What’s the appeal of adoptables?

[JuniperW]

I don’t think I could ever put a monetary value on any of my original characters. Throughout the years, I’ve made many of them and it’s safe to say that they all mean quite a lot to me, even if there are some that I’m unlikely to use for any future projects. If I was going to transfer ownership of a character to someone else, it would be through some kind of raffle or a first-come-first-served request basis. That being said, I don’t have any problem with adoptables. I just don’t understand the mindset behind selling characters, and why it’s become so widespread in the furry community. This isn’t to judge anyone who makes or buys adoptables, you guys are cool and have some super creative designs.

 

[Rayd]

it's probably a lot easier than taking character design commissions, since you're in full creative control and can likely make a design appealing enough for people to spend a lot of money buying it. depending on the character and level of skill of the artist, they sometimes go for hundreds of dollars. so it's probably just a lot easier, and a lot more profitable, too. there's also the people that use bases and stuff, in which case it's even easier. artists make adoptables with the intent of selling them, so i don't think they go into it with sentimental feelings.

annnnd lots of people buy them because, i imagine, usually characters made by an artist's vision are far better than those by a commissioner's vision translated to the artist by word, so they'd rather save the heartache.

i know that's why i buy them, at least. the whole process of commissioning my own visions gives me bad anxiety cause i know as someone who isn't an artist, my ideas will never be exactly how i envisioned because i have to go through the middleman of translating said ideas to an artist, and most of the time, either i have trouble expressing the ideas to the artist, or they have trouble understanding it. so nowadays i typically stick to YCH's, but even that stresses me out as of the past year. i desperately need to find a new expensive hobby, lol.

 

[Kinare]

There are some designs I've seen that I'm like "woah, that's pretty cool", but nothing I'd ever consider buying. If I don't make it up myself I have a hard time connecting with that design, so it would not be something I could spend money on. That said, I feel I'm pretty creative, so it's not too difficult for me to come up with new ideas. (The difficulty is finding an artist willing to raw from just text descriptions and my shitty doodles.)

I can see their worth for someone who isn't creative and needed an idea for a species either for sona or a character. Some people might just get them because "woah, that's pretty cool" and they don't mind the lack of connection with it, may just use it as a side character, who knows.

 

[Rayd]

There are some designs I've seen that I'm like "woah, that's pretty cool", but nothing I'd ever consider buying. If I don't make it up myself I have a hard time connecting with that design, so it would not be something I could spend money on. That said, I feel I'm pretty creative, so it's not too difficult for me to come up with new ideas. (The difficulty is finding an artist willing to raw from just text descriptions and my shitty doodles.)

I can see their worth for someone who isn't creative and needed an idea for a species either for sona or a character. Some people might just get them because "woah, that's pretty cool" and they don't mind the lack of connection with it, may just use it as a side character, who knows.

idk, i get pretty connected with my adopted characters. i don't know anyone who bought characters they couldn't connect with. i just think a majority of people that get them don't want to go through the trouble of having their own made, whether they're creative or not, i don't think adoptables and creativity of consumers have any correlation at all.

 

[Bababooey]

There are some designs I've seen that I'm like "woah, that's pretty cool", but nothing I'd ever consider buying. If I don't make it up myself I have a hard time connecting with that design, so it would not be something I could spend money on. That said, I feel I'm pretty creative, so it's not too difficult for me to come up with new ideas. (The difficulty is finding an artist willing to raw from just text descriptions and my shitty doodles.)

I can see their worth for someone who isn't creative and needed an idea for a species either for sona or a character. Some people might just get them because "woah, that's pretty cool" and they don't mind the lack of connection with it, may just use it as a side character, who knows.

idk, i get pretty connected with my adopted characters. i don't know anyone who bought characters they couldn't connect with. i just think a majority of people that get them don't want to go through the trouble of having their own made, whether they're creative or not, i don't think adoptables and creativity of consumers have any correlation at all.

Yeah I make my own characters but also adopt characters. Take my current sona, Nora for example. I adopted her. Then I have my other character, Dusty, which I created myself. I am just as connected to them both.

Now I know this might be a ridiculous example since we're discussing fictional characters here, but I think you could compare it to people who have given birth to children and have also adopted. Sure, the adopted child isn't one they created, but they love them just as much. Some people only wanna produce their own kids and some only want to adopt. Everyone is different and that's okay.

I'm not implying that OCs are anywhere near the importance of actual children.
I'm just using it as an example to make a point. Lol

 

[Kinare]

@Aprilycan @Chomby Just to be clear, I didn't say it's not possible for others to get connected with things they adopt, only that for me I need that creative process.

