š šSomeone reposted my work on Pinterest, and I am NOT happy.Ā šš
So it has been brought to my attention by a dear fellow artist that someone uploaded my Lucifer piece on their Pinterest.Ā
I wrote it on EVERY bio of EVERY social media I have :Ā DO. NOT. REPOST. MY. ARTWORK.Ā Anywhere. PERIOD.Ā
The person who uploaded the artwork told me they got that image from a different source than my social media (not an excuse, btw, and again, my watermark says ādo not repostā) but funny enough, they do not remember where. (Ā°ā”Ā°ā”) And it was in good quality meaning someone either took it for Tumblr, or Twitter in the first place.
I already explained it in great length why it is extremely damaging to repost someone elseās artwork when I reblogged thisĀ very important postĀ fromĀ @otonymousā.
But I guess it wasnāt enough. So here are a few lines and doodles, in attempt to explain why it is damaging for content creators to get our workĀ stolenĀ (and I very much insist on this word) and then repostedĀ without our consent and knowledge, especially when some of us are relying on it as a direct or indirectĀ source of income.
Shady argument #1 :Ā āitās free to useā
This argument is often used and actually comesĀ from a conversation I had with a (former) follower of mine on Instagram that reposted (and unfortunately, still repost) artwork found on Google and Pinterest (this is another case, and it wasnāt my own work, but sadly enough, it proves my point).
I wonāt enter too much into details regarding copyright infringement laws (since every part of the globe has a different way to protect content creators: in the US you have the DMCA, in France and most european countries we have basically le ādroit dāauteurā or āauthorās rightsā) but basicallyĀ finding a content on the internet DOES NOT give you permission to reuse / repost this content elsewhere. NEVER HAD.Ā Usually if you find artwork on Google Image or Pinterest thatās because other people stole them from social media / websites and put them on another platform.
Shady argument #2 :Ā āthe watermarkā
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA no. It doesnāt work like that. (plus what type of monster would remover a watermark, uh ?)
ThisĀ amazing tweetĀ from GraphicFighter explains in very simple and educational words why reposting never benefits the artist (they even gives statistics), and why it is overall very bad for illustrators, watermark or not.
Not only because watermarks can be hard to read (especially if an alphabet / symbol system you donāt know), but also because almostĀ no one bothers to click on our social media links when they exists ā thatās basic web user behaviour.
So do you really thing theyāll have a look at the watermark and bother looking for the artist ? Nah.
Shady argument #3 :Ā āhey artist, itās your faultā
This one also comes from a conversation I had with someone who kept reposting artworks, and I quote their words :
the fact that the photos are freely available on Google means that they are open for use. If this is not the case, thenĀ the artists themselves have to limit it in some way, so this is the problem with them.
Needless to say, I nearly choked when I read this last sentence. It is 2020, arenāt we past always blaming the victims ?
In this day and age, Internet is the most efficient way for us to gain visibility and have a chance to get hired for jobs, so of course we post on the net. That doesnāt justify ANYONE reposting our content.Ā Ā
As of today, I have seen ONCE (and onlyĀ ONCE) an artist put a Pinterest pin creator on their website (a tool that helps you create a pin from whatever content from their website). That is their PERSONAL CHOICE, and one that enables them to have control and redirectĀ directly to their website once someone see their work on Pinterest.Ā I can with confidence say that this is anĀ exception that proves the rulesĀ and that shouldnāt justify reposting otherās artists content without at least theirĀ consent.
So again, we artists, in the vast majority,Ā DO NOT chooseĀ to have our content put OUTSIDE of our social media. We cannot track it to see if it wasnāt linked to something shady, we cannot make sure people see our websites, we basically DO NOT HAVE CONTROL OF OUR CONTENT ANYMORE. If you found it on the net, it is probably because some other people TOOK IT, and put them āin the openā on the internet without a care in the world so no,Ā it is NOT and will never be an artistās fault.
YOU REALLY WANT TO REPOST ?
Donāt just assume every content creator is ok with reposts because a few content creators allow it with creditĀ (and they do as they please, I am not here to judge them for that).Ā
If you really, really wish to ASK if you can repost someoneās artwork and want to contact the artist but donāt know how, you canĀ google their nameĀ (if the watermark hasnāt been cropped), make the effort toĀ look for them on social media, or even useĀ Reverse image Search on Google Image.
If we, content creators, spend hours and hours on a piece that you enjoy, the very least you can do is spend a few minutes to look for our name.
And if you donāt manage to find the source of a specific content despite your efforts ? Do. NOT. Repost it. Anyway. Is it frustrating for you ? Yes, it might. But not as frustrating and devastating as it will be for the person from who you steal their work and often, their livelihoods from.
š WHAT REALLY HELPSĀ š
Reblog, retweet (without comments), reshare in your Instagram stories : show your favorite creators your love THE RIGHT WAY - a way for them to keep creating content and getting rewarded / paid for it.
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