No Illustrations Today, or An Art Kid’s Rant

I was going to post a nice little blog that had pretty drawings last week, and right in the middle of my work, the paint program shut down.

This happened to me three times in the course of a few hours.

Ask me how angry I was.

I was very angry.

Like, shouting curses at my computer and Walter White crying-into-maniacal-laughter angry.

I plan on doing another illustrated post since I love them and I haven’t done one in a while. But I’m still mad at Corel Paint. And when I’m mad at something, I need to take a break to be calm enough to try it again.

I’ve always loved drawing. Ever since I was a little kid, I was obsessed with cartoons and I had a library that was compiled with “How to Draw” books and I took numerous art classes.

The only negative thing that really came out of my love of art was that I had schoolmates telling me to draw things for them. Mind you, these were people who I didn’t talk to and they didn’t really want to talk to me. But when they saw me drawing, all of a sudden they were interested in my existence. Part of it was great, I mean, I was getting complimented on my hard work and I would think, “Hey, maybe this could be an opportunity to make friends.” And then they would start asking me to draw certain things like, “Hey, can you draw a picture of me?” or “Can you draw a picture of [insert bizarre thing here]?” And I would do it… because I’m an artist and I like a challenge. These kids would then ask if they could keep the drawing, and I would rip it out of my sketchbook, and hand it to them. Then they would never talk to me again.

Here’s my thing. When I draw, it’s because I’m trying to communicate something. Maybe my day has been weird and I want to draw a funny cartoon about it. Maybe I’m sad and I’m choosing to face the situation by way of pencil and paper. Maybe I’m working on a new story and I have a character in my head, so I’m trying to make sense of what he or she looks like and I take notes about certain qualities that they have. And I love the idea of commissions–love them! It’s two people coming together to make art, and you both benefit because art brings value to both lives through expression, excitement and monetary gain. It’s a partnership.

It’s when the process shuts down is the problem. This was my issue with the kids who only took from me. They put a halt to the process. And in a way, it was only they who benefited. I didn’t care that I wasn’t getting paid, I was sketching! But it was sad was that I created something, and sometimes it would be my best work, and then these kids would take it and I would never see that work again. Then again, sometimes I would think it was some of the worst work I’ve done and I wanted to be rid of it. And somehow those kids still thought it was good and wanted it. That was flattering.

Now as an adult, I still feel the same but different. Now I think that there is some value in offering content for free because that means anyone can have access to it. But I still think that the thing about patrons of any sort, whether you’re doing it for free or not, is that you have to make sure you’re benefiting the creator as well.

We’re in an age where we’re all becoming patrons. Kickstarter campaigns, YouTube channel subscriptions, donations to podcasts, positive feedback on blogs, and all sorts of combinations of those–this is how we encourage creators to continue doing what they’re doing. By allowing them to create and communicate, we take part in that conversation whether it be active or low-key.

It doesn’t benefit anybody when you take something, and then when you receive it you walk away into the shadows.

Art needs to be communicative.

That’s a lesson for both artists, audience, and patrons.

It’s still something I’m learning for myself.

Therefore, that’s why I think Corel Paint Essentials can go fuck itself until it allows me to at least save my work.

See how I brought that back around?

Vlog tomorrow. Illustration post for sure on Wednesday. Or as I like to call it, “Whee-dnesday!”

(Have I mentioned that art kids are considered just a little bit eccentric?)

Fandom Begets Creation

Last week, during the morning hiatus of my nausea trip, my husband and I went to see Joss Whedon’s film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. In case you haven’t seen it, I can guarantee that it’s amazing. It’s faithful to the play while giving it a modern twist and the American actors aren’t using affected English accents. It’s beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And even thought this is Joss Whedon, he did not have a lot of money to make this movie. Think of this: take Shakespeare’s text and think of a way to make a movie of it with the smallest budget possible. Like, the costumes are the actors’ actual wardrobe items and the location is your own house and the movie is in black and white because it’s both artistic and cheap. Oh, and it was made in ten to twelve days.

Sound familiar? Theatre people, are you taking notes?

What I’m fascinated by is that Joss Whedon took a brilliant play and stripped it down to the bare bones of what it’s about. It’s not about the costumes or the time period or the musicality of the language. It’s about the characters. And he was able to do this because it was his vision and his micro-budget studio that he started with his wife, Kai Cole. He didn’t have to pitch a Shakespeare project to Hollywood execs, and his credit as a filmmaker are now such that Much Ado could be released in theaters from limited theaters to wide release.

All of this happened because Joss loves Shakespeare. He’s obsessed with Shakespeare’s plays. And lucky for him and for us, the text is in the public domain.

This is what I believe: projects inspired by public domain works are basically fan fiction/art/films/etc. that you can produce for love and profit without fear of being sued.

There are hundreds of thousands of Shakespeare adaptations. This is because nobody has to worry about paying Shakespeare or a publishing house 400+ years later. Sure, marketing has to worry about getting the attention of 18 to 35 year old males who may or may not be fans of rhyming couplets, but it’s free and anything can happen during awards season! Plus, if you take the basis of the story and turn it into something a little different–Hamlet to The Lion King, The Taming of the Shrew to 10 Things I Hate About You, Romeo and Juliet to West Side Story–guess who won’t care if you copy his or her work? The author! Because they’re dead!

