I had an interaction on Instagram yesterday that has required me to
write this post. I was alerted by a friend to the fact that someone was
using one of my paintings as their avatar. AWESOME! :) They like my
image enough to use it to represent themselves online. Using an artist
art as an avatar happens all the time and is common on the internet. I
went and checked out this person's Instagram account and was troubled
when I recognize one of their images as my own AND it had been modified
by a filter, which in my opinion made it a lot worse. I checked out the
image and was shocked to see this piece credited with…
"Amazing Viserion fan art from @go_sloe @go_sloe @go_sloe -- go check out his awesome #gameofthronesfanart account for more pictures like this one :D"
I will point this out specifically…"Amazing Viserion fan art from @go_sloe"
I see a lot peoples names linked to this image... except mine.
@go_sloe does not give me credit either and they seem to be the originator of the uncredited posting of my work. I responded to this with a straight forward correction of ownership and creative control…
@christopherburdett: "This is not fan art from @go_sloe this is my officially licensed art that I was hired to make for the AGoT card game put out by Fantasy Flight Games. It has just had a filter put on it that makes it look worse."My comment brought the following two replies…
@go_sloe: "@christopherburdett I obviously didn't create that, I just thought it was awesome enough to share on here never took credit for any of the art I post,,, I just appreciate good art when I see it. People don't get paid on Instagram so instead of getting pissed at @westerosian you should be happy people are enjoying your work."
@westerosian: "@christopherburdett hey now we never took credit at all, I reposted it from his account and I'm giving his account a shoutout. We do not claim credit on any if the fan art here. And I am a massive fan art supported, and I tag every single fucking artist that I see because I want to credit them (you'd see that on the majority of my posts.) and there are times where we don't know who the artist is."
Okay, let me break down how this is incorrect and how they are uniformed about their actions, the effect they are having, and how they are stealing from me.
1) Just to be clear, I was not "pissed" at anyone at the time I posted the original comment. It was a straight forward statement of ownership. Maybe they assume anger on my end because they realize they have done something inappropriate?
2) They claim to not have taken credit. Let us take a look at the repost credit…
"Amazing Viserion fan art from @go_sloe"
"go check out his awesome #gameofthronesfanart account for more pictures like this one".If they are not claiming credit they have completely muddied the water on who this image belongs to. By not crediting me they separate me from my art and by giving no credit, credit is given to them by others who don't know any better. They have created a wall between the viewer and myself as the creator. How "obvious" it may or may not be that they are not the originator is questionable and now that a second party has claimed, "Amazing Viserion fan art from @go_sloe", it is now linked to go_sloe by future viewers.
3) Then there was this statement, "People don't get paid on Instagram". Not getting paid has NEVER been a valid excuse for theft. By separating me from my work they HAVE effected me financially. I have a web store where you can buy prints of this piece. As a hired artist for Fantasy Flight Games I am allowed to sell prints of this piece. By not crediting me, the viewer can not go to my website or blog where links to my web store can be found and where my prints can be purchased. This uncredited posting of my image received hundreds more 'likes' then when I posted it and was seen by who knows how many more. Even if just one of these people had been interested in buying a print, now they can't. By posting my work without credit they have stolen the opportunity for me to sell my work, which helps me to continue working in this industry. People who download music, books, or movies without paying for them for personal use are not "getting paid" either, and this is still very much stealing from the content creator. By taking my work and reposting it without credit you are stealing my work from me and are using it for your own personal gain.
4) "you should be happy people are enjoying your work" … HILARIOUS! If I tell the power company I am enjoying the electricity they send to my house or the bank that I am enjoying all the money they loaned me to buy my house but I am not going to pay them… well, you don't have to use your imagination to know what the outcome will be. I can not pay my bills and live as an artist with my income consisting of people enjoying my work. Sadly, this is the real world and goods and services need to be exchanged for money to purchase other goods and services. I am passionate about the art that I make, but it is WORK and I was hired to make it. When someone takes my work and severs my ownership from it, it does not matter how many people like or don't like it. I would rather my art not be seen then seen without proper credit.
The dragon in question...
5) "I tag every single fucking artist that I see because I want to credit them (you'd see that on the majority of my posts.) and there are times where we don't know who the artist is." Way to up the conversation by dropping the F bomb. Anyway… I commend you on giving credit, …but giving credit to the WRONG person is still a problem. If you don't know who the artist is, DO NOT POST THE ART. PERIOD. It is theft. PERIOD. Google has some amazing easy to use image search features that allow you to quickly track images down. Also, my name and two of my URLs are ON THE IMAGE. There was no work to do… my info was on the image. You could have used either to track me down and get any and all of my links to give me credit. It was right there in front of you and you ignored it. …of course that great filter that was added to the image makes it a lot harder to read.
6) You took MY image. This image was not from the FFG website. This image was not a scan of the card from the game. This was MY image which came from my blog, website, Facebook, Deviant Art page, etc and it has my name and URLs on it. You came to me, took it, MODIFIED IT, reposted it, and then did not give me credit. Even if you were just google searching and came across the image it links back to my sites and as mentioned above, it has my links on the image. Effort was made to NOT credit me.
7) I have been working in the game industry for over 9 years and I have been working as a professional artist for over 15 years. I have spent decades of my art and skill set. I have sacrificed a lot to be where I am today to make the work I have the opportunity to make. You disrespect me and the time and effort I have put into being the artist I am by taking my work. I have worked on movies, television shows, music videos, and all types of games. If I can not support myself and family with my art then I will have to stop and do something else. By stealing art from those that create it you undermine the very thing you claim to be a fan of. Stealing artist's work contributes to them leaving the industry for work that pays better and offers more security. My job is to make art of the things you are a fan of… your job is NOT being a fan.
