AuthorTopic: Art Swiping?  (Read 3649 times)

Offline BrandonD

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Art Swiping?

on: June 24, 2009, 09:39:32 pm
Hi guys, I have a question:

I've been a contract-based pixel artist for many years, but I've always made non-game art for companies (animated cursors, illustrations, etc). I want to add some animated sprites to my portfolio because I'd really love to make art for a video game. Especially something fantasy, which is probably my favorite game genre. You guys give excellent critiques, so I'd love to put these sprites up for your comments.

But now that I want to put art up in a public forum, I can't help but wonder: what's to keep people from just swiping your art and using it for something they're making? Is it just sort of an honor system? Or are there precautionary steps you can take before putting up your art?

It's not that I think my art is such hot sh*t, some of you guys could pixel-art me into the ground. I just want to know if there are any precautionary actions I don't know about. 

Thanks everyone.

Offline Dusty

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Re: Art Swiping?

Reply #1 on: June 24, 2009, 09:53:56 pm
People will steal it. If it's on the internet, chances are someone is going to steal it. People around here usually don't, but sometimes you'll find a post with stolen art and such.

If someone wants to steal bad enough, I don't think there's much you can do in terms of prevention.

Offline Sherman Gill

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Re: Art Swiping?

Reply #2 on: June 24, 2009, 10:29:25 pm
Inspite of Dusty's inevitability post, not much is stolen and if it is it's by some 12 year old kid on deviantart or something harmless.
No precautions to take, really, but it's not really a problem usually.
Oh yes naked women are beautiful
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Offline BrandonD

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Re: Art Swiping?

Reply #3 on: June 24, 2009, 11:20:44 pm
Inspite of Dusty's inevitability post, not much is stolen and if it is it's by some 12 year old kid on deviantart or something harmless.
No precautions to take, really, but it's not really a problem usually.

Thanks for your replies :) I just put up my first character in this pixel art section, I'd love to hear your critiques.

Offline Beoran

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Re: Art Swiping?

Reply #4 on: June 25, 2009, 09:23:51 am
I would agree that generally, you shouldn't worry about it too much. However, if you are worried about copyright infringement, there are a few small technical measures that can make it more difficult for casual rippers to get away with it. The first measure is to use PNG files, and embed a comment with your copyright in it. This is fairly easy to do with, eg, the Gimp. , Secondly, you can hide some kind of visible or invisible mark in your image (watermark). For example, you could use an indexed (palette-based) image, and then hide a text or logo by using a color that has a different index but looks the same. Finally, there are some steganography programs out there that allow you to hide all sorts of data in an image invisibly. You should decide yourself whether the last two suggested techniques are really worth the effort.

Of course, none of these measures is foolproof, and they can all be circumvented by someone knowledgeable enough. But I think some of these techniques might be helpful, especially embedding a comment, which I think is  generally useful, because it clarifies the copyright of your art to people who have no intention of ripping your art. Also, someone may find your sprite on the internet without a way to contact you, and  mastilla y want to contact you (say, to hire you). In that case an embedded comment with your e-mail address in it will be very useful.
Kind Regards, Beoran.

Offline Scribblette

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Re: Art Swiping?

Reply #5 on: June 27, 2009, 02:52:39 am
I'll add that it's better to risk having some work stolen in the pursuit of improving your craft, than to improve at a tenth - or slower - of the pace for never showing your work. :)

And thanks Beo. Didn't know about being able to put comments in PNG files.
Now reading: Animator's Survival Kit, Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, Fun With A Pencil. No time to pixel!
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