History Main / CreatorCareerSelfDeprecation

The author wants to portray their character as a loser, but doesn't want to offend people in any particular occupation. So they make the character's occupation their own. This allows for a lot of SelfDeprecatingHumor, which is probably the whole point.

* One of the main characters (Harima) of SchoolRumble is an amateur manga artist whose work was onced featured in a weekly magazine a la ''Shonen Jump''. His manga is... ''satisfactory'', but people prefer his classmate Karasuma's comic which is also published on said magazine.

* Jon Arbuckle, {{Garfield}}'s owner. Over time, the loser aspect completely overshadowed the fact that he even had a job.
** In fact, the only times Jon was mentioned as being a cartoonist were in [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/1978/ga780619.gif the first strip]], [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/1984/ga841203.gif these]] [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/1984/ga841204.gif two]] strips that began the Christmas 1984 {{Story Arc}}, and [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/2010/ga100502.gif this]] 2010 {{Sunday Strip}}.
* Stephen Pastis, the cartoonist responsible for {{Pearls Before Swine}}, sometimes inserts himself into the strip as a 40-year old smoking loser cartoonist who [[{{ButtMonkey}} often gets abused by the other characters]], especially Rat. See [[http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2010/11/21 this strip]] for an example.

* ''{{Seinfeld}}'' did this a bit, both belittling Jerry's stand-up act and writing for a sitcom. Another take on "SeinfeldIsUnfunny" here.
** CurbYourEnthusiasm does the same for Larry David's career, with the added bonus that Larry says that it his character is very similar to his real life, just that he is slightly less awkward in social situations.

* Gary, the main character from ''MenageA3'', is portrayed like this. However, this isn't his main job, but a side talent. His actual job gets minimal importance, while his drawing is ''supposed'' to be a loser attribute. It just so happens that several potential love interests find it an endearing or useful talent.
* Zach Wiener of ''SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' likes to portray himself as this.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the creator of ''TheItchyAndScratchyShow'' is betrayed and turned into a ''bum'', though a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, eventually. The guy who does the ripping off, Roger Myers Jr., although extremely successful, is shown to be amoral, cruel to his employees (insulting them and [[GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity sacking them on a whim]]) and utterly uninterested in the quality of the series as long as ratings and profits are high. Other famous "artists" are near universally egotists or hacks, such as [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight Krusty]].
* Andy from ''MissionHill'' is another example. There was even an episode dedicated to the fact that Andy was broke, couldn't get any of his cartoons published, couldn't even get anyone to ''understand'' his cartoons, and was working a dead-end job that barely even put food on the table.

* Egoraptor portrays himself as a SmallNameBigEgo in the ''AwesomeSeries''. In ''WebAnimation/GirlchanInParadise'', his AuthorAvatar is ''extremely lazy''[[hottip:*:his stage background is a single line representing the horizon]], he is defeated as easily as most other members of the QuirkyMinibossSquad, and he gets the worst beating of any character in the series.

* Egoraptor portrays himself as a SmallNameBigEgo in the ''AwesomeSeries''. In ''GirlChanInParadise'', his AuthorAvatar is ''extremely lazy''[[hottip:*:his stage background is a single line representing the horizon]], he is defeated as easily as most other members of the QuirkyMinibossSquad, and he gets the worst beating of any character in the series.

* [[KurtVonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr.]] repeatedly uses the character Kilgore Trout, a failed sci-fi writer, in his novels as an AuthorAvatar of the self deprecating variety, though Vonnegut has admitted that Trout is also influenced by Theodore Sturgeon.

* The main lead of ''Takamagahara'' is so bad at creating manga, that it makes people who read it physically ill.

* On ''Series/{{Supernatural}}"', Chuck Shirley, pen name "Carver Edlund" after directors and producers of the show, is a loser prophet and a writer. Then again, the last episode of the fifth season implies that he could actually be God, so...

* The two protagonists in ''{{Bakuman}}'' start off not so much as losers but as utterly normal high schoolers. Mashiro's uncle, [[PosthumousCharacter who is dead when the story starts]], fits this trope a lot more.

BonusPoints if the loser cartoonist [[HollywoodScribbling can't draw]], the writer [[HerCodeNameWasMarySue has an obviously Mary-Sue version of him/herself]], or some other type of StylisticSuck. These characters may also be prone to extreme WritersBlock, which can justify the times that they aren't working/don't have a job.

* On ''{{Supernatural}}"', Chuck Shirley, pen name "Carver Edlund" after directors and producers of the show, is a loser prophet and a writer. Then again, the last episode of the fifth season implies that he could actually be God, so...

* Kaitlyn Hu of newspaper-style ''WebComic/{{Precocious}}''' is an aspiring daily cartoonist, which more often than not only comes up to make jokes about [[http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/comic/2012/03/30 what a bad]] [[http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/copperroad/2012/01/16 idea it is.]]

* Kaitlyn Hu of newspaper-style Precocious is an aspiring daily cartoonist, which more often than not only comes up to make jokes about [[http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/comic/2012/03/30 what a bad]] [[http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/copperroad/2012/01/16 idea it is.]]

