Hoodie Time Art Theft - With Resolution!

Today I bring you another exciting story of art theft, well, okay... maybe not too exciting. It is just another run of the mill company stealing artist work and slapping it on products to make a quick buck before they are caught. In this case, as far as I can tell, they were caught rather quickly. This came to my attention yesterday, Thursday August 30th, when artist were posting about a theft site. Looks like I was but one of the lucky artist getting ripped off by Hoodie Time. Yes, I know the link it broken and that is the good news. An personal piece from 2010 was getting slapped on shirts, hoodies, tank tops, etc and since I have never posted anything online that is even remotely print quality I am sure that the product would have been A-MAZE-ZING. Let's have a look at the shirt...

I love how they mark it as a designed hoodie.

Stealing art is does not make you a designer.

The funniest thing, and I wish I had gotten a screen shot of it, was that there was a link at the bottom of each page allowing you to report art thief. There was an email address to send your complaints to. They requested you send the link to the offending product and then links that prove the art is yours. They had a statement along the lines of, "Artist lie about owning the art they submit to us". This is a paraphrase at best, but it is what the intent of the statement. Oh look! The stolen art clothes are even on sale...

So tempting... My stolen art is on sale. Maybe I should order a couple.

(The answer is always NO, by the way.)

Looking at these samples I can not imagine that these would print the way they are depicted. and if they did would not look 'right'. Is the image repeated on the back? Who knows... and we will never know because the entire site is down. I sent in a request to have my stolen work taken down, but by mid afternoon the entire site was offline. A happy ending is always good. A happier ending is that they made no money before their site was taken down. Oh look, a confusing hoodie... are the arms fused to the body?

Just what every kid wants... a Great Old One hoodie...

Since the site is down and it all seems to be taken care of, I will leave you with the original art that was stolen by Hoodie Time. Not sure if this means this is a good piece of work or that it is incredibly mediocre and therefor able to be sold to the masses. Either way, I have always like this piece...

Great Old One

12.8 x 12.5 - Digital

© 2010 Christopher Burdett

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here next week! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Good Bye Deviant Art: Update

A month ago I shared with you the straw that broke the camel's back in regards to my usage of Deviant Art. Not unexpectedly, DA has an archaic process to delete your own account. After going through the list of questions regarding the reason for deactivating the account, multiple verification that you in fact want to deactivate your account, you then have to wait an entire month before DA will actually remove all of your content from their servers. Well, it has been a month and it now looks like all of my content has FINALLY been removed. This all took far too long, but thankfully it is over. People will now have to come to my blog or website to steal my work from now on. I wish I felt better about all this, but I fear too much damage has already been done and I have simply killed the patient in an attempt to stop the bleeding...

So long and good bye...

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Good Bye Deviant Art or: From Russia With Stolen Art

In 2009 I started my Deviant Art account and in 2017 I have ended it. Well, when the 30 day "are you really sure you want to deactivate you account" period ends my account will be no more. Why am I doing this? Because of the toxic theft ridden environment that I have endured for far too long. Here is the straw that broke the camels back...

One of FAR too many...

This was the response I received after this person contacted me to use my art in their indy game and I told them that client work was not available, but some of my personal work is and I would be more that happy to discuss licensing fees and to set up a contract. This is put one of SO many of these that I have received lately. While most are on Deviant Art, some are not. The interactions I have on DA are not always so blatant, but the subtext is EXTREMELY clear:

"Hi I like your art, I want to use it. (Actually I have already stolen it, but I am being nice!)"

"Okay, you can't use client work, but you can pay me to use my work."

"Uh, sorry, I have no money. (So I am TOTALLY gonna steal some more of your art)"

"Sorry to hear that, well when you have a budget, I am more that happy to talk, just don't steal my work."

"Sure thing! Will do! I love your work! Would never steal it! (I am TOTALLY gonna steal every last bit of art you have on Deviant Art!)"

Over and over and over again. Finally have had enough. Not too mention I have not been able to find ANY proof that I am getting any kind of return from my Deviant Art account or that it is helping me achieve my goals in anyway. All it seems to be is a time sink and a stress creator. So, after more than 8 years I am packing it in, closing up shop, and getting the hell out of Deviant Art Town. It is not worth my time and it is definitely not worth this stress. Also, if you are wondering about this person or any legal actions I can take... I have to have proof that they have actually stolen work and are using it without my permission, which I don't have, and thier account on DA is blank save for their alias, FuriFull, and that they claim to be n Russia. Not a lot to go on and no recourse to be found. Oh well. Also, I will NEVER watermark my work. If I have to mar the image to keep it safe when showing people I will stop making art. This is why we can not have nice things.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Put Away the Pitchforks

First, I would like to thank the greater gaming and art communities for all the support regarding a resent run in with an art thief that I posted about on Wednesday. It is reassuring that people out there really do support artists and care that they and there art is treated with respect. Every time I have a run in like this I question the integrity of my endeavors and worry that all my efforts are all for naught and it will all be stolen in the end. My post got shared in the ball park of a hundred times across Facebook and at last count the post had been viewed over 11,000 times. I  definitely hit a nerve and my message resonated with a lot of people.

