On the topic of 'Imitation'
So I’ve been noticing something of a trend going on within the past year or so. Character blogs made that are direct imitations of Keno. In some cases almost absolute copies down to fur/hair color and shape.
To be honest, in any other case I would laugh it off. I’m no stranger to people plaguarizing character designs from my own. In the past I’d find them and it’d just become something of a joke to me, and I’d feel a little flattered that someone liked my character so much to do something like that.
This is not one of those cases.
Something that not many people know about Keno as a character is that I have had her since LONG before Undertale. The first drawing I made of her was done when I was 10 years old, and was quite literally the first thing I ever drew. That was almost 15 years ago at this point, and since then Keno has been with me. Acting as an outlet, and for many years a kind of persona. I hid behind the identity ‘Kenochi’ from the time I was 10 until I was around 19, going around online as everything from ‘Kenochi-Sama’ to 'KenochiNekoChan’ My friends offline even now call me 'Keno’ due to those almost 10 years of me going by that name.
Keno as a character and Identity was who I wanted to be, confident, happy. Someone who had lots of friends and was never afraid.
As I grew older, I no longer needed that identity because it’s who I became. And so finally she was able to take a life of her own. And through years of development and using her in different places, I finally found her home as an Undertale OC.
Kenochi, or Keno is a character I’ve had since I was little. She houses so many of my different memories from so many different places, and even now, in ways, she’s a huge part of who I am and vice versa. So when I find new ocs popping up that are pretty much her? It feels like someone is taking those 15 years, tearing out a small part and saying it’s actually theirs. In most cases of this the people I catch doing it are people who follow me and simply enjoy the character so much that they want to make one too.
I don’t mind people being influenced by my muses. I really don’t. I encourage people to make bakeneko and nekomata ocs, spread the OC love. But please. PLEASE do not just copy my character down to the fur markings and hair. Do not make carbon copies of my OC on a whim.
I’ve heard it said that 'imitation is flattery’ and in this case? It’s not. In fact it’s like a slap to the face.
If you respect me at all, if you enjoy what I do or how I portray my muses even just a little bit, please PLEASE don’t just copy Keno.
If you want to make a character that’s similar and need help with design work feel free to approach me and ask for advice or input. I’m not this big scary person who is going to rip your head off if you ask a question. And I’d much rather help than just happen across another Keno in the community, and believe me. It’s obvious when I do happen across one and it hurts every single time.
TLDR: Please stop copying the OC that has made up the majority of my life at this point. It’s not flattering, it actually hurts.
