# Help with originality.



## CryptoTheFox (Oct 27, 2021)

I really struggle with this because I don't know what counts as "original" or not. I like designing fantasy characters and creatures and stuff and originality gets in the way.

My main worries involve similar works by other artists and "closed species".

I have many interesting designs for characters and creatures, but when I go to find references online to aid with drawing them out, I usually see works by other artists who completed a design similar or identical to mine, so I just usually scrap the concept because continuing with my original design would just be stealing the artist's concept. Closed Species (CS) are another worry of mine, when I come across one of these, not only will I scrap my original design, but I'll keep myself from drawing anything remotely similar to the CS. Again, I don't want to look like an art thief and get harassed for it.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, what counts as "original" and what should I straight-up avoid? Or am I doing the right thing?

Thanks for any help you can give me.


----------



## Foxridley (Oct 28, 2021)

It might be good to see examples of the similarities. How similar are they?

As it were, there are enough furries out there that most concepts out there have probably already been done in some manner. It's sort of a "Simpsons already did it" situation. Coming up with an idea that has some coincidental similarities to another is not stealing it. 

For instance, a number of original species already have broad visual similarities (e.g. protogens, Dutch angel dragons, sergals, and yinglets). And such similarities are not surprising if these designs are based on real-world animals or combinations of them.


----------



## CryptoTheFox (Oct 28, 2021)

Foxridley said:


> It might be good to see examples of the similarities. How similar are they?
> 
> As it were, there are enough furries out there that most concepts out there have probably already been done in some manner. It's sort of a "Simpsons already did it" situation. Coming up with an idea that has some coincidental similarities to another is not stealing it.
> 
> For instance, a number of original species already have broad visual similarities (e.g. protogens, Dutch angel dragons, sergals, and yinglets). And such similarities are not surprising if these designs are based on real-world animals or combinations of them.


I don't have any examples (by examples, i mean full-on drawings) on me right now, but lemme try to explain somehow...

Usually I'll just attach a bunch of fun and interesting features and characteristics to a very generic animal or creature and try to expand from there. My thought process is more like "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I took a(n) ____________ and gave it _____________?"

I'm not in any way, shape, or form a professional concept artist and can't just 100% create a creature out of thin air so that's the method I usually use. Which now that I think about it, is most likely the reason I feel so worried about keeping everything original and feeling down every time I see coincidental similarities and stuff.

My main worry comes from CS concepts. I've had a couple friends get hammered with hate because their design looked somewhat similar to an existing CS. So I'll just sit there, looking at this coincidentally-similar CS and just think "Should I continue on with my design? What if this artist sees it?" so I'm just like "nope, not risking this" and just scrap the design altogether.

I'm sorry if my reply didn't help, I'm not really good at explaining things...


----------



## Yudran (Oct 28, 2021)

If you could find examples of what you mean by "too similar", that would be good. I think some similarities are totally fine, blatant copying is not.



CryptoTheFox said:


> I'm not in any way, shape, or form a professional concept artist and can't just 100% create a creature out of thin air so that's the method I usually use.



While I am not a concept artist either, I would like to become one and I took a few concept art classes in the past, so here are my thoughts on this and your struggle with originality. Bear in mind I am not entirely sure what "closed species" are: from what I got, those are designs that artists create and then sell to other users, correct? It could become an issue if some artists start selling very generic and overused designs, then start suing any other artist who are bound to use those similar designs.

In my opinion, it is extremely hard to come up with designs that are 100% unique. It is even harder to design something out of thin air: most concept artists working in the industry might spend at least half a day, or a full day, just gathering several pictures to use as references, then study some of them, before creating their own designs while using their references. Art directors might even give some references to the concept artists, and tell them "this is the sort of designs we would like you to create".
I still remember one class I took where the instructor (someone who worked for Disney I think) told us that our assignments for next week was to gather references, then study some of them, and that we will create our own designs later on during the course.

In other words, all professional concept artists look at references, at each other work, and will produce similar art many times. 
You are bound to some extend to be inspired by what already exists. It is very difficult to create something new, and I can only count on a few fingers artists who can truly create something unique out of thin air (Anthony Jones might be one of them, and himself was inspired by other artists and do studies from references many times). 
Using references and being inspired by other artwork or pictures from life is not only normal, but recommended. And having character designs that share one similar aspect should be okay. 

The most important is to make sure inspiration and similarities don't become copy.
For instance, you want to create a character with horns: look at some horns designs, both from real life and other drawings. Look how other artists create interesting horn designs, what makes them special and unique. Practice drawing some horns as well, of several shapes and forms. Then try creating different horns designs until you have one that fit your character and that pleases you.
However, copying a very unique horn design created by another artist, then pasting it on your character and claiming you created it yourself would be copying. And that is a big no-no.

