Alright...I'm ranting, but I don't give a damn.

I looked at something that made me think and reflect on DeviantART as a whole and why I'm starting to think its a COMPLETE waste of my time..

Hear me out, and please don't assume this is another one of those "whiny rants."
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First, I must start by saying that the reason I "quit" deviantART the first time is because I felt I WASN'T good enough for the site. Me. My -own- lack of artistic ability..

I saw something yesterday, however, that may suggest otherwise...

While surfing the drawing section of this site, I found a couple of Naruto drawings. First of all, I feel most all fanart is, by nature, less valuable SIMPLY BECAUSE...you didn't create anything. Your using someone else's idea. Maybe your making it better in some ways, but it isn't completely and fully artistic in my mind, because there isn't that total sense of creation. I know, because I used to draw things of that nature.

But, ---regardless--- of your stance on fanart, these Naruto drawings were very simple, if not crude. No color, no body, basically nothing but faces that were not representative of the smoothness of the original animation, to say the least. All of my friends viewed this as well and agreed universally, that these were poor drawings far and away...

The sad thing about this??? One of these drawings alone had well over 60 page-views in one day, which completely destroys everything in my gallery combined. All of my fellow viewers, included a friend of mind who is also a serious artist, was disgusted by such a display. (I think she said, word for word, "That's an injustice to the real artists." And ironically enough, she even loves anime and fully accepts fanart.)

Now, usually I'm a very humble guy. I don't boast or brag about much of anything. But, I feel the need to say that..I KNOW my own works are at least on par to this "Naruto" caliber, if not more. All of the people I associate with here at college agreed that my own work was vastly superior, even my worst topped what they called, "crap-tasticly drawn anime."

I think, therein lies the flaw. Because I create my OWN WORKS..out of MY OWN MIND..and usually WITHOUT PHOTOGRAPHIC REFERENCE... I'm casted out as less-talented and deemed cursed with some kind of "poor taste" in subject matter. I also believe I have MY OWN STYLE, which sometimes doesn't connect well with the stereo-typical anime you see so prominently displayed around this site...(Even if you don't agree with this last point about my style, the other three are more prominent anyway, and hold much more importance.)

So.....yeah. Needless to say, I'm pretty frustrated. Almost down-right pissed. I mean, lets get real. I WOULD BE COMPLETELY FINE if --real-- talent ''beat'' out my own work through whatever means. (Downloads, page-views, comments, etc.) But alas, I find more and more that its the crap that gets the recognition. The --regurgitated bullshit.-- And that is an injustice NOT ONLY TO ME, but to EVERYONE who creates real art.

I once was told that, to obtain page-views and recognition, you must "play the crowd." Draw things that attract huge masses of unwarranted attention...like Naruto, Harry Potter, Dragonball Z, Inyuasha, or anything else that seems to be popular at the moment..

You know what I say to --that-- crap? --F.u.c.k it.-- I will NEVER steep down to the level of art I saw yesterday with those Naruto drawings, and I don't give a --shit-- what happens to my popularity or pageviews.

I mean, in all reality, I'm just like every other artist here. I WANT people to look at my art and respond to it. I don't even care if thats a negative response..just as long as there is one. But, if I have to go to the means necessary listed above..then I guess I'll just submit art alone and without any recognition. Which is fine, because whatever I do, I -know- that my art will always be infinitely superior to those generic, poorly-drawn Naruto renderings. (I don't wish to call them drawings anymore, not deserved.)

And with THAT...I end this rant. I HOPE that anyone who reads this, takes this seriously and with thought...

(Oh, and for the record: I refused to give any explicit examples of the Naruto art I saw that day, because I feel that, from artist to artist, I couldn't dish such a direct insult. Yes, believe it or not, I have a heart. And also, it isn't ALL of the fanart-artist's fault either. Yes, they sometimes produce this -crap-, but in turn, the audience of the DeviantART is also at fault for their extreme stupidity in promoting such works..)

~~~The End~~~