For well over two years, life has been particularly insistent that I pay attention to myself and my journey. It happens to all of us from time to time. What doesn't have to happen is that any of us feels the need to apologize to “social media” for our absence.
I sometimes feel compelled to “privately” share bits of what I've been experiencing with a few individuals. But very few (if any) details will be posted here or anywhere else.
We members of DA who are genuinely here to learn are grow creatively, can sometimes mistake an interest in what we do with our talents for tangible support of who we are as individuals. It's an easy trap to fall into. And it's rife with predators.
No one deserves to become fodder for the entertainment of those who sift the silt of social media, searching for missives of tragedy. These “trolls” thrive on the challenges and the setbacks of others. The willingness of some to over share has become emotional porn to those who choose to exploit the marginalized, the vulnerable.
Well, I'm not going to feed the predatory. It only encourages them.
What I will do is continue to acknowledge my fellow creative souls, continue to spread some DA Love whenever and wherever the inspiration strikes. And I will always come from a place of best intentions first, when giving or receiving constructive critiques.
People almost invariably leave DA because of one form of abuse or another. People also choose to stay with (or return to) DA because of the connections they've made. It's those connections that inspire me to recognize my right to creative expression, to develop my gifts without ridicule.
Deviant Art is always meant to be a safe space for all of us to just be. And as long as we stand together and “show up” for one another, it will be just that.
So yes, I'm back. I've missed being active long enough. It's time to put my artist's muscle memory to the test. Oh, rest assured, I'll be spreading plenty of DA Love here and there as well.
And I won't apologize for that either. 
I am very fortunate to be counted among the members of the DELVE webzine creative team. With eschlehahn, jenepooh and PurpelBlur at the helm, we managed to assemble a pretty freakin' sweet collection of words and pictures. Don't just take my word for it. Click on the thumb link thing below and check it out.
If you encounter any problems, please don’t hesitate to tell us and we will do what we can to help you. 
There's a lot of talk among particular fans about a genre of creative expression that may soon become a thing of the past. I'm referring to what some have called a crackdown by Deviant Art on TG (Transgender) Captioning. Personally, I think TG-Caps are like a lot like a box of chocolates. Forgive me, Forrest Gump (with a nod to his creator, Winston F. Groom, Jr.).
I honestly never actively sought this art form out before. Whenever I would visit the gallery of a transgender friendly artist or a TG Group gallery TG caption (TG-Cap) works would be there. I'd quickly skim the text and accompanying image. I found some of them quite intriguing, often funny. My intention was to get back to them later for a more in depth look. Now I'm concerned TG-Caps have become and endangered species on DA.
I've removed a lengthy section of this journal entry in deference to people who may be averse to the mere sight of another dozen paragraphs. If you're interested here's a link to the full entry fav.me/d6ons2l . It contains some thoughts on why TG-Caps are under fire.
I think I have an idea or two about where the TG-Cap community can go from here.
One possibly constructive solution is to create stock resources specific to this genre, built & sustained by members of the larger trans-community, its supporters and allies. Another idea put forward by *EmilyRees refers to the use of existing copyright protected images as parody fav.me/d6o4pr1. There can be an argument made for "fair use", if it is indeed proven to be fair.
I'm convinced there are more like minded people out there who don't want to witness the extinction of TG-Caps on DA. Let's just put this into some perspective.
A solution to Global Warming may seem out of your sphere of influence. That's totally untrue, but let's moves on. You may believe "One voice, one vote, one person can't possibly make a difference". DOMA, DADT and barriers to Marriage Equality are dropping like flies. There's even an LGBT friendly man in the White House. So another excuse to not act bites the dust.
You may even convince yourself that "little old you" can't otherwise find the images you want. And even if you could, you can't afford them.
First, there are tons of public figures who are strong advocates of the LBTG community. I bet most of them would gladly give permission for caption writers to use their likeness; if only someone would just asked for it.
Next, if you have any vices at all you're busted. From cheap, Dollar Store candy to cigarettes to alcohol to a new outfit, you just don't have a fashionable leg to stand on if you claim to be too broke to pay for art. A TG-Cap stock resource provider could likely be on par with the 10 points to 100 points that some stock providers charge. Many stock providers don't charge anything for their images beyond your respect for their rules of use.
The most demanding TG-Cap writers need to adapt to the new paradigm. And when they still want what they want, pay for it. DA's actions clearly illustrate that the free ride is over.
Finally, moving TG-caps off-site only diverts the real problem and delays the inevitable. For those who are genuinely invested in preserving this art form, what DA is doing is a blessing in disguise.
