Nocti-Draws

Okay, so this has actually blown me away. Thank you, all 1003 of you (at the time of writing)! This is absolutely incredible and I had no idea this page would go this far.

I remember years ago, hitting something like 70 watchers, and being overjoyed with how many people actually enjoyed seeing my colourful cartoon ponies. Like, envision a room filled with 70 people. Well now imagine one with over 1000! It's honestly baffling, but I'm so proud of my progress over the years as an artist, even if it's only a hobby for me. I love comparing my art between the years, there's even a noticeable improvement between pieces made 6 months apart!

And I'm so glad I have people joining me on the ride. It's fun, cathartic, therapeutic and I have always loved making characters and stories. When I check my notifications, there are names I recognise from years ago, I know my "regulars". And I think that's so sweet!

So here's to more art in 2022! I might even try and expand my content a little more, as I've been designing a fursona! Hopefully I'll also stream more often, and make some more speedpaints for my YT channel. Again, thank you guys so much! <3

NFTs are pretty scary to me. (I don't have the textured brain to explain them fully, but many people on YT do a great job of getting you in the know)

I've seen it three times today alone, multiple artists I follow (dA and other platforms) have been saying they've found their art being sold as NFTs. Now, I'm not an expert on crypto/blockchain/tokens/etc, and like. Sure, do what you will with character generator vomit-inducing apes... but leave us artists alone.

It's not just art theft, it's more, it's disgraceful. The art we spend hours, days, weeks on is not yours (pretend you're a crypto bro for this) to take for yourself and sell on for a quick buck. Art is a luxury to have, however when pieces are stolen it just doesn't seem to hold the same weight to people, compared to if someone's car was stolen, for example. That super sucks, and I'd like that to change.

And it's not just fanart that's being stolen and "minted" as NFTs. It's personal art, characters, and even commission work. Many artists LIVE off of commissions, and with crypto bros threatening this I can see why it's so discouraging. Even hobbyist artists who just want to share their work, like me, are feeling more wary of even posting their art. Like... that's incredibly depressing. It's a fun hobby or even a way of life for some, we shouldn't be made to feel scared for that.

On that note, if you find art from someone you recognise being minted as an NFT, and unless they're doing it themselves, please let them know! I mean, this goes for "normal" theft too, but this NFT shit means some neckbeard is stealing your colourful cartoon horse and making money off it without your permission, I'd say it's even worse!

I personally haven't been affected by NFTs (to the best of my knowledge), so I'll consider myself a bit lucky at the moment. Hopefully, this is all just a fad and it will die down.

TLDR; NFTs are not beneficial to artists.

I know, another Eclipse journal lol, there's so many of these.

But I wanted to write down what I think, even though I'll likely be echoing many people.

The fact that I'm likely echoing people is part of the problem. As you all know, not many really enjoy Eclipse. It's just a "let's make it modern and new" situation, and it's stripped away so much of the character and uniqueness that Deviantart had. Sure, the dark theme is okay, but it could have easily been tacked on to classic DA. Another thing I like is the ability to like comments, but again, that could have just been added to the old DA. The lack of ads is fine, but I'll repeat myself - they could have just been taken away.

"Don't fix what's not broken". The staff mustn't have thought of this. Old DA was fine and functional. There was no need to completely revamp everything. And I realise Wix bought DA, but that's still no excuse. What they've done is force a watered-down, barely functioning husk onto us. I realise that yes, new and returning features may come in the future, but I'll use an analogy. This situation is like being at a restaurant, and being served half-cooked food, and as you're trying to eat it, the chef's still cooking it. And, the food's shit lmao.

Another thing I dislike is the way journals "function" now. It's no longer clean and easy, it's a painful thing to read, whether you're using the dark, light or green theme. Everything is too chunky and blocky, nothing is refined.

Core members, people who PAY and support the site, are now rewarded with a tiny little box to give some colours. Woohoo! Oh, don't forget the ability to "Benchmark Yourself" - this could be useful to some people, but comparing favourites/watchers/anything to other artists can really put a damper on your mood.

In theory, Eclipse could have been okay. They could have done what FurAffinity's done, and allowed users to select between the classic and new versions of their site. That couldn't be too hard, right? And they could have maybe, idk, released a full version of Eclipse? With features? Sure it might have taken a bit longer, but I don't think anyone would complain.

Overall, I like the cover photos, I like being able to post polls without needing Core, liking comments is good, and the dark theme is nice.

But like I said, all of these could have easily been tacked on to the classic site. With this new washed-out layout, DA has lost its originality. The site feels devoid of personality. By forcing this "unique" layout, all us users are forced into conformity. We can't personalise anything with HTML and CSS being nicked off.

It's sad, and hopefully they realise that this isn't what we wanted. The fact that even though petitions were signed, and we were (and still are) in an uproar, they still ignored us is disgusting. They are letting their community fall apart and they seem okay with that.

TL;DR: Eclipse is okay in some aspects, but the good parts could have been added to the old DA. Otherwise, it's a nightmare of a site, and the staff don't seem to care.

Thanks for reading, considering you've had to endure this clusterfuck of a journal layout lmao