That said, calls for violence and physical harm on the person that stole my art is CATEGORICALLY UNACCEPTABLE! This is not how I treat people, even if someone has wronged me, and I would expect to not be treated this way, even if I have wronged someone. Threats of physical violence, even if made in jest, are FAR worse than the stealing of my art. Likewise, the unsolicited harassment and verbal attacks on this individual are not acceptable. The intent of my post was to call attention to a systemic and continuing problem that people who create things experience. This person is but one of many that do this and should not be treated as a scapegoat for all art theft. We do not blame a single drop of rain for the destruction of a hurricane, no matter how much of a jerk that drop of rain is. This was NOT a call to action against this person and this is NOT a call to attack and persecute this person.

While some of you may think you are retaliating on my behalf, it is not warranted or appropriate. I would have never made this public if the individual had not severed communication after sending me his little manifesto. My post was meant as a warning to other artists and as a bit a humor looking at this persons behavior and how they think treating artists is appropriate. Threats, harassment, violence, and mistreatment of any kind are not acceptable responses to this. The situation and his behavior are frustrating. He did act with contempt towards me and my art and has violated my copyright of my art. Even with all this, there is no need for calls of lawsuits, threats of violence, or the demand to have projects that he has worked on for ten year removed from the web. It would be next to impossible to prove damages, plus it would be a huge waste of time and money on my end, violence is never the answer for most things, and it is distasteful to contemplate destroying another creative person's work simply to revenge their mistreat of my creative work. Yes he did something wrong, but destroying him utterly is not a way to solve this issue.

I am fairly sure no one that has read my post, shared it, and commented on it actually know this person. We do not know the ups and downs of his life. What he has dealt with or what he has to deal with. True, his behavior towards me does paint him with a fairly wide brush and gives us an opinion of the kind of person he is, but we all make mistakes, we all have bad days. Granted, it is obvious he did not make a mistake and he knowingly and purposefully stole my art and ideas, but persecuting him across the internet is not the answer. Many people have spoken of unfriending him, blocking him, and blacklisting him. While many more has said they have been blocked by him, even for simply attempting to get his side of his story in all this. His words and behavior are not very mature, but this is not grounds for attacks. He has had enough. I don't see any of this changing how he behaves. Hopefully after all this people will be more vigilante in the protection of artists and their work and be more aware to the prolific nature of art theft. 

I use this blog to document my journey as a working artist and this is but one small part of it. I am approached constantly with the request to use my art without pay, in ways that breach copyright and usage rights, and any number of ways that benefit the other person and in no way benefit me. I stumble upon my work being stolen all the time and address it, privately. About every six months I run into a real doozy of a person that behaves in a way that is completely unacceptable. I have shared only a couple of those and this was one. Maybe I should not have share this. While the support of the community is great, the attacks on the person are counter productive. This blog is about art and making monsters and the journey that it has taking me on to be a better person and artist. This blog is not about tearing people down, even ones that have done something wrong. Please treat people with respect, even when none is given in return. It is something I struggle with, but we can all strive to be better... even Alexis.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Yet Another Ignorant Art Thief

Before I start this let me say that there by far more important issues going on in this country and world right now other than stealing art. Issues of life and death and issues that have real serious repercussions, but I can not control those things and this blog has always been about my career as a working artist. I can't save the world, but I can call out ignorant people that like to steal art.

I received this comment on my blog a month or so ago from Alexis Smolensk:

"Just wanted to tell you that I'm working on a rewrite of D&D monsters for my gaming blog, and this image encouraged me to completely rewrite the boring beetle's description. I really don't need another big fighting beetle - this was better.