I guess the real question is: Are we as a community ready to write a eulogy for TG captions or a brand new chapter that carries them forward?
You tell me.There's a lot of talk among particular fans about a genre of creative expression that may soon become a thing of the past. I'm referring to what some have called a crackdown by Deviant Art on TG (Transgender) Captioning. Personally, I think TG-Caps are like a lot like a box of chocolates. Forgive me, Forrest Gump (with a nod to his creator, Winston F. Groom, Jr.).
I honestly never actively sought this art form out before. Whenever I would visit the gallery of a transgender friendly artist or a TG Group gallery TG caption (TG-Cap) works would be there. I'd quickly skim the text and accompanying image. I found some of them quite intriguing, often funny. My intention was to get back to them later for a more in depth look. Now I'm concerned TG-Caps have become and endangered species on DA.
I think I have an idea or two about where the TG-Cap community can go from here. But first, here is a lengthy preamble stating the obvious.
Back in the day, the Disney corporate empire (mentioned here as a random example, used to illustrate an editorial context) would crush anyone and everyone who so much as looked like they were about to breach its intellectual property rights. Be they prince or pauper, each incident was treated with the same jack boot of vengeance.
The Disney Ex Machina soon realized that most of the small fish were actually paying loving tribute to Disney branded properties so they lighten up. After all, there was no need to alienate their devoted base.
Political or social satire and voices of dissent in general received no such consideration. And a special brand of venom was reserved for the nonconformists and devious among us. Penalty judgments were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars nearly 40 years ago. That would be the equivalent of tens of millions and sometimes hundreds of millions now.
Along came what we know as the internet. It profoundly changed every individual and business that had access to it. Intellectual property rights entered an era of extreme uncertainty. You didn't have to be very smart or bold or tech savvy to "borrow" or steal outright anything you wanted. It was the wild, wild west of the digital age. Once "real thieves" figured that out, they turned harmless fun into a profit center.
As a result, a new breed of tech lawyers was born. They cut their teeth on various file sharing startups. Then they learned it was better to wait for new prey to become bloated with profit before moving in to feed. And the prey with the sweetest meat these days is social media.
Social media needs content to survive, and the more popular that content the better. They want it for free. They'll pay cheaply for it if they have to. And they'll turn a blind eye to the grey areas surrounding intellectual property, fair use and over exuberant users who just want to share their love for Sherlock Holmes or famous ponies or whatever. Social media finds ways to make money from all that, gets fat and happy until it's noticed by legal predators.
Entertainment giants like Disney no longer have to take lead publicly on copyright issues. With legislation like PIPA & SOPA they don't have to be out front anymore. The entertainment industry has squared off with the internet industry in a battle for the hearts and minds of the Supreme Court and the wallets of Congress. PIPA & SOPA are far from dead. They lay in wait like a retrovirus. It will be back and only temporarily weaken the profiteers it's meant to destroy, and destroy everything that's fun about "our" internet.
What does all this have to do with DA cracking down on TG captions? Deviant Art is actually a deviation of social media. Let's face the facts. TG-Caps use intellectual property usually without attribution for the images they "borrow", and (with very rare exception) without permission from those whose own the borrowed images. TG captioneers are little fish in a huge ocean. But Deviant Art is a Blue Whale with enough assets to feed thousands of lawyers and their progeny for generations.
DA can publicly stand on principle about TG captioning being a legal and moral violation. And there can be little argument against the truth of it. But I feel the larger issue is about the financial consequences of appearing to do nothing when the SH*T inevitably hits the fan. The minions of the litigious are hungry. And they all have litters of lawyer cubs to feed.
Not many would argue against the notion that were it not for the "artwork" the written portion of TG-Caps would have to succeed or fail on own merits. Frankly, not many would even get that chance if they didn't have some kind of art to catch the casual DA user's attention.
TG-Cap producers have got to make an honest, good faith effort to address this issue head on in order to definitively clarify whether this is an action against the genre or against the abuses within it.
I'm not speaking on their behalf but… DA has got a good thing going here with premium memberships, annoyingly invasive advertising to the unpaid members and an ever expanding "points" economy. Why put 13 years of building a global brand at risk for a community that caters largely to itself, usually without paying for the privilege or generating much in the way new (paying) business? I don't agree with this hypothesis if it's true. I don't like what it suggests. I'm just postulating on what seems obvious to me.
Thanks for suffering through that verbal spew. I feel some context informs subsequent dialog. And I definitely want hear all constructive points of view on this subject.
