Dying for inspiration...

[ferabird]

Twice I tried to start crits of my own, but between the complex genetics and the severe lack of inspiration I've ended up dropping both. It bothers me quite a bit that I can't seem to get a 'signature crit'. I mean, there's Tsumes, Tevla Roja, Feoraptors, and others. All of them have something about them that people can't help but like.... and the artists are terribly proud of.

What can I do? I need ideas. I want desperately to have a nice crit of my own to draw and mete out amongst the community.

Please answer not only the poll, but post as well with variation ideas. There's a difference between a psychic cat and a dire jaguar. I won't know which you're leaning at until you post.

[Sith Lord FP]

I think a rat or some sort of rodent type creature would be really fun to adopt XD

Being original for a signature creature is what is most important...for instance..when i first came to the orchard...there really wasnt any sort of dinosaur like or even reptilian creature for that matter that as adoptible...granted there were dragons...which would be the only acception to that... ^^;

I sat for a long time thinking up feoraptors...really you just have to do what you love best...from a young girl I've always loved dinosaurs...even thinking of becoming a paleontologist...it just seemed fitting with the lack of dinosaur like creatures around an my love for them that i would make them ^^;

Doing what you love and doing something original really helps when it comes to signature creatures...but another thing is not getting tired of them...You have to really love your creature...you cant just love your creature for that moment then abandon them...there are times you know...when i dont really want to draw feoraptors...so i have a whole other slew of dinosaur creatures i do...but in the end i always come back to them...

as i said rodent creatures would be really really cool XD...if you decide to do that (or any other creature for that matter) it's good to study what that creature really is before you go and decide to add wings or take off limbs or whatnot...cause then you get a feel for the creature...and a deeper understanding of it...and appresheation for it...


yeah anyway..lol...long suggestion...but i figure it doesnt hurt to help XD

[Skysong]

There's about a billion and one equine adoptions out there, so unless you've got something very fresh and new.. ~_^

I know Samanayrs aren't up on your list of uber-popular stuff, but I'll use them as an example anyway XD I've been developing them and adopting them out for years and years now, and over that time they've changed and grown, branched off into new species, etc. My advice is to pick something that you enjoy drawing, and then just focus on them. Develop the species to make it interesting and special. Start small - you don't have to be adopting out giant batches of creatures right away.

Hope that helps somewhat XD

[ferabird]

Actually FP, I really appreciate the long post. Means you put thought into what you were saying. I shall have to ponder on this.

And honestly skysong, I just didn't mention them because I have issues spelling the name ^_^. I adore the samanayrs, and you do have a point about letting it change and grow....

Hrmmm...

Keep it coming people!

[sera]

*agrees with sky*

most of those with popular adoptions, or, snot, even just a signature crit, have been working at those crits for quite awhile. i uploaded my first naa just over two years ago and have been working and updating and improving my drawing skill until now, and really only now, they've begun to undergo a "real" burst of popularity. that's not saying that i hadn't adopted out before, but generally i adopted to same the people constantly.

that's the world of cyberpets, because, whether or not you can tell from first glance, we appreciate the cute stuff, but we -really- appreciate the time, effort, and thought put into the creatures. gads, i couldn't even tell you how long chao has been doing tsume, but i think they've come a long way since she first started them. . . ^^ it's the nature of cyberpets.

but if you keep jumping from creature to creature, then you likely won't be able to put in the level of detail and concentration to move from just something to put on a page to an actual cyberpet. ^^

or so says sera! lollol for wotever that's worth.

[Aylura]

I don't know about you, but I'm only willing to draw what I want to draw. I'm stubborn like that. So, my advice would be to draw whatever it is you enjoy and you'd be willing to draw over and over and over and over (and over)^20394.

There is (and was) a saturation of equines when I started adopting out stuff, but I could draw equines (Not very well) and I didn't mind drawing them repeatedly. I tried dragon-things, but I didn't enjoy it. I'd hate to force myself to draw something I cared little about. Chickens are the same way - I draw them because they're easy and I enjoy messing with colors in Photoshop.