Hope this helps!


----------



## CryptoTheFox (Oct 28, 2021)

> Bear in mind I am not entirely sure what "closed species" are: from what I got, those are designs that artists create and then sell to other users, correct? It could become an issue if some artists start selling very generic and overused designs, then start suing any other artist who are bound to use those similar designs.


Yeah, an artist will make a design and say "If you want to make a character from my design, you have to pay this much money." Some designs have different "rarities" and that will affect the price of the character you want/have to buy. Usually the ONLY way to get these characters are through "adoptables". Most of the time, CS Artists REALLY hate offshoots or anything vaguely similar to their original design, making things difficult when they make a CS out of a very generic hybrid.



> The most important is to make sure inspiration and similarities don't become copy.
> For instance, you want to create a character with horns: look at some horns designs, both from real life and other drawings. Look how other artists create interesting horn designs, what makes them special and unique. Practice drawing some horns as well, of several shapes and forms. Then try creating different horns designs until you have one that fit your character and that pleases you.
> However, copying a very unique horn design created by another artist, then pasting it on your character and claiming you created it yourself would be copying. And that is a big no-no.


I constantly avoid outright copy/pasting features onto my designs. My worry is that other people will just resort to "Well, this design is vaguely similar to _____'s much more popular design, this guy must be trying to steal it!"


----------



## Foxridley (Oct 28, 2021)

CryptoTheFox said:


> I don't have any examples (by examples, i mean full-on drawings) on me right now, but lemme try to explain somehow...
> 
> Usually I'll just attach a bunch of fun and interesting features and characteristics to a very generic animal or creature and try to expand from there. My thought process is more like "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I took a(n) ____________ and gave it _____________?"
> 
> ...


Like Yudran said. No idea is born in a vacuum. Every idea will draw on something that already exists, either in the real world or some work of fiction or mythology. If your idea is only "somewhat similar" to a closed species, you're probably fine. There is no idea out there that is not at least somewhat similar to something else.

If something is as simple as "species X but with Y" then it's not a concept that anybody owns. If you start getting into "but they also have traits A, B, and C" is when you are making a unique species.

For instance, wolf-nymph has come up with a race of winged fox people. That does not mean she owns the idea of winged fox people, or that another idea for winged foxes should be considered derivative of hers. But this species has quite a bit of lore that makes them unique.

Or, in another case the design here is a cyborg dragon with a black-and-yellow color palette, which may remind some people of Meta Ridley. But it is not stealing the idea. Nobody owns the concept of a cyborg dragon. Even if it draws inspiration from Meta Ridley, it's still the artist's original design.

But again, it would be useful to see some examples for your species, and what other original species they resemble. It would help us understand the sorts of similarities you're concerned about.


----------



## Judge Spear (Oct 28, 2021)

Originality as it's often romanticized is a myth and impossible to attain. You can still stand out. But chasing "originality" is a trap for novice artists that think it's the ultimate goal of self expression.

Furries are especially stupid about this with their dumb closed species fad shit they fervently defend.. Something you make will be similar to something for someone. I cannot stress with a greater conviction the inevitability of that. It's as certain as death.
So seriously, don't trouble yourself with those fears. Everything we make, everything we have made is iterative or derivative to some capacity. It does not make your work less and you shouldn't fear design overlap.

Expand your visual library as you create over the years. Just make things you like _based_ on things you like. Art style and "originality" is all about finding intuitive ways to solve artistic problems for a given concept and create appeal. Build and use reference, feverishly practice, and consume things you enjoy or things you think you can make better.

Get good at it and things can still be *yours.*


----------



## Faustus (Nov 2, 2021)

If you're just going to jam two or three different real-world animals together into a hybrid, you're almost guaranteed that someone else will have tried it before you did. It's a common feature of mythologising dating back centuries. Frankly, also, I'd question whether anybody could declare such an elementary creation as a 'closed species'. It's too derivative. There are very, very few custom species, closed or otherwise, that could be considered protectable in my opinion. Protogen are the most obvious one, and that is mainly because of the distinctive LED face-shield. The rest of the concept is pretty derivative too.

Maybe you should concentrate less on coming up with a unique species and look more for a unique art style?


----------



## BadRoy (Nov 17, 2021)

Judge Spear nailed it.

Everything you create as an artist is already colored by your past influences anyway whether you recognize it or not. Creating something that the world has never seen is almost impossible so don't worry about it. Focus more on making something that is yours and that you want to see. 

On a practical note I can recommend mixing and matching bits of characters that you like across all media. Maybe a hairstyle from a character you like, the armor style of another, the legs of that one, etc. Then put your own spin on it and boom you have something original. Then you can search around and see if you accidentally copied someone. If you have then just go back and change the design a little.


----------

