Nadia: Sup guys! First off, I want to say Happy New Years! And welcome to TanraStudios’ long awaited: Leave it in 2017 post! Now, if you don’t know, we do this one-off blog every new year. It gives me a chance to be cynical as hell and, hopefully, entertain you all,
Tara: Because our pain and suffering is funny! Or rather, me poking at Nadia’s pain and suffering is funny
Both: So, without further ado, let’s get into it! This is our top 10 list of things to leave in 2017.
A/N: This is a part 1! Part 2 will be coming out on Wednesday!
Youtube/DA Drama
Nadia: Ok, first off, I wanna say I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE drama… when I'm not in it. BUT, saying that, it’s kind of getting out of hand. The amount of so called rants/resources and drama channels that flooded my youtube homepage was ridiculous! Be it from makeup and beauty gurus bitching about each other on social media throwing certain brands/ influencers under the bus. *Cough Cough!*
Some of it well deserved, some not so much.
And the fact that its on a public platform, where you have speculative eyes of fans and drama whores out there just stirring the pot! OMG.
I can’t, I just can’t anymore...
People are becoming overly sensitive and yet, somehow, desensitized to all this, and it makes places like youtube and DA a fucking shit storm of sheltered cry babies and for ‘trolls’ and, what's worse, all the mess on places like DA, Twitter etc ends up on youtube. My god! It's a vicious cycle that seems never ending.
Also, when I say ‘Drama’, why don't people ever differentiate between the two? Because there is two types, but no one ever talks about it….
Good ‘Drama’... I’d say that's more people bringing awareness to a certain topics - more reporting than anything. The C.C (Commentary Community), when done right, falls under that category.
Bad Drama: You know the people I’m talking about: the shit talkers, the petty ones, the ones who instead bring facts to the table in a coherent argument tend to bully, straw man, and try to discredit their detractors. I'd say it was only young children doing this, but no! No, no,no,no,no! You get grown ass adults who are supposed to know better doing this shit, too! Instead of setting a good example, they just bring the rancid tea and that long ass spoon to stir the metaphorical pot! Sad, if you ask me.
Tara: I suppose in a way you could say it’s like the troll Youtube Comments just expanding into their own videos or something?
Constructive Criticism, rather than just saying ‘This Suuuuuuuuucks’ and leaving it at that, along with why they don’t like it. I suppose a way to help leave this one behind would be just to look at things in a different way. Less of a negative spin on things. If you care enough to complain at least care enough to help fix the problem, so to speak. I suppose that’s where the being ‘overly sensitive’ yet ‘Desensitized’ comes from. People pick topics that they’re sensitive about then just kind of….end apathetically rather than doing more than poke at it a bit.
But hey, I personally don’t think I’ve really got involved in these kinds of rants and watch them myself. Does that just make me extremely apathetic there, or is it just I’m not one to listen to ten levels of a ‘Why you suck’ speech?
Either way, this is one thing we’d certainly leave behind in 2017
Over Sensitivity Vs Real Issues
Nadia: Ok… I could possibly get lynched for this, but fuck it, someone needs to say it….
If you can't handle an opinion of someone else's, don’t ask, don’t tell and take it with a grain of salt. Ok, maybe that's the British ‘have a stiff upper lip’ talking, but seriously, if we all had a fraction of that mentality, there wouldn't be as many Tumblr-tards needing mothering and Safe Spaces as there currently are.
And no, having an entitled attitude, being young, and/or the excuse of physical/ mental illness is not an excuse to being an ass Tumblr. I’m sorry, but its not.
Should people be sensitive to topical issues like: Race and gender equality? YES. Should we be at the very LEAST tolerant of people's sexuality, religion and views even if we disagree with them? ABSO-FUCKING-LUTLY! That a no brainer.
But should we then use these things to then undermine or try to get a pass on certain issues? NO. Not in the least. Being a certain way or acting a certain way does not excuse toxic behaviour.
It's not something we should ignore. It's not something we should excuse or sweep under the rug. It's something we should firmly address and we should try to do better, look at the other people's point of view and, even if you don't agree with what they’re saying, treat it as a debate. Try to understand the other person's point of view and if you still don't like it then be ‘the better man’ and walk. It takes two to have an argument and only one person to do the right thing - to prove a point.
Tara: In a way its a case of practicing what is preached. By being tolerant of others as well as asking for tolerance ourselves. Believe me, people can be difficult to tolerate and sometimes people don’t understand one’s point of view. But the way I see it, at least, is if we’re just that little bit more patient with each other, we can learn to treat situations the way we hope, without making ourselves seem overly pushy. Demanding people understand doesn’t always work.
Hey, humans are stubborn bastards at times, but we can be better! We just have to work a little harder, that’s all. Maybe if we can learn that, then this would be a point that we could leave behind. Oh, it won’t be easy, but I think we can do it, people! I believe in you all!
