When (and How) to Source Art:
When you use it as an icon in a RP. Have a page on your blog dedicated to sourcing your icons! When someone asks, direct them to that page.
When you use art on your profile, such as banners, icons, etc. Again, making a credits page is an easy way to organize your sources.
When you use art for a promo post. Either source the art in the post, or put it on your credit page.
And obviously, you should credit when you repost art. This should be done in the description of the image. Include a link, not just the artist’s name. If not a link to the specific piece, a link to the artist’s gallery will do just fine.
To be honest, you really should ask the artist’s permission before cropping or editing their work. If they say no, then don’t use it! However, you’ll find that artists are normally really lenient, and will be really thankful when you ask them first!
Now, I know that sounds like a lot of work, and to be honest, it is! So, if you’re not willing to put forth all of that effort, the best thing you can do is credit them.
Don’t know how to find the source for an image you have already saved? This is super easy to fix. There are a number of sites with something called a “Reverse Image Search”, which is where instead of putting in keywords to find an image, you put in the image itself, and it tells you the original source! Now, this doesn’t always work, but for the most part, it only takes a few seconds to find the creator.
The sites I am referring to are:
Google Images (Click the little camera icon on the side of the search bar!)
Using them is pretty self explanatory! You upload the image and it gives you a list of potential places it can be found. Look for links on Pixiv, DeviantART, HentaiFoundry, Weasyl, FurAffinity, etc.
ALSO. A lot of people don’t think of this, but look at the image. Look closely. Look for signatures, watermarks, any indication to who the artist might be.
If the searches fail, and you don’t come up with anything, then please let your followers know that you at least tried to find the source.
Example: “Source was not found, please let me know if you know the name of the artist!”
Here are some other useful posts:
Everything You Need to Know About Sourcing
How to Source Properly, for Idiots
How to Share and Source from Pixiv
I hope this helps! Be nice to your artist friends. ♥