@Kaerlyn:

Yeah, it's pretty bothersome;;; Thanks though, I'm glad you like seeing them! ;u;/
Yeahhh I hope the store goes okay too... Etsy does seem difficult;;; Same with storenvy, there's just so much out there and it's hard to get noticed. >_< I'm hoping to get into some cons this year so people can pick up my business card w/ my shop link on it in hopes that that might help out. :T Maybe you could do some cons to? :o though Idk what the con scene is like in the UK.

Tumblrs mechanics have always been weird haha. I always love seeing your ocs :) and your art style is fantastic and expressive. I hope your store does well! I really need to find a place to sell my creations because etsy is kinda hard to get noticed on.

@harvestmoonluvr:

ok~~~ :,D

@moonlit dream:

yeah sounds awesome! ^_^ PM me whenever you have a free day hehe.

@harvestmoonluvr:

OOOOooOOO we can totally art trade! I can offer maybe something of this quality, but I could totally put in some shading so it's more like this if you want. :o

(doesn't have to be rn btw, just throwing it out there haha)

@moonlit dream:

Thanks bud :D

Yayay I hope it helps!

Oh hey random thought but if you ever wanna do an art trade or something hmu! I'm not really sure what an 'art trade' even is anymore lmao but WE CAN MAKE IT ANYTHING WE WANT IT TO BE

@harvestmoonluvr:

Haha I never really realized, but you're right it is hard work! xD Best of luck to you with your OCs~~ ;u;/ ♥

Hmmm that's a good idea...!!!! I was actually kind of trying to do that with the fashion redraws I was doing, but yeah it'd be a good idea to expand fan art to more things I wanna practice. :o I'll do my best...!!!

@moonlit dream:

I feel you! There's nothing wrong with enjoying your ocs more than fanart. I wish I had more ocs that I loved like you, but keeping them alive (by continually drawing them, i mean) is hard work! lol

Hmm so-- it sounds to me like --you're struggling to see the point of fanart unless it's validated by fans. (I totally get that, I'm the kind of artist that sits there and refreshes the page hoping it'll miraculously pick up momentum lol.) So random suggestion: instead of creating art for the fans, try setting a personal goal for the piece whether it's fanart or not. Do a color exercise. Push your style. Do a study on a face, body, hands, perspective, etc. That way, your goal no longer boils down to how many notes it gets but whether or not you accomplished your personal artistic challenge :) And then you can't say it's pointless because you practiced something and got better!

I just realized you already do color palette / expression challenges and the such, so this probably isn't a new concept to you or anything. But it's usually how I find the motivation to draw stuff when I'm feeling blah. Like I ask myself 'what is something I want to improve' or 'what do I need to add to my portfolio..." etc. <3

And yeah that sounds like a good plan!

(awhh you're welcome :*)

@Stocking:

mmmm well the "spending a lot of time on art and not getting notes" isn't really what I was trying to get at here (though that can be frustrating!!!! haha it happens too often..........). It's just that both my doodle fan art and clean fan art, which I had previously been able to gain some exposure with, suddenly isn't able to get me any decent exposure anymore.

I usually am of the mindset of "draw what you want to"/"DRAW OCS BC OCS ARE GR8", but notes kind of matter to me rn because I'm trying to promote my store... I just opened it recently and bought a whole bunch of shipping supplies to support it, but I'm desperate for exposure. "orz Obviously I don't expect things to happen immediately, but it would just be nice if my posts didn't suddenly stop getting notes right when I'm trying to promote my livelihood. Which is why I need to be working on fan art right now (for exposure bc I need to make $$$$)... but what was previously my sweet-spot fandom for exposure (mob psycho 100) suddenly rapidly declined in activity (OUT OF NOWHERE I'M SO CONFUSED???), so I'm just kind of at a loss.

Of course, I'm still going to draw my OCs because that's basically all that I really want to draw. xD; But I'm not going to be able to promote my store or commissions by drawing my OCs, which is why it sucks that I don't like drawing fan art. "orz

Thanks for your support!!! ;o;/ I'll do my best to be patient and positive-minded... and you're right, things definitely take time. I've been so impatient since I graduated and have like nothing to do all day, hahaha;;;; But yeah. Eventually! Things will look up!!!
And thank you for always supporting my drawings, I really appreciate it!!! >o< ♥

(I hope I don't sound rude in this comment;;; idk it's just a weird topic for me to talk about.)

