YOU DON'T OWN THE ARTIST JUST BECAUSE YOU FOLLOW THE ART.
By Jerry “The Ankle-Biter” Silverhand
There's a fascinating disease spreading across the internet.
No, it's not stupidity. That one's been endemic since humanity discovered it could argue with strangers without getting punched in the mouth.
I'm talking about audience entitlement.
That peculiar condition where someone follows an artist, enjoys their work, and eventually decides they've purchased an imaginary controlling interest in the artist's fucking imagination.
Congratulations! You clicked Follow.
Apparently, that makes you chairman of the board.
Somebody get this asshole a tiny briefcase.
THE FOLLOW BUTTON IS NOT A DEED OF OWNERSHIP
Recently, I came across a Tumblr post from Pencils, an artist whose work includes the Bowsette comic.
Apparently, some people weren't particularly happy about his decision to draw Malfoid.
And Pencils had a rather straightforward response: he's tired of people telling him what he can and cannot draw, and that kind of pressure isn't going to work.
Good.
Because somewhere along the way, people started confusing supporting an artist with owning an artist.
You followed their page?
Wonderful.
You liked their artwork?
Fantastic.
You shared their comics, laughed at their jokes, admired their character designs, and perhaps even supported them financially?
Excellent.
But somewhere between clicking that little heart and developing an opinion, your brain apparently filed a fraudulent deed claiming ownership of somebody else's creative freedom.
That's not how any of this shit works.
An artist is not your employee.
Their imagination is not your subscription benefit.
And their creative decisions do not require a fucking homeowners association meeting.
YOU'RE ALLOWED TO DISLIKE THINGS, YOU MAGNIFICENT TURNIP
Here's something that apparently requires a public service announcement in the year 2026:
You are allowed to dislike artwork.
Really!
You can look at a drawing and say, "Well, that doesn't appeal to me."
You can unfollow.
You can criticize.
You can even explain why you think a particular creative decision was terrible.
All perfectly legitimate.
But there's a difference between expressing an opinion and behaving like the artist violated your constitutional right to have your personal tastes catered to.
"I don't like this drawing."
Fine.
"I wish the artist would draw something else."
Also fine.
"THIS ARTIST MUST STOP DRAWING THINGS I DON'T APPROVE OF!"
And there it is.
The moment a personal preference puts on a cheap security uniform and starts pretending to be an authority figure.
Sit down, Officer Crayola.
Nobody appointed you Commissioner of Imaginary People.
THE INTERNET HAS CONFUSED ACCESS WITH AUTHORITY
This is the part that really gets my little raccoon claws twitching.
The internet gives us extraordinary access to creative people.
Artists, writers, musicians, animators, developers, and every other magnificent bastard willing to put something personal into the world.
And somehow, instead of appreciating that access, certain people interpret it as permission to supervise.
They don't merely want to enjoy the finished product.
They want to dictate the process.
The characters.
The themes.
The relationships.
The acceptable subject matter.
The next project.
The next fucking thought.
And if the artist refuses?
Out comes the outrage.
The dramatic announcements.
The accusations of betrayal.
The emotional performance of someone discovering that the human being they follow has an independent personality.
You were an audience member, Gerald. Not the creative director.
And no, Gerald, being emotionally invested in someone's artwork does not mean you get visitation rights to their brain.
Get out of the studio.
You're knocking over the pencils.
SUPPORT IS NOT A LEASH
Now, before somebody deliberately misunderstands me, supporting an artist doesn't mean you're obligated to approve of everything they create.
You can withdraw your support.
You can stop buying their work.
You can decide their creative direction no longer interests you.
That's your freedom.
And artists aren't magically immune to criticism, either. Their work can be questioned, challenged, and discussed.
But support that comes with the expectation of creative obedience isn't unconditional admiration.
It's a transaction with terms the artist never agreed to.
And when those imaginary terms aren't satisfied, some people behave as though they've been personally defrauded.
No.
You weren't betrayed.
You discovered that another human being has preferences that don't revolve around yours.
A devastating revelation, I'm sure.
Would you like a pillow?
Perhaps a blanket?
A tiny violin played by a raccoon wearing a judicial wig?
THE ARTIST DOESN'T EXIST TO KEEP YOU COMFORTABLE
Art can be beautiful.
Art can be ridiculous.
Art can be provocative, strange, hilarious, uncomfortable, embarrassing, or completely incomprehensible.
Sometimes it's a masterpiece.
Sometimes it's a horny cartoon.
Sometimes it's a character nobody asked for, drawn because the artist woke up and thought:
"You know what? Fuck it. I want to draw this."
And that's allowed.
Not everything has to be created for you.
Not everything needs to validate your tastes.
Not everything requires your approval before it gets published.
If an artist spends their entire career desperately trying to avoid disappointing every person who follows them, eventually they'll stop making art and start manufacturing compromises.
A little less personality here.
A little less experimentation there.
Remove anything controversial.
Remove anything unusual.
Remove anything somebody might complain about.
Congratulations.
You've successfully transformed a creative person into a fucking customer-service department.
Press 1 for approved character designs.
Press 2 for emotionally sanitized illustrations.
Press 3 to speak with a supervisor about why the fictional woman has the wrong hairstyle.
Your call is very important to absolutely nobody.
THE RACCOON'S FINAL VERDICT
To Pencils, and every other artist dealing with people who think appreciation grants them creative authority:
Keep drawing.
Keep experimenting.
Keep making the things that interest you.
Accept useful criticism when it's useful. Ignore demands that exist solely because somebody thinks their personal preferences should govern your imagination.
And to the self-appointed gatekeepers:
You don't have to like everything.
You don't have to follow everyone.
You don't have to spend money supporting work you no longer enjoy.
But you also don't get to claim ownership of somebody else's creative decisions because you clicked a fucking button.
The artist creates.
The audience chooses whether to engage.
Neither gets to confiscate the other's freedom.
That's the arrangement.
It really isn't complicated.
And if that arrangement still offends you, I have wonderful news.
There's an entire internet full of artwork you might enjoy.
Go find some.
Preferably without appointing yourself the unpaid manager of the person who made it.
Jerry “The Ankle-Biter” Silverhand
Department of Petty Affairs — Division of Unsolicited Creative Supervision
Ankle-bite assessment: −9,999 HP
Cause of injury: Mistaking a Follow button for a fucking ownership certificate.
Inspiration and credit
Inspired by Pencils' Tumblr post concerning criticism of his Malfoid artwork and attempts to dictate what he should draw.
Read Pencils' original Tumblr post
Support artists because you appreciate their creativity, not because you expect to control it.