Hey everybody! Welcome back to the Pokemon Corner! Today I want to sit down real quick and talk about a VERY serious issue in the world of art, and that is art stealing (or credit stealing if you prefer).
As frequents of the Deviant Art community, we witness fantastic and awe-inspiring works come across our screens every day, taking many forms and shapes. Every person who submits their works to this site do so knowing they worked hard on their art, putting a bit of themselves into their submission each time. This specific act is what makes Deviant Art such a wonderful place to be and is why we keep coming back for more every day! But all good communities have some who would like to get recognition for not doing anything, leeching off of the hard work of others and then taking credit for it.
When you see that perfect art piece, be it a drawing, a painting, or pixel art, you can't help but wish that it was you who created it. I know I personally see some pieces from people like CrystalDraeron and can't help but think "Dang, I wish I was that good", but we also know that they alone deserve credit for the hard work and time that they put in to making that art piece. What we can do is see their work and keep practicing to reach a level where we feel the same about our own works, as that would be the right way to go about it. What would be considered the wrong way to go about it would be to claim their piece as our own and take credit away from them, even though we didn't do anything. Not only do they get less credit for what they have done, but we also lose the chance to make ourselves better in the long run, so who really loses there?
One particular member here that I would like to talk about is Tails19950 . If you head over to our gallery, you will surely spot numerous Deviations from Tails, all of which are absolutely fantastic. The art style of these works look like they could be official Nintendo submissions and often capture the personality of the Pokemon as if they were a real living being. Tails is easily one of my personal favorite artists on Deviant Art, but a multitude of people have wronged this amazing artist. People have stolen their artwork on multiple occasions, many times not only not giving credit, but sometimes going so far as to say that they have the right to claim the artwork as their own. One thief even went so far as to make a profit off of Tails' artworks, refusing to give Tails what was due. Now, I must say that Tails has stuck in there and has only continued to produce quality work time and time again that never ceases to be amazing, but anyone could see how disheartening something like that could be. I personally think Tails is easily one of the strongest members on DA (sorry to call you out though, just let me know if you wish for me to remove this part of the blog and I absolutely will).
So why do I bring this up? You may be asking yourself this, but I felt it is something that should be discussed during the early stages of our group here on DA. Art Theft should not and will NOT be tolerated at the Pokemon Corner. Not only do we not like it, we shouldn't stand for it in any way. We take a stand for a more fair playing field here on DA, and to help protect our brothers and sisters in art. Art is something that not only takes a lot of hard work to produce, but also takes pride and bravery to show off to the world. Being afraid of getting work stolen only makes people not want to produce anymore art, which is an issue where we all lose in the end, so lets ban together to help make our community stronger in our fight against art theft!
But how do we go about dealing with an art thief? Well, this is where it gets tricky. I don't want us to ever be "that violent group", that shouldn't be who we are. The Pokemon Corner is all about coming together to share what we love and have in common, as well as meet new people in a welcoming and comfortable community. We ban together like a family and become strong friends over time, so obviously we don't condone taking an overly violent stance against other members. As Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind". But if violence is out, what can we effectively do? Luckily, we do have some steps to take.
(Note: Before EVER confronting a supposed thief, you MUST first contact the original author and explain to them what you believe to have happened with their art. They should always have the right to take their own actions before you should ever confront the thief yourself. Remember... their art, their choice what happens to it. Don't overstep your bounds)
When first confronting a supposed art thief, make sure you have evidence or prepare yourself for the argument version of trying to catch Mewtwo with only Pokeballs. If you have evidence, calmly and as kindly as possible confront the art thief by commenting that you believe that the artwork belongs to another member, link to the original artwork AS WELL AS the original author/artist, and ask them to please give proper credit or remove the image. Be polite, don't provoke if possible. If that doesn't work, report the image to the Deviant Art staff and then leave it alone. Don't provoke the thief further, don't argue with them, and absolutely don't insult them if you have the option. Be civil and treat everyone as you would want to be treated yourself; with dignity. Once it is reported, the staff will be able to review the work in question and will make their own verdicts from there. If all else fails, original artists can make a post here in our comment section about artwork in question, if only to get another report or two, but please do NOT start flame wars.
Remember everyone, you help represent The Pokemon Corner, and flamewars are not what we are about.
If the theft you spot is on another website, go through the same steps mentioned above, except alert/report to the proper authorities according to the site you are on. If you are unsure how to go about that, feel free to contact Pokemon Corner staff and we can then file the report on your behalf.
So, with that about art theft, please be vigilant yet polite. If we can help save a single piece of artwork from being stolen, we will have made a difference in my eyes. Thank you all for reading through today and thank you all for posting your awesome art pieces! Keep the submissions coming and help build the database in our gallery! You all have an absolutely wonderful day and an amazing week!