Oriash
It seems that here on gaia, people go to extremes when they see an image they like. Art theft seems to be everywhere in the art arenas, and not very many people can tell that its stolen. So this thread is here to help you decide if an image is stolen.
NOTE: This is not a place where you report stolen art. This is a thread showing you how to tell if an image is stolen! Apparently this thread got moved because of this little misunderstanding.
How to tell if an image is stolen
These are not solid facts, this is just a list of common traits that stolen art seems to have. Not all art with these qualities is stolen.
Characteristics of a stolen image:
1.) Common
If the artwork the user is claiming to have drawn is commonly seen on photobucket (or google, deviantart, etc.) It is very likely that the user just picked it off one of those sites.
2.) Artist's Comment
If you see an amazing work of art and the only thing in the artist's comment box is "..." or nothing, or something very useless, that is a sign of stolen work. Ex: "Look at what i drew", "comment and rate", "my friend drew this". Art thieves will sometimes claim their friend drew the image, they think it will cover up what they're trying to do. Don't be fooled.
3.) Title
If the image is outstandingly great but the "artist" gives it a lame title or comment. Example: "anime gurl"or "standing dude", "hot chick".
4.) Distortion/Shriking
If the image is very detailed but also very small. Some images can only be copied from a small source. Keep an eye out for distortion or shrinking of images. Distortion: the image seems discolored, or there are specks of color everywhere that look out of place.
5.) Style
If you check out their gallery and other pictures they claim to have done, you can tell easily. If the pictures posted up have completely different styles to them, thats another hint. One artist usually has one particular style they stick with. For example: If they have one anime drawing, one very realistic portrait, a CG graphic, in other words, completely different styled drawings that look like they are pulled from several different artists.
6.) Timing
If the "artist" constantly posts amazing pieces claiming to have done them in a small amount of time. ~*~ Sometimes artists do a thing called "speed painting". Which, is just like it sounds. Artists go to an oekaki or some other online drawing source and paint something quick. But there are ways to tell if the image is really a speed painting or the thief is just claiming to have drawn someone else's work in a matter of minutes.
Here are some examples of speed painting:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Someone asked me if I was saying speedpainting was bad. By all means, no. The artists don't use tracing or anything. I was only saying that it is better for people to learn if a picture is a speedpainting or not. That way, if the thief claims a certain amount of time that the picture took him, it would be easier to tell if they're lying.
7.) Signatures
If the art thief has posted several images, sometimes they'll forget to get rid of signatures in the picture, look for these. If the images have different signatures than each other, you've found yourself an art thief. Sometime the image will have a section to it that looks like it was edited in a paint program. This is most likely there to cover up a signature placed by the actual artist.
8.) Source
*Right click* *click properties* By doing this, a box will come up, showing you the address of the image. If someone saves an image directly from Deviantart (a website where stolen art is commonly taken from) it will save as "The_title_of_the_image_by_The_Artist.jpg". Ex: The_Sun_Rises_by_Oriash.gif. So when a person has done this, you will see it when you right click and click properties. You can find out the real title of the image and the real artist this way.
If you see these hints, the image could be stolen. It doesn't mean they always are, but just keep an eye out for it. If you really want to make sure the image gets the right response, try searching for the image on photobucket or deviantart. If you manage to find the real artist or the place they took it from, report it. (make sure the user you suspect and the artist you found aren't the same person. Some great artists really do have gaiaonline accounts.)
I know there are a lot of bots in the art arena, and I can't stop them from commenting, but if I can get some people to tell the difference between a stolen piece of work, and a real drawing that someone on gaia drew, that would be great.
What to do:
If you aren't sure whether the picture is stolen or not, but theres a large chance it is, don't comment or rate on it. Its only fair. Better yet, post the link to the suspected art here and ask for help with finding out who the real artist is.
If you are positive the image is stolen, report it to the mods. Be sure to make the report detailed and include as much evidence as you can.
If you're sick of thieves and want to make a difference in the art arena, post this banner link to this thread on your profile or guild: (also please rate up =] )
(It was broken up into two parts to avoid a page stretch. Copy both halves and paste them without a space in between.)
[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/art-discussion/think-before-you-comment-or-rate-in-the-art-arena/t.40230977/]
[img]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y263/Origami_ash/artbann.png[/img][/url]
Due to recently being screwed over and having my thread moved to the Chatterbox (oh my goodness....), please comment here to keep this thread alive. (personal experiences with thieves, other methods they use, other ways of telling is its a fake) People need to know about this and since it is now in the CB, it gets overlooked very easily. Please post so others may see and know how to spot stolen art.
If you want to do more to make sure art thieves don't get credit they don't deserve, join this guild. This guild focuses on getting more people to find and get rid of art thieves/stolen pictures.
In a related thread....
HOW TO CONSTRUCTIVELY CRITIQUE
Well, you've learned how to identify a thief, but, if the art really is the work of that person, don't you want to give them the credit they deserve? Learn to critique properly. =]
