Seems to me fanart is eternal. As relevant now as it was way back in the stone age.
I mean, I wouldn't consider intentionally degrading the image so it looks like a low-rez GIF transmitted on a 36k modem. I would imagine some kind of watermark, even if it was something that could be cut out, a corner 'bug' if you will, would be a good idea. Someone wants to steal your work, they'll find a way to remove ANYTHING you do anyway, so the point would be to not 'mangle' the image with a honking big mark. You'll be able to tell if your stuff suddenly starts showing up like some doofus trying to 'front' they were there in the '90s, mannnn.
There are lots of ways to organize this sort of thing. Pity I've never bothered to take the plunge but so much of the mechanics are beyond me. Plus I just don't have the energy anymore. What you could do is maybe take people on a journey, your personal voyage of discovery. The 'catalyst' anime, the one that took you out of being just a dude watching TV to becoming obsessed, to hunting down stuff, discovering stuff, how one thing led to another thing, the contacts, what you read, where you went, the tangle of threads that lead to right now.
Example. 1979 I was part of a local Star Trek club. I had been president, I had been part of a team that put a 'zine together, we all had been very excited by Star Wars, we loved Star Trek, we thought Space: 1999 was OK and Battlestar Galactica had taken over some clubs. I had plans for running a convention and by Sept. we were counting down to the December 7th launch of both the con and Star Trek The Motion Picture. As I slogged thru film school at the local college, I found myself enjoying some cartoons on local TV, Speed Racer and the recent Battle of the Planets. Then a new UHF station started to promote their fall new shows and here was this thing called Star Blazers. I watched it and became forever hooked. That's step one.
Step two, noticing the end credits. Star Blazers was, as far as I can tell, the very first 'Japanese Transplant' cartoon that openly and boldly acknowledged that fact, that simple card: "Originally produced in Japan by Yoshinobu Nishizaki as Space Cruiser Yamato". It was the third title card in the end credits, that's a significant place when it comes to that sort of thing. So here I knew it was something special, something interesting.
Step three, that Spring 1980 issue of Fanfare Magazine, one of many 'pro 'zine' out then talking about comics and pop culture, with Captain Harlock (promo image from the first GE 999 movie) boldly on the cover, and hey I recognize that style! Fred Patten blew my mind with his expose on 'Japanimation', because not only did he let me know there was STUFF that could be bought, but so MANY interesting shows! And there, on the page, the picture of the cover of a record album...
(Music is a very important part of my life and enjoyment of a movie or TV series. The music of Star Blazers nee Yamato was a big part of what got me hooked)
Step four, a friend in the Star Trek club happened to be a soundtrack LP collector, and he knew of a place that got imports from Japan. The catalog he gave me just happened, JUST HAPPENED RIGHT THEN, RIGHT THERE to have a copy of Symphonic Suite Yamato in stock. I was broke, no job, but I managed to somehow beg my folks to allow me to use the credit card and order it. I doubt anything can match that moment when I first dropped the needle on the vinyl. And so my downfall (or would it be my salvation?) was begun.
See? That's just me blathering. Imagine what you could do if you set your mind to it.
