goldenasianart - Tumblr blog

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https://www.instagram.com/p/CDwtwhmjVAJ/?igshid=136d7mta0w5dt

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Azzi & Osta “Promises of Dawn” Fall 2017 Haute Couture Collection

[goldenasianart]

Scammer Targeting Tumblr Artists

The title says it all really. So if nothing else, please share and reblog this post to raise awareness for those that might be caught out - both artists and followers. For a TL:DR, please look at the bottom of the post

What is happening?

Right now, there is at least one person actively impersonating multiple artists across tumblr in an effort to scam their followers into paying for fake ‘cheap commissions’. The scammer will clone a tumblr, usually using a slight change to the url/account name to look like the real deal. They will then message people directly through Tumblr with messages along the lines of “Hey, i’m doing cheap commissions right now. DM me to get one”. Naturally, this is ends up just being a way to take their money without giving anything back in return.

Who does this affect?

Everyone. Simple as that. As long as the scammer in question works unopposed, they are free to spread their influence and continue to scam more people. Even if you haven’t been targeted yet, it does not mean you are safe or immune. Several artists have already fallen victim to this scammer, and I encourage any artists that have to reblog this post with the details of their affected account(s) and the ones the scammer has set up.

How can we stop this?

Tumblr, like many other social media platforms, seems to care very little about ‘minor’ occurences like this one, and despite reaching out directly to them over a week ago through multiple avenues of contact - they have refused to comment on the situation, provide a recommended response for users, or take action on behalf of those already affected. Despite this, there are still tools at our disposal that we can use to make this scam more difficult, and to increase its visibility to those within Tumblr staff that are required by policy to take action. Tumblr has the following to say on the topic of impersonation: Confusion or Impersonation. Don’t do things that would cause confusion between you or your blog and a person or company, like registering a deliberately confusing URL. Don’t impersonate anyone. While you’re free to ridicule, parody, or marvel at the alien beauty of Benedict Cumberbatch, you can’t pretend to actually be Benedict Cumberbatch. They then provide a link to this online form that you can fill out if you suspect someone’s identity is being confused. Unfortunately, this can only be filled out if you are the victim of impersonation. In other words, only the artists can fill this out legitimately. So, what about the followers and users of tumblr whom aren’t being impersonated? Our most valuable tool in this online platform is the platform itself. It enables us to spread our word near-virally across all the many sub-communities on Tumblr with remarkable efficiency for a user-driven system. We can take advantage of that effect to increase awareness of the situation. Even if you - the one reading this right now - aren’t an artist or don’t know an artist, the act of reblogging this post or sharing it directly with friends improves it’s ‘ranking’ in popularity increasing its chances to be seen by more people. We don’t need everyone on Tumblr to see the post for it to be effective, just like we don’t need the entirety of the human population of the world to be immune to a disease for that disease to be rendered ineffective or eradicated. If enough people are aware, the likelihood of pulling off a successful scam increases dramatically reducing efficiency to a point that it no longer becomes profitable to continue.

Why should I care?

It disheartens me to say this, but of the many artists I contacted directly over the past week to warn about this issue many of them refused to listen or dodged the responsibility with lines like;

“I’m not being impersonated, so it doesn’t affect me”

“I’m just one person. I can’t make an impact”

“I need to take care of my community. Other people can look after theirs”

This is honestly disappointing that so many artists or art-rebloggers care so little as to intentionally wave the responsibility of keeping their followers and fellow artists safe from this, that they cannot spare 10 seconds of their time to share an informative post. I’m not here to bash artists, but it is time that everyone takes responsibility for their own communities, and of those around them. Artists: You have a responsibility to ensure that your followers and fans aren’t being abused by someone who may impersonate you. If they succeed, your reputation will be damaged, and your followers will resent you. Your followers are also almost guaranteed to be following other artists meaning your efforts can spread beyond your own circle of influence, so don’t be naive when you think you have little effect. Followers: You have just as much responsibility to be aware of those that might try to scam you or your fellow followers. Don’t just sit in silence when you see something wrong: Ignoring the issue only makes it more resilient to our efforts to stop it. You are the vocal majority if you just use your voices to be heard!

TL:DR

A scammer is impersonating artists and scamming money from their followers under the guise of 'cheap commissions’. If we ignore the issue, it will get worse. Every single person that reads this can afford to spend just 10 seconds to reblog and share this post. Those 10 seconds can save others from being scammed for hundreds of dollars. Reblog & Share

[goldenasianart]

They’re older, bigger, grittier, and 100% more badass! Started creating character sheets to test out body shapes and size as well as I wanted to design new outfits for the paladins when they get older. I based the character sheets on an earlier drawing I did a while back where all the paladins are in black Paladin armor, with snazzy new dos, and looking like seasoned paladins. Tell me what you think about my outfit ideas so far!