Taking Criticism
Nadia: *Sigh* Out of all the points I’m addressing in the new year, this one hurts the most. Not for the fact that I personally can't, but for the fact that I know most people young/ old can’t. For this point, I'm going to turn back to DA/ Youtube, Ranters/ C.C.
First off, I'm going to say this: I’m a firm believer of ‘don't sugarcoat nothing, I rather you tell me my work is subpar and why than you beating around the fucking bush’. But that's just me. I know some people need to sandwich complement, but truthfully, I feel like when it comes to that, people ignore/ make excuses for particular issues raised.
Ok, here's an example. Early 2017, I commented on a picture of a girl’s cosplay. I won't lie, she looked amazing! The cozplay was on point! I think it was of a L.O.L character, Miss Fortune? I think. Like I said, it looked amazing, but there was one thing that bothered me to hell and back…
This chick’s eyebrows looked like she drew them in with one of those markers that teachers used to use back in the day. They were bold, loud and aggressive. Like dog damn!
So me, being me, I was like:
N: Hey love the cosplay! I see you wrote you made it yourself that's amazing you look just like her! I love it!
But I just wanted to say you went a little too heavy on your brow makeup you have such nice facial features that the heavy black against your fair completion is abit to distracting.
Might I suggest a medium brown instead, and have it a bit more subtle, as the rest of your cosplay and face makeup is flawless.
Again, love cosplay. Keep doing what you do girl, cant wait to see more!
*She replied with something along the lines of this.*
MissFortune350: It is a good cosplay isn't it? I don't see the issue with my brows and I’ve just looked on your page you dont cosplay so you have no right to say anything. If I dont use black to fill in my brows then you wouldn't be able to see them!!! You have no idea what you're on about, so kindly keep your opinions to yourself.
*It was at this point my inner monologue was like* ‘Wow, seriously? Sis, you’re, like, twenty plus years old, yet your acting like this? Ok. And I may not be a cosplayer, per say, but I do know a little about makeup and choosing the right tones for your damn skin tone. Sweety, you’re pailer than snow and your using Black on your eyebrows? It's a little distracting. They look like two dried up dead slugs on your face and yet I’m the one who doesn't know anything? Girl, bye! But, ok, if she doesn't want your opinion, you can't force it. Thats fine, thats fine. Be professional and say what you need to say and then leave it.’
N: Sorry if I seemed to offend you, MissFortune350, that's not my intent. But it is a distraction when you are as fairskined as you are. As I said, mid to darker browns would work on your skin type the best. If you don't believe me, look at beauty bloggers with similar skin types as yours. My intent was to help, not upset you. You can take my opinion with a grain of salt - as you said, I am not a cosplayer, but I do know a thing about makeup. I hope you have a good day and I hope to see where your cosplaying adventure take you.
MissFortune350: Ummm, ok.
Nadia: You want to know the funny thing about this….? The next piece and then on she uploaded to DA she actually took my advice. Funny, really.
The thing about criticism is, usually, its coming from a place of experience or a critical eye. I do believe that ALL criticism is good criticism so long as the person giving it explains why - it's what most DA ranters forget. With the majority literally not knowing what the hell they’re talking about and abusing the words ‘edgy’, ‘cringe’ and ‘cancer’ to the point where it has no meaning.
At the end of the day, criticism should be taken with a pinch of salt. But if more than one person is saying the same damn thing, then you might want to look into it.
Tara: Admittedly my experiences with this aren’t quite as obvious as this one that Nadia has had, and those experiences I have had haven’t just been based in this last year. Generally, though, it is as Nadia says that Criticism is a damned useful thing. It’s not about just saying ‘You’re doing it wrong’, but rather giving pointers of improvement. Of course, whether or not you take the offered advice is up to yourselves, and it’s up to you as to just how close to heart you take the pointers, but it is still your choice. If you don’t like it, you can completely ignore it, but if the advice was given respectively, then it’s always good to at least respond in kind, if you respond at all.
Now if the comment way ‘You’re Wrong!’ with no explanation, then I can certainly see why this might annoy people. At least with the constructive types, you can at least look at the advice and see if it would work with what you currently have, and generally can be fairly laid back about it in comparison to the criticism minus constructive comments.
But in either case, while it can be hard when you’ve put your heart and soul into something, in the end, if you don’t like a comment, you don’t have to pay attention to it. But know that if people are making constructive criticisms, it doesn’t mean they don’t like your stuff, they just want to help you make it even more awesome!
I Want X, But I Don’t Want to Pay/ Lower Your Prices- DA Edition
Ok, I’m going to vent here, because this has happened to me four fucking times last year. But I'm going to tell you about two of them here.
So, the first one was this individual that wanted a one of my adopts. It was one of my fox spirit, so I when I started my second account on DA I was selling my work for next to nothing - $10US/ £7.40. Considering my art wasn’t very good at the time and I was still learning, I didn't mind the price so much. But, as my artwork improved, I slowly started to bump up my prices alittle. First by $5, then $10US.