* In ''AllegroNonTroppo'', all of the animation is supposedly being made by one lowly cartoonist shackled to his desk.

* [[Main/KurtVonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr.]] repeatedly uses the character Kilgore Trout, a failed sci-fi writer, in his novels as an AuthorAvatar of the self deprecating variety, though Vonnegut has admitted that Trout is also influenced by Theodore Sturgeon.

* An extreme example on ''ThirtyRock''::Jack directly parodies Alec Baldwin's career. An approximate quotation:

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Egoraptor portrays himself as a SmallNameBigEgo in the ''AwesomeSeries''. In ''GirlChanInParadise'', his AuthorAvatar is ''extremely lazy''[[hottip:*:his stage background is a single line representing the horizon]], he is defeated as easily as most other members of the QuirkyMinibossSquad, and he gets the worst beating of any character in the series.

* In ''TheSimpsons'', the creator of ''TheItchyAndScratchyShow'' is betrayed and turned into a ''bum'', though a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, eventually. The guy who does the ripping off, Roger Myers Jr., although extremely successful, is shown to be amoral, cruel to his employees (insulting them and [[GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity sacking them on a whim]]) and utterly uninterested in the quality of the series as long as ratings and profits are high. Other famous "artists" are near universally egotists or hacks, such as [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight Krusty]].

This '''must''' be where a character's career is the same as the ''author'' of the work. A hack writer main character in a novel would be an example, but a hack writer in an animated show or a cartoonist in a novel would not be.

* The two protagonists in ''{{Bakuman}}'' start off not so much as losers but as utterly normal high schoolers. One of their dads, [[PosthumousCharacter who is dead when the story starts]], fits this trope a lot more.

* In ''TheSimpsons'', the creator of "Itchy and Scratchy" is betrayed and turned into a ''bum'', though a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, eventually. The guy who does the ripping off, Roger Myers Jr., although extremely successful, is shown to be amoral, cruel to his employees (insulting them and [[GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity sacking them on a whim]]) and utterly uninterested in the quality of the series as long as ratings and profits are high. Other famous "artists" are near universally egotists or hacks, such as [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight Krusty]].

This is a situation about An occupation of a character, where the author wants to portray them as a loser, without offending other fields. So, the author makes the character's occupation their own.

Compare AcceptableTargets, TakeThatMe and WriteWhatYouKnow.

[[AC: AnimeAndManga]]

* Darby Connley was portrayed as an EXTREME one of these in [[http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6782/168/1600/getfuzzy21831960060417.gif these]][[http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6782/168/1600/getfuzzy2006106560419.gif three]] [[http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6782/168/1600/getfuzzy2006043053222.gif strips]] of his own {{Get Fuzzy}}.
* A great many FrancoBelgianComics portray comic authors and artists as wretched slaves toiling away to produce art under the iron rule of a heartless evil editor obsessed with productivity.

[[AC: {{Film}}]]

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* [[{{Main/KurtVonnegut}} Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.]] repeatedly uses the character Kilgore Trout, a failed sci-fi writer, in his novels as an AuthorAvatar of the self deprecating variety, though he's admitted that Trout is also influenced by Theodore Sturgeon.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]
* An extreme example on {{30 Rock}}:Jack directly parodies Alec Baldwin's career. An approximate quotation:

** There's also Liz Lemon, who is basically TinaFey but with a crappy love life and no respect from her peers. The other writers in the show are depicted as frat boys with the maturity of twelve-year-olds.
* On Supernatural, Chuck Shirley, pen name "Carver Edlund" after directors and producers of the show, is a loser prophet is a writer. Then again the last episode of the 5th Season implies that he could actually be God, so...
* TV Show {{Seinfeld}} did this a bit, both belittling Jerry's stand-up act, but also writing for a sitcom. Another take on "SeinfeldIsUnfunny" here.

[[AC: VideoGames]]


[[AC: WebOriginal]]

[[AC: WebComics]]
* Gary, the main character from ''MenageA3''. However, this isn't his main job, but a side talent. His actual job gets minimal importance, while his drawing is ''supposed'' to be a loser attribute. It just so happens that several potential love interests find it an endearing or useful talent.
* Zach Wiener of SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal likes to portray himself as this.

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* In ''TheSimpsons'', the creator of "Itchy and Scratchy" is betrayed and turned into a ''bum'', though a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, eventually. The guy who does the ripping off, Roger Myers Jn., although extremely successful, is shown to be amoral, cruel to his employees (insulting them and sacking them on a whim) and utterly uninterested in the quality of the series as long as ratings and profits are high. Other famous "artists" are near universally egotistical and/or hacks, such as [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight Krusty]].
* Andy from ''MissionHill''. There was even an episode dedicated to the fact that Andy was broke, couldn't get any of his cartoons published, couldn't even get anyone to ''understand'' his cartoons, and was working a dead-end job that barely even put food on the table.