say, fat?  Or if she had a lot of moles on her face or something?  Now before you answer that, remember, she's a CHARACTER.  And how you judge a character is different from how you judge a real person (I should hope; lest your perception of the line between fantasy and reality be TOTALLY messed up).  Face it, if Tetsuko were less pretty, you might not read her comic.  Or at least like it less.  Now if Tetsuko were a real, living human being, you'd (hopefully) judge her by her personality the same regardless of her appearance.

In the end, SinD, you need to ask yourself: who's your target audience?  What are you trying to convey in your picture; what message are you trying to send or what emotion are you trying to get from the viewer?  This will make it easier for you to figure out if you're listening to the critics you want to hear, or people who are biased.

[Lu]

Trust me if it's DA.. that place can be hell and suffocate an artist more than encourage them. That is, if you take it seriously.
I got battered by that site when they put something of mine in the 'popular' section of the front page (and it wasn't just muscle, either, it was preg too).
But I didn't take it seriously- I just made fun of myself. Posted my art on Devart_Horrors (which doesn't exist anymore) for all the 'haters' to see and laughed at myself. I know my art is silly and unrealistic and I know some people find it scary or disturbing or don't like it.

But the moral! It's yours and yours alone, your art, so those people can say all that they like- but in the end, who cares? What you do isn't up to them. Where you post it, again, isn't up to them.
Just take it lighthearted, and it's a LOT easier to bounce back.

[Cindy Tortio]

I cannot thank you all enough for your input and personal stories.If only I could turn back time. Mistakes are part of this journey though and I guess some lessons are best learned the hard way. I still wish I would have read a thread like this first though. This experience has made me do some serious soul searching and thinking about art and my feelings.I even talked with my husbands lifelong friend who has been a bodybuilder since his youth. I am by nature a sensitive person and I really believe that you need to be secure in what brings you joy or you will be constantly hurt. I simply have to ignore the negative influences who want to label or degrade me and satisfy myself. They will never understand and really do not need to.Thank you all for your help.

[CDR]

Welcome to the club SinD. All the artists that ever made anything had encountered agressive criticism. Rational people accept the fact that the universe is complex and wide and embraces points of view diferent from their own to enrich themselves. Irational people cant tolerate diferent models than their own because they percieve them as threats to their current state of mind. They are so insecure that they think (conciously or not) than any idea diferent than their own could break the delicate balance that currently works for them.
Lots of this idea-haters are simply teenagers. At that age they feel as insecure as they can. Go to college and take a look at the relationships there. Agressiveness there is often an effort to have their models "approved" by society. If they develop right the teenagers insecure feelings would be replaced by one "I approve myself" idea, If not the adult would continue to battle his own teen-demons until they win the fight (If ever).
What can you do as an artist? Make sure you're in the appropiate company before speaking up. Noone in their right mind would scream a goal in the stadium when surrounded by opponents. Take a look at your surroundings and study the people around you. Make sure they are healty peaceful and MATURE people. Society still fails in making mind-healty people and we all have to battle our inner demons with the help of family, friends, therapists and ourselves.
Peace and good luck.

CDR

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