Why I don't Buy Adoptables (and why you might not want to, either) 

if you enjoyed this, please check out some of my newer videos too

*casually listens to the audio while making adoptables to sell*

I think this video might be more appropriately named "Things to consider before buying an adoptable". You bring some good points to the table for more sporadic purchasers to consider: 1. Can you draw this character? Is it a design you'll be able to replicate? 2. Do you connect with this character? Does it strike you on an emotional level and inspire you? 3. Do you have a plan for this character? Can you put it to good use? 4. What are your reasons for buying it? Do you have a specific interest in this character or are you just looking to have something from this artist/wanting to spend money on yourself? 5. Is this a good use of your money? 6. Did you read the Terms of Service? Do you understand and agree with the Terms of Service? All good things to think about before making a big purchase!

I've never bought or made adoptables. But I just assumed they were no different than buying regular commissions. But in this case you are buying someones character to use for your own needs. Which is an actual business within the animation, or character design world. Some people just aren't creative enough to design a character, but they have the talent to draw or create some kind of content behind it. And they commission someone with creative talent to design the character for them.

I have a friend who recently bought an adoptable from someone, and the original owner is really controlling of it. They constantly tell my friend that they're not drawing her right even though it looks great and nothing in design has been changed, and they pretty much get pissed when he adds certain notes or traits the original owner doesn't like. They also nag him to put their name, and their friend's name, in the description of every single picture they post of the adoptable. It's really annoying, and I'm not even the one dealing with it first hand.

I will say that I completely agree on the whole ''you are not allowed to edit your new bought character'' to be totally unacceptable, you are right once you sold your character legally you do NOT own it anymore, if you are not comfortable with another person changing your design, then don't sell it... I completely agree with you on that, people should stop writing that as a term of agreement when buying an adoptable.

“I’ve seen ones over $100, sometimes they’re like $300” You’ve seen nothing yet, I’ve seen a pink dog go for a thousand

Buy cheep. Sell at a higher price. That's DeviantArt in a nutshell!

I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure putting conditions under which a design can be revoked in your terms of service won't hold up in court. If you're providing a service (ie LOANING a design), then sure, you have the right to end service. Otherwise you'd need a contract signed by all parties involved. The other thing is I feel like a lot of people getting heavily invested in adopts and their tos are teens/minors and minors can't sign contracts anyway!

Honestly, I sell adoptables but I won't buy any. I just really need the money..I'm in a tight spot..and well, I consider myself a character designer. There are some people who don't draw, or people who look specifically for character designs. Heck, animation companies like Disney for example,hires people who do character designs FOR A JOB, and they get paid for it too. Granted these character designs have to follow an outline for what the studio is looking for, but it's a very similar concept. I don't see anything wrong with selling characters, they're fun to make, and some people just like what others make. But like I said before, i don't buy adoptables i just sell em.

I never understood the point of adoptables myself either.

I feel you emotionally on the "being able to revoke the character design." I went through a situation where someone who I had bought an adoptable from tried to take it back, when I hadn't broken any of their TOS (Cause they didnt have any) And I had become very emotionally attached to it. Cue them sending all their friends after me to harass me into giving the character back even though I legally owned it and had paid for it. Thankfully, I still have the character. If anyone reads this, they technically dont have the ability to take back a character design if you paid for the copyrights to it. Anyways, great video! You've earned a sub! ;3

"What was the point of buying it if you're going to sell it eventually" Well, people change their minds, maybe the original intention for that character backfired, like those white shoes that I thought I was going to use often but never really did use

This video: Why not to buy adoptables Next video in my recommended: How to profit from adoptables.

I'm just going to focus on the "revoking" part. Unless you've actually signed a legit contract, a character can't legally be revoked. When a design is sold, traded, or gifted away, the creator is giving up the ownership for that design. Even if the creator states something like, "sending money/points means you're agreeing to my ToS," it won't give them any right to taking back the character design, because it's technically no longer theirs. If someone buys a lamp from a store, the store owner has no say in what the buyer does with said lamp. If the owner takes the lamp away, it's simply theft.

I don't see buying adoptables as just buying a design. You're buying a piece of artwork. This is a reason why people want designs made by certain people. If you want a piece of artwork X artist made why is it silly to want an adopt specifically made by that artist? Also, there's a thing called demand. If an artist's adopts are in demand and are selling well, the price will sky rocket as does every other thing sold on this planet. And usually when an adopt is 300$ it's because the demands are high and it will likely get sold. You also talk about how you're poor and can't afford adoptables. Buying ANY kind of art is a luxury. It's a luxury item. People either save up for adoptables or have extra money they can spare on a luxury item. The way you talk about adoptables almost seems like you've only seen a small corner of what the adoptable community is. I personally will not buy adoptables because I have the ability to draw and create characters myself where other people might not. News flash, not everyone can draw/create. I charge 40$ for my adoptables because that's how much a standard single character commission from me would cost and because I have somewhat of a demand for my work, I'm able to. It's still work, it's still a piece of art being created, it deserves a price tag. Last point, I have never ever seen anyone have a TOS like that. People wouldn't purchase something from someone with a TOS with rules like those. I'm sure they exist somewhere but its a very very select few artists.

