As of today I have decided not to do any more adult cartoon coloring / inking work. What I mean by 'adult' are those drawings and sketches that depict characters in graphic sexual detail. That's a fairly generalized way of phrasing it so let's just say, for instance, anything you would normally see in any given pornographic film...I won't be doing them anymore. This isn't to say that I won't be doing any more scantly clad or even nude / partially nude work, far from it in fact....just no more "insert object A into slot B" type stuff.
I did not come to this decision lightly nor were there any outside influences that swayed me towards this decision. No family or friends berating me, no one making any surprise discoveries on the internet, no paparazzi sticking cameras in my face, nor any of that overly dramatic bullshit. Doing that sort of work has a way of, as I've mentioned before, making feel like some sort of reclusive lecherous shut-in. It's just plain bad karma as far as I'm concerned. I don't believe in God nor the concept of the human soul, but I do believe that all deeds actively shape my present and future experiences and (more importantly) I have free will to choose good or evil...and revel in or suffer the consequences accordingly.
...and no, I'm not a Buddhist either.
This isn't a question of equating hentai-type works to pornography (or "smut" if you prefer) nor any sort of morality issue. This is a question of drawing a line in the sand. At what point does the innocence stop and the gratuitous begin? Some will say that you can't gain the same level of recognition and admiration of ones peers nor build a viable portfolio without dabbling into the darker side. Well, there's the rub...I didn't start drawing nearly three decades ago (and coloring fairly recently) for anyone's recognition or admiration, nor making any money from it. I do it becuase I enjoy it, and doing what I consider to be the "dirty stuff" makes me enjoy it a little less.
Ain't karma a bitch?
I would like to apologize to a few artist out there who were expecting me to complete a few of their works. You know who you are. If you have something that is a little more "toned down" that you would like me to do, don't hesitate to ask.