8) Ignorance is not and has never been an excuse.
A little comparison.
I hope this educates you. If this makes me the big bad mean artist, then so be it. The theft of art is rampant, but it can be stopped and controlled. Give credit where credit is due… ALL THE TIME. Being too hard or difficult is no excuse. "Sorry officer, I stole that car because it was just too hard to buy one…"
That is all for an unexpected Sunday post, see you back here on Monday for new Star Wars work! Until then...
For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com
Thank you, Christopher. I'm so sick of this.
ReplyDeleteYou are VERY welcome! Unfortunately, when I reached out to the people involved I was only met with hostility. Doing my part to get the word out and to educate those that will listen.
DeleteThank you so much for this. This is something that's a huge problem on instagram too and their ways of dealing with it are a joke.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! I am just thoroughly impressed that somehow I am the bad guy in these people's eyes. That somehow it is their right and privilege to take whatever they want.
DeleteTHANK YOU I will be sharing this post everywhere!
ReplyDeleteVERY WELCOME! :) I have not been able to break through to the perps, but I have been finding a lot of kindred spirits who know this pain too well.
DeleteThe amount of times I see my friends art and artists I admire works posted online (usually facebook) without credit I ALWAYS comment linking to their online galleries and telling the person to credit, and usually alert the artist themselves too. I get a few people message me when they see my work reposted without permission so at least we have a pretty good community looking out for each other :)
DeleteYes yes! We need to be vigilant and stick together.
DeleteHave you tried reporting the theft to instagram?
ReplyDeleteYes. This is currently moving forward. I hope to hear back very soon.
DeleteGood for you, I hope they learn from it, but I seriously doubt it.
DeleteYeah... the people involved have made it MORE then clear they have done nothing wrong, will continue doing it, and that I need to shut up and "quit my crying". This behavior has become strangely ingrained.
DeleteTheir replies are distinctly childlike. When a child gets caught doing something wrong, he gets angry at having been caught, no capacity for self-reflection. All they had to do was offer to credit you, something that takes, what, 10 seconds? Instead they insult you and make flawed arguments about the rampancy of theft and their own lack of understanding of the world.
ReplyDeleteVery true. But if you do not attempt education you allow the cycle to repeat. They simply show their inexperience in the world and they lack of understanding and ignorance to everything around them.
DeleteSad thing is, many youngsters growing up these day think it is normal(many "taught" by their parents) and therefore acceptable practice to steal whatever is available from the internet.
ReplyDeleteFilm, music, photos, artwork, you name it. :/
Pretty sad development.
Yeah. It will only ever matter or make sense to them when it actually effects them. When they have things stolen from them that involved a lot of time and effort. They best we can do is try to educate and to continue to get the word out that this is wrong, easy to address, and IS stealing no matter what they think or learned.
DeleteThis stuff drives me absolutely up the wall. It's so frustrating because when you confront people their shock at the very idea of ownership or credit for an image is really scary. It let's you know just HOW little people understand about this stuff now. To some people reposting (or rePRINTING) an image is a kind of ownership of it, and some people even don't consider that something on tumblr or instagram came from an original source. I've hunted down a few people on behalf of illustro obscurum and their responses are always exactly like this. Instant anger, complete ignorance, one even said she was going to sue him?! Anyway, don't ever be afraid to be the big bad artist, it's important. I think this is a really universal response from every artist I know. I'm constantly seeing posts like yours (and making them) but I suspect only other artists are listening.
ReplyDeleteI can see you both having a lot more trouble with theft then I ever will. You both make work that is gorgeous and can be used for unintended purposes. At least a lot of my stuff has a set context due to client ordered perimeters. It has been all of my Game of Thrones stuff that has caused me issues... or at least those are the times I have become aware of it. Makes me not want to do more work on that license - which was one of the out comes I was trying to educate the thieves about. You like my AGoT dragons? You steal it? Now I won't make any more... WINNER!
DeleteI just want to go to these peoples houses then walk around picking things up and then leave and when they object, become indignant and scream at them that this is "MY RIGHT". See if they seen it any differently. ...but they won't... and they will shoot me... Just gotta keep repeating it over and over and maybe someone, someday will hear it and change.
Very well written.
ReplyDeleteYou are completely within your right to be annoyed by such people.
Seriously, your name is on the image, talk about laziness.
Thanks! Yeah... I am just left scratching my head...
Deletemajor props to you, sir! i hope there will never be a day where you'll spend more time battling rippers than actually creating - reason i no longer display my finished work to the public.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Unfortunately I think it is a never ending battle...
DeleteThat is indeed worrying, but at least you've kept a strong artistic signature enough for your work to be easily identifiable from miles away. That's what's important. Anothing important thing is to have backups and maybe even some prints on the side, as either evidence or spare. Anyway, I hope that bit of a problem gets resolved soon. Best of luck to you, since your works are really good and your integrity and authorship should always be respected and upheld.
ReplyDeleteFaye Fowler @ Master Copy Print
Oh my gosh
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU
I'm no professional but i know that feeling of "being used"
I've seen too much theft that ends with "if you repost, credit me. i made this edit."
THAT DOES NOT GIVE THEM RIGHTS BECAUSE OF A STUPID FILTER THEY DIDN'T EVEN MAKE EITHER.
I'm just really worried about my future since when i grow up, I'm aiming to become a really high level manga artist that works for Television or games, yet knowing there are many immature people out there whom just carelessly do things, that made me uncertain of my "dream job"
I really wish that everyone would get educated...