Sorry for all the journals! e_____e This is a question for YOU, and not so much about me, although, I have to tell a story first (sorry.)allowing this person to get away and have people thinking their character is original when it's just a butchered onyx makes me really frustrated. People leaving comments saying "wow! cool character!" Good god, you have no idea.

I was tying up some loose ends today and I had to note an artist asking her not to finish an art trade for the art theif, even though the character she'd been asked to draw wasn't the one ripped from me.

For two reasons. The char could have easily been ripped off of someone else, and because I don't think we should just look the other way when art thiefs do their thing and be friends with them to their faces. That's not fixing the problem.

The reply I got was "well it's a trade so I have to do it now, doesn't matter if the person is accused of theft."

And I noticed that this particular artist was snarked on A_S for saying "I'll cut off your balls/breasts if you steal this char from me."

I have to wonder why the artist is so noncommital to stopping art theft when it's someone else's work (mine) but if it's their own, then threaten violence (even if it's not an executeable threat.)

I'd like to see what would happen if I did the exact same thing that happened to ME to this artist, and see how funny that is, and if I don't get a bunch of fanbrats flaming me. It's just the fact that people are willing to look the other way for MY work but then go back and pretend to be all anti-art-theft that makes me so frustrated.

So here's the question. Saying that you didn't know me, what would you do in this situation? Do you want to help other people when their work is stolen, even though it's not your own and you don't know who that person is? If the person accused is a friend of yours, could you look at the evidence objectively?

I won't be offended if you don't agree, but I want to hear why. Discussion time, people.

((A note: please don't tell me that I'm overreacting about the rip unless you've noted me/asked for a note for the comparison and seen the actual thing, alright? You can bitch at me all you want after that.))

I'm looking to add some talented and perhaps underappreciated artists to my devwatch. Recommend a couple friends or your favorite artists to me, please :3

I'd really appreciate a comment or something just to know who's reading, because this is important. I try not to clutter your inbox with bunches of pointless quizzes and journals, so I hope that you can spend a couple minutes at least skimming this over. Thanks. (:

I know that sapackledog artists/young artists in general are FREAKED out about copyright and omg my char don't steal!!!11 I'm not like that. I don't bother with those annoying as shit copyright symbols, I simply tell you who the character and design belongs to (more for a reference in case you were interested in that character than OMG I OWN THIZZZZ.) I don't threaten to come into your house and kill you if you take something of mine.

I dont have huge watermarks (or any watermark at all) or do any of these things because I'm fairly confident that nobody really wants to take said designs/art/etc. Because you say "don't steal" on the bottom of your drawing a theif is going to say "Oh NO! NOW I CANT STEAL!" Don't think so. I'm also fairly wrong.

Now, I don't know why, in order to troll me or piss the shit outta me (neither really :U), but I realized that I haven't said this in a couple years and I wanted to make a few things clear:

1. Please don't use any of my work for referencing at all. Not the pose, clothing, anything. Why?
Because refrencing off of drawn images like mine ruins the point!
How do you know what I got is right at all? You don't. (and I promise you there WILL be something wrong, at least with /my/ art.) That's why you look at real photos/VERY TRUSTED works (I.E, davinci, drawings in anatomy books) for reference.
How do I get the poses for my pictures? Well, I usually go sit in front of a mirror and observe what I look like. If it's a dog, I go look at pictures of dogs. Even better, I go to my friend's house and play with his dog, watch the dog run around and see it chew on my arm. That kind of thing.

Not only that, people never manage to include the fact that the source material has been referenced or link back to me, meaning that did it "all by themselves." Ahhh, no. If I did want to upload some photos and you wanted to use them as a ref, that's fine- but I would hope that you would ask and give me credit and a linkback. It's simply polite and I do the same when I reference other people's work on dA.

You can ASK ME!! about how I draw, how I do what I do, and I'm perfectly willing to help you and show you how I make my work. You don't have to squint at my art to try and find out how to do things- I dont think any of my methods are seekrit and I don't try to keep them hidden from you. (Nor are they that complicated at all, really.)

2. I hope you guys trust that I'm not overreacting when I think things are blatently copied/stolen from me. I am not overly protective of my characters, but that doesn't mean they can't be stolen. yes? Just because other artists go bazooka and get their fanbrats to try and murder anyone who they is "OMGAH COPYING MEEEE" doesn't mean that I do.

((I don't do callout journals. Note me if you're interested.))

Three years here on dA.

It may not have been all fantastic but I've found some good friends and gotten some awesome critiques on my work.
Thanks, guys.

(:

Art: I'm interested in making my lines more confident. All of them. And being able to make one line that works instead of trying over and over again, resulting in something messy. Basiclally, it's a change of habit and I'll have to practice a lot to get there.

This is has nothing to do with this idea that sketching something and having it be loose is bad. Or that guidelines or an undersketch is bad. Being able to do without them is one thing, but I've had people watch me draw and say "you use guidelines?" like it's some kind of thing to be ahsamed of. I don't even like the word 'guidelines.'

On another note, I realized that I tilt my drawings very badly; they "lean" to one side and it's especially noticable when I'm drawing something like faces. I think this is just something that came from not paying attention. I'm working to make the lines reflect equally across the line.

Life: Doing pretty ok. Got finals.

Uploads(?):
+Crap I realized I owe Axie- Once I'm done drawing something, my "shit I need to do stuff" voice in my head goes away. I found a sketch that I finished ages ago, from my contest. It's also crap. I drew something new and shiny, AND when I went to fanime I commissioned Temporary-Glitch to draw from that picture, so she also drew the jacket. Cool, right?

+ random crap. Pages of Marz doodles, some half finished portraits (nothing I make is good enough to finish coloring)

+ A SURPRISE. (:

That is all. Sorry if it's long. I do say that most of the time, don't I...