Hi.

I'm terribly sorry if I missed this information somewhere. I searched through the stickied posts figuring that, if this was an issue, it would have definitely been addressed there, but I didn't find the answer I'm looking for. Here goes:

When uploading my own artwork, how do I fill out the source information?
Can I just... directly upload from my PC and put my name on it? Do I need to create an account with another website (such as Furaffinity) and link to that account?

I'm one of those lurkers whose browsed e621 for years, but only recently created an account. I'm asking this because, at this point, I'm still a little embarrassed about my online identity involving this sort of artwork. I understand there's a welcoming community around it, buuuut it's still a little scary, so having to create another account to link to just opens me up more than I'm comfortable with at the moment. I feel like e621 itself is somehow more "insular" and private, I guess, if that makes any sense.

Anyways, pretty much every single image I've seen has a link to a source going outside e621, so I was curious if it was considered bad taste to upload without a source. Is there a solid rule around this? Should I stop being a pussy and just make an account elsewhere?

If it's from your PC, it's OK to leave it blank, but I strongly suggest you make an account and post your stuff there, and then source the post to the image you uploaded here. E6 is good for finding people's artwork, but we have strict rules on tagging based around what is seen, so uploading on another site helps direct people to your "actual" character info or etc.

In my experiences, If it's not your art, sourcing to their site gives both credit to an artist, and shows that the image is publicly available. If there is no source, one of the first things I do is look for one, because I have found, and caught, people who take paid art without permission, or list themselves as the artist. I've even seen tickets where publicly available art was requested to be removed because credit was not given.

So, just get an alternate account and source back to yourself. It's a bit longer, but saves headaches should someone start taking your art as well.

As an ultimate statement: do not use artist names between accounts, use one name for them all. This is because multiple artist names becomes harder to handle between accounts, for the users who upload. In example, if I had an artist name Siral, and an artist name Lasir, both are valid; one would need to be aliased to the other, lest the uploaders think that they are seperate artists instead of the same. This has also happened in the past, and gets annoying...

Some examples of people uploading their own art:

https://e621.net/post/show/893227/ (DA source)
https://e621.net/post/show/819711/ (FA source)
https://e621.net/post/show/893157/ (no source)

But I second the suggestion to create an external account. E6 is the opposite of a private gallery, anyone can edit your uploads (including artist tags) and admins do sometimes delete uploads.

Consider using a throwaway e6 account for uploading if you need to.

If it's relevant artwork and adequately drawn, then by all means feel free to upload what you've drawn here. Plenty of users do so already.

This is what you SHOULDN'T upload and you run the risk of being reprimanded if you choose to do so either willingly or involuntarily.

And in terms of sources, it depends if you have the artwork uploaded elsewhere, such as deviantart and furaffinity. Some users who upload their artwork here, such as Oystercatcher7, don't have a source to their posts.

And in regards to tags, this will aid you, especially if you're a new artist with no existing work on e621. Keep in mind that you need a minimum of FOUR tags and tagging implications do not count to that minimum. For tagging purposes, having the artist(s) name, character(s), gender, species, and some of their aesthetics is recommended.

Some great info from you all.
I think I'll double-up with another account as suggested, since my posts can be edited, and go ahead and upload my first image.

Thanks for the assist!