Tea & Automatons

I’d like to remind you that it is incredibly irresponsible to repost pictures of art that you love without crediting the artist? What do you do for a living? Do you do it for free or would you like it to be valued? Well, artists work hard and need recognition. Every time you post without attribution, that piece of art is going to be reposted again and again without credit. You can be the hero that helps that artist get a following. It’s really the least you can do.  You can help. If you like their work, take a few moments to find their name and maybe their website. They might have lots more great art to show you.

It didn’t have credit when you found it, so that’s okay right? Wrong. Just because you don’t know who created it does not mean it’s free to use. The internet is full of theft. Don’t be complicit in that theft.

Here’ one way you can help. Right click on the image. Copy url. Go to Tineye.com. It’s a reverse image search. Put in the address. It may take a little time to find the artists name and website, but with a little persistence it can usually be done. If you can, go back to your uncredited source and give them the name of the artist. It can be your random act of kindness for the day!  If you can’t find the artist’s name, then either ask for help when you post it, or maybe just refrain from posting.

As an artist, I can’t tell you how much this means to me.  Artists?  Please put your watermark or name and web address on everything so we don’t have this problem?  It isn’t always enough but it’s a start.

Thanks for reading.  Feel free to pass this info on.

 

These days, the internet has made it far too easy to find fantastic works of art and repost them anywhere with hardly a thought.  In the past I would occasionally trawl Cafepress or Zazzle for people selling famous fantasy artists’ work, like Boris or Olivia and report them.  It was unconscionable to me that people thought they could profit off of someone else’s creativity.

I do see a lot of people reposting work that is not theirs.  While I completely understand the desire to show your FB friends these wonderful little gems, please realize that …  you are still stealing. You may not be trying to earn money off of the art and your motives may be completely innocent, but oft times people assume you are posting art that you created.  FB does ask you if you have the right to post it, so you are at the very least perpetrating a lie when you post a picture that isn’t yours.

I’ve often seen a  piece of steampunk art posted in a group somewhere and thought, “Nice.  I wonder who did that?” but the person who was so impressed with the piece that they felt the need to post it didn’t bother to see who did it.   Seriously?

As an artist, I realize that by putting something on the internet, I run the risk of having it copied.  I know it’s nearly unavoidable.  So, how about you do me a favor?  IF you feel the overwhelming compulsion to repost my work somewhere, you give me credit?  Tag it with my name.  Maybe put a link to my website or the site you got it from.  If you like the work enough to copy it, take the time to credit it at the very least.  We really do appreciate that you like it and promote it, just give us some credit?