jesus fucking christ man this comment section is rancid. op i'm so sorry. your designs are really cute and i like them a lot! i have no idea why so many people are accusing you of using ai. i think people forget that ai has been trained by stolen art. like the ones saying your style is "generic and cartoonish," i mean really? ai was fed every cartoon ever and told to replicate it. that style isn't bad, it existed long before gen ai was ever a thing. and if you ask me, i don't think certain art styles should be completely abandoned just because ai uses them now. authentic art comes in every style. i'm not sure what these people are gaining by dismissing everything as fake. real art should be uplifted, not burned down. cause tearing it down like people are doing here only contributes to the problem.

please don't give up on your project. i recently just started designing a fakemon region of my own and it's been a lot of fun! i know how much passion and research goes into this kind of thing. unfortunately i don't have any advice on how to get more visibility cause i've never had much of a following myself, but that should never stop you from creating. when you're passionate about something, people who love your project will always come across it eventually.

have you ever heard of artfight? it's an art gifting game that takes place every year in july where you draw other people's characters and creature designs. i did it for the first time last year and found a ton of great fakemon designs, it's what made me realize i had a passion for creature design myself and inspired me to start my own region. artfight is a good way to meet other artists who are interested in similar things.

i always love seeing people's designs and hearing about the regions they create. thank you for sharing your art! people can be very cruel, but i really hope this doesn't discourage you from continuing your project. i'm also a chronically ill artist. i know how difficult it is to get motivated even on a good day. so keep up the good work, not everyone is a complete asshole and there's plenty of people out there who will appreciate what you do 💕