Anthropomorphic rant?!?

[ChimPanZ]

Okay, I've got something to say that's been on my chest for a while now.

First, all of the animals I see in anthro art or stories and online fiction are either foxes, wolves, and maybe the occasional dragon. It's not that I don't have a problem with them, it's just that there's a wide variety of animals to choose from, like rabbits, meerkats, bats, roosters, falcons and toucans, turtles, koalas, penguins, kangaroos, and most of all, MONKEYS!!! (My favorite animal). Monkeys, which I hardly ever see, if seen at all, are portrayed as nothing but stupid, cartoony dumb animals who throw poop at anything that moves. Why can't they be like some of the wolves I find on deviantart? They deserve the same right to be the anime-style, bad*** acrobats that I know they can be?

Second, a hefty sum of the stories I find online or elsewhere are a little bit lacking in action, and the dialouge between two opposing characters is limited. I mean the stories themselves aren't totally terrible, but for once, can I see a modern, 21st century setting, where a group of 6 or more anthro teen (17 years or older) animals/human hybrids with different personalities and backgrounds are fighting against an evil organization working towards some sick and twisted goal, while at the same time, dealing with the prejudice of regular humans and discovering new things about themselves? What's more, I wanna see feats and displays of superhuman strength, agility, acrobatics, and endurance. Kinda like the action of Naruto, O-Parts Hunter (666 Satan), and maybe The Matrix (a little) combined with (some) of the raw language that teens use against one another when they think no authority figures are around. (a little bit like Maximum Ride, only for older teens 16-18, and alot more cussing (hell, damn, quit b*******, STFU, and more...) Maybe I'm just a picky action junkie, but this is something I'd like to see...

If you're not interested in answering this question, then at least point me in the right direction to where someone will talk about it.
you can email me if you wanna talk more about it. [email protected].

gtg. it's late...but i frequently check my email, so don't be shy. I could use a few critics about my artwork and story

Constructive criticism only, and stuff on what I can do to improve...

 

[Kabukiyasha]

You mentioned you like monkeys? http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg144/Sky_Fayr/QC/Majom_Mystic.jpg

I think manga artists do tend to spread out a little with regards to anthropomorphic representations because characters are often story-driven rather than art-driven (there are always exceptions to the rule, but lets skip talking about hentai and ecchi since that's where the problem started anyway). Most people who draw anthro art draw it for the sake of the particular animal they like, and many people tend to have very limited fields of obsession.

Wolves, foxes, horses etc are easier to draw 'prettily'. There's a very big bias towards certain kinds of animals because they look 'cool'. Artists also have to cater to their audience to a degree to make money, so published items often end up being from one mainstream anthro from to another with very little variety (or with few stereotyped cameo appearances by other representatives of the animal kingdom).

The problem evolves further when fans want to see stories with their favorite anthro characters in them (read: wolves and foxes and cats), because the artist is often somewhat subject to popularity ratings, they will usually start the comic out with the main couple of characters being exactly what the readers want. The other problem with drawing 6-7 main characters is that it leads to an epic, and an epic with a storyline (rather than something that relies on humor and is weekly) is a lot of work. Most people also produce anthro comics for the sake of fun or money, so either way it's popularity/mainstream and cash.

Many people who start comics with their art are also not yet prepared for the plunge (they just don't know it yet). Most artists do have the misconception (I did too, don't worry, oh the folly of youth) that making comics is easy. Yes, certainly a non-printable page a day with a joke in it can be relatively low effort as long as you're witty, but a prolonged and sustained story is hard work. You have to draw the 'boring' bits you don't have to do when drawing a 4-panel comic, nor do you need to draw epic backgrounds, fight scenes and so forth, all of which are complicated if you draw an anthro form you're not used to drawing (monkeys).

Artists also fall often to the trap of 'knowing their story'. That is, some people can write and draw, some people can only write, and some people (unbelievable I know) can only draw. Many people in the third category and the second category (more rarely) believe they can do both. There are many artists in almost every genre of art that lends itself to comics who churn out absolutely dreadful stories. It's not so much an anthro-syndrome, it's more a world disease that anthro art happens to not be immune to.

I was going to give you some comments about artwork/story but I didn't see a link to either? I like your vision (what you posted up there wasn't a story yet, it was a vision), and I think it would make for a visually interesting manga, but I don't know details about it yet. I also like writing modern fantasy epics, and I have noticed that anthro manga seems very stuck in fantasy settings (trees, bows, campfires) or outright hentai/school yard stories. As if the reader should be happy to get their anthro and forget about the need for a story altogether.