OHHH I GET THIS A LOT ACTUALLY

tumblr is such a big platform for sharing art, a lot of things gets lost in the wreckage.
even if you spend days on a piece, it probably won't get as much notes as someone else's who maybe spent 5 minutes on something because tumblr's standards with fanart is pretty low these days, and especially if it stresses you out :( better to only do it when you really want to and what matters is that you got it out at all and that you like it.

if drawings OCs is what you love most do that!! using tumblr almost 5 years has taught me in the end notes dont matter for art. if you put your all in a piece that's all that does matter! tho it probably doesn't feel like it but if it dosn't make you happy, you shouldn't force yourself to do something especially when you love drawing OCs more!!

you should just do what you love most, even if it looks like it's not recognized enough, it takes a lot of work, but if it's something you really wanna achieve, you'll get there! ;0 the reality is it could take a while to get where you want to, but along the way you'll learn a lot and be as recognized there as you are here (well imo you're pretty recognizable here and lots of loved art <33 hdfghj)

but yeah tumblr is a mystery when it comes to art and fanart. for some people a lot of notes does happen overnight and for others it takes a long time. but i understand really well how stressful it can be.

@WildGirl1977:

YEAH, getting recognized on the internet is ~impossible~ hahaha ANNOYING! ;U;

Idk I'm not always bothered when my doodles get notes b/c at least it something, but rn I feel like none of the fan art I'm drawing is getting any notes... and it happened super suddenly too, so I'm just really confused. ""orz

@harvestmoonluvr:

YEAH idk why the heck tumblr is such a quiet community, I was really surprised when I joined in 2014 or whatever. I guess I'm just most frustrated rn by how quickly people's interests fluctuate... I don't want to get annoyed because it's not other people's responsibility to look/respond to whatever I post, but idk exposure is difficult.

I do want to have a positive attitude about posting fan art, but the fact is just it does become a waste if no one notices it because I'm really not drawing it for myself. :T I draw it for the fandom I guess?? And if the fandom doesn't want it then I'm just like "WELL what was the point bc I didn't even want to draw this." /A HORRIBLE AND RUDE MENTALITY???? BUT IT'S TRUE

idk drawing fan art just bogs me down;;; no matter how much I try to get into drawing fan art, I really... don't enjoy it... I can't develop strong headcanons or deeply connect with characters because they're not my characters........ I guess I don't feel compelled to connect with existing characters because I already have my OCs to connect to, and plus I have like FULL AUTHORITY on my OCs so I never have to worry about "bad/ooc headcanons" because everything I do w/ my OCs is canon HAHA. I've gotten to the point where I'm slightly more positive than indifferent when I draw fan art, but idk it's still not great. I don't think there's any fixing it, it's just how I am;;;;
IT'S GOOD U LIKE DRAWING FAN ART THO!!! Both fan art and original art is good stuff yo.

BUT YEAH, I'm thinking I'll just do big posts with a bunch of fan arts stuff I've done throughout the week and post them on the weekends or something. That should prevent me from losing sleep on the weekdays, hahaha. ;u;7

(AND OF COURSE!! ♥ ♥ ♥ I try to be responsive when I can, haha. ;u;/ And thank you, too!)

Uhg, that sucks. I hate the whole fan art thing, like I like drawing fan art, but I hate it when I put a lot of effort into something and get ignored, then post a sub-par fan art piece and get a crap ton of notes because FANDOM.

IDK IF YOU WANT PEOPLE TO COMMENT ON THIS BUT.
this is #relatable. I differ from you in the way that I enjoy drawing fanart almost more than my ocs sometimes, but I completely understand the stress that follows. I get really anxious when my stuff gets little to no notes. My inner voice is all "WHY ISN'T THIS MORE POPULAR ITS CUTE AS HELL" and then I start feeling conceited for thinking I deserve notes and it's not a fun cycle lol. I also get really anxious when I post a question or something open ended and like NOBODY SAYS ANYTHING......... I saw someone once compare the feeling to performing for 2000 people and maybe 3 of them clap, lol. But I just have to remind myself that tumblr is fickle and people are busy and it's easy for your stuff to just slip through the cracks because there is so much content that is constantly being churned out. And sometimes I view my stuff through rose colored glasses. People might just not want to reblog it and that's ok. The important thing is you drew something! Just like the attitude you have about your ocs.
I find that the stuff I work the hardest on tends to get the least amount of notes, lmao. Vice versa applies. Tumblr's laws of physics are so unfair. :')
If fanart continues to make you unhappy, take a break. Or maybe just draw it privately and bring it out once you're tabling again :) OR you could do like you do here and put a bunch of art/sketches in one post? just suggestions. ^_^ hugs

(btw you're always super responsive and supportive of my posts and stuff and it's really nice thank you <3)