Allie, Every few months we'll go have a thread where someone is soul-searching and asks whether it's truly art if you use prefabricated props, people, poses, or whatever. Those threads can sometimes provide stimulus for your artistic own direction but ultimately boil down to individual opinions and values. Don't freak. Especially in the beginning when you are just learning to create the elements, remeber that a). it's a learning process that takes time - no one knows how to create everything at once, b). even Da Vinci used people and props that he didn't create, and c). just because someone else has an opinion that differs from yours doesn't mean you or they are any less of a person. Not everyoneone will like what you do, just like you won't always like what everyone else does. That's OK. Don't let the opinion of a stranger rob you of the joy of learning or experimenting or self-expression. ;-)

Before they made me they broke the mold!
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