Hey there, sorry for my late reply I have been away from DA for a while.

I hope you didn't take offence, I didn't mean my comment in a way like OMG your such a copy cat. It was more and observation on my part. I know exactly what you mean though, it happens to me all the time, I will do a piece of art, finish it, really like it, then come across something the same, or realise i have seen it somewhere before and on a subconscious level must of been overly inspired by something I may have seen in passing. But thats the problem nowadays, there are so many many many people doing art, and we are all connected not its so difficult to come up with that 'original' idea or style.

I would say follow your intuition, but maybe try take it on a slight detour. The problem is with most people, especially critics, is thats what they do, they compare you to others, you could be branded a copycat even though you are not, plus due to the fact that Chet zar has been around quite some time, has become quite famous for his style and creatures, worked on projects with tool, hellboy etc etc the odds are not staked in your favour. But at the end of the day you should make what your heart wants to make, I suppose it all depends on what you plan to do with your art.

For reasons mentioned above is kinda why I have been away from Da for the past year, and the internet art world in general, I wanted to spend some time developing some new ideas and styles with as little influence as possible if that makes sense.

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squarefrog l designs
embrace the voices in your head
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matthew bryan 2011