Specifically to Chomby... On a depressing note, I am an adopted child who has not adopted siblings and, while my parents say there's no difference, 100% they love my 1st brother more, especially my dad. They thought they couldn't have kids and so bought me, so when the miracle of birth occurred he was so special and they've shown it. I can hear the eyes rolling now, but that's how it is.

I've also had conversations with many people on the subject of adoption because it's the only way I'm willing to have a child, and they specifically said they felt that they couldn't love a child they adopted as much as one they made, so we couldn't go any farther than friends.

Now, you may be wondering, "why would you adopt a kid only, but can't adopt a character?" Well, see, the creation process isn't quite the same. With a kid, you can't decide every little detail about what they are and will become. Nature and nurture of course have a play, but overall they say who they will become. A character you can decide everything for, and I very much enjoy doing so, to the point that I can't imagine skipping all of that and just buying one. People who refuse to adopt kids say the same thing, they want to experience the process of having their own child at least once. I, as a female, am not the least bit interested in this process. xD Among other reasons for wanting to avoid anything else having my DNA, that process doesn't interest me at all.

 

[Bababooey]

@Aprilycan @Chomby Just to be clear, I didn't say it's not possible for others to get connected with things they adopt, only that for me I need that creative process.

Specifically to Chomby... On a depressing note, I am an adopted child who has not adopted siblings and, while my parents say there's no difference, 100% they love my 1st brother more, especially my dad. They thought they couldn't have kids and so bought me, so when the miracle of birth occurred he was so special and they've shown it. I can hear the eyes rolling now, but that's how it is.

I've also had conversations with many people on the subject of adoption because it's the only way I'm willing to have a child, and they specifically said they felt that they couldn't love a child they adopted as much as one they made, so we couldn't go any farther than friends.

Now, you may be wondering, "why would you adopt a kid only, but can't adopt a character?" Well, see, the creation process isn't quite the same. With a kid, you can't decide every little detail about what they are and will become. Nature and nurture of course have a play, but overall they say who they will become. A character you can decide everything for, and I very much enjoy doing so, to the point that I can't imagine skipping all of that and just buying one. People who refuse to adopt kids say the same thing, they want to experience the process of having their own child at least once. I, as a female, am not the least bit interested in this process. xD Among other reasons for wanting to avoid anything else having my DNA, that process doesn't interest me at all.

Oh! I knew you weren't saying it wasn't possible! I know that you want to only have characters you make, and that's okay. Everyone has different preferences. I guess I just wanted to get my overall thoughts out in the open, and maybe it'll help to OP understand more. I dunno.

I'm sorry you aren't loved the way you should. Child favoritism is garbage.
Maybe things will change one day. I hope so.

 

[Rayd]

@Aprilycan @Chomby Now, you may be wondering, "why would you adopt a kid only, but can't adopt a character?" Well, see, the creation process isn't quite the same. With a kid, you can't decide every little detail about what they are and will become. Nature and nurture of course have a play, but overall they say who they will become. A character you can decide everything for, and I very much enjoy doing so, to the point that I can't imagine skipping all of that and just buying one.

i was mostly taken aback (and perhaps very slightly offended) by the creativity comment. i would respectfully argue that you couldn't decide every detail of a character unless you were the artist. some people, namely myself, find it very difficult to express themselves by word, and therefore are severally impaired in their ability to get their ideas across to other people, especially if it's a creative work. without the ability to actually bring our ideas to life directly, rarely would we ever be able to decide every detail. that goes for any creative commission, not just character design. i know you didn't mean what you said as a blanket statement, i just think it's a tad bit ignorant to assume that the reason some people get adoptables is because they're uncreative. it sounded like a belittling comment, at least to me.

 

[Kinare]

i would respectfully argue that you couldn't decide every detail of a character unless you were the artist.

Idk, I feel like this is a bit of projection then. You say being creative is hard for you, and so that must mean no one except an artist can be creative, and that I'm meaning to belittle you by saying someone may want one because of the reason you said? That's... not correct. While I may not have drawn my sona or other characters (beyond a shitty little doodle to try to help the artist who made her look proper), my ability to make art doesn't also mean I'm not creative. The artist was simply there to put my idea on digital paper, I told them every detail to include. I know my characters inside and out.

In case that's not sinking in, think of all the people out there who can write amazing books in extraordinary detail, but couldn't draw those worlds or characters if you asked them to, they would have to do as I did and hire someone. The two talents are not mutually exclusive.

 

[Rayd]

Idk, I feel like this is a bit of projection then. You say being creative is hard for you, and so that must mean no one except an artist can be creative, and that I'm meaning to belittle you by saying someone may want one because of the reason you said? That's... not correct. While I may not have drawn my sona or other characters (beyond a shitty little doodle to try to help the artist who made her look proper), my ability to make art doesn't also mean I'm not creative. The artist was simply there to put my idea on digital paper, I told them every detail to include. I know my characters inside and out.