Everyone, I understand that this is Shell's opinion but just because it's her opinion doesn't mean that we're not allowed to critique it.

Yeah, of _course_ this comes out a whole week after I shelled out 700 points... In my opinion, I don't buy adoptables for the character. I buy them to show my support for the artist that made them, and (idk) another way to show I appreciate them. Sure, I can donate, but if they have something on their profile that gives you benefits for donating- then it seems like I'm out for the benefits, not for supporting them. And I want them to see me draw these characters pointlessly, have a constant reminder that their stuff was _wanted_ and _paid for_ . It's more for them than it is for me. And even if I don't do anything with them, some adoptables can take hours, days, or weeks to create. And 50 bucks? As someone else has already said, there have been adoptables that have gone for a thousand or more. With all those other ones out there, some adoptables creators need a bit more love, especially considering how much effort some put into it- and how others don't. There are people who use dress-up games and creators to create adoptables by the pack, and sell them easily and cheaply. And I've seen some of those go faster than any handcrafted adoptable could ever hope for. So yeah, I'd just say it's more to support the artist.

there's also bidding, where the design starts out at like 5-15 dollars. I've seen that shit go up to 200 dollars. Again, it's their choice how to use their money.

Quick tip don't buy adoptables at 2 o'clock in the morning it will seem like a great deal at 2'oclock in the morning and then you will wake up and realise it was a total waste of money Trust me I know from experience

Oh god this takes me back. Once, long ago, when I was a wee lass, I bought an adoptable from an artist on gaiaonline. It was some kind of scientific chimera amalgamation and I mostly bought it because I wanted to have one to "play" with my buddy ((they were super strict about who could participate in their fancy events so I guess I had to be one of the cool kids to participate)). Spent a pretty gaia-penny on it but since I wasn't really doing anything else on the site it kinda didn't matter too much. Something happened, I can't remember what, but my buddy got in trouble with the artist and the artist decided they didn't like her ((and by extension, me)) anymore. So they changed the "Terms of Service" so she could revoke our adoptables "for any reason" and immediately resold them. My friend kinda sulked and wandered off but I - bull headed as I was - wasn't about to let some bratty probably-older-than-me lady tell me what to do. So I drew my character up extra snazzy, changed a handful of the details, and popped him into my signature. Everyone was furious. I was pleased. The mods didn't really do anything because as far as they were concerned I hadn't exactly broken any rules - I'd made a whole new adoptable for myself. tldr draw/write what makes you happy and don't worry about having a big shiny sticker from the "artist of the week" because everyone will probably forget about it tomorrow.

Y’all she’s not saying “YOUR OPINION HAS TO BE THE SAME AS MINE OR UR WRONG!!!!” She’s just stating her opinion on adoptables. Chill.

I’m that person. I buy characters and do nothing. Well, I do nothing with most of them. I like to collect them, I’d never sell them though.

4:48 I feel like it’s important to note that people often times don’t have anything to do with the character anymore/or feel like they can use it due to personal issues. For me I had to let go of a dear character of mine because of trauma, and everytime I tried to draw him it felt like I would open up an old wound. It happens.