So, there's this piece that I had loooooong forgot existed - because no one was buying it and I was using it more as reference at the time. So, anyway, this person asked if it was still available. I said yes, but as I didn't have the original piece I would have to recreate it and treat it as a new character design.
They said fine, but could I make it as a new incarnation of one of their other OC’s. Which, of course, I agreed to. But when I told them the price - which was around $45US (which is next to nothing) - they had a hissy fit.
Saying: Oh, but how can you charge that much! Your original price was $15US, you can't just change it up now!!! Your charging extortionate rates! I’m going to make a journal about you, yada yada yada.
I did try to explain that it was an old piece, one which I had to treat as new character designs, and I only charged that much because of the detail that they wanted to add in and the time it would take me to do the work. But no~ were they havin it? Nope, nope, nope!
Long story short, they were very ungrateful, demanding that I do several revisions and they only paid me $19. I won't lie, it was one of the worst commissions I had to do. I wasn't happy with the piece and I just wanted the transaction to be over as soon as possible so they would leave me be.
The second was with a guy I knew was after free art, so we went through the usual ‘what would you like’, references, etc. But again, when it came to paying….
Numpty100%: Oh, I don't have any money right now. Yeah... but can you still do it for me?’
*My internal monologue :…. Brother, no, sit your ass down, take a long look at what you’re asking me to do and fuck off.*
But what I actually said was…
N: I’m going to have to respectfully decline. Art is a luxury, though, when you do have the funds, I’ll be here to assist you.
This fool then has the nerve - the ever loving audacity - to say:
Numpty100%: Oh, but can’t you do some of it? It's not like it’s gonna take long. Just do it, I’ll pay you when I can.
N:....
Nadia: *Dark Chuckle.* No, I don't think so. Girl ain't got time to be scammed into giving free artwork, so sir, no sir! Try getting your broke ass a job, or saving, or go to an artist who’s going to offer free artwork. Coz that free artwork giving mother fucker ain't this sister, you feel me?
Tara: The main thing here that some people don’t quite understand is that, for us, our art is also our jobs, and a source of income. As much as we like to draw and test ourselves by drawing other characters, in the end, it is still a job and we are putting a lot of time and effort into what we do. Telling us to lower our prices to a point that it’s barely anything is also saying that the time and effort put into what we do isn’t worth anything. Looking at it that way, maybe it is slightly more understandable why we’re not very impressed when people try to get us to do things on the cheap.
Eh, well, a bargain is a bargain I suppose and people will always be after one. Just remember though that we’re doing our best to earn a living through our art, so that’s why you won’t often get a freebee. And if any prices have gone up, what you need to look at is what you’re getting for your money, too. As Nadia said, her prices changed because her art quality got better. You can’t exactly expect the prices to stay the same when more time and effort is being put into it to get a better quality product. You get what you pay for, as the saying goes.
New Year New Me/ This Is My Year!!!
Nadia: *Laughs self into a conniption* Ah ahaa ahaahaaha ahahhaa! …..Ha… ha...Ha whoooo~
Listen, I don’t have much to say about this one, but…. Girl, listen to me, your ‘New Year New Me’ mes will be long out the window by mid January. And wasn't last year ‘your year’, babe? What happened?
Home girl: Well, what happened was….
Nadia: Spare me the excuse. You’re gonna be the same you as last year, just twelve months older. Granted, you might get slightly better/worse depending on the type of person you are, but sweetie, not by much. And, by this time next year, you’re gonna be saying the same damn thing all over again. Ahaahahaha ah ahahaaha~!
Tara:...Wow, I have deja vu here! I’m pretty sure this one was on our last installment of ‘Leave it in [Insert year here]’. But, honestly, if it didn’t work out last time you said it, it’s not going to this time, unless you’ve have a major case of a mentality change. Though I suppose if you really want to make a change in yourself, maybe start small. Make little resolutions for yourself and meet those. A bit more specific than ‘New Year New Me’. I mean, what does that even mean? At least by saying something like New Year New Eat Less Chocolate’ then you can figure out what you’re changing about yourself. I know for me, being directionless in the changes will just make me less motivated. Having smaller goals and working towards them? Who knows, you might find that ‘New You’ that little bit faster (and more successfully)
But hey, what do I know? I kinda left making New Years Resolutions like that in 2016 (Because I’m weak willed :P - Uh, I mean why change perfection!)
Final Thoughts (For Part 1)
Nadia: So~ yeah. Basically, what I'm try to say is there really is no excuse to be an ass. There’s no excuses to not be tolerant. There's no excuse to use X, Y and Z as an excuse. Listen to Aunty Nadia, I know what I'm talking about. If we all do a little bit at this, the world might be a better place.
Tara: Or at the very least it would have a few less rants from us! Which would result in a better place for us all because we’d at least be in a better mood. lol
Both: Well that’s all from us, we’ll be out with Pt2 soon, Happy New Year everybody!
[END]
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