#also spamton's shirt has addison colors :3

[manofthepipis]

battery acid pool party :D

bonus sneo under cut

he feels pretty :)

[taralen]

Why I draw Spamton the way I do and in defense of the "Tumblr sexyman" Spamton G. Spamton. An ESSAY.

EDIT 2/3/24 - Fixed some grammatical errors, changed font colors to make them easier to read against a white background, and reframed some of my arguments, especially regarding the "Yaoi style" portion, as it came across as ignorant and spiteful.

I follow the #spamton tag here, and I hate to say it, but it's full of artists jabbing at other artists who so happen to draw Spamton handsome. I see comments like, "No, he's a middle-aged sleazeball who is grungy and dirty." Often, these depictions show him with graying hair, ratty clothes, and covered in filth and grime. While there is nothing inherently wrong about drawing him this way, I find it disingenuous that the same people who draw him this way criticize people who draw him more handsome and or clean-cut because this depiction is even less based on his canon appearance than someone simply drawing him more realistically proportioned and with a pleasing visage (the definition of what this is varies by artist, but they're all often reduced to just "tumblr sexyman.") I see similar comments by people who draw him in what they may describe as "disgusting" or a "dirty scammer."

If Toby intended for Spamton to look dirty and gross, he would have simply gone with a similar design route to this character as an NPC in Undertale.

Toby or other official arts never depict him with the following, even though I see it in fan art all the time:

Ball-jointed hands. Some artists draw them properly and make them look super cool. Simple lines aren't how they look in reality, but I get why people do that. Either way, it's not canon.

Dirty with tattered clothes. Spamton is only ever shown with a black blazer. It's debatable if he wears pants, but Toby has also drawn him with a collared shirt and tie.

Graying hair. Should be obvious. He's only ever seen with jet-black hair.

Overweight/Fat. While some fan depictions of this are cute, it's not canon. Spamton is always drawn thin but not necessarily in shape.

Buff. Same as the above. It looks really good in some fanart but is also not canon.

Tail. It can look really, really cute, but not canon for him or any of the Addisons.

Feathers. Only Swatch and the Swatchlings are depicted with feathers in Cyber World.

"40+ years old" - There is zero evidence of this in-game or in official merchandise or media. This assumption apparently comes from people assuming that his birthday would be the same as the first "spam email," which (at the time of this writing) was 46 years ago. This is a false equivalency since there is no indication that Spamton has any associations with our real-world history of spam emails. It should also be noted that this was not a true spam email. The only thing closest to Spamton in association with real spam email history may be his favorite year, 1997, in which spam marketing emails became frequent nuisances. However, actions to stop spam mail started in 1996, and it was by the 2000s that they became a serious concern because technology had since advanced. If he were truly born in 1978, he would only be 19 by 1997. While not impossible, it's not how most people see him in his Big Shot years of barely just entering adulthood. Also, as someone who has lived through most of the 90s, I can attest to a lot of this. Spam stuff existed, but news reports only heavily got into it by the 2000s.

100% Inorganic or Robot. While a cool idea, there is more evidence against this, like his ability to eat, sleep, and genuinely feel pain.

Boobs. I get most people who do this are doing it for fun, but it's not canon to his design, lol.

Tall. The most obvious one. Spamton is below average height, as made evident by his nearly 1:1 scale with Kris, a teenager.

Toddler-sized. Same as above. I won't lie that it can be drawn super cute, though. Haha!

With all that being said, why is it such a contention among his fans to depict him as handsome?

There is evidence to support that Spamton is at least, to some degree, good-looking but unconventionally attractive based on several sources. It should be noted that people often use his shop sprite as the best representation of his head, but this isn't accurate, either. In Undertale and Deltarune, because of its cartoonish sprites, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Spamton's are the most inaccurate and change frequently. Another user posted an entire comparison of all his sprites and how drastically inconsistent they are. I tried searching through my likes for this, but I can't find it. If anyone finds this, please link or reblog it to this post. Anyway, the intent of the post was to show artists that there are numerous different ways you can interpret Spamton's design with what's provided in the game, alone.

Stuff people often miss that is canon:

Lips. Believe it or not, this bastard's got kissable lips. Toby's recent art and his Neo attack are proof of this.

Eyes under the glasses. Seen in his sprite of going "BIG SHOT" the first time with Kris. It also hints at heterochromia because they contrast in color with yellow pupils under the pink and pink under the yellow.

NEO has no visible jaw hinge line. Only puppet Spamton does. Big Shot Spamton doesn't have one, either.

NEO's glasses' colors are reversed, and they are pince-nez style.