But the thing is.... *I never knew adoptables existed*

Maybe I can clear up some of this! First off the general appeal of adopts: Often they most appeal to people who love to write and RP but either don't feel like they're good at art (and have different priorities than pursuing art skills at the moment) or don't feel good at character design. So like a movie studio might purchase rights to a song to use in their movie, they basically buy adopts to complement their own skills and to later breathe life into these characters elsewhere. Of course, there are also people who do it for other reasons. Some want to practice drawing specific traits so they buy adopts who display those traits (my sibling recently bought some furry and feral designs so they have specific and enjoyable designs to practice drawing furries and animals with). Often people do that because it feels easier to draw a character design they enjoy than to just do dull studies. Some people just see an adopt that they'd have fun drawing a lot, so they go for it. And of course there are also the collectors, who love collecting adoptables like others do with stamps. And... yeah, as someone who creates Adopts, that's admittedly also my least favorite kind to see a babb go to, but what can you do. I'd also like to bring up some reasons aside from money why people create adopts. I for one love to simply practice character design, using prompts or spontaneous ideas to spin a design out of. It's a skill I really need to hone too, since I want to be able to do concept art for a career eventually. A lot of those designs I make accessible free of charge. I know how it is to not have money, and I vividly remember my days of pulling google images for my RP characters as a youngin. So I try to provide a lot of free stuff. However, I'd like to see some of those characters owned and used more intimately, so giving them to specific individuals seems good. And since I never have much money myself... ya know. Time compensation. This leads me to the high prices. Oof, difficult topic... on one hand, I absolutely get it. I don't think I ever paid more than 20$ for an adopt myself, for the same reason as you. On the other hand, I have 50$ adopts among the ones I offer, and I refuse to take them down in price. There are several factors that play a role there, but most influential are how much material the client gets and how much time it cost me to create it. My 50$ adopts tend to come with several reference sheets and then sometimes some bonus art, and they tend to be closed species stuff to boot. It's absolutely valid not to want to purchase that, again, if I see a 50$ price tag on an adopt I pry my gaze of it, too. But those expensive adopts also allow me to make tiny free or cheap ones as well, and they fairly compensate me for my time and effort. It's a luxury item and like all of those, the value is incredibly subjective. Seeking adopts from specific people: Well, that's easily explained, I think. For one, people want to support their favorite artists. For two, they might be in love with how that specific person designs or draws characters. Heck, I have a clear favorite when it comes to who I wanna buy adopts from, too, for those very reasons. If the artist is well known, then yeah, prestige starts playing a role as well... but criticising that feels a bit like criticising that people tend to value the autograph of their favorite musician more than that of their buddy from the choir. Both are signatures from people who can sing well, but one is assigned more value than the other for no other reason than people decided so. This also plays into the super expensive adopts. If an artist or their species have enough of an audience that people will still tear those designs from their hands for 3 digit prices... often they will. Not even out of malice, but simply because it's a way to make a living. Terms of Service: I agree that some people go way overboard with ToS, and might even enforce them in bad ways. I feel like most artists don't have them for that reason though - I know I don't. I always make sure people see my ToS up front and specifically agree to them because for me it's not about getting my character back or anything, it's about not wanting people to do certain things with it. For example, I don't want to find my designs on a pamphlet for a KKK rally some day, preaching that all black people are evil. Should anyone ever go against my ToS and do such a horrid thing with them, I will probably not be able to force them to remove it, simply because I don't have the money for the necessary steps... but I can distance myself from the incident better, prove that this was not what the design was intended for, and even pass the design on to someone who will give it a better, kinder purpose. If I didn't do that bare minimum to try and keep people from abusing my works, I don't know if I could forgive myself if my works were used to harm someone one day. This plays an even bigger role in Closed Species by the way, who often come with big communities that really need some guidelines and protection from the species owner so everyone plays nice. I'll go on record here though to say that I have never actually revoked an adopt from anyone ever. Even with a person I blacklisted, I gave them permission to keep and slightly modify the design or to resell or retrade it if they so please. Because I agree that no modification ever and complete revocation are... kind of extreme. I also have a clause about modification though, where I ask that the design is modified at most around 25%. Mainly because I want others to have my design if the person who bought it basically would actually like a new or completely different one instead. It's true that people should own what they bought, but I feel that art is always.... a bit difficult. A piece of art never completely loses the connection to the one who created it, and since this generation of artists needs to work a LOT on reputation and clout, I think many of us are understandably paranoid that our works will end up in contexts that can sully our names forever. The internet doesn't forget after all... So since we can never fully be safe from that connection to our works, we kind of need to have some failsafes in place. I hope that makes some aspects of adopts more understandable and doesn't come across as an attack on your video, because it's not. I super appreciate that you clearly titled it in a way that shows it's YOUR opinion, and I promis I only hoped to shed some light on some reasonings behind common things in the adopt world.

You can have a emotionally connection to a well designed character too? And there's something called custom where you just tell someone what you want to have in your character and it can have a great design

Last time I checked adoptables, collectables, they're all the same. You're adopting--collecting. Sometimes it's simply based on adding to an art collection. It's like saying "Don't buy this print! It's not worth it! So what if you want it hung on your wall or the digital print in your personal file to look at on your own time--not worth it!" I made adoptables years ago and it was one of the best financial decisions I had made. Adoptable prices were based most likely on the popularity of the artist and the value of their art. That's up to the buyer to decide on value, not someone on the outside looking in on their choice of hobby collecting. Now I am not educated on adoptable resale, but as far as the value of an adoptable--that's not for you to decide on behalf of others.

Hey, professional character designer, and occasional adoptable maker here, as in I do it and pay my rent - here is a more pointed list and reply, instead of summarizing it all by saying, you don't have quite enough information- Your arguments and views are valid, but allow some counter points. -Complexity - I feel the exact same, as a professional, and I'm not going to name names, but there are a few makers in particular that have a style for complexity, and people like to look at them and they're pretty, but i never design mine over complicated, this comes down to taste, and not every character is made for animation. (But I keep the complexity down in personal taste and utility) -Attachment - You're kinda right, its just not for some people. some people don't have the creative oomph and need some creatives help, and can see something they like and tweak it to represent them or their tastes more, I see it more like collecting dolls or cards, they sit there for a really long time and then sell it eventually, but some people find card collecting annoying. -Name Brand - Some people have styles, designs, or motifs that are what they're looking for, its not uncommon to have favorite artists, once you start building a bit of a brand, people know that they can expect quality from you. and sometimes price goes with that. -Price- yes, SOMETIMES silly, sometimes invested price is in the artwork sometimes 100s of commissioned art pieces, and sometimes even a fursuit, make sure to look at the whole thing, like the characters off site page. -Do read Tos, true vote with your money, my Tos are common sense, I think it should work that way too, I'm not sketch like that, try not to buy adoptables with terms like that. You buy it it's yours. -Edits - I don't allow re-designs of one type of character that are closed species, scars, adding clothes and stuff like that is fine, but specifically changing fur changes the greater family tree and can't be done, more like, again, like collecting a pokemon or getting a digital pet, small changes are always fine, and some people have strict in universe rules for closed species, (playing devils advocate here) but even I think they can be a bit strict at times honestly. I'm hired to re-design characters all the time, so don't get me wrong I love re-designing things, but sometimes it's different.

