Plagiarism

[einahpets]

Way back in April I recced an amazing Russian artist who did some fabulous manips and graphics.  Later that same day I saw a piece of art posted to drawmelot, by a different artist, which was an exact copy of the Russian artist's manip.  Strange timing but I was really upset at the obvious duplication of an artist's work.  As you'll read in my report, I interacted with the artist to try and get further details and found he did not have permission to use the original art.  I could not just sit back when something was so blatantly plagiarized and decided to take some action.  I asked my fandom friends what to do and with some help I wrote up a post and submitted it to stop_plagiarism for review.  Almost two months since writing that post it has finally been made public to the community.  In the downtime, I made contact with other fandom artists who helped me compile more evidence and examples.  The final report and all evidence is here.    

As for my own personal thoughts on fanart plagiarism in general, here they are...
I consider myself a very flexible artist and fanartist.  Throughout art history there are hundreds, thousands, probably millions of examples where students are copying master paintings to learn technique.  However, there's a difference between using preexisting imagery to grow as an artist and using imagery that is just plain stolen.  By copying the original artist, students are able to better grasp how to create a piece so when they grow into a master themselves the original work they create has strong technique and is something they worked on to achieve.  Furthermore inspiration, ideas, and technique are gained by looking, learning, and copying all sorts of imagery throughout time. 
Fandom is a tough place for art just because knowing what is right and wrong can be very obvious to some and not to others.  While there are no 'official rules' I really believe there is a scale of right and wrong.  While I can be very flexible about fanart in general, to me there is a more distinct line of 'wrong' when it comes to copying another fanartist's work.  When the choice is made to join the fandom community, I feel there are rules agreed to if it is decided to add to fandom as a creator.  As an example, would a fandom writer appreciate finding another user reposted/stole half of a story, including a link to the original story post, and saying in the writer's note the original story was 'inspiration' without the new poster seeking permission?  I would think not.  Neither do artists. 
While I can easily say I do art for art's sake, I also like being recognized as the original creator of a piece and having my art and imagery treated with some respect and ownership.  It's for reasons like this that I am wary of tumblr and how easy it is for art to be striped of it's original creator.  Heck I get wary when I think about who may have downloaded a copy of my art to their computer not knowing what may happen (but I don't toss and turn over it or I wouldn't even bother to post art to the internet at all).  Anyway, I understand ideas and art can be shared, and I understand when I see similar compositions and styles.  Heck, I take inspiration from fellow artists and fanartists all the time.  However, I don't think it's right to directly duplicate a fanart, nor is it right to copy all/most of a fanart without consent from the original artist.  Should fandom try and chew each other out over this, no.  But should it strive to be honorable when it can and learn from past mistakes?  I like to think so.

I'm sure my thoughts are all over the place ... I'm not the most eloquent verbalizing my thoughts, and this is one of those topics where every individual has their own thoughts what is right and wrong.  We can easily talk in circles about this.  I just wanted to make people aware of these things and get a little insight on my personal stance with it.

Comments

[disco-mouse.livejournal.com]

I think this happens far more often than most people think. His was obvious and flagrant, but there are far more slightly more subtle works being plagiarized all over the place. Perhaps because I look at fan and original art all the time, and equally look at photographs with human subjects all the live-long day, I can guess the source so often. . Sometimes I lay over drawings and wala, they match.

It is a great way to learn to draw, but not a great way to grow. I started out copying and tracing. I still use references more often than not, but I like creating vastly different each time.

I theorize that the internet has created an atmosphere of getting likes, hits, followers, comments and the need for that kind of validation fast -- so people take shortcuts. And often the viewer cares nothing more than to look something pretty no matter how it got there. That sucks for those who work hard at their craft, and it is a test to let that ego that needs that sort of validation go. It is especially hard when you see your own work ubiquitously stolen and there is little you can do about it.

[reni-m.livejournal.com]

I feel there is a difference between observing a reference photo and tracing one. My art education started with life only drawing, and once I got to college photo reference and even some tracing happened depending on the project and technique I decided to go with. I traced a lot when I was doing etchings in printmaking, but even then I was using my own photos so I wouldn't have to worry about copyright if I ever sell my work.

It's true, the internet is definitely an environment cultivated for instant gratification where things can get dodgy and out of control fast. I don't think it's bad to have an ego and validation for your art, but as an art poster on the internet I understand that the chance is high something will wind up where I don't want it. Should that make me stop posting art, no. Does it make me wary what I share on the internet, yes. At least with fanart most people who may shuffle it around are in a domain I'm following.

I know out of anyone, you suffer with theft the most and it's a shame it happens at all.