Posted by Kim on August 8, 2011, 11:01am
A serious aside, to address a frequent misconception that can do worlds of hurt to your favorite artists:On some level, we are all artists. Painters, designers, writers, or simply dreamers. We create people, stories, entire worlds with the power of our imaginations.
So each of us knows how deeply invested it's possible to become in those worlds. How much work and detail can go into them.
And we all know that sometimes - arguably all the time - some of our inspiration comes from somewhere else. When looking at a great piece of art, it's only natural for it to start us dreaming. And before we know it, we've thought up an entire life story to explain how a character in a drawing got to where they are in that captured moment. That a piece of art can inspire us to our own artistic pursuits is one of the ways we know that it is truly great.
At this point, many people naturally want to display the piece of art on the profile of the character that it inspired. Almost always, this is meant as a proud compliment to the artist that produced it. But when it's later found by the artist, it isn't always perceived that way.
Having a piece of art taken and re-displayed without the artist's permission or knowledge can feel like an incredible betrayal, especially if the person who took the art proclaims themselves a fan. It can result in artists burning out, deciding that they are no longer going to share their work with the world, and occasionally legal action.We love our artists. We want them to stay inspired, so they can keep inspiring us. If you are really a fan of an artist or a particular piece of their work, the best thing that you can do is to write to them, explain how their art inspired you, and ask permission to repost their image (with a link back to their portfolio) on your character profile. The worst that could happen is that they say no; but even if that happens, they're almost certain to be delighted to have caught your imagination, and amazed at how polite and internet savvy you are to have asked first.
Simply putting a note on a picture saying it isn't yours doesn't mean it's legal to use it, or even polite.
It just means you've put up a note admitting that you copied it from somewhere but you feel kind of guilty about it.So take the time to talk to your favorite artists. It might just prevent them from withdrawing from the online world, taking the art that you love so much with them.
Comments
As mentioned in my previous post, I can confirm George Lucas' stance on fan creativity.
A few years ago, a preview video for an unannounced Star Wars game (it turned out to be The Force Unleashed) was leaked onto YouTube, which showed off some very exciting gameplay moments that got a lot of attention from the fans. Lucasfilm spotted it and asked YouTube to remove the video.
However, YouTube misunderstood, taking down every Star Wars related video they had, which included mine. This left many fans wondering what was going on, previously they had been encouraged to play in the universe. People from fan fiction and fan art communities showed up, asking if they would be next.
George Lucas heard about this, contacted YouTube and asked them to restore all the fan videos, making it clear it was just the game footage that had to be taken down.
YouTube were quick to comply, with everything going back up. That pretty much made it clear, fans can create Star Wars stories and art, as long as they don't make money from it.
But please keep in mind, this story only applies to Star Wars. Other companies and creators don't share this attitude. J K Rowling is known to be very strict on what she allows fans to do. You'll also have a hard time finding a Stargate fanfilm for the same reasons.
As Kim said, if you want to play with a franchise, check to see what other fans have done already and what they have been prevented from doing, it might save you a whole lot of trouble.
A few years ago, a preview video for an unannounced Star Wars game (it turned out to be The Force Unleashed) was leaked onto YouTube, which showed off some very exciting gameplay moments that got a lot of attention from the fans. Lucasfilm spotted it and asked YouTube to remove the video.
However, YouTube misunderstood, taking down every Star Wars related video they had, which included mine. This left many fans wondering what was going on, previously they had been encouraged to play in the universe. People from fan fiction and fan art communities showed up, asking if they would be next.
George Lucas heard about this, contacted YouTube and asked them to restore all the fan videos, making it clear it was just the game footage that had to be taken down.
YouTube were quick to comply, with everything going back up. That pretty much made it clear, fans can create Star Wars stories and art, as long as they don't make money from it.
But please keep in mind, this story only applies to Star Wars. Other companies and creators don't share this attitude. J K Rowling is known to be very strict on what she allows fans to do. You'll also have a hard time finding a Stargate fanfilm for the same reasons.
As Kim said, if you want to play with a franchise, check to see what other fans have done already and what they have been prevented from doing, it might save you a whole lot of trouble.
Kim, I can confirm what you said about George Lucas. For all his faults as a film maker in recent years, that is one of the good things he does to encourage creativity.
But not all corporations are so happy with fan works, it's best to check.
But not all corporations are so happy with fan works, it's best to check.
It is technically illegal to use any image without the permission of the person who owns the rights to that image, not to mention bad form. The rights holder is usually the person who created the image, but in the case of something "official" it could be a corporation. While it's true that you're less likely to hurt the feelings of a large corporation, it's also true you're much more likely to invite legal action. Against yourself, and potentially against the site. 
That said, there are a number of franchises that are very fan-friendly, and often encourage the use of their worlds and imagery for fan-created works. I've been told that George Lucas is one of those who is generally delighted to see his Star Wars universe stimulating people's imaginations, although I haven't looked into that personally so don't hold me to it. If you have a specific work of fiction in mind that you want to know for sure about, poke around and see if you can find any information where they address fan-created works such as fan fiction. RP will often fall inside those guidelines, and many will have their policies posted somewhere.
That said, there are a number of franchises that are very fan-friendly, and often encourage the use of their worlds and imagery for fan-created works. I've been told that George Lucas is one of those who is generally delighted to see his Star Wars universe stimulating people's imaginations, although I haven't looked into that personally so don't hold me to it. If you have a specific work of fiction in mind that you want to know for sure about, poke around and see if you can find any information where they address fan-created works such as fan fiction. RP will often fall inside those guidelines, and many will have their policies posted somewhere.