1:42 I think that depends on taste, some like complicated designs, some don't. And to be honest there aren't that many complex designs, A LOT of adoptables are quite simple and those simple designs are easy to find.

I love to buy overly complex designs because it challenges my abilities when I draw them for myself.

If u count 1 hour of work 10-20$, then why is it sooo absurd to sell a design (which is a patent) for about 100$? If it's good, then the person might have put 5-10 hours in easily (not even counting the process of becoming that good at art). I really don't like artists bashing on other artists for trying to get some money out of it or make a living. We have it hard enough as it is, we don't need to hate on each other

Well, ok I see your points here. However, you can’t argue that designs being complicated is a bad thing. Making a character have an interesting and varied design creates a challenge for the artist as well as some sort of aesthetic visual quality. Another point you made was the fact that you can’t be personally attached to a character that you buy? Lmao what?? That’s where backstories come in, honey. You can create a backstory for the character and boom, you start relating to the animal or person.

"If you buy the character and don't do anything with it, then what's the point?" Well, if you're referring to drawing the adopt you buy, then not everyone is an artist, some people like looking at pretty things, others just like saying things are theirs, some roleplay using them, and (in my case,) I don't use them often until I develop them more and I hoard them for fun (well, a certain species anyway). At least, those are the answers I've gathered over the while. For the designer thing, people like designs by a certain person and enjoy collecting them because it's a hobby or something or just really want a design from the person they are adopting from (the main ones I can think of are Sno-Berry and UFOHouse). I think. Idk. I coud be wrong and I'm not too sure about this. And overpricing adopts is for a reason; like, if the person is popular, the adopts would be selling like hotcakes and it's not too wise to just sell every single adopt you make for like a dollar when hundreds or even thousands would buy it from you or something. Ya know? The more popluar a thing is, the more money it will sell for. "If you're that emotionally attached to a character, why sell it in the first place?" Well, some people need money. It sucks and maybe they have no choice. And as some people say, you're points are a bit opinionated and you seem like you lack experience. But if you are the latter, I can't blame you though I recommend looking up more about adopts or asking people you know who are interested in adopts why they appeal to them.

lack creative talent? spend 30$ for someone to do it for you!

I feel like i have to be mentally 12y/o to relate to the logic of this video

No, stop, I need money, I need to live ;-; (Joking)

I got an adopt for free, of a closed species. Won her in a raffle. The artist is real chill about it, and says "basically do anything but resell her." Though she *is* an FA artist. What i won came to be my fursona. Which is a pain in the butt to draw for sure. My artist friend i frequent complains about "the striiiiipes" Still youre helpful with informing people.

Personally, this is my opinion: Firstly, yes, some people make adoptables to pay rent and have it as a job, its just rare to come by since many people make adoptables for some side money, but it is possible that some do it as a job. Secondly, i am very sorry your friends had a bad experience with some adoptable makers, but not all adopt makers are like that. Usually, if im planning to have my adopted characters in a commercially used project or anything similar to that, i just ask the adopt creator to see if its ok, and it normally always is. If the person just took the adopts they bought away from them, then thats not right. Normally, ive seen alot of TOS, and usually they arent that bad. I have seen some that are very strict, but usually they are pretty lax. It really depends on the seller though. Thirdly, Adopts are almost like commissions. Your paying for the time and effort people put into them too. Usually, when i make adopts, digitally it takes me days to make 1 or 2 adoptables. Digital isnt my main media, but when i do serious stuff like adopts, i try my best to do the best i can with them. Adoptables have actually helped my digital art improve alot, which is amazing! But, thats just my opinion on that part. I do buy adopts, and its usually because i like the design and see how it can be used in stories. I make my own character designs too, and in fact, some of my main ones are ones i made myself and others are ones that were adopted. To me, it doesn’t matter if someone else made your character or you made them, it depends on if you love the character. And if you dont want to buy expensive adopts, alot of people sell amazingly designed adopts for 25 to 200 points on DA! Really you just gotta look around and see if any strikes your fancy and if the person is reasonable to buy from! Thats how i see it

Here's my experience with adopts 1. Different artists put different terms of service that suits their needs, i usually put very loose terms, they can resell, change gender, the name, even the whole design if they want to, the only thing they can't do is use it for profit like charms or stickers or prints. 2. People offer custom made adoptables too 3. Alot of people want a creative design, or even just want a piece of deisgn from a popular artist, they use it to request commissions and get heavily painted artworks too 4. Its a good way to support an artist without having to donate and you get a piece of artwork in the end of it I love adoptables, they have the most creative and admirable designs that you don't normally see and i still think its worth the money especially since its also a piece of artwork that an artist put materials and time into, they also make great buisness and its easier to sell than commissions

this is a really confused rambling honestly "nobody will pay that amount" and 2 seconds later "and people pay that amount"