Besides, most of Shakespeare’s plays were adaptations of previous stories anyway. Hamlet is actually the only surviving full adaptation of the tale Denmark’s favorite prince and his crazy family issues. When people complain that there are no more original ideas, I get tempted to say, “If you have a problem with remakes, then I’ve got some bad news to break to you…”

Which is why I’m bothered by authors and artists who try to dissuade their fans from creating fan fiction or fan art or whatever they like doing. The main complaint is that if they wish to write, draw, make things, they should be focusing on creating something original. I believe George R.R. Martin has said something to the effect that writing in someone else’s universe impedes on creativity. Now, I believe George R.R. Martin is a talented author and he’s responsible for one of the most popular series of our generation and he seems like a nice man in interviews. That being said, he also worked as a staff writer on the television show Beauty and the Beast with Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. Technically, he was writing in someone else’s universe. And if you look at the hiring process for script writers in Hollywood, they have to write spec scripts, which often are their ideas of episodes of TV shows they wish to work on. Plus, George R.R. Martin is going to have to hurry up with the rest of those books or else some HBO writers are going to have to make up some fan fiction of their own, because film and television productions have shit to do!

And for a many fan artists and fan fiction writers, these are people who aren’t making a dime off of their heroes’ works. For most artistic types, they are inspired by something so much and love it to a fault, and in the process they try to fulfill a need within themselves. Sometimes this fulfillment stems from something that they were hoping to see in the piece, but to them they were neglected of that agreement. This is why for as many Ron/Hermione canon supporters out there, there are just as many Harry/Hermione and Draco/Hermione fans that will continue the good fight for their ships! In fact, this neglect is probably why many Charlene Harris fans felt frustration with the final Sookie Stackhouse books–their desires were not met. This is why creating their own sub-universe is important. In a way, you’re creating your own alternate reality where you can explore the possibilities that were missed in the source material.

Fan creations have now become so popular that even if you have to make certain modifications to transform it into a lawsuit-free-money-making property, you can do it! Have doubts? I’ve got four words for you: Fifty Shades of Grey. It began as Twilight fan fiction, and it all started with receiving a readership of Twilight fans for free. Then author E L James made some edits to make the work an original, and now it has a life as an extremely popular book trilogy with a movie adaptation on the way. And despite your opinion of the Fifty Shades, this all happened because a fan of the Twilight Saga decided that there was not enough sex between the protagonists. (NOTE: I’d like to take this moment to say that I do not like Fifty Shades of Grey. I prefer my men less stalker-y and more

And this is why anything inspired by public domain materials are still important to those who create. Yes, I know there may be those who are “not fans of the classics” or think “the language is too flowery and confusing.” But Pride and Prejudice has been remade, rebooted, and reimagined to the point where Colin Firth has played Mr. Darcy twice, made into a YouTube vlog/web series, and a humor writer inserted a zombie apocalypse into the original Jane Austen text. Do not discount those poets in their death because they gave life to the world that can be reborn. And if you honor the work while bringing your voice and point of view to it, there are going to be others who latch onto it. This is why theatre continues to be imaginative with conceptualizing stage pieces, whether it be old or new, whether it be plays and musicals. But it doesn’t have to be limited to the minimatlist and spectacle theatre. It can extend to books, art, and films. Everything old becomes new again with the right mindset.

How many times have you heard that The Lion King is basically Hamlet? (At least twice now.)

Have you read how many times Steven Moffat has referred to writing on BBC’s Sherlock as “fan fiction?” (If you haven’t seen Sherlock, shame on you.)

Even the C.S. Lewis created a classic children’s series about a land called Narnia that has obvious connections to Jesus Christ! (“Wait, was Aslan Jesus?!“… Of course he was, you know that. Stop being a jerk.)

Here’s my advice. Do you like creating? Are you a fan of a genre or author or a visual medium? Is there something you love but it does not have enough BDSM for your tastes? Then use your fandom to your advantage and make something. (Oh, but now I’m thinking of that person who thinks that Thomas the Train Engine doesn’t have enough dominatrices in it… well, I stand by my advice Person McPerson, but be aware that train erotica is something I would not be helpful for critiques. It’s a bit out of depth.)

And if the work happens to be free for use and you won’t get sued, you don’t have to change a word if you don’t want to! Make a film, record an audio drama, reimagine it as a play or give an older play a new concept. Yes, you should exercise caution and make sure you “kill your darlings,” but you have absolute freedom. The originators are dead. More important, while it is important for a creator and artist to make money and live well based on their art, they would never dare to think that what they made would continue to be beloved by others. I have a feeling that between being forgotten and having their work explored and molded into a new form, they would choose the latter. Okay, maybe Anne Rice would be on the fence with that, but who’s counting?

Though some would say that taking a classic piece for free and twisting it to your own whims for monetary and creative benefit is lazy. The same people might also claim that you are copying a current work if you’re influenced by something you love. But if you love the work and you honor it by bringing your individuality to it, then it will have the essence of something original.

We already have foundation of the earth. The ground has been there since the beginning of time. Instead, find the part of the world that you find joy in and build up your dream home. I think that’s how we become groundbreaking.