Androgynous sense of fashion. This is the least missed one, but it's worth mentioning. Spamton has no issues wearing pink, a color nowadays associated with women, and the NEO body has fabulous heels in addition to mostly being a magenta pink. The dress on the mannequin that greatly resembles him (and may hint at him being a white Addison before) shows a pretty dress that mirrors the one Mettaton wore in Undertale.

So then, WHY is he being depicted as handsome or unconventionally good-looking a BAD thing?

There really shouldn't be an issue with it at all. It's less offensive and technically more canon than many of the supposed depictions of him being a sleazebag who looks like he hasn't showered in a century and is hooked up on drugs or booze. You don't become a media darling without a charming personality. Mettaton only got successful in Undertale before he got his EX body because there was literally nothing else the people could watch. Spamton, on the other hand, was competing against many, so he had to stand out and look good even with the help of Mike (and possibly Tenna).

I often see people make this very reductive argument that it's a "yaoi style." This is by far one of the stupidest arguments I've ever seen. Drawing good-looking men is NOT equivalent to liking Yaoi. There are plenty of other genres of Asian-origin or Anime-styled media that feature pretty boys that have nothing to do with Boy's Love. Even Shounen anime has some bishies. Drawing bishounen-style male characters is a design choice and does not indicate someone's interest in Yaoi media. I swear, I have never seen this problem with Eastern fans. It's rude to lump people with similar art styles under something most people who make this claim don't even understand. I've seen people make upset comments about other people calling their style stuff like "Cal-Arts" even if they never went to Cal-Arts or like the media produced by them. It's the same principle. Stop lumping entire artists under one umbrella.

I draw him handsome because it's simply the way I see him. I love many other depictions of him, undoubtedly, and I even have a sticker set that depicts him with the graying hair, but it looks really good anyway. My point is, the fact that people who draw him dark and handsome shouldn't be scrutinized any more than people who draw him way more off base.

My personal contentions with the assumption he is a "dirty sleazebag old man."

I find this absolutely hilarious because this is a genuine stereotype and stock character of people similar to him. The douchebag salesman is a trope that's been around for a long time, but people don't seem to realize that this is a caricature and not representative of real salespeople.

Go to any @$%^ing department store or even an electronics one. Do you ever see anyone selling you stuff looking like they crawled out of the trash? Most are lower-class people who can't find any other job, meaning they are stuck with sales. It takes skill to be a good salesman, and I hate to brag, but I can probably sell you a #@$%ing soap bar and convince you that the extra $10 you're spending on it over a drugstore brand is better for your hands by deeply moisturizing them through herbal extracts and only "naturally" derived cleansing agents. Your hands are dry from the cold, drawing moisture out of them, so the investment would be worth it for the health of your skin during this harsh winter season. Why risk a drugstore brand that will only make your hands feel even rougher, flakier, and cracked? Stuff like this requires you to look someone in the eyes and observe who they are—their body language, way of carrying themselves, and the cadence of how they respond to your words. Does it always work? No. However, do you think anyone would $%^&ing buy ANY LEGAL PRODUCT if a salesperson looked like they were a shady crack dealer who was suspicious as %^&( to deal with? NO. It's a stereotype caricature for a REASON. It's meant to demean the reality of the salesperson who is forced to peddle a stupid product for a living. It's hard, and if anything, GET MAD at the people who are the ones making the crappy product! Yeah, some salesmen are bad at their jobs, but do you really believe that Cyber City's #1 RATED SALESMAN got there from being mediocre?! He may have gotten outside help for something that Toby never made clear, but he definitely does NOT lack the personality to make a great salesman. And believe it or not, there is plenty of evidence to prove he WASN'T bad at it! The other NPCs sell stuff that was once his goods but with his labels removed, and based on his statement of wanting to "make his own deals," this heavily implies he was NOT selling products he wanted to sell before he became a Big Shot. He has a strong sense of pride in the way he sees and presents himself, and I think this may be overlooked by people who make him look as ratty as possible.

I will also CLEARLY state this but this depiction overall does several of the following, which I KNOW many people will say is bad:

Ageism. Why do so many people, mostly Zoomers, assume that a man in his 40s is washed-up, gross, or even considered old? I've seen hotter men in their 40s than some young men in their early 20s.

Downplays his mental health struggles. One of the best things about Spamton is how he DOESN'T play into just the "sleazebag" stereotype. Once we go into his shop, we see that he is truly just a very broken man. His theme song is a FARCE to try and convince you that he's tougher than he really is.

