It's Saturday morning. I got up early (like I always do) full of ambition for my ongoing Green Tower City project. First thing I discovered was my Deviantart account has been deactivated. Years of work just gone, because somebody decided some of my art was inappropriate.
I was given no warning. No chance to appeal. No chance to rectify the situation. It had always been my understanding that DA was a haven for people to share art that was, well... DEVIANT! Why the fuck else would you name your platform Deviantart!?! Yes my work shows nudity, blood and gore. I had all those things tagged appropriately so people would know exactly what my drawings and stories are. If you don't like it, fine. Just scroll on.
This is not the first time this has happened to me. Though I have been doing catfight art since the early 90's when I was a young teenager full of hormones, I didn't really get online until around 2005, when I acquired (thanks to student loans) my first internet worthy computer. I soon discovered Yahoo Groups and a HUGE community of folks who loved to read about, watch talk about, write about and of course draw pictures of catfights. I was in Heaven. I had always known there were other catfight fans out there, but NO idea how big the community really was. I created my own group for my art and stories and quickly began to amass a following of fans, not to mention some paid commission requests.
I had over 10,000 members in my group when it was promptly deleted by Yahoo. I started a new one almost immediately, trying to keep it restricted to the less graphic of my work. Eventually that was deleted too. I started over several times, but eventually Yahoo Groups pretty much went down the toilet, being completely overrun by snowflake right wing conservetard fascist types.
Eventually, some dimwit will decide this blog is "offensive" and once again all my hard work will vanish with one click. It's infuriating.
But I won't stop. I can't. This is my life. And as long as there are people who enjoy my drawings and stories, I will continue to find some way to share them.
Here is one of the images that resulted in my deletion from DA.
Glad to know you won’t be stopping any time soon. The deviant art thing was very surprising to find, especially considering the dozens of other cat fight artists on there. As long as I can follow your content somewhere I’ll be there!
ReplyDeleteGlad to know you won’t be stopping any time soon. The deviant art thing was very surprising to find, especially considering the dozens of other cat fight artists on there. As long as I can follow your content somewhere I’ll be there!
ReplyDeleteGlad to know you won’t be stopping any time soon. The deviant art thing was very surprising to find, especially considering the dozens of other cat fight artists on there. As long as I can follow your content somewhere I’ll be there!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your continued support and comments!
DeleteI had heard a lot of stories from people who had been banned because their work was too bloody. I honestly expected it to happen at some point, but it still sucks because that was, I think, my main traffic source. Hopefully people on there who really liked my work already knew about my blog or are inclined to find it.
Don't give up Ishmael! Came over to this site immediately when I saw your DA account was deactivated. Boy was I relieved!
ReplyDeleteI only found out about your site very recently and it was an instant hit. The amount of content you generated throughout the years is just insane and I'm definitely gonna have a blast exploring it. What is happening on DA is a pity and quite a few artists that I have been following were also purged. Have you considered other alternative platforms?
Anyways just wanted to let you know that your work is being appreciated and thank you for sharing with us this amazing world of yours. :)
I will post my work anywhere that will have it! I post on Freecatfights.com pretty regularly and used to post stories on Fetnoir.com, but now that site is gone! I am always happy to find new message boards and sites where my work is welcome and relevant, so if you know of any, let me know!
DeleteDear Ishmael. I am a big fan of your art. DA seems to suck more and more. Don't let 'em bring you down! I will continue following and supporting your work whereever I'm going to finding it because your work and art is simply awesome. Hugs from Germany
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeletePS: maybe artstation.com is more open-minded compared to DA?
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of that one! I will check it out! Thank you!
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