Art Theft is Wrong!!!!!!!
The definition of plagiarism.
pla·gia·rism/ˈplājəˌrizəm/
Noun:
The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.
Plagiarism is wrong! Plagiarism happens everyday, right under our very noses. Anybody could be the victim of an art thief. You don't know when or where it can happen. It even happens on our very own theOtaku. It is sad to that somebody has to resort to taking credit for somebody else's work. It's heartbreaking really. It happens and we don't even know about it.
Why does art theft happen! WHY!? I mean, it isn't that hard to use your imagination and with some time and effort you can create your own beautiful art.
I know some fantastic artists here on theOtaku. My good friend MangaKid does exceptional work,Itemilicious has her own cute whimsical style,Aria Sky makes brilliant wallpapers, and that's just to name a few. These people all use their imaginations and creativity and they always know to give credit where credit is due. I respect the hell out of them for that reason.
But anyway I digress, Art theft is wrong! Also keep an eye out for people wanting to use your work. If they don't offer a contract or offer you some kind of compensation, they probably aren't legit. I had this happen to me with that message from that Sarah Bell. She didn't offer me any kind of contract and she wasn't really specific about what she was looking for. I reported the message respectively. I'm not going through with submitting my art to someone I don't know and also I don't want somebody else making money off of my artwork! I don't think so!
All and all, I think art theft is crap. If you didn't make the artwork, don't submit it. Here are some things to look for to spot possible art theft.
1.Look for inconsistencies in art style. If all the artwork doesn't look consistent, chances are they submitted somebody else's work.
2.Look for a description. The artists I know love to talk about the creative process. They always talk about what inspired the artwork,how long it took to create, things like that. If it doesn't have a description, chances are it was stolen by an art thief. But this isn't always the case.
3.Try to spot familiar works. I don't know how many wallpapers I've reported because I've seen them on other sites. I know the artist wouldn't be happy with their work being submitted on other sites unless they submitted it there themselves.
I've seen my wallpapers on other sites. It sucks! I don't know what to do about it.
4."Constant Vigilance!" as Mad-Eye Moody would say. Just be aware of what's going on and keep a good eye out. If something doesn't look quite right, report it as soon as possible.
I'm sorry if this post ran a little long. I just had to voice my opinion on the subject. What do you guys think of plagiarism/art theft? I want to hear your thoughts on the subject. I think art theft is wrong and needs to be stopped. People need to be more aware.
As an added note, look for your art on other sites. Look your work up on Google Images or Zerochan. I've seen way to much crap end up on Zerochan. That's an art thief haven. I don't recommend getting scans or art from there. Use Minitokyo or Animepaper to get good quality scans.
EDIT:I guess art theft even happens to many story writers,which very sad. Poor people who've worked so hard to write a good story oonly to have an art thief steal it from them. WHAT THE HELL!? Art thieves have no imagination at all. I guess nobody is safe from them.
As a request from my friend Mangakid, I'm post this here. People need to know about plagiarism and to know that it is wrong.
EDIT 2:Zerochan isn't a bad place for scans,I've gotten some good quality images from there.