My latest little pony-themed comics have brought up some more questions about whether I'll ever do Rule 34s on these things. Well, no. I haven't fully analyzed the reason why I have an aversion to Rule 34 things in general. The more I know about a particular cartoon, either from the past or from a present following, the more of an "eh" reaction I have to fan-made adult images I run across. What I feel when I see it isn't dissimilar to seeing a celebrity's face photoshopped onto a nude body. No matter how well done it may be, there's a level of "I just know too well how fake this is" involved. This may seem surprising, since the jests that I draw are sometimes of an "after 9pm" subject. But these are just purely playing on embellishments of character, rather than a desire to elaborate on a cartoon character's personal sexual motions (or their genitals). I suppose as close as I've come was the human version of Zecora, which, while a nude, wasn't very explicit or sexual. It didn't show much beyond her bare rear end and a painted over breast. The intent was to be savage, not prurient.

I know it's one of the downsides of being known for drawing adult comics: whatever you launch into on the side, people expect it to eventually go in that direction. With my own creations, there are characters I create with the full intention of having them be sexually themed. Even characters in my free, non-adult webcomics will sometimes find themselves depicted in the adult comics. There's a whole different feeling involved when you have full control over a character and everything you write and draw, sexual or not, is canon to them. I like working with my own stuff so much, I can't imagine trying to fit my adult expressions onto mainstream creations.

I'm also fully aware that people who partake of comics and pictures do so from different levels of discernment, and many (not all) of those who look to me for adult work aren't interested in any deeper aspect of characterization, and just simply have a fascination with sex. I'm not knocking this. We all approach reading and partaking with different standpoints, preconceptions, and mental exercise. It's one of the reasons I draw comics instead of just pinups. The comics can create an elaborate context and give characters some life, which in turns makes the one-shot pinups all the more interesting. Whenever someone expresses an interest in having me draw Rule 34 ponies, I can't imagine they're really interested in an author's funny or serious take on little shreds of character here and there, so much as they are interested in just seeing the characters' naked bodies interacting. I have free reign to make my adult comics a combination of sultry, explicit, and meaningful as I want (or not). People may not take away from it everything I put into it, but so be it. That's perfectly fine. So many others will just say "it's porn, what else is there to it?" and that's cool. I don't mind. People can be on that level and I have no problem with it. But I think those who are really interested in the Rule 34 are specifically on that level. I'm not knocking it, I just don't enjoy dragging other people's creations into it, and there's also another part of me that thinks it could be construed as disrespectful.

I'm not saying I'm the Victor Hugo of furry porn. I'm not trying to insult anyone who may like something or not. But, despite some of the things I've put in the descriptions of my pony-themed images, I keep getting the same queries and insinuations about taking things "a step further". One person on FA even went as far as to confidently bet that I wouldn't be able to go a month without drawing pony porn. I was called "prideful" for looking forward to winning that bet. I suppose since I have a whole array of characters and worlds I can use of my own creation, it's staved off any desire to dabble in someone else's for explicit material. Not only is there a discomfort with doing Rule 34 material, there really is no temptation at all.

I may write about and draw characters who relish "delicious sins", but I don't believe in them myself. Some people live their whole lives believing it's perfectly fine to have your surging desires and temptations live in conflict with your mind, and can't conceive of this not existing in someone else. I don't hold back drawing what I want, and I never draw anything I don't.