I agree with a lot of your points in this, the only one I can't really agree with is the overpricing? when people sell adoptables, they aren't only selling the design but the *time* they put into it. I myself ain't gonna spend 300$ on an adopt/species adopt, because I don't have that kind of income. (and I personally won't spend that much either xD) But, there are people who make a living off of adopts or species, hence why adopts/species are in that area of price, so artists can make a decent living, and so they can draw for themselves. People are just... taught that it's worth 20$?? when in the art industry, it could be way more then 300$, so just some food for thought. But every other point I agree with. Like... they bought the adoptable from them... and they can't change it? I never came across anyone like that, but seeing how... crazy people can be on the internet, it isn't that surprising >:/ it is annoying though. I also dislike the just keep the base and recolors? I see a grey area with that if it's a detailed color palette, but if there is only two colors and isn't as... spread? I don't understand. and the detailed adopts? yeahhhhh if it's overly detailed thats pretty weird.. overall I think this video is quite good, keep it up my dude x3

The reasons I’ve recently bought a few adopts is because I set up a challenge for myself- To create an entire land full of random adoptables. Though I get a lot of your points in this, especially over priced. When I was going through some adopts for my little adopt world, I found these chibi base adopts that’s were $60, PER. CHARACTER. While I understand the character might look good to the creator, but honestly, I needs my money QwQ

"sometimes they're pretty expensive, I've seen some over a hundred dollars" not me coming from that video about the $20.5k adoptable lol

*Actually I'm listening to this while I draw an adoptable I bought*

I make adopts and do commissions... I've never heard of a person taking character back(not that I don't believe it has never happened before, people can be stupid) but the way you say it sounds like you think most do it, no we don't. I've made many adopts and never taken them back. I have never heard of people being unable to change the character either, I say let them do whatever with it when it's yours. I don't ask for 50$(although I have seen that) but most of the time them are extremely high quality pieces or original species.

1. There are ppl that just like complicated designs? just like there are ppl who don't 2. you don't have connection, others do. Connection with a character comes with time, not with your own design 3. 'What was the point on buying it if you're gonna sell it" it's the same for doing your own design. If you change your mind about you like it or not, why keep it? some ppl just change their mind about any character 4. It's the same with buying comissions, you like the person and you want something from them 5. Some ppl sell their oc that are emotionally conected, because they need money. And ppl buy it, what's wrong with that if somebody payed 50$ on a character, trust me, they won't just forget about that character 6. the terms of use, this is the only thing i agree with. People often don't have any idea about that. my english is shit i kno

“People just buy it and then it sits there” yeah but I don’t resell I have peace of mind knowing I own it and I think its pretty. I don’t have to do a thing with it to enjoy that it’s mine

I see buying adoptables like buying a homemade shirt. Someone else made it, but once it's sold, the creator has no say in how its worn, what it's used for, or where it is taken. I could buy a shirt off etcy and then cut it up and use it as craft material because I like the color. Maybe I turned the shirt into a dress because I liked the pattern but wanted a dress. The creator can't tell me I can't do what i want with something I own. I bought the shirt not rented it. The only problem would be if I said I made the shirt, because I didn't I got it from another artist. Does that make sense?

This is why I absolutely love open species..

okay. so I watched this whole video totally transfixed on your shading. it's sublime. I'm usually not a fan of this kind of art, which is mainly WHY I left deviantart, but I really like your style. you also make great points; scams and rip offs are everywhere on deviantart. I was part of it for a really long time before I just couldn't take the community itself anymore. packed up my stuff and left. only have a spare account to download models and give credit where it's due. thanks for the great video.

Honestly, I can never feel a strong emotional connection to any of my characters I make from scratch now. However, I do have an adopt that I edited, and they're one of my favorite o.c's. And one of my friends made a design. They gave to me for free. That I also edited and I love him as well. I've never had a crisis about missing an adopt so it's not a big deal to me. Edit: Both times they were PERFECTLY okay with the changes I made, the one that I paid for even likes my color choices better.

I love my adopted characters, animate them, draw them, and connect to them more than the ones i design myself :^)

I love to draw,but I'm not a creative person. I can't create oc's,my oc's look all the same,same colors,same species,same patterns...So I buy adoptables to have new things to try,draw,create histories and another things.

Those 300$ Adoptables sell though because they have a fandom that'll pay that XD

Hi im new on deviant art (BbyRainyArtist) and I'm learning how to use, sell, what to do or not to do and just need help. Someone explain adoptable? Like how do people who buy it use it? To look at? How do they use it in an Rp? Is it just buying a look and then using that look and drawing it in different ways? I'm confused.

