Fan works you later regretted creating

[megaMasquerain]

I make fan works out of the love for a series, its characters, concepts and creator. Sometimes to get noticed as a bonus but I don't do art of anything I don't really love - I've never done Adventure Time art, for example, even though I might get a lot of notes/faves/whatever from that.

I make original works out of a similar feeling of love for my OCs, the worlds they inhabit, their designs, etc. I don't do it for a feeling of superiority over fan artists, but sometimes I do it to be like, "hey look at this character in my head/writing."

I do a mix of both, and I don't think I'll ever stop doing one or the other. The works of other artists, writers, and storytellers are what keep me going with my own concepts. If there was no MOTHER, Negima, Mushishi, Homestuck, Pokemon, etc, I wouldn't be still making art. (And I hope that some day someone feels the same way about my work.)

Of course, that's just how I feel about it. But I really dislike the idea that fan art should only be a way to get yourself known, and not something you can keep doing as you gain followers, presence, and skill.