Malmö July 1st, 2008



I take commissions:

$20-$25US for lineart, depending on detail (add $10/extra character).

$50-$100US for a coloured image, depending on details and number of individuals in the image ($100+ includes shipping and getting the original).



*****

Anyone who reads the Today's Page has probably heard of the DA poster for Anime Expo contest winner who won with a traced image.
Read more here [link] and here [link] .

EDIT: The trace winner was disqualified and a new winner was announced. (A winner I think should have been picked in the first place since the art is superior to the first one even if they hadn't been tracing). Anyway, congrats to *nekoshiei [link] .

Now, why am I making this journal? Well, to make you guys attentive to the new DA added rules when it comes to fanart.

As you guys may know, I report Art that violates the rules (since I'm a bitch like that) and when one do one can get a notification that tells you how something went. Well, more often then not when reporting traced images that are drawn into fanart I get a denial on my report and they don't take any action, even if the image is 99% trace or in the case of some "vector artists" 100% trace, where they directly trace anime screenshots and call it "vector art".

This made me wonder so I took my time and started going through the FaQ again, reading all I could find on the matter and here's what FAQ#572 [link] considers to be okay,

What does deviantART consider "Fan Art" to be?

The type of fan art which is deemed acceptable for submission are those work in which the submitting artist has done 100% of the work. This means that the artist had started with a blank slate and perhaps a reference (a pose, character, location, or other source) and proceeded to draw, paint, or otherwise create every line and place every color with their own hand.

When copying from an established source it is considered good etiquette to credit your source. Also please note that it may be considered unacceptable to precisely duplicate another existing work by directly tracing or reproducing every single detail so that it is difficult to tell your work from the original, so please be certain to add your own personal touches and style.

Unacceptable submissions may feature screenshots, official artwork from a video game, scans from an art book, a photograph of a famous person, or similar items but in every case the source material is considered the legal property of another artist. In many cases these 'seed images' are manipulated, colored over, blended with other images, and otherwise digitally worked over.

Due to the fact that these pieces contain the works used without legal license we must prohibit their submission here. These unacceptable pieces will be removed as they come to the attention of the administration.

The italic areas show what I am getting at. They say it's okay to reference, yet it's not okay. And tracing over screenshots is NOT okay at all.

And then we have THIS...[link]

Basically saying, "Screw the FAQ and go ahead and trace"

It is considered proper etiquette to cite the original artist of the inspiring work and give them credit for having been the reference, especially if numerous details have been copied or otherwise borrowed. It is also always a good idea to actually ask the original artist if they mind if you trace or directly copy from their original work.

And then we have the problem of THIS...

A report of this sort of thing which is filed by the original artist will be given more weight as a complaint than a report filed from an interested third party who simply noticed the resemblance. Essentially if you have copied or traced a work and the person you copied or traced complains about the fact the staff will be more likely to remove your work.

Meaning reporting traced work cannot be done by us as a community but has to be done by the original artist... But what if it's a trace from official and LICENSED work? Shouldn't we as fans/artist be able to report it?

One area which receives more complaints of this behavior is the various Fan Art galleries. Now the staff views the fan art galleries in a slightly different manner from the other galleries on deviantART.

For one, the very nature of a fan art gallery indicates that you will not find very much originality; all submissions will be directly based upon someone else’s artwork and concepts. One is also more likely to find a younger, less experienced artist submitting to these types of galleries.

For these reasons the various fan art galleries are granted far more leniency when it comes to the subject of direct copying or tracing. The works which will receive the most leniency are those that copy from official sources of popular shows and series while those which copy from original artist creations will be afforded less leniency.

Essentially this means that if someone copies or traces a screenshot from their favorite cartoon the staff will be more forgiving and if someone has copied or traced your original artwork or photograph they will be less forgiving; especially if you are the one to file the official complaint.

So in other words, tracing is A-OKAY if it's fanart unless the original artist come and complain. Never mind the fact that the kid/"artist" who does the tracing will get credit for work they didn't do and that the ass-patting that the fanart community gives to these "artists" will inflate their egos to hell and back which means they will probably NEVER stop ripping off someone else's work and they'll never learn.

I find the very notion of this rule sickening. To teach the kids that it's okay to trace is WRONG it teaches them a bad thing, an ILLEGAL thing bordering on art theft.

I suggest we say something about this, since frankly I think traced/copied art belong under your bed to only be there to learn and not show it off.

I know a lot of kids learn by tracing their favourite animu show but that shouldn't mean it should be okay to post it up as their own work, even with credits. And if it is to be posted on here to show off some learning curve then make it be put in the scraps section.

Seriously.

This place is here for artist to show their hard work, not their traced shit.

And btw, that contest is a joke if they still pick that image to represent DA... but then again I guess with these sort of rules it will represent this site pretty well...

Since tracing/copying is fine and dandy after all.Finding the pearls in this place means you have to wade through an ocean of shit first... And people wonder why people find DA a pathetic fanart infested shithole.

tl;tr Long Journal, don't be fucking lazy and read.