Reaction to Pixiv Developments

From not-ayase

“Just a heads up

There are several angry pixiv artists on twitter and 2ch that complain about people taking their art without permission, edit them, and sometimes put watermarks on them. Even if they get credit, they didn’t ask for permission. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want your art to be edited, because that gives a negative impression towards the original artwork(Or so some illustrators think)

There was one thread on 2ch that started a small movement to have Pixiv’s regulations, making it only accessible to people inside Asia, until the US site was opened.

Though there are very few people who do ask for permission, even if there’s a language barrier, the illustrators will try to communicate back to the person.”

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Honestly when I read that, I started to feel sick in the stomach and I seriously want to vomit right now. Obviously I’m painfully struck by this because I’m constantly amazed by the artists on Pixiv/Deviantart and their work is beautiful inspiration and motivation for my own artworks.

As an artist myself, self-taught, but pursued some classes in art, I still decided not to major in art because art in itself is an unstable field due to the fact that I was afraid people would never purchase my work and there are people who would take your own artwork and give credit to themselves.

This is what people who edit on Tumblr do.

Although yes, sometimes people do ask for permission, generally most don’t and the fact is that some just place their own watermarks or credit themselves for artwork that does not belong to them. I know that feeling of toiling for hours to create something beautiful born from your own imagination. I know the stress, the time, and effort it takes to make something perfect in my own vision. At the end of the day, when I’m finished, I post it somewhere in the hopes to share something born out of my passions for people to enjoy. The internet is a tool for them to share their ideas, and place themselves out in the world. 

Editing is none of that. Sure you can make something “fancier” by making it into a gif. Sure you can change colors to make things stand out more. Perhaps apply a filter to change the entire color scheme? WHY NOT?!?

Also: SLICING A PHOTO IN HALF AND POSTING IT AS A PHOTOSET IS PROBABLY THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO.

How would you feel if someone stole your work, something you dedicated your blood and sweat into making and edited it in their own vision just to add credit to themselves? 

Want more notes? Make your own things. Want to be tumblr famous? Don’t take someone’s work, shaping it into your own and slapping on some watermark or self credit. Hell if you like art, why not use their artworks as motivation for your own?

Tumblr has to stop this. I don’t want to see my dashboard empty of awe-inspiring artwork.

1) Unfollow blogs dedicated to editing artworks. Extinction of an audience is a powerful tool in inhibiting behavior. 

2) DON’T reblog edited works, even if they are sourced. Stop the circulation at its source the moment you see it. Don’t let it spread.

3) If you know someone who edits, inform them. Don’t just let them continue as they do. Speak up.