One possibly constructive solution is to create stock resources specific to this genre, built & sustained by members of the larger trans-community, its supporters and allies. Another idea put forward by *EmilyRees refers to the use of existing copyright protected images as parody fav.me/d6o4pr1. There can be an argument made for "fair use", if it is indeed proven to be fair.
I'm convinced there are more like minded people out there who don't want to witness the extinction of TG-Caps on DA. Let's just put this into some perspective.
A solution to Global Warming may seem out of your sphere of influence. That's totally untrue, but let's moves on. You may believe "One voice, one vote, one person can't possibly make a difference". DOMA, DADT and barriers to Marriage Equality are dropping like flies. There's even an LGBT friendly man in the White House. So another excuse to not act bites the dust.
You may even convince yourself that "little old you" can't otherwise find the images you want. And even if you could, you can't afford them.
First, there are tons of public figures who are strong advocates of the LBTG community. I bet most of them would gladly give permission for caption writers to use their likeness; if only someone would just asked for it.
Next, if you have any vices at all you're busted. From cheap, Dollar Store candy to cigarettes to alcohol to a new outfit, you just don't have a fashionable leg to stand on if you claim to be too broke to pay for art. A TG-Cap stock resource provider could likely be on par with the 10 points to 100 points that some stock providers charge. Many stock providers don't charge anything for their images beyond your respect for their rules of use.
The most demanding TG-Cap writers need to adapt to the new paradigm. And when they still want what they want, pay for it. DA's actions clearly illustrate that the free ride is over.
Finally, moving TG-caps off-site only diverts the real problem and delays the inevitable. For those who are genuinely invested in preserving this art form, what DA is doing is a blessing in disguise.
I guess the real question is: Are we as a community ready to write a eulogy for TG captions or a brand new chapter that carries them forward?
You tell me.
There's a lot of talk among particular fans about a genre of creative expression that may soon become a thing of the past. I'm referring to what some have called a crackdown by Deviant Art on TG (Transgender) Captioning. Personally, I think TG-Caps are like a lot like a box of chocolates. Forgive me, Forrest Gump (with a nod to his creator, Winston F. Groom, Jr.).
I honestly never actively sought this art form out before. Whenever I would visit the gallery of a transgender friendly artist or a TG Group gallery TG caption (TG-Cap) works would be there. I'd quickly skim the text and accompanying image. I found some of them quite intriguing, often funny. My intention was to get back to them later for a more in depth look. Now I'm concerned TG-Caps have become and endangered species on DA.
I've removed a lengthy section of this journal entry in deference to people that may be averse to the mere sight of another dozen paragraphs. If you're interested here's a link to the full entry ______________ . It contains some thoughts on why TG-Caps are under fire.
I think I have an idea or two about where the TG-Cap community can go from here.
One possibly constructive solution is to create stock resources specific to this genre, built & sustained by members of the larger trans-community, its supporters and allies. Another idea put forward by *EmilyRees refers to the use of existing copyright protected images as parody fav.me/d6o4pr1. There can be an argument made for "fair use", if it is indeed proven to be fair.
I'm convinced there are more like minded people out there who don't want to witness the extinction of TG-Caps on DA. Let's just put this into some perspective.
A solution to Global Warming may seem out of your sphere of influence. That's totally untrue, but let's moves on. You may believe "One voice, one vote, one person can't possibly make a difference". DOMA, DADT and barriers to Marriage Equality are dropping like flies. There's even an LGBT friendly man in the White House. So another excuse to not act bites the dust.
You may even convince yourself that "little old you" can't otherwise find the images you want. And even if you could, you can't afford them.
First, there are tons of public figures who are strong advocates of the LBTG community. I bet most of them would gladly give permission for caption writers to use their likeness; if only someone would just asked for it.
Next, if you have any vices at all you're busted. From cheap, Dollar Store candy to cigarettes to alcohol to a new outfit, you just don't have a fashionable leg to stand on if you claim to be too broke to pay for art. A TG-Cap stock resource provider could likely be on par with the 10 points to 100 points that some stock providers charge. Many stock providers don't charge anything for their images beyond your respect for their rules of use.
The most demanding TG-Cap writers need to adapt to the new paradigm. And when they still want what they want, pay for it. DA's actions clearly illustrate that the free ride is over.
Finally, moving TG-caps off-site only diverts the real problem and delays the inevitable. For those who are genuinely invested in preserving this art form, what DA is doing is a blessing in disguise.
I guess the real question is: Are we as a community ready to write a eulogy for TG captions or a brand new chapter that carries them forward?
You tell me.