Classist/Poor-Shaming. The assumption that a homeless person has to have no sense of cleanliness. Please, for the love of all that is good, meet actual homeless people. Not all of them are like this. Spamton clearly keeps himself rather clean for someone who dumpster dives. He is trying to stay true to himself, and his sense of self is one of pride. There is no dialogue or description to imply he smells or lacks proper hygiene.

Again, while there is nothing inherently wrong with drawing him this way, I just want people to be more aware of why they draw him this way. Think of it like a thought experiment to reflect on why you see him the way you do. How I draw Spamton comes from a place of deep empathy, love, and life experiences I've had in sales in addition to ALWAYS being customer-facing, meaning I know what works and what doesn't for over a DECADE. It's rather bizarre to me that people who claim to be big fans of him draw him in such a demeaning way that goes beyond the canon depiction and lowers him to absolute dirt, almost like beating this character with the ugly stick just because it's "funny." Is he a tragic character to you? Or is he simply a clown to laugh at for his failures and hardships? How we depict and see people is utterly fascinating because it reflects in real life, too.

You can take the exact same person and show them to different groups of people, and they will all see the same person differently. They don't have to be artists, but they tend to vary if you ask their opinions. For example, I think the actor Mads Mikkelsen is very attractive, but I know many who wouldn't understand why. A guy I've had a crush on for years is one of the hottest men ever to me, but a friend of mine called him "just a guy."

I fully understand that some people find the way I draw him stupid. It is what it is. I can't force you to like it.

I'm simply trying to point out my reasonings for why I draw him this way, and I would like others to think about their methods, too, and NOT to bash other people outright or go "ewww Yaoi tumblr sexyman" just because someone doesn't depict him with stereotypical traits or as "100% canon style" (which is mostly just copying the game's sprite style.)

[frostbite-the-bat]

tell me about your fucked up petz creatures

I WILL GO OVER My Main Cast. alphabetically as they appear in my funny box !

Starting off with ABYSS!! i love her dearly. she's a spamton mixie! specifically a blue addison + spamton + sparkle kittling. she's got no eyes or colors (she's got blue paw pads, thought!), leading to an unsettling appearance. i love her dearly, though! she's full of cheeky personality and she loves jumping through the hoop, if she isn't knocking it out of my hand. (or doing other things... she loves to mess around)

up next is... asshole! yes. thats his name. he's my oldest spamton i currently have! he was originally a different spamton neo, but for petzspamton creator's comfort i converted him to be dib's spamton neo. being based on a siamese - he's picky and he's mean. he's an asshole. that name stuck with him. he used to wear an iconic sweater but this spamton neo kinda breaks shirts so he has a santa hat now!

also spamton neos in petz are known for. their. uhm. Thoughtful Gaze.

next is... BIG BOY! MY BELOVED!! he is a gift from petzspamton for me based on my mega spamton neo design! he came named bigboy and since even my mega spamton neo's nickname has been bigboy. :] he's big, he's cuddly, he's gentle and he LOVES food. he also flops. a LOT. and genuinely when i say he loves food i mean it, he's based on a persian and those love food in petz. he seems very eepy today he's flopping less than usual but probably because of how wacky the room layout is + he's too interested in buck plush

OLD BAD ART ALERT I DONDNT DRAW LIKE THIS NOW I DREW THIS IN MY FLOP ERA but heres mega sneo design. just for context!! (ye he got swapped wings but who cares)

if you see similarities between this hair and the way i draw high roller, no you dont. no you fucking dont.

up next is cap'n! i'll be honest i dont play with him as often since i converted everyone from petz 5 to petz 4 - losing k_k in the progress </3. he just loves starting fights with everyone its no fun </3 but ANYWAYS!! this is a hexie made by YOURS TRULY! hes goofy

can't show off cap'n without.. SWEET! oh boy after glados this is my most complicated hex. DO YOU KNOW HOW PAINFUL IT IS. TO MAKE A CUBE. OUT OF (SPHERES) (AND LINES THAT ARE VERY FUCKY) ITS HORRIBLE. sweet sweet sweet my dearest friend sweet they start fights sometimes too but are calmer than cap'n. they like playing with plushies a lot as you can see

next is creature! a funky little spamton mixie. seriously this thing is like generation 7 and listing everything thats In Their Blood may take a while. they've got lovely spots and neat textures + are pretty big!!! their tip ends with a pink which is a fun contrast compared to the blue/white gradient. very silly fella!!!

next is cupcake! one out of two silly kitties i got from bad_death ! they did a thing where they gave out unique textured/patterned fellas to people on petzcord. so these guys are unique! like everyone elses. i have other petz i got from other people that are hexed, but i don't have them in the playable petz folder right now. cupcake likes to flop around, too! what a lovely fuzzball... they also get scared of everything which isnt characteristic of a persian personality but. hey. the wordl is scaresy...

next is dragonfruit with their funky shrimp tail !! also a spamton mixie - you can defo see similarities between them and creature. i believe they're related? anyways - the main breed they take from is cubus! they have calico personality so they are very playful!!

next is fledgeling! Bird. i dont even know whats in them .