In case that's not sinking in, think of all the people out there who can write amazing books in extraordinary detail, but couldn't draw those worlds or characters if you asked them to, they would have to do as I did and hire someone. The two talents are not mutually exclusive.

to say that i'm projecting is ignorant, because you yourself described that you have not bought an adoptable, nor know the thought process of those who buy them, so how would you know? you're completely shutting down my point without having any experience with it at all. that's pretty closed-minded.

and then you follow it up with mentioning things i've not said this entire thread. you don't seem to understand that my entire point was that an inability to express does not equal a lack of creativity. the middleman of communication can often lead to ideas being lost in translation. not everyone can express an idea as well as others, but that does not have any correlation to creativity more than it does the ability to express through words. mind you, this also means that even the greatest artist could have difficulty expressing through words, even if they can express super well through their ability. just because you in particular don't have this problem, doesn't mean it doesn't exist, and doesn't give you the right to dismiss it in disdain.

you're either oblivious to what i'm saying or you're withholding responsibility for being insensitive to a problem you've described as not having.

 

[Kinare]

to say that i'm projecting is ignorant

And assuming my intent and getting offended at something not targeted towards you is ignorant, so pot calling the kettle black there. (This regarding the first time you admitted to being miffed about what I had said.)

because you yourself described that you have not bought an adoptable, nor know the thought process of those who buy them, so how would you know? you're completely shutting down my point without having any experience with it at all. that's pretty closed-minded.

Sorry, but closed-minded is refusing to see other views other than your own, which is what YOU are doing right now. Not buying adoptables is a reason this thread exists, the OP states why they don't... I know why I don't buy them and I'm allowed to not buy them for those reasons. Should someone who doesn't like pretzels not be allowed to post in a thread talking about why or why they don't buy pretzels unless they're willing to eat a bunch of pretzels first? If they have an opinion on them, of course they should be allowed to post. And that's all this shit is, our opinions. They will differ. You're treating this as though we're arguing facts and I'm somehow targeting you as being uncreative or whatever else you're offended about now.

and then you follow it up with mentioning things i've not said this entire thread.

This I will admit I misread one thing: you did not say you were uncreative, you said you have trouble communicating your ideas. That said, I do know people who have bought characters because they couldn't think of an idea for their sona or characters for a story or just flat didn't feel like putting in the effort. So my point still stands, some people can and have bought adoptables because they don't have the creativity to think of characters themselves. If it doesn't apply to you, then so be it, but just because it doesn't apply to you doesn't mean it's not true for someone else and it certainly doesn't mean I'm calling everyone who buys adoptables uncreative.

*snip big paragraph*

We're essentially saying the same thing here... You agree that creativity and ability to draw does not correlate, and yet you're mad at me for sticking up for that point of view. I'm confused now.

 

[Rayd]

stuff

you admitted to arguing about something you were wrong about and in the same post said you're confused why i'm replying to you cause we agree.

????

you came into a thread where someone was asking what the appeal was behind adoptables, and you, as someone who has never bought an adoptable, tried to give assumptious insight on something you know nothing about, and when somebody who has bought adoptables added onto what you said very respectfully to supply the thread with valuable information (which should have been the end of it), you denied this, once again not knowing what you're talking about, as was apparent when you got my entire point wrong.

i didn't want the OP to walk away from this with misinformation, that's all. now there's mixed signals all because you wanted to argue over something you have no good reason arguing about. your first assumption to why people would buy adoptables is because they may be uncreative, and i wanted to add that - "hey by the way, just so u know this doesnt apply to everyone" and then u wanted to argue about it. i dont know if u could tell or not but i didnt.

if you're so up in arms about people adding onto what you say, maybe you shouldn't take it as an attack. after all, i literally said in my second post replying to you that i knew you weren't making a blanket statement when you said those things, so you have no reason to assume the opposite. me mentioning offense was absolutely light-hearted, hence how gentle i was being until you wanted to make it about projecting or whatever.



people are allowed to educate and learn, just as much as they're allowed to have an opinion. i'd say get off your high horse, but i don't want to give you another reason to make me type another wall, so have a good day.

 

[Kinare]

you admitted to arguing about something you were wrong about and in the same post said you're confused why i'm replying to you cause we agree.

????

you came into a thread where someone was asking what the appeal was behind adoptables, and you, as someone who has never bought an adoptable, tried to give assumptious insight on something you know nothing about, and when somebody who has bought adoptables added onto what you said very respectfully to supply the thread with valuable information, you denied this, once again not knowing what you're talking about, as was apparent when you got my entire point wrong. i didn't want the OP to walk away from this with misinformation, that's all. now there's mixed signals all because you wanted to argue over something you have no good reason arguing about. your first assumption to why people would buy adoptables is because they may be uncreative, and i wanted to add that - "hey by the way, just so u know this doesnt apply to everyone" and then u wanted to argue about it.

people are allowed to educate and learn, just as much as they're allowed to have an opinion. so uh, get off your high horse maybe.

