Today, I'm going to talk about roleplaying OTHER peoples characters.

As most of you well know, art theft is aggrivating. No, more than that...it makes you want to smack your copyright in the theives faces so hard they'll never be able to see art to steal again. Well, I'm here to attempt to strike at the heart of this problem. I'm speaking to both the wonderful artists out there who put their heart and soul in effort making the art and to the art theives who don't appreciate the art of art.

Today, I was visiting the roleplaying site gaiaonline.com. I saw so many characters from DA artists it was unbelievable! I understand roleplays with TV, movies, books, and other media characters that everyone obviously knows about such as Lion King, Final Fantasy, Twilight, etc., but the regular "Wolf RP", "Vampire/human/elf/races/grass/slave/werewolf/slash/slash RP", and all those other in general roleplays are the ones with tons of stolen characters.

Here's my opinion I beg of everyone to take: CREATE YOUR OWN CHARACTER. Peroid. If you can draw, go for it! If you can't draw, COMMISSION, REQUEST, trade (if you can), or learn to draw. If you don't want to learn how to draw and you can't commission because you don't have money, parents won't let, then find someone with requests. They are out there. That's what commissions and requests are for! Plus, they are really fun!

This is what I say: If you can draw a circle and a line, then you can draw anything. You can. The basic breakdown of drawing is a bunch of curves and lines! Some people have the gift right away, so don't get frustrated, you can't expect to be good in one night. Good things come to those who wait (or have patience). You can't rush things, they'll come out fonky. For the most of you who can write, that's art! EVERYONE has their own comfortable handwriting. Normally, people don't try to copy someone else's way each letter is made, maybe a couple of letters (which is what I call "INSPIRATION!")

It's okay to see how people draw different ears, eyes, noses, hair, etc. You can practice those ways, combine them, and when practicing you may even find YOUR OWN style. WOW! Seriously, you have to use some reference, but really the BEST references are real life things. Look at a real object you want to draw and draw it how you see it, draw it the way you imagine it, draw it the way YOU want it. We all have a mind's eye, so we have to practice using that eye. Sometimes it's hard to use at first, but the more you try to use it, the better the picture will stick.

I just find it so wierd when I see another character from DA being roleplayed. What's the point when you can make a character on your own with your own imagination?! The mind is a powerful thing. Yes, some people are more imaginative than others, but we all have an imagination to use. There's only one you, and there's only one of THAT character, too. Respect that.

Art use with permission is FINE, of course, so I don't want to hear about any pointless comments on using permissioned art.

Don't be lazy! The world wants to see new character ideas that may be hinding in your head. Look in magazines for clothing ideas, hairstyles, and other attributes for a character.

Anyway, I did ramble on quite a bit, and I think I said everything I wanted to say. This was not meant to be an assult either, so if your offended by this, that again, is your mind.

Thanks for taking the time to read. I appreciate it! If you agree with this article and believe it can help people understand what to do, please spread it.


Eccentric-Zeal