FROSTBITE. MADE BY PETZSPAMTON FOR ME. THIS smug-ass cursed entity. they're a little bastard beast. theyre just me but petz. smug ass. likes to 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨. friends with some but enemy to many. LOVES DANCING. PLAY MUSIC INGAME AND THIS THING WILL SHAKE TAIL. dear god even this frost made it to hr's , they will kill.

also the iconic gif with them and spammo.

next is GLADOS! or catdos if you will. i made this with my own blood sweat and tears it was a nightmare. but look! glados !

im getting tired and i havent eaten today yet because im autism SO. SHORTER DESCRIPTIONS.

iceshock!! silly ice spammy kitty.

MANGO MY DEAREST BELOVED. YOUNGER BROTHER TO OTTERPOP. THOSSE TWO ARE BASICALLY MY MASCOT SPAMTONS. I LOVE THEM SO MUHHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHC. THISSECTION IS FOR THEM BOTH MWA MWA LOVE THEM. also that was ttheir bday gift a year ago They Didnt Like It. btw otterpop blue shirt mango flower shirt

onion .

....and i hit the image limit so...! feel free to ask for more...!

[hollowsart]

Hey so uh idk if this is related to what you're drawing with the broken glasses or not, but I had a thought with Spamton and no one I know irl cares about it but I need to tell somebody--

Spamton is, for some reason, shorter than the other addisons.

Spamton also, for some reason, has a puppet's body, or at least the face of one. The other addisons do not.

He's also pure white with black accents, as opposed to a single color with a black shirt and green pants like the others.

Queen has mentioned that one can shrink if they go into her acid pool (in regards to how people could fit in her tiny houses).

Spamton has referred to himself as the "it burns! Stop! Help me! IT BURNS!!!" guy, and has also made reference to burning acid as well.

I'm sure I think I've made some brilliant connection but others have probably thought of this days ago. But all the art I've seen likes to draw Spamton as always having been short and white, and I haven't seen anyone explain why he has a puppet face instead of a normal addison one. The glasses and hair are explained fine; it's the puppet aspect itself that no one mentions. At least not that I've seen anyway.

... sorry for the long ask but I don't know anyone besides myself who cares about spamton and I need to share this with somebody

LONG RESPONSE, cutting for length:

oh! I've actually seen a few explanations, and even did my own thing, but it's really nothing extensive or explanatory, just a random thing I doodled for fun:

I just think he wanted to stand out from the rest, not be just another regular addison. So he just kinda.. took after Swatch a little tiny bit and did his own thing I guess?? but also... he is like a puppet, all the strings attached, that's a whole bunch of little elements to his whole character and backstory. So like.. idk. I'm not clever enough to really think of anything like that on my own haha

But also. someone said he probably sounds like a youtube poop and honestly? the only thing that comes to mind whenever I hear Spamton's line about being the "AH IT BURNS HELP" guy is that CDI Link clip of Ganon(?) screaming LOL SO I mean.. That checks out.

(also I feel like it would be in character for Queen to just say something really dumb as 'shrink in the acid :)' without that actually being what the acid would even do if someone fell in. Acid does shrink you...... while essentially killing you and burning you away painfully. but you're shrinking nonetheless.. also battery acid would just slowly eat away at you, it would be horrible)

here's some links to a few takes on Spamton and why he's short/looks the way he does, etc etc, I like these takes a lot: [1] [2] [3] [4]

I just wanna add this because it's hilarious and I love it: [worm]

additionally I did see [this] and... the addisons also having the nutcracker mouth? I like that. that's cool. very clever, now Spamton's not alone :>

...Also.. maybe. the doll-esque appearance thing was also part of his "corruption" ? as like.. a visual side-effect. Similar to how if your computer has a virus, yeah some things may bug out here and there, but also if it's bad enough, the whole visuals thing kicks in and makes things look different or wrong. Him looking doll-like rather than more "fleshy" normal like the other Addisons is definitely very off as it's clear he's not supposed to look that way...

personally, I do really enjoy the idea of Spamton just always having been small, plus, in the queen's mansion/palace, he has a whole normal room like Kris, Ralsei, and Susie's. alongside Asriel and Jockington's! He's big enough to just stay in a regular room like that without needing to be shrunk to fit into one of those tiny houses in the acid river/lake rooms...