[ SECRET POST #5238 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5238 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 37 secrets from Secret Submission Post #750.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

02. https://i.imgur.com/rbF9apj.png

[(Anonymous)]

I sure say it can.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm gonna be an asshole about this but I don't like seeing bad fanart and avoid all spaces where I might see it.

[(Anonymous)]

Same. And I've been really disappointed at several fan exchanges to get poor art. I said thank you nicely of course, but inwardly - eek.

[(Anonymous)]

Fortunately, most exchanges allow you to opt out of art, so it's pretty easy to avoid that.

[(Anonymous)]

I love this secret.

Secret maker (but not the OP since this was a comment secret)

[(Anonymous)]

I hadn't heard of the two cakes rule, so I hope this is the right one. It sounded good, anyway!

[(Anonymous)]

I think the "two cake" rule applies only if both cakes taste good, looks are not everything, it is the content that counts. At least for cakes. But for fanart, looks are pretty much everything. In fanfiction, if a text looks kind of shit at first, one can still discover something deep within it that resonates with the reader, if the reader has the patience to read through the badfic until they stumble upon that gold nugget. In fanart, what you see is what you get, there is no deeper level...
So either git gud or draw an extremely niche thing that doesn't have any fanart whatsoever, that is the only way people will be happy to see it because the alternative is no cake instead of good cake.
Or you can always just participate in the exchange, if you don't care what people think about your art. I have seen fandom contest with pretty questionable art, so who says everyone else will be better than you.

[(Anonymous)]

Even though I have been asked to join fandom exchanges with my fan art - I'm always deathly afraid to do them in case they don't turn out good enough compared to my usual works.

[pantswarrior]

...To me it does? I mean when I had a personal site, sometimes I got gift art, sometimes of my favorite characters or even of my original characters. And sometimes it was drawn by people who were not by any stretch of the imagination "artists", but they found my fanstuff inspiring or interesting enough that they wanted to draw pictures about it and maybe send it to me, and I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world and displayed it all proudly in a gallery.

For that matter, I also used to run a fan art column on a gaming site, and sometimes I got stuff sent to me that people would complain about. ...It was literally drawn by kids who were like 8 years old and wanted to draw their favorite video game characters. I say good for them - keep at it. And a couple times it was someone who was an adult, but hadn't really drawn much before - and then I got to watch them get better and better as they sent in submissions over the years. And then I would get a private note with a submission at some point that was like "Thank you for posting my work, it really helped my confidence and kept me going when I thought I should stop trying."

So seriously. If the people you're drawing for aren't jerks, I would assume it would be taken in the same light. Maybe you're not "the best" artist, but you put effort into this thing for them/for the love of the fandom, and that makes it special.

[(Anonymous)]

This is lovely!

[(Anonymous)]

People like you restore my faith in humanity!!! <3

[(Anonymous)]

I think two cakes, whether it's art or fic or else, kinda work better in a general fandom context rather than an exchange situation? Someone will have to react positively to your creation as a recipient, and as a creator, I'd rather that reaction was genuine, not out of obligation. I'm pretty confident about my art and I still dislike and don't do exchanges, tbh.
That said, people who do participate in exchanges are probably ready to get less than stellar art or fic and will be positive about anyway, so if you need encouragement, that's probably a good way to get some.

[(Anonymous)]

In an exchange contexts, "two cakes" generally refers to an optional extra received alongside the gift you're guaranteed for participation. It would apply to fanart as well as fanfic, but only in cases where the recipient is receiving two (or more) things.

That said, there's no minimum skill or experience level required to join an exchange. People might be a little disappointed by a subpar gift, but unless it's obviously spiteful, they'll generally assume a good-faith effort by their assigned creator and respond graciously. The more you're able to tailor your work to your recipient's request, the more enthusiasm you're likely to see, too.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry anon, I would be bitterly disappointed. I also wouldn't enter an exchange anyway, because I know my art isn't up to scratch. It just seems pretty egotistical to me to do that, especially as the writer is likely to be putting a lot of effort in.

[(Anonymous)]

SA I think what we need is a new kind of fandom event. One where lots of people submit for the same thing. Then all levels of artists and writers can feel comfortable participating.

[(Anonymous)]

That's not new - fests and bingos already fill that niche, and more recent ones have allowed art as well as fic. Single-fandom theme weeks also accept both art and fic.

[(Anonymous)]

We don't really get these in my fandom, which is a real shame. Good to hear they're out there though.

[meadowphoenix]

I know enough people who complain about fic and art exchanges to say that the two cakes rule only applies when there are actually two cakes, where at least one cake is perfectly good cake. So I say, if it's possible, do art in exchanges where you already can see what's been given so people feel like it's an embarrassment of riches rather than having people feel like their hopes are only going to be fulfilled by one gift. They still won't be an ass to you (hopefully) even if you are the only gift, but I do think with more than one gift the two cakes thing applies.

[(Anonymous)]

I think this is a big It Depends. I would be happy to receive art of the standard in the secret: it tells a story, it's got detail, it's got thought in it. Unfortunately, a lot of not-very-good art is basically one or two flat figures on a plain background, poorly coloured in. I would be happy if someone with that artistic skill level made, say, a comic with a story or a dramatic scene or a joke, but not just the characters floating in space. Better artists can tell a story with fewer "props" - a meaningful scene, expressions, clothing, details, whatever, but a not so good artist who is aware of that fact can add in props to get the meaning across and I will enjoy it!

[(Anonymous)]

I think it definitely applies to fanart. I also think you're probably embodying this; there's a good chance that your art is just fine, but you're also comparing yourself to the best artists in your fandom and falling short. (Which is what the two cakes thing was about where fic was concerned, too.)

And given the fairly terrible fic I have occasionally received in exchanges (not often, but sometimes), if an exchange allows art, I figure there's going to be a very wide range of artwork involved, too.

The risk of getting something that is just not very good is something that exchange participants really do have to accept. So is the risk of getting "thank you for drawing this" as a response because your recipient hated what you did.

Maybe try doing fests or bingo cards or something where you're not creating for someone, as a way to ease into it?