I'm afraid I'm stealing your pic for the wiki, but I'll give you a credit. I've cut the pic a bit so it will fit on my layout, making your blog's name hard to read, so I've created a caption. I've also linked the pic to your blog. The page is here:

http://tao-of-dnd.wikispaces.com/Beetle+%28giant+boring%29

(this link has since been taken down)

I've done the same with the bombadier beetle:

http://tao-of-dnd.wikispaces.com/Beetle+%28giant+bombadier%29"

(This link is still up but the art of someone else is currently being used without credit)

Okay. My response appreciated their interest in my work, but I had not given them permission to use my work, nor had I been paid for the use of my art in their project. I did not even address that not only were they using my art without permission they were using my ideas involved with my redesign of this monster. It is my art, I do have say over its use. Plain and simple. It is mine and I can at least expect a certain level of respect or to have some level of control over it.

What got me was the use of the word "stealing". While I am impressed that credit is being given, the intent was theft, not only of my art, but my ideas. I am getting really frustrated that giving credit is the most we can hope for. Credit should be the starting point of the discussion of usage, not the end. This whole thing could have been handled in so many different way. They could have approached me ahead of time with an inquiry to use or license my work. They could have even not contacted me. I would never know they were stealing my art and ideas. I do not have the time, energy, or interest to spend my time hunting down the unapproved use of my art. Instead of any of these options they contacted me after the fact and told me they were stealing my art. My response to this comment was probably stronger then it needed to be, but this is all getting old and they admitted they were stealing my ideas and art.

Of course, in response to my request for them to stop using my art without my permission they doubled, or even tripled, downed on their stance with this gem of a message on Facebook. Keep in mind their sent me this on Facebook and then (from what I can not tell) blocked me so that I could not respond back. The classic internet tough guy move.

"I think you should know that my wiki receives more than 1,000 page views a day, most of which goes to the most recent added content, such as your work last week, and consistently dozens of views for months afterwards. I considered putting your name and link on the content as free advertising, beneficial for you, which is compensation in the world of business. In future, if you don't want things stolen from you, I suggest not putting in a public place far from your house and your ability to observe what happens to it. I suggest you put it behind a wall, where you can better protect it. Take note. I did not need to inform you at all about your content; most of the internet would not. I was direct and open about its use and I am direct and open about taking it down. You won't find this sort of treatment to be common. Finally, if you wish to sell your work, I suggest improving your work. The only value it had to me was in depicting a specific kind of monster for someone to see what that monster looked like. I have many other options for that. But the idea that your work, as shown, has monetary value, is laughable. I certainly wouldn't pay for it. You have a long way to go as an artist. I do wish you luck in that regard. It will go hard on you if you insist on treating collaboration, which is what I was offering, as an insult and not praise. As one artist to another, we all need friends. I happen to be a writer. I write thousands of words of content for free and am compensated happily by hundreds and hundreds of persons who, seeing my free work, want more. They want to buy anything I put in front of them because they cannot get enough. You should get out of your head that any work you create has value in itself. You are the artist. YOU are the value. If someone in the future "steals" you work (and it certainly won't be me, not ever), I suggest you be flattered, you point out to everyone you know that your work is somewhere else on the internet and you ask for as much credit as you can get to move your name into other people's thoughts. Your approach that work = transaction = money is dead and gone, has been since the internet broke. You want to be an artist? Time to get with the future. I might have been happy to give you as much good press as I could give, talking to my readership. But you've pissed on all that now, for short-term gain. I suspect you've been art-school trained. Your approach usually comes from that kind of field. You're going to find that won't work for you, not in this century and not in this decade. I tell you this sincerely and in your interest, though I know that you're plenty furious by now."

While this speaks for itself, let's break this down. First, I did not even read this till weeks after he sent this to me. I really did not care what he had to say and I didn't have the time or energy to waste on what turned out to be exactly what I expected. In fact I ended up reading this while my wife and I were in Paris a week or two ago. My wife was using my phone to coordinate the evacuation of our cats from our home as hurricane Irma headed towards Florida and she stumbled upon this unread message. She responded for me, but the account was already blocked and it went nowhere. Oh well, these internet tough guys stamp their little feet and scream their little words and then slam the door so they are always correct in their eyes.

This message is a classic. It starts with how awesome he is and how important his blog is and how he is doing me a favor by including my art in his project. Weeeee! OH BOY! Gosh, that is swell! Then of course he blames the victim for his crime. If I don't want my art stolen I need to lock it away so not one can see it. This is laughable. How about you don't steal peoples art? I guess stores need to have DO NOT STEAL signs above ever item?

