Subjective Patreon "Policy" on "Japanese Style" Characters (Patreon)
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Word is flying around from some creators about a new and entirely subjective policy being enforced, primarily targeting Anime style artists for giving their characters neotanous features, like big eyes and big heads. Some artists have already had their accounts forced to remove any depiction of a character that could be interpreted as possibly under 18, based on looks alone. Any character with a thin build, or large eyes could conceivably be targeted by this subjective policy, regardless of how many stories you've written about them being adults.
I've not seen the specific art that Patreon came down on when this was brought up. Was it exceptionally chibi? I don't know. But it does mean they could interpret a style as against their ever morphing policies.
In the past several years I've been pulling my style toward more ordinary proportions. I used to draw heads much larger than they would normally be on people, as a way of style, in my older work. I try not to anymore. But it does mean some characters who are specifically short and thin, like Beth or Penelope, could be subject to scrutiny, despite being written as adults who lead adult lives in stories. The subjective nature of this is what is the most aggravating. Sissy's in her forties and has a curvy body, but if I draw her eyes too big, according to the Orwellian-esque named Trust & Safety Committee... the pic has to go?
Things like this make Patreon an unstable place to do any kind of creative adult work. When wondering why this would now be a thing when it was fine for all the years Patreon has been around, it makes me wonder if they're not cleaning the site of anything subjectively "iffy" as a prelude to selling the company. This possibility instills further instability, which can't be mollified by any of the CEO's tear-filled assurances about supporting creators.
Here is the article I was linked to that outlined what happened with the anime style creators whose work was brought up:
So, what to do? I'm not leaving my adult-only Patreon account unless I have no choice, so don't worry, for now. But be aware this is happening. I will be posting another announcement after this with links to my Subscribestar page and my SFW Patreon account, and basically going over any contingency plans if this becomes an issue here.
Thank you all!