The Increasingly Problematic Issue of Art Theft on the Internet

Art is not just a talent. It’s the culmination of passion and years of practice and study. Digital art is no less impressive than traditional methods. Trust me. I’ve tried both.

I spent over ten years trying to hone the craft of drawing and while I did improve, it was not enough of an improvement to ever make a career out of it as I’d once dreamed.

All forms of art require some amount of skill, time, and hard work. Artists are craftsmen, providing a service that rightfully should be paid for. Just because an artist shares their work with others online does not mean they no longer own that work. Sharing their art online does not make it free to use.

The internet is a valuable tool for artists searching for work. A place to post their portfolio for potential employers to view. They’re not posting their art for random people to use it freely.

Like writing, art belongs to the individual who spent time and effort creating it. Claiming a work as your own or using that work in ways the author did not intend is like plagiarism. Asking the artist’s permission and giving credit with links and names is the bare minimum you should do when using a piece of artwork in anything.

Art comes in many forms. Drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, writing, and music are all considered art. So when I talk about artworks, I am referring to all of these mediums and more.

The business of art

Art is a profession, just like any other. Before I get into art theft, I’d like to make a point about artists and payment.

Art is not a free service. If you want personalized art from someone, whether it’s a drawing, painting, sculpture, etc, you need to pay for that product aka order a commission from them. Do not expect an artist to create something for you for free.

Complaining about prices being too high or saying “it’s free exposure!” is rude and makes you look like an entitled ass. It’s basically you saying that their work isn’t worth anything.

Pay artists what they’re due.

If you do not pay an artist and are using their work, that’s where art theft comes in.

What counts as art theft on the internet

There are too many people out there that don’t seem to understand what constitutes as “art theft.” Let me break it down for you.

• Posting art to a social media page in order to gain visibility and not giving credit in the form of links and names. (Just crediting with someone’s name doesn’t always help as people might not be able to look up the artist with just a name.)
• Removing the artist’s watermark from a piece because it “takes away from the art” when you’re wanting to share it.
• Saying “credit to the artist” when using a piece of art on social media, your website, etc. (Hint: This does not, in fact, give anyone credit.)
• Downloading an image from Google or Pinterest or other social media and using it as your digital book cover or what have you.
• Using someone’s art to make yourself a t-shirt, mouse pad, etc. without the artist’s permission.
• Selling products using someone’s original art or fanart. (Foreign bootleg sellers on Amazon are the worst offenders. Be careful when purchasing products like t-shirts, mouse pads, or posters. If it doesn’t look like official series art, do not buy it.)
• Even if you don’t take credit for the art, posting art just because you liked it and not giving credit is just as bad. This hurts artists who are maybe trying to make a living by selling their art featured on their own products or by taking commissions.
• And the characters drawn by artists often are original characters that belong to them, so not only are you taking away business from them, you’re stealing their copyrighted content.
• If you use the art to say “my original character looks like this” that’s stealing someone’s design. If you use the art in a roleplay online to show what your character looks like, that’s stealing someone’s design. Using the art to gain attention on your social media post without credit is stealing!

Again, for the people in the back: Even if you do not take credit for drawing a piece of art, not giving credit in the form of links and names is just as bad! If you do not know the artist, don’t post it!

Think of it this way. You’ve spent a lot of time and put in tons of hard work toward something at your job. When it’s finally finished and you can submit it to your boss/share it, you don’t get much recognition despite all the effort that went into it. Then, a week later, you discover another employee is sharing your work. They’re not necessarily taking credit, but they’re not saying who did the original work either. And to make things even more frustrating, they’re getting way more attention for it than you ever did.

This situation sounds annoying, right? It makes you upset, doesn’t it? That’s exactly what an artist goes through every time someone takes their art and shares it on social media with no credit.

How to properly use art found on the internet

There are many easy ways to use art that you find and enjoy on the internet.

• Credit the art with a link and name somewhere near the art being used. The art itself could be a link with a name near it. If the artist has no link for websites or social media, just their full name (and their artist name if they have one) is fine and should be used.
• If you find art you like but can’t find the artist, use reverse Google image searching to find the artist or ask around.

• Ask the artist’s permission to use their art.
• Pay the artist for a commission. Sometimes an artist would still like you to credit them on social media when using a commission you’ve paid for, so make sure to ask them about their sharing policies before or after commissioning.
• Don’t get upset when someone calls you out for not crediting an artist. This is not a personal attack. It’s about respecting artists and their hard work.
• Share the original post, do not repost. This means you should not download an image and re-upload it to another social media site without asking the artist’s permission first.
• Keep watermarks and signatures in tact. I don’t care if it “distracts” from the art. Removing a watermark is like removing the author name from a book title.
• Don’t expect free art from your artist friends! This also includes trying to make friends with an artist so they can draw you stuff. Commission your friends just like every other artist. Why wouldn’t you want to support your friends?

I hope this helps clarify what “art theft” really entails. If you adhere to polite art sharing guidelines then pat yourself on the back. You’re not a jerk!

This is mostly for all the pretentious, entitled, and clueless people on the internet that are not creators and fail to understand the problem with sharing uncredited art they found.

In conclusion, if you post art without credit or don’t pay an artist and expect free art, I will come to your house and punch you in the face.