I feel like this video is just a bit too harsh and opinionated tbh... And pretty clickbaity. I thought that the video was more so going to be about the risks when it comes to adopts (such as how theft is a pretty big issue in the adopts community both for buyers and sellers) not so much nagging on the prices and the TOS. I'm an adopts seller myself and selling an adopt has sometimes come into clutch when it comes to paying for my rent or helping me afford dinner that night so maybe I'm a bit biased but not only am I a seller, but I'm also a buyer. Adopts are actually pretty great because for one, you know what character you're getting. I've gotten customs from a few people and a lot of the time the character is not quite what I envisioned or wanted in the slightest, they take forever to finish the custom that I asked for that I will probably end up just making it myself, or the dreaded they go quiet after discussing the custom either because they forgot or lost interest in working with me. Buying an adopt is a very simple and quick exchange unless if someone wants changes to be made to the character, and even then the character is already mostly done at that point so changes shouldn't take too long to make. Adopts are also really great for people who need a character really fast and don't have the time to commission one or make one themselves. As for the prices well, you're paying that person for their time. It generally takes me sometimes up to 5 hours to complete an adopt, give it a pallet, make it a proper ref sheet, ect and based on the minimum wage for my province (I live in Canada) I should be getting paid at least $75 CAD for my time spent on that adopt. Do I charge that? No, but that's because I sell adopts as more of a hobby then as a professional. That being said, when I see one of my favorite artists selling adopts like SPCKid's adopts being sold for $30 min. that's a steal compared to how his commissions are not always open and his customs start at $80. And that also brings me to the next point. When someone asks for adopts specifically made by a certain artist like Snoberry or KK-Skies, that's usually because that person generally likes the style of the artist or usually likes their designs. Maybe they saw a character a few months ago that they loved and are seeing if that character is up for sale or if there's any similar characters for sale like them. It's kinda like clothing in a way where I'm sure that you have your favorite clothing stores or brands that you usually go to first to find stuff that you like. You may even be willing to pay more for a designer shirt from a brand that you love then getting a similar one that you're just not as in love with or trying to make it yourself (especially if you can't sew). Now I know that a few people have already mentioned the TOS thing and honestly I've only ever seen one incident with the TOS and that being how Snoberry banned all of her adopts from being sold on amino asides from the "official" Snoberry amino. That was the only case in where I have witnessed someone screwing people over with a TOS. Not to mention it's actually illegal for people to "take back" adopts from people for breaking their TOS after the adopt has been fully paid for and legally handed to them. The only case where it is legal is if someone only sells co-ownership of an adopt instead of full ownership which must be stated as part of the agreement and transaction when someone co-owns an adopt. That being said it's always very important to read someone's TOS before buying an adopt because while they can't legally take an adopt back from someone they can make a 'beware' or ban them from buying any future adopts from them. So basically, I'd talk to your friends about that because unless if they signed a legally binding contract then the original creator has no right to take an adopt from them (The only case of this being that they either stole the adopt or had bought the adopt from a thief making the adopt illegitimate and they should end up going after the person that they bought it from in that case). And heck some TOS rules are there to protect the buyer like notifying the maker when you sell their adopt to someone else which helps them keep track of who owns the adopt so if they're stolen they can catch the thieves easier and faster. And lastly, complex designs are actually pretty rare in the adopt community. Honestly the biggest issue is adopts that are way too simple that people are trying to sell for way too much. Maybe this is more of a problem on Amino which is my main selling platform but a lot of people understand that complex designs, though pretty a lot of the times, just don't sell very well. Yet that doesn't mean that these won't sell as not everyone uses their adopts or characters for art and animation. They may need a beautiful extravagant character for a story or a rp and maybe the original image that they got for the character is more then enough for them. Not to mention complicated characters can still be simplified for art purposes just as simple characters can be made to be quite complex for certain art pieces. Soooo why shouldn't people buy adopts? Well the actual answer to that is that theft is a HUGE issue in the adopts community. I've seen everything from people selling pictures they found off of google or deviantart, selling the same character to multiple people, even taking watermarked characters and reselling them. This is a huuuge issue in the community so people have to be really careful when buying or reselling their adopts. Basically, never buy an adopt from someone who doesn't have proof of making or purchasing the adopt, always reverse search the adopts to make sure that they don't pop up anywhere that it shouldn't, and for creators never send or post unwatermarked adopts or proof anywhere or to anyone until the adopt has been fully paid for. I've had friends who hadn't done those three things and ended up losing their mains because they bought a stolen adopt or they had their adopt stolen because they sent the adopt too early and then never got paid or their art for it. Also if using paypal never use friends and family unless if they are actually friends and family. So that's my two cents on this subject! Basically do what you want with your money if it makes you happy~ Go buy that over complicated character if you like it, or that thousand dollar primagen! Just make sure that you're not getting scammed basically :P

* me whenever I lose a bid on an Adoptable I really wanted *

Imagine paying money for the right to use a character a 14 year old made on devianart using a pirated version of Paint tool sai

1) ppl usually need money to live and make money that way, 2) deviant art is one platform. theres many other platforms and 3) an adoptable is just a character to buy. they dont have to be an animal, theyre just characters to buy or adopt hence the name. also VERY big emphasis on the fact people need to live and make money. rent and food and bills all can be expensive, i dont think it matters more if theres an emotional connection when you need money to live.

I made and OC for a friend of mine once.. then she COMPLETELY changed it.. she changed the species and the color pallet a little.. I got mad at her then she said "hE cAn ChAnGe AnD hE gOt StUcK tHaT wAy" yet she never said that when I said "what traits do you want him to have?" She didn't even reply.. so I don't know how to feel about it..

Like you said in the video, it was a spur in the moment kinda thing, but honestly I think you should take some time and do research. When people buy adoptable and don't use it its not your place to complain. It's like if someone bought a car and they don't use it much and you just suddenly come up and complain about how they don't use it. They bought it so it's their problem if they don't use it. When it comes to overpricing you start to make it sound like one of those people who complain about commission prices. Adoptable are a luxury and not everyone wants to spend a lot of money on that. But the thing is is that there's people who do. Idk this comment is messy but like your video; it's a spur in the moment type of thing.

