@faalthien / faalthien.tumblr.com
Secrets
For @dickgraysonweek
Progress details under the cut (watch me cover a perfectly good piece with black paint).
Hello Lovelies!
Bidding for the 2025 @fandomtrumpshate is open, and I'm offering fanart! You can ask for any of the fandoms I've done previously, or even bring your own stuff!
I'm offering two things, each in a fandom of your own choosing - check them out here:
Look around on my blog for some examples I did for DCU, MDZS, TGCF, SVSSS, GO, MARVEL and other stuff. You can also find some of these on my AO3.
Check the linked pages for details and the bidding spreadsheet, and feel free to message me if you have questions!
And, more importantly, go browse all the other amazing offerings.
Here’s the art I did for the fic How to Make a Heavenly Demon by @willowwispflame !! Had a blast participating in the @svsssbigbang this year, I hope yall check out this awesome fic with even MORE fantastic art by @faalthien <3
Are you seeing this level of pretty?? I have so many emotions about this art but just *gestures wordlessly* *gets distracted staring*
No words.
It's time! The first few chapters of How to Make a Heavenly Demon have been posted!!
Guys, guys, guys, go check this out.
I'll also make art posts in the coming days, but more importantly? Read the fic. I promise it'll be amazing. I've been obsessed with the concept since I read the summary at the beginning of the bang and I had my every expectation surpassed.
Although we here at the auction are huge fan labor enthusiasts, we’ve realized over the years that a lot of folks in fandom aren’t aware of this amazing vein of fandom culture they’re missing out on. And – once again – we’re hoping to do our part to change that!
What is fan labor?
Fan labor includes beta-reading, translation, britpicking (or medical-picking, or other kind of expert-knowledge-type reading for accuracy), and other kinds of revision guidance that help a writer to revise or improve their story. The input of fan laborers can vastly improve the fanwork you’re working on – but beyond that, it can help you clarify your goals or your style or your understanding of canon in ways that help you with future fanworks, too.
OK, but how much difference does it make, really?
Seriously? LOTS. And you don’t have to take our word for it: lots of folks in fandom have benefited hugely from working with fan laborers, and – we hope – will be happy to tell you about it!
I’ve relied on/done fan labor, and it was amazing! Can I tell you about it?
Yes, please! If you are a fan laborer who has a story about helping writers, or a creator who has benefited from the help of others, whether or not it was through FTH, please tell that story! You can reblog this post and add your own text, or make a separate post and tag us, or even email your testimonial to us (and you can tell us whether or not you want your name attached.)
Oh, this is very fun!
Okay, hear me out. I do beta reading AND I rely on art and/or text betas for my comics or even regular art pieces and it makes all the difference. And it goes beyond grammar and spelling or accidentally forgotten stuff (even thought that's important).
The thing is, you are you. Each and every one of us is an individual person with individual experiences and when you create something, you as a personality will leave a mark on that creation. Which is awesome! Arguably, it's the whole point! And sometimes this also means that other people are going to understand whatever you created wildly differently than you intended. I had a self-portrait where someone thought it was a giraffe, no kidding (in my defense it was a minimalist black and white thing, which didn't help). And I love these instances, because sometimes they tell us so much about the other person (not sure about the giraffe, but you get it).
But also, sometimes you want your stuff to be something understandable instead of a wildly subjective splash of paint/pixels. Sometimes you have something to say (a lesson, a story, an emotion), sometimes you are building something and need all the bricks in place, and for that, whoever is on the other side has to understand you. But you are always going to look at your work with tinted glasses, influenced by all the things that you know and don't know. And even more, influenced by what you know of your work. You can't be a fresh eye, like whoever reads/looks at/etc your work, because you are so immersed in it, knowing every tiny bit of it. And this is where your beta comes in.
Three quarters of my comments as a beta start out as "hmmm this sentence sounds odd" (because you rewrote it so many times that it makes sense to you but not to me) or "how do we know this" (because you forgot not everyone has your info). I'm literally the beta reader, the test subject before you send your work out into the world: I'm the one that helps you by tripping up on inconsistencies and odd details and missing bits. And it's not even because I know better than you: it's because I have the advantage of being a fresh eye. (I promise, I don't know better. I couldn't write a fic to save my life.)
And also because tspos gonna typo. (Yes, I noticed that. It was an accident. I'm leaving it in.)
Guys. Ask and offer beta. If you can't do cohesion and consistency, offer SPAG. Or to check if the characters are OOC. There are so many different ways to beta read something. Use them!
And for the love of the gods, ask and offer art beta and beta for other mediums. No one is except from the tinted glasses. Best case your work can improve. Worst case someone tells you what a good job you did.
Okay, I'm done. Apparently this was an important topic for me. And I did not make anyone read this over, so it might not made much sense.:D
(I'm also giving you guys permission to message me or send me an ask if you need a beta (fic or art) in a fandom you know I'm in. I'm not promising I'll have the time or the capability for whatever you need, but I'd be happy to try.)
For @flower-sniffing-friend, who apparently knows my art enough to recognise it even across mediums and AUs. Thank you for the fun prompt!! 💙
