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What Is The 'I Depend On You' Meme? The Viral Controversial Art Getting Redrawn On Twitter Explained
Controversy is brewing in the art scene on X / Twitter, and it's all because of a drawing known as "I Depend On You."
The piece of art, which depicts a yellow person hugging a blue person to create green as they overlap, has come under fire for its style and perceived skill level, but others are coming to its defense and redrawing it.
So what exactly is all the controversy over and how have X users embraced the art? Here's what you need to know about the "I Depend On You" meme and the discourse surrounding it.
What Is The 'I Depend On You' Art And Why Is It Controversial?
"I Depend On You" is a piece of art created by X / Twitter artist @sometimes317. The artist posted the artwork at the end of November 2024 and it quickly took off, garnering over 70,000 likes and 15,000 reposts over the next month. The art shows two human-like figures, one yellow with blue eyes and one blue with yellow eyes, hugging, their heads overlapping in the middle to make green.
Many people loved the art and started redrawing it in their own styles and with other characters, but some weren't too happy about it.
A few weeks after it was uploaded, some X users started calling out the art for being, in their eyes, unskilled and too simple. One user wrote, "why did people even like this I drew like that in ms paint when I was 8," then posted a much less skilled piece of art in retaliation, writing, "my new amazing art I want ten billion likes."
This seemingly backfired, boosting attention to the post, causing many to defend it and increasing the number of redraws as the format spread online.
How Is 'I Depend On You' Used In Memes?
For the most part, "I Depend On You" is a redraw meme. That means artists are taking the original version of the illustration and drawing over it, or drawing their own interpretations of it, with other characters or in their own styles. This has resulted in tons of new examples of the art in December 2024, which are mostly relegated to X.
Some artists are going a step further and drawing original art referencing the work, including artwork that uses the same characters or puts a twist on the meaning of the piece.
For example, one artist posted a piece of art showing the blue character alone with green on their back, suggesting the other character is not currently with them.
For the full history of the I Depend On You art, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