3:36 Lol, it's not stupid to like how a specific person designs their characters

Kinda late.. but as someone who makes free adoptables just for fun and is willing to buy some, it’s not about having a random character, but about supporting an artist you like, I also feel the same way about commotions, a lot of people, (younger me included) think, “why buying the art when you can draw it yourself?” Now I buy stuff from artists just because they are cool and I love what they make and want to support them. That’s my opinion lol

I've "bought" adoptables before but it's free, soooooo

I get sad when I sell an adoptable but then they never draw them. I made an original furry species that are called Geode cats (cats with sparkly rocks on their backs). I made a couple of adoptables of that species and people adopted them but then they didn't draw them AT ALL.

What app is this, and how did you make the lines like lighter to draw over for the adoptable in the beginning?

Speaking as an illustrator I understand where you're coming from, but professional illustrators always have terms of service, it's absolutely necessary. It's there to prevent people from harming your brand, abusing your artwork or making money off of your art that you haven't agreed to and that you can't profit from. This may sound selfish, but we're just freelancers, which makes it even more important to have rules. It's normal for illustrators to have some form of control over our art even after it's sold, to prevent us from being totally screwed over. And pricing is also a heavy subject for another time, as there are so many different factors that come into play. But one example is how some people may price the art higher in case the character may be used in a bigger project. In other words, it's a substitute for royalty payment. However!! The illustrator needs to know their audience, and I feel like this is what is causing the dissonance. I feel like some illustrators need to soften their contracts for specific artwork, or maybe properly explain the contract before selling. Holy shit that was a lot of text.

While I generally don’t buy adoptables anymore, i probably wouldn’t have my Fursona (yes! The one in my icon) without an adoptable, they’re an edited version of an adoptable I got a longtime ago. I do make adoptables occasionally when I just come up with a character and can’t find a good use for them.

I do sometimes get the strong emotional connection at first sight, hahah. I usually get adoptables because it adds more variety to the design in my characters. I only have so much creativity and tend to lean towards certain things when designing characters. When I throw in a bit more people that have different 'styles' of designing, you could say, it varies it up more. Ideas that I wouldn't have come up with myself will present themselves. If they are overpriced then oh well, I just won't buy them. I don't really find these things to be much of an issue.

Totaly off topic from the vid but where did you get the blur tool, I can't find any good ones

You forgot to mention you never know if they stole it (yes Ik this is 2 years old)

What do feel about closed species (like pillowings are 20$ for common and rare is 100$+)

I only get adopts due to my ocs are too complicated for animations (which I mainly do). I also only do a couple.... otherwise I agree!

The only time I'll buy adoptables is if I'm stuck on a character design and if they're a more unique species

My biggest gripe with adoptables is how complicated a lot of the designs are, more specifically that non-artists/newbies buy designs that they themselves can't replicate--and then they'll go around mass requesting other artists to draw those extremely complicated designs... Like, I always welcome art trades, requests, commissions, etc, and then I click the link to the character they want me to draw, only to find that it's an *asymmetrical rainbow galaxy-swirl wolf with antlers and angel wings, leaving a trail of sparkles with every step it takes.* Like, why buy it if you can't draw it, or if it'll take you hours just to color the dang thing?

why i thought adoptables was some sort of lps-like toys?

I kinda sell adoptables to literally keep myself alive lmao. please continue buying adoptables. check out Instagram, twitter, facebook. deviantart isnt the ONLY art platform lol

hi i rlly new to the idea of selling art so can someone help me out? im looking on a place to sell adopts other than da, so if someone could lmk where than thatd rlly help?

Hello! I make super cheap adopts on deviantart, and I also tend to adopt from other people. I use what little points I get from my adopts to look for some adopts that are going unloved for months or years. I use the characters for a multitude of things, like for a comic series, roleplay series, or even for animation if the design isn't that complicated. Also, when I said cheap adopts earlier in this comment, I mean they're for up to 10 or 12 points. I've seen some really cute adopts out there that are 300 points and such, and I call that over priced, since not a lot of people have money to buy points, let alone a credit card. I've gotten a lot of backlash from people adter I submit my concerns in the comments, and they accuse me of being a hypocrite. I'm sorry, but my adopts are worth as little as possible and I even give discounts on commissions for the same prices, making them worth a few cents. At least I can get by on that. But when most users go looking for adopts, they're breaking down because the good adopts are usually worth 3 dollars and they don't have a credit card. (I'm so sorry, I just had to get this out. It was on my mind all year and I don't talk to people often anymore because of trust issues. I needed this rant, and thank you for posting the video. Your art is beautiful and I can't wait for your next upload. I just subscribed)

As it turns out the adopts on animo look pretty cool

I happened to buy one of my main sonas for $200, he’s a clouded leopard and has a complex design that takes me over an hour and a half to draw

I can see buying an adoptable as a means of supporting an artist that you like. I've also seen it commonly done on DA and other sites to buy an adoptable gets you "in" some group or roll play setting with a limited species the artist created. That said I've not gotten on buying adoptables either. I prefer to make my own characters and their own story. If I happen to like an adoptable, I'll probably just send a fave to the page and then move on.

what app do u use for speedpaint? i have been looking all over for it!

