šÆāāļø Imitation is the highest form of flattery, but where does it end?
š Iāve officially had my first-ever artist copycat! It honestly feels like some kind of achievement. Someone liked my work so much that they attempted to copy it and sell it as their own. I truly think they did sell it, too. Thankfully, itās a small artist with not many followers, and it seems like they still have a lot to learn. Letās say they need more practice. I am so grateful itās not some big company that ripped me off! š¤In this instance, I wonāt publicly call them out, and Iām not really upset by it, but I wanted to talk a bit about borrowing vs. stealing.
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šØ Many artists throughout history have copied the mastersā paintings to learn. There is a deeper understanding of a process you might gain by trying to recreate it. Artists are visual and kinetic learners, and therefore often learn more effectively by looking, watching, and doing! So if you are inspired by someoneās technique, copy it!
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āļøHowever, the limit is what you do with the artwork afterward.Ā The copyrightĀ belongs to the original artist. No matter what, as soon as they created the piece, they have legal ownership over that image. Meaning, if you copy someone, especially a living artist, you have no right to share or sell that copy as your own artwork.Ā If you do, youāre at risk for being sued, and potentially ruining your reputation!
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š¼ļø The exception is fair use artwork and imagesĀ ā for example, the National Gallery of ArtĀ has an entire database of fair use artwork, free to download. You can download these images and do whatever you want with them! You can copy them, collage them, screen print them, create designs with them, whatever you want! A lot of large art museums have online catalogs like this; you just have to look for them.
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š¤ What do you do when you want to copy someoneās art that you see online?? Either you do it privately, in a sketchbook as practice. Or you study their artĀ ā analyze it. What about their technique intrigues you? How do they use color and value to create form? Are their shapes sharp or soft? What kind of art medium do they use?
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š©·Ā BorrowĀ the elements that you admire and make your own art!
ā¤ļøāš„ RAW PAW Design Challenge Reveal!! ā¤ļøāš„
I drew these little fiends almost 3 months ago, and I've had to keep the design a secret until now!! T-shirt pre-orders are finally open!
I love this challenge because no matter how many sell, the artists all earn money from the sales. However, the artists that sell the most also get a cash prize! I'm just really excited to have my artwork on a t- shirt of my two favorite critters. I hope you like it too!!
š Happy SummerWeen!! š»
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