Do you publish every redraw? I don't

Do you publish every redraw? I don't want to come across as rudely critical, so if this ask is too much or too cally-outy I won't cry if you don't publish it. But, I noticed on a more recent redraw the anatomy was way off, less ridiculous but still way off from reality. I just wondered about your selectivity. Love your blog by the way. It's perfect.

I publish every redraw, because it’s fan art, and it’s amateurs trying to learn and participate in this blog and have fun.  :)  Publishing it doesn’t mean I think every redraw looks better than the original or has no issues, but because the redraws are done for fun and submitted for that reason, I let all of them through and people can decide for themselves.  Just because a redraw is on this blog doesn’t mean I endorse it as some superior art work, it’s just fan art.

I do think a few redraw submissions have a bit of a “the original was crap, I had to make it better!” attitude, that I’ve seen some people complain about.  I think it’s understandable that that can be off-putting, because this isn’t about bashing people, it’s about having fun.  So, I’d encourage people to submit and approach redraws more with the “I’m having fun” attitude rather than the “I’ll show that artist” one. :)

I know some people see the issue as being individual artists, but the point of Escher Girls is about the overall culture and industries.  Artists who have a certain way of drawing women might get selected for jobs over others, or they’re encouraged to draw a certain way, or they’re told to change things (I think some of the bad boobs and butt poses is because the pose was drawn one way, and then somebody told them to make it sexier).  So, to me, redraws ideally should be fans expressing “this is what I’d like to see as a consumer”, and not “that artist is stupid.”

When I first started this blog I never expected to get the number of redraws I have.  I never expected to get any at all.  And it’s a hard thing for me because of my personality.  I feel bad for people who submit and might get a lot of people saying “this is crap”, but I decided at the beginning that rather than be the arbiter of what’s a good redraw or not, I would allow everybody else to give praise or constructive criticism.

I understand the tricky position I put myself in by allowing all the redraws, because there’s criticisms and assumptions that the redraws represent me.  I don’t choose the redraws I put up, so there’s no editorial decision by me to put up ones that redraw women one way, or dress women another, or anything.  However, I do choose to allow them all, so if people don’t like some of them, I understand that.  But, my policy isn’t to exclude anybody who wants to participate.  And as many redrawers say, it’s also a chance for them to learn, and they’re open for the opportunity.

Sorry for the long answer.  I thought I’d take the opportunity to clear the air about the redraws because there’s often a lot of misconceptions about them, and I know some people don’t like them, while others really love them.  For somebody like me, it’s hard to know how to balance the two.

(Also thank you for the compliments. :) )