Sadly, I am seeing people take art and 'use it for ref' a lot. And when I ask the artist if they allowed it, they say no. Already I had to ask another artist if they knew their art was used without their permission and how to contact the admin here to have it taken down.
Please, for the love of the artists, friends don't let friends take art that is not theirs and 'ref' it.
Please, for the love of the artists, friends don't let friends take art that is not theirs and 'ref' it.
In the spirit of this post, is it considered theft or something along those lines when people post characters from a TV Show, or from a DC/Marvel or any other comic series?
Trickster
August 10, 2011
3:21am
Am I a bad person if I use an official picture of Edward or Sephiroth or Goku as a reference for my main character?
So many people claim art and character theft but I can see this is the right version of the arguement I fully support this concept.Plus it isn't much to pay an artist to do a char you claim to love.
Glacontour
August 9, 2011
8:41pm
Although I agree with this, I feel like there's a fine line. A piece of art that includes a random person that has no important significance to the artist is a lot different than a piece of art that includes a character the artist created. Although I feel very defensive about my art in general, I'd be floored to find out someone likes my character enough to use them. I'd love to know what sort of trouble he/she'll get into without me and with someone else. I'd be upset if someone used a character with no significance to me, but oddly enough, I'll be flattered to know someone was inspired by my characters... (I know many people will disagree with me on this, but it's simply my two cents c:)
May I ask what caused something like this to come up?
May I ask what caused something like this to come up?
Thank you that Dawniie issue was handled ASAP. Can't believe the person dared to impersonate a really good artist. @_@
I agree.
Amen
As an artist I 100% agree with this.
I do have something to add though: the picture that you take inspiration from may already be someone else's character. I do not want people to look at a drawing I commissioned specifically of my character and then say "That's going to be my character." You can't do that, it's MY character with MY design and MY made up story and personality. Using artwork of, let's say Aerys, would both anger and hurt me quite a bit. As simple as she is, she has a detailed background and a unique relationship with another character that I worked hard for and spent days roleplaying.
Even just taking her appearance is stealing my character. I worked together with an artist who made changes to the drawing to create the look that suits Aerys so well, to capture her personality. Saying 'this isn't my art, all credit goes to the artist' doesn't make it okay. *I* paid money that I worked for to the artist, who in turn worked to create the image.
And this applies to 90% of all character drawings you find online. Chances are the character depicted in the drawing belongs to someone, and by using the drawing you are stealing that character. There is nothing wrong by creating a new character inspired by an existing character, but there is a difference between inspiration and taking something that isn't yours.
What I can compare it best with is window shopping; you see a dress or a pair of boots you're dying to have, but you don't have the money to buy it. So you go home and make it yourself. It will resemble what you saw in the window, but you didn't steal the dress or the boots themselves.
I do have something to add though: the picture that you take inspiration from may already be someone else's character. I do not want people to look at a drawing I commissioned specifically of my character and then say "That's going to be my character." You can't do that, it's MY character with MY design and MY made up story and personality. Using artwork of, let's say Aerys, would both anger and hurt me quite a bit. As simple as she is, she has a detailed background and a unique relationship with another character that I worked hard for and spent days roleplaying.
Even just taking her appearance is stealing my character. I worked together with an artist who made changes to the drawing to create the look that suits Aerys so well, to capture her personality. Saying 'this isn't my art, all credit goes to the artist' doesn't make it okay. *I* paid money that I worked for to the artist, who in turn worked to create the image.
And this applies to 90% of all character drawings you find online. Chances are the character depicted in the drawing belongs to someone, and by using the drawing you are stealing that character. There is nothing wrong by creating a new character inspired by an existing character, but there is a difference between inspiration and taking something that isn't yours.
What I can compare it best with is window shopping; you see a dress or a pair of boots you're dying to have, but you don't have the money to buy it. So you go home and make it yourself. It will resemble what you saw in the window, but you didn't steal the dress or the boots themselves.
Whoooeee. Glad to here whatever happened was dealt with.
And as f0x mentioned- well said.
And as f0x mentioned- well said.
There was a fairly serious incident of art theft last night. It was handled quickly.
Although that particular case was almost certainly malicious, almost all cases of copied art is explained by simple confusion about 'net etiquette and can be resolved with a tiny bit of education. Most people love artists and don't want to hurt their feelings or step on their rights. I've always wanted this community to be as artist friendly as possible, so I thought we could do with a gentle PSA while it was on my mind.
Although that particular case was almost certainly malicious, almost all cases of copied art is explained by simple confusion about 'net etiquette and can be resolved with a tiny bit of education. Most people love artists and don't want to hurt their feelings or step on their rights. I've always wanted this community to be as artist friendly as possible, so I thought we could do with a gentle PSA while it was on my mind.
Well said. I've never really had my own art stolen, but I have seen a lot of it on deviantart.
Can I ask if this was prompted by something?
Can I ask if this was prompted by something?
VoodooWitch
August 21, 2011
8:54am
I can't help but think of the recent Chad Love Lieberman case that is viralling all over the art industry right now. That man stole a lot of good people's artwork, and claimed every single piece as his own. He even got it as a print, and put it up in his room during a photo shoot. If that isn't a sickening case of art theft, I don't know what is.