Not really a comment on above, but also a thing I wish CS owners would stop doing. When uploading to a masterlist account on deviantART, using the category DeviantART Related > Devious Fun > Adoptables is kind of frustrating since most masterlists update in bulk. I like to browse the category to see potential adopts and consider purchasing them, but masterlists aren't for selling the adopt so you gotta scroll past the massive amount of entries just to get back to designs you could actually adopt. Personally, I feel like masterlist entries should go under DeviantART Related > Devious Fun > Other instead and I'm very thankful for CS owners who already upload their masterlists to that category. ;w;
This happens WAY more often than it should, and I really want to discuss this.
With the creativity and freedom for anyone to create a closed species, it is only natural that people are going to have a few similarities between not only a CS, but one-off characters too. Some people are going to have more original traits than others, but regardless, you should never harass or threaten anyone who has a character that have traits of your species. You do not and never will own the concept of a trait. You only own the species and lore of characters that have the trait. It is a totally different story if someone flat out copy every aspect of your character to a tee, but otherwise, leave the person alone! When you sell MYOs, you are selling the right to create the character in the context of your species's lore, along with entry to your species's Community. You are not selling rights to a trait. You do not own doll joint kemonomimis, jelly horns, or water limbs. You do not own angel wings or randomly placed eyes either.
Even if a person has a character with your exact species traits, as long as they are not ripping off a specific character, please leave them alone. Chances are, they don't even know you exist. Either that, or they like a trait or two, but do not feel invested enough to join your community. It is completely natural to take inspiration from other artists and do your own thing with it. There is even a chance you took inspiration from another person to make your own species or characters. They are not claiming to own one of your species, nor are they replicating your lore, so why does it matter?
To conclude, if someone has a trait on a character that you make a species that happened to have that exact trait, please leave them alone. They are not hurting anyone, nor are they claiming that the character is part of your species. You do not own traits, and asking someone to change their character just because they have a fish tail on their head or something is very self centered. If you do this, please stop. They are not hurting anyone. They are just an artist that want to have fun, like anyone else.
If you want to discuss this further, please leave a comment below! I am always open to new view points!
Taiyaki
I didn't even know people did that! I personally just browse via submissions in groups, which is A LOT easier than putting in the tags, but I can totally see that being annoying. It isn't even technically an adoptable!
I wholeheartedly agree with all this. And what's worse, these instances mainly seem to happen in closed species that are highly popular and have a big community. It's one thing when a one-off character has the entire anatomy/concept of your species, but if it's just a few traits, especially super common ones such as curly tails or closed eyes then it shouldn't be any problem at all. As long as they're not directly copying you, then there should be no instance of confrontation.
Also Taiyaki, preach! You don't know how much it irritates me when I browse the Adopts category on DA, just to find out that most of the submissions are just for showing off a design relating to a CS someone obtained. The category exists for a reason, posting designs people can buy, not some kind of archive to show off designs you can't obtain at all. There are other categories you could post those kinds of submissions in, but when you do it with the Adopts section you're just mucking it up.
HyenaGlitch
I hate how some of these people use their power to get what they want. It is pretty sick really. It works most of the time too! Though, I personally disagree with the "...it's one thing when a one-off character has the entire anatomy/concept of your species..." part. Well, with the anatomy aspect. There are only so many ways you can draw a fictional dog-cat-bird-dino thing. I have seen A LOT of species with the same body type. It eventually gets mushed together. Regardless if you take inspiration from a species or not, nobody deserves to be witch hunted for having a similar character trait.
yeaahhhh 😬 i got approached by a bigger cs owner once abt my papercuts cs bc theyre apparently "so similar its a copy" and i just??? i have literally never seen nor heard of your cs before you just sent me this......
summoning/blood spells, curses, burning paper (this in particular astounds me bc ???what..?? i grew up burning paper to my ancestors. wdy from me) and the aesthetic similarity between stuff like smoke, contract seals, draconic traits being a rare tier... uh.. hate to break it to you but chinese culture and dragons........... if you burn something there is going to be smoke..... are you seriously trying to copyright contract seals..........
Genuflect
Yikes, I feel so bad for that artist too. I'm glad they stood their ground once the popular artist started being a brat. Nobody is obligated to change their character just because someone else wants them too. That is so petty! The most they could do after giving such a high demand is to be nice and understanding.
Glad you are able to move on, despite the other being so similar. Chances are, they were unaware of the similarities. Pretty sure calling someone else out would be awkward on both ends anyway. There is no such thing as an original concept anymore, so people having similar character descriptions is totally not out there. (Of course, if they have very similar specific traits, such as a certain power or key item that does something similar, there is no harm to speaking to them PRIVATELY. Witch hunting is never ideal.)
(BTW, off topic, but I love your icon!)
EgotisticalLobster
Congrats on opening a CS! Hopefully it goes well! I own a few CS made by other people myself, so I am not a stranger to the appeal of joining a community with characters in the same lore!
While I do have somewhat of a disagreement, I'm so happy that you at least understand the harassing someone with a character that has a "CS trait" is wrong.
Your view is in no way incorrect, but I feel that off-brands are sorta a grey area that I'm leaning towards "they're okay" on. While it is true that they are pretty much a "rip-off" of a certain species, appearing with very similar or exact traits, the creators of off-brand adoptables should still be allowed to create them. In some cases, some people just want to be disrespectful. I'm not blind to that at all. However, I am still siding with the opinion that you should be able to design and sell any characters, as long as they are your design. TOTALLY DIFFERENT STORY IF YOU ARE SELLING A RIP-OFF OF A SPECIFIC CHARACTER!
Off-branders are not taking money from a species, because more likely than not, the people are selling to are highly unlikely to join the group to begin with. Even without off brand adoptables, the people these off-branders cater to are probably going to take inspiration from the species anyway, rather than pay the price of joining their community. Especially if they are a minor who can't afford it, or someone who only like the design aspect, and nothing else. It is not a crime to buy an off brand or distribute it either.
I am sympathetic on all sides, being a minor who was unable to afford the high prices of most closed species that caught my attention at the time, being a group member of a CS community, and being a CS owner. There is an appeal to buying off-brands, as they are often MUCH cheaper than the real thing. Or maybe you don't like the community, but like the design aspects of a certain species. (I've been here too.) However, I'm totally sympathetic with how heart-breaking it is for someone to make a character that looks like one of your species, and selling the design. Overall, this is a grey issue, and despite the criticism that would come with it, I say that off-branders should be allowed to create off-brands, regardless if it is spiteful. (As long as it is THEIR design of course.)
YES! I had to change up Xandor drastically when the Daintys were popular. He was made before the CS and just happened to be a satyr that liked to wear stockings. Then the Dainties became booming and I had like 20 messages every day that I was trying to copy them. So sadly his entire bottom half had to be redone and all his oldest art deleted just so I stopped getting those messages! It always made me so mad! Im still bitter about it
toxicallycat that is so fucking unfair, you have every right to be bitter. :(
literally I don't see why its an issue if a character looks like a species as long as they aren't using it in the lore smh