Quote Originally Posted by Draconi Redfir View Post
I don't believe artists should get offend when people ask them questions like:

"Is your character based on / inspired by this other character?"

"Did you base this on [artist]'s art style?"

"where do you find your inspiration?"

"This looks similar to [other media]"

etc.


These are just questions from curious folk who admire your artwork and are trying to learn more about it and about you, there's no need to get upset about it.

If the comparison they're making is right, then hey! congratulations, you've met someone who knows what you're going for, and might even be a fan of the same thing you're a fan of!

If they're wrong? Then hey great! Now you know something that you can check out later that sounds like it might be in a style or theme you'd enjoy!



I just don't get why these kind of questions upset people all the time. Personally i find it just gives me a sense of walking on eggshells when all I'm trying to do is strike up a conversation or learn more about the artist.


That said:

-Signed by a non-artist who doesn't go through whatever artists go through when asked these kind of questions. so maybe there's a really good reason, but personally i don't know it.
Part of the problem is that most of those (other than "where do you find your inspiration") can be interpreted as calling the artist a hack just aping somebody else's stuff. Now, you might not mean it that way, but there ARE people who DO mean it that way, so a lot of artists are going to hear it that way. Also, there are people who refuse to believe the artist when the answer is "No," because for some reason people seem to have trouble with accepting the concept of different people arriving at similar styles/characters/whatever independently of one another, especially when one came much earlier or is much more well known. These people then believe that the artist is a hack AND a liar.

Basically, if you realize that these bad attitudes exist, assume that the artist is used to dealing with them and will interpret what you're saying as though you're expressing those attitudes. That should give you a bit of a picture of why artists react poorly to them.