I don't think that fanart is lame, I would say that it is more of a devotion towards the story or character of an artist's own creation. Besides, I think it really depends on how good of a fanart outcome it would be. Sure, I was into fanart two years ago. Man, it's almost unbelievable about how much I tried to draw Sasuke and Naruto. I was like dead addicted to that show that I really had to show my dedication to them because I wanted the world to know that I was crazy for them. Now that I have passed that stage, I don't really care for them anymore. Oh and then I started applying Sasuke's eyes into my own style and art. Now, they just look completely different-you would'nt probably know that I was highly inspired by Kishimoto's Sasuke's eyes unless I told you. So maybe it's a process of learning how far one can expand their drawing to an extent.
True, sometimes people can ruin the original, but to consider their effort for something, I give credit to them, but sometimes, I am just like, "I am not even going to look at this" and then I ignore it. Simple as that, I ignore one dramatic thing.
Anyhow, that's not really the point, what I am trying to say is that I mean, I personally prefer my own characters than to actually draw other characters from stories, but then I still don't think that it is lame or in other words, terrible.
Well, that is what I think....Other than that, it's your own opinion and you support yourself so I have nothing further to say. Till then, ciao! 
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