Hey, I saw on DeviantArt a Pokémon trainer design that was really similar to Ink’s, and it was posted long before he was made. The artist says in a comment on the post that you took inspiration from them and didn’t credit them. (The artist is CookieHana and the character is named Pen.) Do you know anything about this? I really have a lot of respect for you and I don’t know what to think...
Hi love! I can and will explain the situation. First of all, thank you for coming to me directly to address the issue. There happens to have been a misunderstanding with the comments as I will show, but you’re giving me the opportunity to talk about something I should have talked about a long time ago. :-(I made Ink’s design in 2016. In 2017, as I was browsing deviantART (I was still active on there at the time), I came across the artwork of CookieHana’s character Pen and was mortified to realize I had seen it before since I’ve been a watcher for years, and actually imprinted it in my memory while forgetting about where I had seen it in the first place. I made Ink’s outfit thinking I had created it while it had been heavily inspired from her character. I genuinely did not remember it at all when I made Ink’s design because I thought I had imagined it myself. When I realized, I sent a note to Cookie to address the issue to be completely transparent with them, because they deserved to know, and they replied saying it looked fine and that I had no need to worry.(all conversations are shared because I had their approval to share, of course; also I know, dA’s private message system is confusing, you need to read the notes from bottom to top)
After getting her approval that it was okay, I rested myself on that fact. 3 years have passed from then, and as my focus drifted away from Ink and I grew and matured, I completely forgot about the issue. Your message was the one thing that reminded me of it, anon, and I was once again ashamed to realize something I had done when I was 16 had still not been solved because I had forgotten about it. I went to check out the comments on said artwork: even though they were from 2018, I thought it was important to contact CookieHana to address the issue with my newly grown eyes on the situation. I messaged them the same day I received this ask:
This was their reply:
This was the last bit of our conversations:
I genuinely cannot thank them enough for being so forgiving and nice about it, because although the comments on the post are partially a misunderstanding, it still does not excuse at all the fact that I should have realized giving credit or altering the design was the right thing to do. The issue slipping out of my mind over the years is carelessness to me. My lack of memory feels like I neglected them while the mistake was my own. I really say this while feeling a lot of shame, because I feel like I wronged the artist and the people who like Ink’s design out of lack of hindsight. It’s my responsibility to accept the consequences of my actions even with the circumstances, and I present to all of you my most sincere apologies. Ever since I’ve grown out of teenagehood I’ve always tried my best to be reliable and honest because this is what every living being deserves out of someone they trust, and I truly desire to be someone true and right throughout my life, and that means facing the consequences of my wrongdoings. :-(
I wanted to be the one to address the issue to all of you because I owe CookieHana and all the people who follow me my sincerity and the truth about a character they’re interested in. I also didn’t want things to be mishandled and addressed by someone else who did not have the details about the situation, which is why I thank you again for coming to me directly anon.
With all of that set on the table, I will fix the issue by doing exactly what I told CookieHana: I will put a picture of Ink’s older design in his faq with a direct link to CookieHana’s deviantART saying this was inspired from her character, and revamp Ink’s outfit with a new one in 2020 as soon as I’m back home from holiday season!
Thank you for if you read the block that is this post, know that I speak about all of this genuinely. I do not want to hide things away because they could be of prejudice: I want to face the consequences of my actions because it’s the right thing to do.
I once again wish all of you a wonderful time in this ending year, and I can’t wait to work on Ink’s new design as soon as I can. Thank you. <3
