Yo… Just gonna throw this out there: it’d be super great if ya’ll did artists some big solids and did the following:
Ask for permission to use their art for any use such as RP icons, side bar images, headers, icons, etc. (any instance where you take their art and will be reposting it or altering it with filters in any fashion)
If permission is granted, take a moment to perhaps have somewhere on your page where you give credit to the original artist(s) and even more a link back to their work
Done. Settled. Case closed. 2 steps and all you do as the person taking the art is speaking up to the artist for permission and then doing whatever editing you plan to do.
Why is credit important? Well my friend, aside from clarifying that you clearly are not the artist who made said icon(s), you also are helping that artist out by promoting them! People will wonder “Where’s this art from?” and when they see you credit it and give a link, that makes it all the more easier for someone to find the artist and gives the artist that little bit more of promoting!
Getting your work out there and noticed is hard, so you can easily lend a hand by just directing folks to the source with a handy-dandy little link!
And if they say “No, do not use my art.” guess what that means: don’t use it. Politely thank them for their time, and move on. That’s all!
“I just said ‘I don’t own this art’, people can take the hint, right?” Well yes and no, people will understand you did not make the art… Though, that doesn’t help people in finding the original artist. Like I said, it is important to give that info as it helps the artist get more exposure to other people. It may seem small and insignificant, but it would be a really big help in a very easy-to-do and small way!
“I’m too shy to speak to them…” Relax sweet heart, first of all, artists are just people too, in fact they can be big dweebs, just like you or me. Sure they might be busy, but the worst responses you’ll get from them is “no” or no response at all. Honestly, it’ll be better trying to reach out to them rather than say… Have a friend of theirs come across your post in some random tag in which you use an icon of that artist’s art and either having that artist flag you down or worse… They do nothing and just are in a bad mood over it. Yeah, your little rinky dink RP blog could come across someone who recognizes the art, and will see you not crediting the original artist. It’ll be a negative aftermath of you getting in trouble, or honestly you just disrespecting some artist’s feelings.
Do consider artists put time and effort into their work.
In the end, if all this is too hard to ask for… Then please consider making your own icons by hand drawing them instead.