So, find your personal creature and don't go for what's popular or what's rare. Perhaps you could use this poll as a springboard for ideas, and maybe try sketching out some. If one pops out at you, and you really want to fiddle with it some more, that might be your signature creature.

And I agree with Sera in that the popularity of creatures is tied very closely to the amount of time (and perhaps the skill) the artist put into it. The more your pour your ideas onto paper, the more your audience will be drawn to it. Slap-dashed ideas meant only to please someone else will probably turn into an adoption you'll drop within a few months. Take your time and do what you want, not what the majority of the Orchard wants. (Unless the two are the same, then hey! You're in the market!)

Good luck

[Xenon]

so true. I've been doing Tsumes for.. god, almost 4 years. there was a hiatus in there, but.. they've been my thing and they've twisted and changed to fit my personality. I have a lot of trouble with being told what to draw or even trying to tell myself what to draw. it never works out. the crits I stick with just.. came to be, I suppose XD

[sera]

I SEE CHAO!!!! *GLOMPCHEWLOVES*

anyways. . . hehe ^^ and yosh! as aylura said and chao reiterated. . . draw wot you can and wot you like. ^^ i used to be hopeless at anything BUT equine like crits. . . ^^ HEHE

[ferabird]

I'm debating... Something I actually enjoy is drawing furres. Meyhaps I should do a more literal adoption... That and on the cool side they could be used as candidates for other adoptions, and they'd come with a personality. It's a thought, though I'd have to get a working scanner or pull open canvas onto the comp where I babysit all day again.

And the rodents could be fun.... and they're certainly not common. Hrm.... I shall continue with my turmoil.

[Skye the Wolf]

Lol, psychic cat. xD *pokes*

I'm not sure I'd be considered "experienced" enough to give such advice, but, I'm giving it anyway. >3

As the others have pointed out, a person's signature critter is just one they really, really like doing and they do a lot of them. While my stormwulves are new (due to time restraints), you could still consider them my signature critter, since... well, they're what I do, and I love doing them. I just picked my favorite animal, the wolf, and purposely picked up a cliche (elemental things) and worked from there. As you can see, I've tried hard to make them original, and I (I don't know about others) think they definitely go beyond a "normal" elemental wolf, even when you find HUNDREDS of them everywhere. You don't need to be extremely original with your idea - just pick something and go with it! You can work from there, and, as Skysong pointed out, her Sams have branched out and become much more complex than I believe they originally were (of course, I wasn't around to see their creation, so I'm just assuming).

You know you have a signature critter when you keep coming back to them. I've had many critters in the past - Birchwood cats, Skysinger dragons, Aurorastorm wolves, and quite a few others - but I never felt like I found one that I truly liked. I was constantly editing my creatures, trying to make them fit, until, due to school and my life, I dropped out of the cyberpet scene for a while. When I came back, I had a fresh idea. From the very first SW I drew, I knew that this was "my" critter - the critter that I would do. As soon as I began to do my SWs, I noticed people seemed to like them a lot more than my old critters. Now I think I know why - I put no effort into the old critters, so the artwork sucked, and they had very little originality in them. The stormwulves I love doing, as I think it shows in my art. I've tried doing many other critters other than my SWs, but I never really had my heart in them ('cept for the yotes on Shivuez, they're just too darn kyote xD), and I didn't want to continue with them.

Just start doodling something - dragons, wolves, unicorns, it doesn't matter - and see what you like. Try for variety, and see what you like best, what you want to draw more and more. For example, for me, it's wolves. For Silvanon, it's unicorns. For FP, it's dinosaurs.

Good luck. I hope this helped you. :D

[IvySpring]

I am in no position to give advice as to how to find inspiration and stuff like that, seeing as I haven't found my signature crit yet but I can give you a comment from an adopters point of view! I personally have been wanting to see some ferrets ;D I know that sounds wierd, but some sort of cute rodent like that would totally grab my attention ;D

*just realized* what happened to the Dyhiili?! I know those were a Shivuez things, but they were awesome! People loved the hand created ones.. why don't you try them out here? I know that people will love them! You seriously should try those, the Dyhiili were awesome