I've Gotta Be Honest with You...

Being a digital artist has its good and bad days.

On the good days, designing imaginary scenes comes together easily. The lighting is just right and the characters seem to come to life on their own. On other days, I just can't get things to come out right. The imagery lacks depth, the shading is off, or the entire composition lacks the energy to effectively draw the viewer into the fantasy. Still, I recognize that all of these things are within scope of my control. Making it through the difficult days are just a part of what it takes to be a good artist.

On the other hand, there are many things that I have no control over. One element that has been really pissing me off lately are the limitations put into place by "the powers that be" to censor artists like me. As much as I love to share my creations with you, they each take a lot of time and energy to produce. My ability to make the art you've come to enjoy is entirely dependent on supporters like you who have graciously continued to contribute to the "cause". 

Earlier this year, I started to notice a general increase of censorship coming from some of the sites I was posting my work. Various platforms, began putting more and more pressure on me and other artists to censor their work. In response, I started building my own website in earnest and looking for a solid payment system that would allow me to sell my products on my store. It's been over 6 months and I still haven't found a viable solution for the darkerotic3d.com website. Payment providers all associate erotic content as a "high risk" industry. Because of this they charge exorbitant fees for putting a payment cart on your website, if they even will work with you at all.

Now, even high-risk providers who work with hardcore porn websites are seeking to ban some of my content. Why? There seems to be a general lack of discernment between the treatment of digital-human-like subjects (my art) and photos of real-life people. For example, a payment cart provider recently accused me of depicting bestiality in my art (something that most payment platforms don't tolerate). The idea that my art depicts bestiality is completely unfounded. My art deals with intimate situations between human-like, digitally created characters. In its creation, no actual people are in anyway exploited, mistreated, or injured. If anything, my art includes the explicit representations of mythological creatures doing deeds that my fans have come to enjoy. In short, the general trend of online censorship is discouraging and I believe that it threatens the very freedom of individuals in society. It certainly has hampered my ability to share my artwork as well as countless other digital artists.

I'm sorry for dumping this on you guys but just wanted to let you know. I am so grateful for people like you who believe in me and continue to support my work. On some days I question why I'm even doing this work, then I remember you. It doesn't feel so lonely knowing that you're on this journey with me. Thankfully, the handling of your contributions have not affected your membership on Patreon or Subscribe Star (let's hope it stays that way). The problems have come from the payment processor platforms needed to run the DarkErotic3D.com online store. I'm trying to work through them now and right now it's a huge pain in the ass.

~Pendavos