[goldenasianart]

Been practicing smiles by drawing portraits of my beautiful friends Hope you smile at least once today!

[goldenasianart]

i don’t get how the anon’s message was rude? lots of artists want constructive criticism on their work and i think the anon just assumed you were the same and wanted to help. maybe the phrasing could have been better but i still don’t think it qualifies as outright rude? feel free to explain why i’m wrong i just want to know what i should do if i ever interact with artists like that.

I didn’t say “outright rude”, I said “ a little rude” and I still stand with this.Cause first of all I didn’t ask for any criticism and second it wasn’t constructive.

I feel the assumption that every artist wants constructive criticism is already wrong here. Do we need feedback and criticism to improve? Yes, sure! But time and place are important. We don’t post our fandom content to get random criticism. We post it cause we enjoy the characters and want to share with the fandom. Is feedback still important? Yes! But feedback is different than picking on random flaws in our work.Don’t pick on little anatomy, coloring flaws or small grammar or spelling mistakes if the overall work is still enjoyable and doesn’t suffer under those mistakes. Most artists and writers in fandom create out of joy and for free, in their free time between work, school and other commitments. Mistakes happen.Do those mistakes spoil enjoying the posted content? Mostly never.

It is true that most artists also post their work to get better and to get feedback and criticism. But mostly we find our circles where we are open for this. By sharing our work we interact with other artists and get to know them. We talk, we exchange our work and we ask for help. Mostly we are pretty damn aware of our flaws, painfully aware, and we find our ways to improve and to get better. We find people we can ask and show our work to if we need critic on a certain piece. And we get constructive criticism back!

Criticism is tricky. And I feel many people don’t really understand how to give constructive critic. This is why many artists don’t want random criticism. For example good critic can come with a solution - with the offer of help.“Hey I’ve seen you have difficults drawing the back anatomy…have you looked at this references? Or what if you try to start with a curve? Have you tried x? Have you looked at y?” Those are things that help improve.Just picking on the anatomy and saying its off mostly does the opposite than help.The artists is most likely aware of the mistake but might not have the craft yet to do better and just pointing out the mistake will not bring them closer to the resolution. It will rather make them insecure about their work and tell them that their fandom content is not enjoyable cause of said mistakes.

As long as an artist doesn’t ask for advice, saying in a post or in their tags underneath a drawing how they struggle with this and that or want help on this, don’t just assume they want it. Don’t just drop in their inbox, hiding behind anon under the excuse of constructive criticism when most likely you don’t offer any advice or help.

And to come back to my previous anon. I didn’t ask for any critic and I am aware of the flaws those two drawings have. I did it yesterday in my free time cause I got inspired by the tattoo idea. My reaction to the ask, saying its a matter of posture, wasn’t a joke either. Cause it is. Both poses are drawn from a different angle with Iwa rocking different postures. Body shapes differ and change cause of this! (really…look at Instagram models)I’m not saying the drawing is free of flaws but I’m saying that the criticism was not just not constructive but also not really aware of angles and postures I tried here.

I hope I could explain to you the issue I had with this ask and you can understand it.And for you asking what to do if you want to interact with artists like this my advice is: DON’TUnless they ask for it and you have something constructive and helpful to offer.

[goldenasianart]

I’ve been just sketching myself lately.

[goldenasianart]

I’ve been just sketching myself lately.

[goldenasianart]

Pidgeon. 🌳🍃

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[goldenasianart]

Pidge next on the Voltron Actor!au She doesn't like wearing glasses.

[goldenasianart]

Shiro-Pidge Age Swap, by TKG.

https://twitter.com/avakoratron/status/768262336624795652

[goldenasianart]

My Actor!Au "What was it like meeting the infamous Takashi Shirogane?" Lance: oh boy, I made a complete fool of myself because I met his stunt double first, and dude, they look surprisingly alike.... (Interview reference from Tom Holland meeting RDJ)

[goldenasianart]

Result of a fashion/clothing study. I like drawing fashion photo shoots for the reason they are photographed, they have a bit of staging and propping sometimes as well as a natural "slice of life" feel that I dig. Actor!au

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Update

[goldenasianart]

My babies growing up (Keith has a bunch of scars on his face because he's constantly just "fight now, ask questions later", so his stupid ass always ends up getting hurt. And Lance is very cautious and aware not to get his face hit and his face masks help with no under eye circles. And check out pidge's glasses, they changed geometric shapes. Geo shades. And Allura is just like barely aging. And shiro and i have matching hairstyles now coolios.)

[goldenasianart]

And then we weren't