You're the one who came at me with the argumentative bullshit first acting like I had targeted you for some reason, lul. And now you're ignoring what I said and saying no one is allowed to have an opinion on something simply because you disagree with it... gl with that. It's clear you just want to have an argument, not a discussion. You want to force your view on OP, not teach him different views.

You may want to do yourself a favor and go back and read what Chomby and I said, because it was very civil until you jumped in all angry-like pretending I was somehow targeting you. But apparently because my actual real life experience is different from what he said and what you want to believe, somehow that makes it invalid, even though it's actually real... God, you're so full of it it's hilarious at this point.

Have fun being angry for no reason I guess. (Nice edits btw trying to seem less angry, haha.)

 

[Rayd]

pocket sand

its gonna be ok i promise u already admitted u were wrong. (those edits were made right after i posted them and were just fixing typos, if anything you're trying so hard to have the last laugh that it just makes you look bad.)

 

[ConorHyena]

you came into a thread where someone was asking what the appeal was behind adoptables, and you, as someone who has never bought an adoptable, tried to give assumptious insight on something you know nothing about, and when somebody who has bought adoptables added onto what you said very respectfully to supply the thread with valuable information (which should have been the end of it), you denied this, once again not knowing what you're talking about, as was apparent when you got my entire point wrong.

You don't need to buy an adoptable to have insight on the possible appeal or non-appeal though. I can perfectly well say that I can understand why someone would buy one while I would personally never spend money on one.

 

[Kinare]

its gonna be ok i promise u already admitted u were wrong

I hope some day you realize what childish behavior you're displaying and change a bit. Being able to admit when you're wrong is a virtue, and I'm not going to let you shame me for that by trying to twist my words into saying I was wrong about everything. So enjoy not getting to make me feel bad, because at this point that's your only purpose.

 

[Rayd]

You don't need to buy an adoptable to have insight on the possible appeal or non-appeal though. I can perfectly well say that I can understand why someone would buy one while I would personally never spend money on one.

yeah i agree but i shouldn't have to be sucked into a dumb argument for adding onto something someone said in what is after all an educative topic, and be told i'm wrong like everybody is a hivemind or something. oh and then have them saying they're wrong and they agree with me 3 posts later. ideally it should have been person a says x > person b says y and it should have been over with. people will find any reason to hold a grudge. it's bizarre.

 

[Bababooey]

 

[Rayd]

 

[sshado]

I adopt characters who have designs I want to borrow for my main sona. I also adopt characters who I think would look good getting it on with my sona in commissions. Sometimes an artist just nails something that was in my head but I'm bad at describing.

To me, "adopting" a sona is no different than a YCH or a ref sheet. I just treat them like a side character.

 

[Tendo64]

I'm terrible at character design, so I buy other designs that I like. I'm extremely picky and never know what I want until I see ir.

 

[TemetNosce88]

I did adopt all of the characters I have so far, but a bit of the primary driving factor on that was that they all came with numerous pieces of art already. All of them were from the artist having a character fire sale so I wound up not spending much (one, the first one I had from them, was free). I mainly did that to try to help out an artist I like, plus the price was right (cheap).

Would I spend a lot of money on a single design from someone? Probably not, but I think that's everyone's personal choice. I purchased character designs because ultimately I don't think I'm good at coming up with them on my own. Some people seem to be really good at cranking out character designs and other people seem to like to have one or two characters and produce mountains of art about them. Both, I think, are equally valid ways of enjoying the fandom.

 

[MosquitoBeest]

A lot of my characters are adopts! I love looking for interesting characters so I can give them stories (or fit them into stories of characters I already have). It helps me stay up on my creative writing and I get to continue to build my worlds

 

[TyraWadman]

Some people don't sell very detailed or original concepts. A lot of them are simply color palettes, and even then, I don't understand why so many people flock to them.

If you wanna pay something back for whatever they might have inspired within you, sure, by all means. But I'll never understand the logic behind cookie-cutter adopts. So many people are gonna be upset that their fursona has 10 other clones out there with slightly different color patterns.

Some people I think are legitimately addicted though *coughcoughcough*. I personally only buy if something is striking enough for me. I recently discovered Morovoi that comes up with creatures and even a small story behind it and that's 90% of what I'm needing for my main series. I've come up with a lot already, but having these additional creatures (that also inspire new ideas) saves me a lot of time and effort!

 

[MosquitoBeest]

Oh, I don't buy anything that's made off of a base! I only go for one-offs that are genuinely interesting to me and that the artist also had interest in creating as well.