What's up everybody?
I've been curious about the general opinion of other freelance professionals on the inevitable private commission request that is erotically themed or just plain pornographic. I'm aware that such works cannot be displayed here for critiquing and be honest I've never really looked all that hard except that I know it's a booming business in Japan for wide-eyed anime cuties with removable schoolgirl outfit's for the overweight dorky Japanese basement dweller. But I'm almost positive that there's nothing for the gay dorky overweight basement dweller.
It's a curiosity of mine because apparently I can name my price for gay erotic sculptures of licensed or employer owned characters. I've never had a problem working in porn in fact I'm pretty sure if I had more photogenic assets for the industry I wouldn't mind doing the genuine profession.
What started as a experiment in something I wasn't familiar with back in 2006 has ended up financing me so well it not only allowed me to take a year hiatus from the comic book grind it got me a nice little entertainment system that serves as a nice distraction when I'm supposed to be working, tax-free. Shhhh...don't tell my accountant.
What seems to be a completely untapped market is the gay stuff, gay guys who dig comic books video games and animation are just as perverted and packed with disposable income as straight guys. So why has no one ever tried to appeal to them? Personally I look at superheroes as a metaphor for homosexuality anyway so it came no surprise to me that somebody commissioned me to sculpt Superman jacking off in midflight. I never stopped laughing while working on that one, think about it. If you were the Man of steel how would you do it?
From a professional standpoint it's not entirely constructive, you can imagine that none of the works I've done can be used in a portfolio to present to big-time employment opportunities. But from a financial standpoint it's not a bad deal when you're not starving. (And if you've ever attempted to make a living off of being a freelance artist you're quite familiar with starvation.) Porn has always been good to me, and be honest it's liberating to get filthy from time to time, I don't know any brilliant artist that hasn't scribbled Naruto getting sodomized by cookie monster to make a quick buck in order to pay the rent at some time or another, it goes with the territory.
What I'm really curious about is what other professional or amateur sculptors think about the issue. Do you believe it has something to do with standards that such subject matter is beneath you? Those of you who have honed your skills to the point where you have landed jobs for some of the big names like DC direct or sideshow collectibles, do you feel that there's a reputation you have to uphold? Perhaps morals are the issue, and I wonder how many of the big names do do this kind of work only under the strictest confidence.
If it is any of these reasons I don't quite understand any of them as justifications. I mean if morality is an issue what's more moral about a Catwoman commission in her skin tight outfit with cleavage poring all over the place I wouldn't necessarily consider any female superhero an accurate portrait of the female figure and is nothing but overly sexualized. And say you turned down a homoerotic commission because you're not comfortable the sexual preference, I've already stated what I thought about male superheroes in general. Personally I can't think of anything more gay than the incredible Halk all halking out with his muscles rippling all over the place and his junk perfectly packed in his Apple bottom jeans.
Either way I would like to hear other people's opinions on the subject matter in the meantime I leave you with this observation...
Right now in the left-hand corner of this web site forum is an advertisement for a new Morgan statue from Darkstalkers from sideshow collectibles. Why is that exactly? It's not really topical, I mean there hasn't been a new Darkstalkers since what 96, 97? (I don't know about you but I don't count the relaunches.) I'm pretty sure there's no new Darkstalkers movie coming out. You wanna know why Morgan is looking at me with sultry eyes and pouting lips? It's because the teenagers that masturbated to Morgan's honeydew melon titties have grown up and gotten jobs and have money to waste because they don't have children or families except for cats because to have a family that would require sex with a girl and that ain't going to happen so instead they want to relive the fantasy.
Sex sells! That's the bottom line, even when you're not working in porn. You're working in porn.
Edit:
I just wanted to clarify something, I'd never accepted the job depicting child pornography. I may be shameless but I do have standards.
Steve
