Post by Graphene on Mar 7, 2017 3:01:27 GMT
For the benefit of of the new and experienced users and roleplayers alike, this is a thread to define art theft.
This thread is the culmination of hours, even days of frustration caused by a recurring issue that has been, for the most part, ignored by users on the site. As you may notice from looking here on the forums, there are many images on the site: user avatars, photos used in your signature, or for character reference in apps and bios, and many, many more. To tie images to your account as an icon or in your signature can be fun- that's why it's there! It's a great way to express yourself, your interests, and your characters through the beautiful, wonderful medium of art- an integral part of the Transformers fandom. And what better way to describe your character's appearance than through an actual image of what they look like? It makes the staff's job easier when approving apps, and gives your fellow roleplayers a great reference of what the characters they're interacting with look like without having to imagine it in their mind. Art is wonderful!
However, there has been a severe disrespect of art as of late. It most likely spawns from ignorance to the truth that images found by using google image search are not always free to use. Just because it comes from google doesn't mean it's right to take as a reference. Those images, especially the gorgeous art of Transformers characters you might find online, each belong to someone. Artists can't help that their work is able to be found through google, but that doesn't change that they spent so much of their time effort creating the beautiful works of art in the fandom, and in almost every single case, do not approve of use without their expressed permission. By all means, ask an artist if you can use their piece as a reference. If they say yes, great! If not, don't use it! And for the sake of all the artists' hard work out there, stop using images found through google image search. The safest bet is always to make your own art, or to commission it from someone else if you're not an artist, yourself.
To use art from an artist without their permission, regardless of where you found it or whether or not you know what artist it comes from, is wrong: it is art theft. Please, be respectful to the hard work of our fandom's artists and don't use any image you find on the internet, especially if you can't find which artist it belongs to.
Finally, be kind and considerate to our artists, and always remember to check your sources before choosing references. If you can't find a source- play it safe. How would you feel if you found out people on another site were using your art without your permission?
This thread is the culmination of hours, even days of frustration caused by a recurring issue that has been, for the most part, ignored by users on the site. As you may notice from looking here on the forums, there are many images on the site: user avatars, photos used in your signature, or for character reference in apps and bios, and many, many more. To tie images to your account as an icon or in your signature can be fun- that's why it's there! It's a great way to express yourself, your interests, and your characters through the beautiful, wonderful medium of art- an integral part of the Transformers fandom. And what better way to describe your character's appearance than through an actual image of what they look like? It makes the staff's job easier when approving apps, and gives your fellow roleplayers a great reference of what the characters they're interacting with look like without having to imagine it in their mind. Art is wonderful!
However, there has been a severe disrespect of art as of late. It most likely spawns from ignorance to the truth that images found by using google image search are not always free to use. Just because it comes from google doesn't mean it's right to take as a reference. Those images, especially the gorgeous art of Transformers characters you might find online, each belong to someone. Artists can't help that their work is able to be found through google, but that doesn't change that they spent so much of their time effort creating the beautiful works of art in the fandom, and in almost every single case, do not approve of use without their expressed permission. By all means, ask an artist if you can use their piece as a reference. If they say yes, great! If not, don't use it! And for the sake of all the artists' hard work out there, stop using images found through google image search. The safest bet is always to make your own art, or to commission it from someone else if you're not an artist, yourself.
To use art from an artist without their permission, regardless of where you found it or whether or not you know what artist it comes from, is wrong: it is art theft. Please, be respectful to the hard work of our fandom's artists and don't use any image you find on the internet, especially if you can't find which artist it belongs to.
Finally, be kind and considerate to our artists, and always remember to check your sources before choosing references. If you can't find a source- play it safe. How would you feel if you found out people on another site were using your art without your permission?