Remember that time not too long ago, when an artist put out an open letter about the unsolicited use of her artwork and we all jumped on-board the subject because it involved Anita Sarkeesian?

Then I guess the Producer said something about the subject, but at the same time not really.

Don’t take these pumpkins

It gets me thinking sometimes, especially in the context of whatever visual aid we like to use for ourselves to bring messages across, especially since it’s somehow scientifically proven to help people read better.

In retrospect it’s kind of funny that it’s the only piece of fan-art in the image, out of which is clearly just a rough google-image-search-and-photoshop job, Cobbled together to just make something for the sake of presenting it. It’s actually something that happens quite often, regardless of it being a drawing or a photo. The person using it is really just using it to say “hey, this is a thing,” and then tosses it in the ‘no harm, no foul’ folder, Because they have no real intention to keep using the picture.

Most use of images are only for commentary purposes, until they have full intention of selling the work, then anything/everything they use surrounding the material is often asked to use 100% of the time.

One would hope.

don’t take this picture from Perez Hilton

I would be in defence of the way the image is used, but I’m also in just as much defence for the artist who finds their work on something without their knowledge.

People usually wave the ‘This is the internet’ clause and claim ‘fair use’ because it’s on the internet. They don’t care where they got it from, they don’t ask for a source. They just use it because it fills their need whether it fits their point, or it just looks pretty.

Artists often get burned by that mentality because images are always getting shared around, ignoring the source. ( Tumblr is the largest offender of this. When I recognize the picture, I want to click on the source, but it just takes me to another site that reblogged it from another site, and so on. It really is the worst, I mean people really ought to practice reblogging from the actual source. It’s a pretty simple concept that doesn’t take up much of your time.) 

The topic came up in a class I was in. (Not this exact topic, but the subject in general.) No matter what you do, if it’s a silly ass blog post, or a goofy little video, Always give the credit where it’s due. Especially if you don’t know what kind of image it is without looking into it. There are lots of artists/photographers out there that draw for fun, but if you’re not too careful (and people never are) you could cross paths with professionals that take it very seriously, and you’ll find yourself in a situation that you can’t shrug off.

It’s really just a sign of the times. Direct image searching has made it easy for us to take things when we want them. It’s so easy and convenient that we never think about it. I mean take a look at this blog… I clearly don’t do it sometimes.

But back on subject. Anita would have a much easier time if she actually went out of her way to address the things that she probably should. Instead of ignoring every single thing that comes her way. There’s a lot more inquiring minds/affected people out there. If she really wants to be the face and voice of her work, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to address the little people that she grabs assistance from.

I don’t know.

[oh yeah, her grabbing video footage of let’s plays, is a totally different story. Gameplay videos are a much broader spectrum and you can’t claim ownership over something you can’t own just because you’re playing it. That topic is an argument for the sake of arguing, and you really ought to be ashamed of yourself if you do.]