TUG STORIES POLL - PHOTOS AND IMAGES

[bondagefreak]

VOTE ON THE POLL AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW!

[Driverman]

I voted for option 3, using them as an enhancement tool. Everyone has a different style of imagination, mine is very vivid so I can picture things easily, but for someone who doesn't have the same, a visual can be very helpful. Also using a pic as a tool to show something that might be otherwise difficult to describe is a great way to help a reader stay engaged with a story and not get bogged down trying to figure out what a writer means.

[cj2125]

Also voted 3. Personally I don't like seeing "pictures of the characters" in stories since I like to imagine them based on the description the author gives, after all, this is a mainly written medium and any author should be able to describe how the characters look/what are they wearing (and, given that beauty is subjective, what one might consider "hot" other might find unappealing). As a rule, whenever I see a photograph in a story I go out of my way to ignore it.


Now there are some exceptions:
1. Pictures of a true story
2. Stories based on an specific picture
3. Drawings (hands, 3d. digital, etc) since I like seeing other's interpretation of the story

[Hmmm]

Hi! I voted 3 too.

I like when guys put some pictures for "show" some things are looking like... (dirty socks, gags, room etc..)

But I support [mention]cj2125[/mention] about the "characters' pictures" aren't the best idea... If you are a good writer, you can define precisely the body, the face and/or his psychological state... And so much better than pictures! :p

[Steak in a Tree]

Jumping on to the option 3 bandwagon here. Images are quite nice when pointing out specific things of great importance(for example a setting with a particular element that will be part of the story later). They can also be quite useful when talking about something whose appearance is not too well known(not at all tug related, but the flag of Azerbaijan seems like an appropriate candidate). As well, and this is more personal, i often struggle to paint those mental pictures, so the odd image definitely helps.

Overall, images are generally a plus.

[Abird]

Agree with the majority here; they help sometimes but they often seem a bit jarring. I prefer just using my imagination to random pictures the author found somewhere.

Agree with all of cj's exceptions. I've occasional seen people, mostly on deviantart, drawing images based on other people's TUG stories, that's great to see.

[Gagfan]

I enjoy it. Some tumblrs i follow write small short stories based on a bondage picture and they are usully quite delightful

[Xtc]

As a mathematician, I can't answer this poll due to it's poor formulation. (Sorry @[mention]bondagefreak[/mention] ) However: I can agree with several of the points at different times und under different conditions.

There is another consideration:
Certain witers have a special skill that I simply don't have: that of comic book writing where text and pictures are inextricably entwined. @Jason Toddman has that skill. I find it very difficult but he has been kind enough to collaborate with me on https://www.deviantart.com/xtcgm/galler ... al-Academy where, to my surprise, he wanted more explanatory text than I had provided. That was probably because we speak different languages!

[bondagefreak]

Keep the votes coming, folks!
If (like [mention]Xtc[/mention]) your answer doesn't find itself on the polling options, feel free to elaborate your own response in the comments.

[Northstar05]

Another vote for #3 - illustrative Images are okay, for instance when one needs to show something that would be rather hard to explain. (maybe some distinctive but uncommon bondage equipment or maybe a piece of clothing)

However, I have a huge problem with people inserting webpics showing actual people into their stories. Although it might be to just give a general idea what a character in a story might look like, my first thought always is of the real-life person in the pic, and whether they are aware of and okay with their photo being used that way. Additionally, some things are better left for imagination. The author and I may have totally different views on such which people we'd consinder as "handsome", "beautiful", "attractive" or "sexy". If a character is described as such in a story, I can imagine them just fine and continue reading the story with my kind of "sexy" in mind. Yet, if there's a photo inserted of a person that the author considers attractive but doesn't have any appeal to me, it turns me down and might cause me to stop reading.

[bondagefreak]

I believe [mention]boygagged[/mention]'s arrival and way of doing things might've opened up our minds to new possibilities as far as images and photos in stories go.

Quick shout out to [mention]LK3869[/mention] for this wonderful supporting art in 2018!

[LK3869]

Well, voted #4 out of hasty, stupid "corporatism" - not sure that's a notion in English- but I think #3 is closer to what I had in mind...

Seems to me "ambiance" pictures, derived from the action but not plain illustration to it, are the way to go when doing 'fanart' ( and a lot of my pieces are 'inaccurate' in regards to the scenes which inspired them ). I love "portraits in action" of characters, showing them in a situation that wasn't into the story but could have been. ( yeah, that's visual artist mental w...king, I know ) Couples portraits I've started for the sleeping bag saga here will be good examples of that ( a kinky Steven/Nick and a 'dramatic' Jeremy/Brad )

Also love to draw buildings and sceneries ( same stuff ) but those are best described with a photo...

Photos of real people as characters portraits raise "ethical" questions ( unless they're celebs, used as archetypes and shit, they ask for it! ) but it's also inevitable when you have a strong visual imagination and no drawing skills... BTW, I always use models found on the net or on TV for everyone I draw, because invented physiques are not as 'real-looking' as ones derived from actual bodies and faces. Not sure you'd like my drawings if they were animé style...

Technically, I have no problem projecting myself into others' physique and imagining I was them, so chosing one 'definite' physique for a character doesn't stop me from getting into a story. (It's actually best that way, because wearing others' skin for a while is vacation out of yourself. And if the character's not exactly my type, than can even trigger harder projections )
Then, possibly most of the people aren't like that. Where are the usefull stats when you need them?

That "words only" or "mixed_media" issue bothered me since joining here, as I enjoy reading without visual support too and felt like highjacking the whole thing. But also think there's huge complementarity between words and visuals and so many interesting ways to mix them and have distinctive and multi-sensory 'products' that will never threaten the depth and power of evocation of a good text... It's also a novel way to tell a story but that's a demanding concept. ( and huuuuuge work, much more than 'just' writing. )

On a technical note, this site isn't ideal for such type of contents for which the PDF format is almost mandatory since JPEG compression is terrible for text; but it's not a reproach, considering the history here.

Boy, another freak comment! Missed me?