I RAWR'd with laughter when I read this, "Finally, if you wish to sell your work, I suggest improving your work. / But the idea that your work, as shown, has monetary value, is laughable. I certainly wouldn't pay for it. You have a long way to go as an artist." So my art is good enough to steal the ideas from it and to use on my blog, but it also sucks? I am confused. Let me check my credentials: I have designed makeup effects for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly (just to name a few) and I am an artist for Magic the Gathering, the Star Wars games, and Dungeons & Dragons (that game that he is making all his fan fiction for), not to mention many many others. You know what, here is my RESUME, it is a little out of date but should give you an idea of my work experience. In a couple of months it will mark the beginning of my 18th year as a working professional artist, but sure, yeah, I have a long way to go. Also, I have to turn down work constantly. I do not have time to take on all the projects that come my way. Real projects, with real clients, that pay real money.

"It will go hard on you if you insist on treating collaboration, which is what I was offering, as an insult and not praise. As one artist to another, we all need friends." Collaboration is when two or more people are working on a project together not when one person steals another person's art and ideas to use in their own project. Stealing art and ideas is not how you make friends. Funny how that works.

Then he is going on about how he is a noble writer who works for free and then people buy his work and how I should give my stuff away and that will magically turn into money. Same old worn out tripe that I have heard a million times. I think Harlan Ellison has something to say about this...



"I suspect you've been art-school trained. Your approach usually comes from that kind of field." When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. I am an open book on this blog, I went to Florida State University which is definitely an art school. I never had a single professional practices course and I had professors that openly taught stealing from others. I knew it was wrong then and I know it is still wrong. Make your own damn art or pay the people that are working with you.

Finally, "I tell you this sincerely and in your interest, though I know that you're plenty furious by now.", you know what, in a sincerity, I laughed when I read this. I laughed long and hard and then I felt really really sad for this person. They are so misguided or ignorant... or both. But they are an internet tough guy and slammed the door closed after they shouted into the internet at me for calling them out for stealing. I guess they won.


*UPDATE* It has been pointed out to me that one of the images that started all this was still on his site. After further investigation not only are the images in question that he told me he removed are still on his site, but several more of my giant beetle drawings as well. So, we can add LIAR to list of his crimes. Way to stay classy, Alexis!

*UPDATE*  Some have questioned if I was in fact sharing all of the communication with this person and being fully transparent. The conversation started in the comments section of the post containing one of the pieces of art he stole. It is still all public and nothing has been edited. Not knowing if my comment would be seen on my blog, I sent it to him on Facebook to be sure that my art was removed. Here is a screen caps of the conversion. I repeated what I said on my blog, then he responded and then blocked me ending all communication with him. Notice the "You can not reply conversation" at the bottom. He told me he is stealing my art and ideas. I told him not without paying me. Then he sent me the manifesto and ended the conversation.

*UPDATE* I have some additional thoughts I think are extremely important to consider in all this. I have put them all in a new blog post for ease of reading. Please give it a read.

That's all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

I didn't work on that... why is my art being used?

I really don't know where to even begin with this, but I will stumble through it all the same. I am not sure if I will come to any conclusions or deliver any answers, but maybe I can get a(nother) conversation going. This is something that has been around forever(?) and will likely be with us indefinitely. It goes by many names: borrowing, incorporating, appropriating, stealing...

This is not an easy subject and everyone has an opinion and draws their own lines on what is allowed and what it too far. There are also SO many different ways these acts are committed. Sometimes art is used and is unchanged, sometimes art is used unchanged with a new persons name attributed to it, sometimes the art is modified to some degree, sometimes the art is recreated so that the heart and soul of the original is still there but the details are changes, and sometimes the ideas or creations of two or more things are just shoved together to make a 'new' thing. To me, these are all interchangeable.

An article popped up on my Facebook feed and I was a little curious. The article centered around a fan made set of Star Wars themed Magic the Gathering cards. I figured all of the art had to be swiped since the lead in graphic was obviously from another Star Wars project. I poked around the article and the cards a little and quickly found not only my art being used but many other pieces that I recognized as friend's work or work used on projects I had worked on or knew of.

Article in question. Not going to link to it, but I am sure you can find it.

Okay, let's get some things out of the way... "They are not making any money from it, how are they hurting anyone?" "This is the highest compliment!" "They are just fans making something for themselves and fans." "They are making something NEW and are not at fault." Nope, nope, nope, and nope. At worst they are thieves and at the least they are severally taking advantage of MANY people and the COUNTLESS hours of time and effort that went into creating the original artwork. And not just the hours of time of the artist, but all those involved in the production of the original. The art directors, writers, game designers, etc are all tied into these types of actions.

Looking at this through the lens of just me and my two pieces that are involved with this, let's break this all down. First, something that is RARELY, if at all, done was that I and the rest of the artists were credited. This in and of itself is an miracle, and I wonder if the original MtG cards had not always included the artist names if the names would have ever been included. So, one good thing, I guess. Now for the rest...

