Question:
I will admit, there are some things I have never understood about some of the traditions in online art communities, especially the "furry" and fantasy art camps, which intersect more than I care for. But that's not the point. One thing I've been thinking about is the whole "original species" thing-- not the actual species creation in question, but , the idea that other people are often allowed to make characters of the same species.
I...I guess part of it is 99% of the time I see an original species, it's usually for some huge epic story that a person plans to publish in some form. In cases especially like that, it's kind of hard for me to see the appeal of making a character that's of someone elses original species, because the way I see it, no matter what, they'll always pretty much be fancharacters. Fancharacters are fun and all, but I always figured part of the appeal of original species is that they're something unique and new. Which...fancharacters don't really fit under. Fancharacters are all bound to the rules of the universe the original creator set up and the history of that universe, and, well, outside of drawing them and doing what's pretty much fanfic, you can't really do much with them yourself.
Uhhhh...I dunno, maybe I just think differently. I mean, when I see some cool original species that I think looks really cool, it more inspires me to try to figure out how they managed to create a creature that appeals to me and isn't too crazy and can make at least a little sense. Basically, it would inspire me to try to figure out how to use the same steps they used to create something equally original and (semi)plausible that I can call my own. Then when I do have that species, I can do whatever I want with it! I can put them in "Legacy" and it'll be perfectly A-OK if they show up in published books or comics! And I'm the one who gets to make the rules of the universe the creature lives in and its culture and all that. Isn't that the whole fun of having original species?
To be clear, I'm not DISSING anyone who has characters based off other's original species, I have TONS of friends who do, in fact, that's why I'm posing the question here. You guys obviously understand the appeal that I'm missing. Is it being able to have a sense of collaboration with the creator of the species who is a good friend of yours? Do you want to basically make stories that are like what those Star Wars novels are to the actual Star Wars movies? Is it basically just the whole same appeal of fanfic and fanfiction, just in a bit of a different form? Or something else entirely?
I guess part of why I wonder is this is that while she's not quite the same thing, I have my WALL-E OC Lens-a who is a bot made to fit within the WALL-E universe, and besides using her in WERP, which is what she was created for, I don't know what else to do with her. Which kind of makes me sad, because she turned out to be such an interesting character. Can you understand the feeling I'm describing here? That's the feeling that makes me wonder about why people create characters that are other people's original species.
Well, my part said, I open the floor for discussion.
I...I guess part of it is 99% of the time I see an original species, it's usually for some huge epic story that a person plans to publish in some form. In cases especially like that, it's kind of hard for me to see the appeal of making a character that's of someone elses original species, because the way I see it, no matter what, they'll always pretty much be fancharacters. Fancharacters are fun and all, but I always figured part of the appeal of original species is that they're something unique and new. Which...fancharacters don't really fit under. Fancharacters are all bound to the rules of the universe the original creator set up and the history of that universe, and, well, outside of drawing them and doing what's pretty much fanfic, you can't really do much with them yourself.
Uhhhh...I dunno, maybe I just think differently. I mean, when I see some cool original species that I think looks really cool, it more inspires me to try to figure out how they managed to create a creature that appeals to me and isn't too crazy and can make at least a little sense. Basically, it would inspire me to try to figure out how to use the same steps they used to create something equally original and (semi)plausible that I can call my own. Then when I do have that species, I can do whatever I want with it! I can put them in "Legacy" and it'll be perfectly A-OK if they show up in published books or comics! And I'm the one who gets to make the rules of the universe the creature lives in and its culture and all that. Isn't that the whole fun of having original species?
To be clear, I'm not DISSING anyone who has characters based off other's original species, I have TONS of friends who do, in fact, that's why I'm posing the question here. You guys obviously understand the appeal that I'm missing. Is it being able to have a sense of collaboration with the creator of the species who is a good friend of yours? Do you want to basically make stories that are like what those Star Wars novels are to the actual Star Wars movies? Is it basically just the whole same appeal of fanfic and fanfiction, just in a bit of a different form? Or something else entirely?
I guess part of why I wonder is this is that while she's not quite the same thing, I have my WALL-E OC Lens-a who is a bot made to fit within the WALL-E universe, and besides using her in WERP, which is what she was created for, I don't know what else to do with her. Which kind of makes me sad, because she turned out to be such an interesting character. Can you understand the feeling I'm describing here? That's the feeling that makes me wonder about why people create characters that are other people's original species.
Well, my part said, I open the floor for discussion.