A Couple Topics For Discussion

Hello all! Hope your summers have been going well! I've been having a wonderful time not having to worry about classes or upcoming school assignments and wish the summer could just go on forever! Alas, the school season will be back upon us soon but at least I only have one year left to complete my degree! Anyway, it's been a long time since my last journal update and I have a couple things to discuss.

 In Need of a New Photo Hosting Website 

To start, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good free photo hosting website for storing sketches, completed works, and photos? Photobucket has been getting more and more glitchy and obnoxious over the past few months and I've decided it's time to finally end the twelve year relationship. What I am looking for in a new photo hosting website is something that allows organization of images by folders that can be made private or public, allows hot linking, and a reasonable amount of storage space (I had 2GB on Photobucket which sufficed for my purposes). Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


Art Theft/Copyright Infringement 

I know I have brought up this topic in the past but theft of my work has gotten so bad for me lately that I feel compelled to discuss it again. In just the past few months, my art has shown up on snack food packaging distributed by a large US grocery store chain, on the cover of a book from an author in the UK, and as countless decals and embroidery patterns sold all over the internet including on large websites like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. And all this occurred without my awareness or consent. Seem bad? This is only a small and recent sampling of the instances where my art has been stolen and used/sold without my permission or compensation.

This lack of respect for others' intellectual property seems to stem from the general attitude toward artists, which is that the act of creation is something that simply comes to them and is easy so they can just readily make more. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Behind each work of finished art, there must first be a concept. Sometimes this concept comes together in a flash, but frequently it is more of a challenge. Then, once the concept is clarified, comes the labor of bringing the idea from the mind of the creator out into the world where anyone who views it can see the artist's vision. This can take a couple hours or it can take days, weeks, or months, and sometimes even years. Hours of focused work on a project can result in eye strain, cramps in hands and wrists, and sore backs from crouching over a work in order to maneuver pens, pencils, paint, etc in such a way that every little line or splash of color is where it needs to be. When a viewer looks upon the end product of an artist's efforts, the behind-the-scenes work is not always readily apparent. Though it may seem silly to point out, artists are living breathing human beings that work hard for their art. We are not machines that exist to churn out art for the benefit of whoever wants to profit from our labors.

Commission work is my sole source of income so preventing theft of my intellectual property is particularly important to me. I use that money to pay rent, bills, and my college tuition. To help protect my work, I do my best to make it as clear as possible that I do not allow the unauthorized use or sale of my art. This involves me heavily watermarking each and every image that I post to any of my online galleries and asking that it is not used or posted elsewhere by third parties. Regardless of this being against my wishes and in violation of US copyright law, it does still happen, and very frequently at that. 

The solution to this problem lies in awareness. Many are unaware that using or selling others work, even if "it's just something they found online," is actually illegal and can lead to very serious consequences if the artist decides to sue. Before grabbing pictures off of Google images, stop and consider that, if you did not create it, you do not hold the copyright to the image and are likely not legally allowed to do with it what you wish, even if the website where you find it might say it is royalty free and may be downloaded free of charge. To err on the side of safety, it is always good to find the original artist and talk to them about their terms in regards to the use of their work. Some artists will not mind at all, though many will prefer that their work is not used or sold by others. So please, be aware of this when looking for art, tell your friends that copyright infringement is an illegal thing, and if you're curious to learn more, the US copyright department has an excellent FAQ page with lots of good information. This page can be found here:

www.copyright.gov/help/faq/ind…

On a much more relaxed note, I want to add that I am not against tracing/copying for the purpose of learning. It is a great method of "learning the ropes" and, as long as drawings made after my works are used *only* for personal learning and enjoyment and are kept private and not posted anywhere online, I am perfectly fine with it.


 Contact Info 

Would you like to place an order for some custom art? Have a question about your pre-existing order? Just have a question in general? I can be contacted here on deviantART but also be reached through these other means. Please keep in mind that, while I try to respond to all emails and messages right away, this is not always possible due to my busy schedule and college-related obligations.

Email: art.of.wildspiritdesigns@gmail.com

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Portfolio Website: wildspiritdesigns.wix.com/wild…