My Salacious B. Crumb painting that I originally created for the Fantasy Flight Games release of the Star Wars Card Game now is being used on a custom made and distributed Star Wars themed Magic the Gathering Card. I am 100% sure that no one that owns that art was contacted about this usage.

My art seen here was created for the Fantasy Flight Games release of the Star Wars Card Game. FFG / LFL / Disney own the art and all usage rights. I am allowed to use it for promotional purposes and that is the beginning and end of it. DONE. This person has taken card art I did for a company and used it unchanged, save for cropping off my watermarks, copyright info, and most of my signature and is now using it as a card illustration. There is no evolution here, there is no transformation, the art is being used in the way it was originally intended.

As far as the 'not making any money' argument, when someone illegally downloads music to listen to, they are not making any money from it. They are enjoying it for what it is and doing so without the creator or owner being rightfully compensated. Once that person has that illegally obtained music they can pass it around, for free, harming the creator even more. No money is being made, but there is still a victim. We are fooling ourselves if we want to draw distinctions between a song and a piece of art. If it is taken and used without the creator / owner being compensated for their time and effort then it is equally wrong.

My Arcona Rumor Monger, also created for the FFG Star Wars Card Game. Again seen here unchanged except for the removal of watermarks, copyright, and signature.

Obviously time and effort went into writing and working out the cards and their mechanics. That goes to whomever put this all together, they made that. They did not make the art and I am 100% confident that the time they devoted to making the stats for the cards is a drop in the bucket compared to the time and energy of the artists. Not to mention that the card template, icons, etc are all trademarked or copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast. Just because someone worked really hard to make something new and then used the property of someone else, in no way justifies it.

'This is made by a fan for fans' ... and your point is? Why do we make excuses for something that is wrong? If the art is so important to the finished product then you REALLY need to be an adult / professional / thoughtful person and either do what has to be done to make / buy / license the artwork or you go without. Or in the least, NO NOT POST IT ONLINE FOR ALL TO SEE.

I know we live in a time where Google offers up images without limits and that we share things online. BUT the rules have never changed, it is just so much easier to take without penalty and share without consequences. I am sure these people would feel a lot differently if they were the victim, but maybe they wouldn't. Maybe they don't value their time and effort, maybe they think they have done right by everyone, maybe they would never imagine that they have done anything wrong. I have dealt with plenty in the past that feel justified to take whatever they want and attack any that question them. I really feel sorry for them, but it does not grant them immunity or justification.

These are my two cents, for what they are worth.

*EDIT* I have had some additional thoughts after this post originally went up:

These pieces were work for hire, the client hired me to make the work, payment for services rendered. They own it and have the copyright. It is their fight if this would ever escalate to a legal matter. They would have to send the cease and desist, they would have get their lawyers involved, it is their dog in the race. For better or for worse, this did not involve a piece of my own art. I can not act on this unapproved usage of my these painting.

That said, I have still been harmed. They stole my time and a part of my life. I spent a part of my life to make these paintings. While I was compensated for the work, the payment in no way actually comes close to compensating me for the time and effort that I spent on these paintings. I do some of these pieces because I want to, because they mean something to me, as a way to better my skill set at the same time I get a little money and a published piece, etc. By these pieces getting used without compensation to me they are taking advantage of that time I invested in making them. I could have used that time to do any number of things and I chose to make a painting for a client and this person(s) has come along and taken that from me. A part of my life that I will never get back. I think this get to the heart of what angers me so much about these types of behavior. These people leech off my time and effort, and the effort, time, and money of the client, without any consideration or compensation.

Say you are waiting in a restaurant for your meal. You are very hungry. As the waiter brings you your food some other person comes by and eats it all before it get to you. You of course will not have to pay for that meal and another will be made for you, but you have been wronged all the same. This might not be the best analogy, but I think it gets the point across. The major victim is the restaurant, but you needed that food and now you lost the time that had already passed to make it. NO ONE would be okay with being the hungry person in the scenario. Yet music, art, games, and more is constantly being stolen without thought or concern.

Okay... I think I am done now.

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you have here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

One small victory...

Over the weekend I had some trouble with one of my images, a couple of people, and Instagram. I wrote a little blog post about it on Sunday, which got a lot of traffic and got passed around (thanks for all the comments, shares, and feedback on this). I did report the situation to Instagram and yesterday received this reply...

One small victory is still a victory...

I am now waiting for the retaliation from the individuals involved ... I am sure they will claim I had Instagram STEAL their image...

RAWR!

See you back here tomorrow for some Magic process! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

What about MY name?

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