The reason why ppl want a design from x person, is usually cus the artist is known for good designs or even a unique type/style of designs, for example Vani and Shoutmilo

Honestly I think I've spent points on possibly like 25 to 30 adoptables, I think nearly all of them are under 100 points though. Also, I had no idea that people were making ToS for their adoptables?? Gawrsh, I'm gonna check mine.

This is hella late but I agree with most, if not all points made. All except one of my used characters are designed by myself, and as an animator it’s pretty hard to find adoptables that suit animation yet still have interesting and unique designs ;-; To me, characters aren’t just pagedolls to draw and display everywhere. They’re concepts of living, breathing people/animals that live in a universe and change over time, so having a super complex sparkly over-the-top aesthetic design that can’t be changed does nothing for me.

This video is getting a lot of hate, and I could defend her (because I agreed with most of the video) but I won't, l just want to say to y'all that haven't gone insane yet *clears throat... * *A RAINBOW PONY IS NOT WORTH 1000+ DOLLARS*

What app did you use?

Is it weird that now I want to make adoptables? Not for money though. For those who see the it's purpose. Now, you do say what you think it's purpose is. And you are 100% correct. But also not. It's your opinion, and yours truly. Others see it a "I can't draw that!" or "You're so good at this design!" and buy it but you see it as "It's expensive and complicated. If you see it as so amazing, why sell your favorite?" And I agree but disagree. Like, I've been wanting to make art to sell for years now. (Reality, not online) and yet keep it all because I get emotionally attached to it all. I'll show it and thank those who compliment it (and those who dislike it[I say to those people "Thanks for saying your honest, personal opinion! I will try to get better in the future."]) And then sometimes modify it, sometimes show it off(rarely show it off though), and keep it to myself, which the last one is what I do most. But still, I agree yet disagree.

The anatomy of what your drawing is scaring me

what art program do you use

Given your feelings about adoptables, I wonder what you'd think of "closed species". Completely unrelated to the above but the reason I buy adoptables is because I find it difficult to design characters visually but love to write based on designs. So for me the benefit I get from buying an adopt is... I guess I could say it's like getting a pre-made fursuit or something (but without the fursuit obviously- just the rights to the character)? Idk how to explain better tbh. I guess I also go for humanoid adopts rather than, say, one of six marking edits on a dog base, so maybe it's different. Also as far as I can tell, most of the community regards revoking rights to an adoptable (at least without a refund but it depends) as scamming. With closed species it gets more complicated (for example I once bought a design where the TOC says that changing the species of the character is not allowed, so if I end up not wanting to support that species for whatever reason, I can't just make it into a fox or something. The owner of the species is super popular so I would probably get trouble if I went and did it anyway. I did read the TOC and adopted anyway, though, so it's all on me. )

I’ve only bought like 5 adoptables, all from the same person. I did it not just because I like the designs and the aesthetics (3 of these adopts are going to be used in my stories) but also because it was specifically from my favorite artist and I just really want to support him any way I can.

"Why would you buy a design that's really complicated to draw" Believe or not there are tons of artists that adore complicated and detailed designs and/or artwork. They're just not as common

Sorry if this question isn't related to the video topic itself but what do you use to record your "speedpaints" for the background? Thanks!

Ok I'm going to be honest There's a sense of entitlement and privilege to everything said both in the video and the comment section. Like, oh boy you're an amazing artist and you're super creative and also you're a *freaking thief who steals characters* (referring to comments on that last point.) News flash, there are struggling artists who use adopts as backups in case they're super busy and need money still while they can't take commissions, or just in general. People need to pay for stuff. And on the other hand, there are people who don't have the artistic talents or creativity to come up with their own designs, but do have expendable income that they can use on adoptables that support the artist. I know there are going to be people that say "but that's just her opinion if you disagree that's FINEEE" but firstly, I also have a right to an opinion, and secondly, this is the kind of video that influences people to avoid the adoptable community, when, like stated earlier, there are artists/character designers struggling to stay afloat where that one person might be the one thing they need to keep going for the week. The video casts the adoptable community in an intensely bad light, where we seem like selfish money-grubbers with horrendous ToS. Barely anyone sensible has anything as horrendous as shown in this. Sure, if you look, there are stories, but considering how many artists MAKE adoptables, of course there would be bad apples. I'm sorry, these kinds of videos just make me irrationally angry. I just find it so irritating when someone misrepresents both me, and many of my friends' current or future career. I feel as though these are the kinds of videos that cause that disrespect towards artists and character designers, which leads to choosing beggars where people say "your work isn't worth the money, give it to me for FREE or I'll just steal it!" And that's one of the huge reasons being an artist is so terribly difficult. News flash, we aren't rich. That $100 price tag? This week's groceries. I just... It makes me so irrationally angry. Sorry, I needed to express my opinion.

Chicken smoothie IS adoptables. It acts as a real adoption place, and if you only buy from the pound, they are free (every like 4 hours or so) I only ever go to chicken smoothie to adopt (if at all) Edit: also YOU NEED MORE SUBS

(How do you get the blend brush?? Ive been looking for it and cant find it)

what drawing platform are you using? Is it available on android?