#art is often stolen

[hexedbug]

to reiterate: i'm not pro or anti ai but a secret third thing (anti copyright)

[izzenithal]

blatantly flirting w your childhood crush at the political function bc u want to horrify him with your monster teeth and bad personality but he’s been in love with u for a decade

[harpuiaa]

i've been dead and gone bc of school and jobsearching and everything happening all at once but ive been playing the boktai series games lately and i'm enjoying it a lot. I just got past the third boss in boktai 2. I don't know why but i'm enthralled with these games, i highly recommend them

[fonixen]

Wolfiam Wisp

[ragingbullmode]

i miss being able to spray my hair up… work wont let me anymore so for now i am stuck with a semi bowlcut 😔

(dont tag as kin/me these are self portraits so be normal. please.)

[gritpyre]

sometimes i feel bad that i only ever draw her but she brings me such comfort so i think it's okay

[shy-sapphic-ace]

Alien Stage is literally all I can think about right now,,, the tragic gays,,,

So here’s an edit I made bc I can’t get it out of my head 🤲 (‼️TW FOR FLASHING AND BLOOD‼️)

[aha-my-villainous-thoughts]

ASH! There is no one like you. Your art is so BOLD and creative and genuinely awe-inspiring. I admire all the slutty, slutty things you make Ed and Stede get up to, while also making them look so pretty and colorful. So glad we have you in this fandom. 💕

I seriously don't have words 😭😭😭😭 have some memes instead 😭😭😭💖🧡💚💙💜💖

Thank you so much marianne!!! 😭💖💜💙💚💛🧡❤️💖😭

[anchovy]

Nothing pisses me off more than a repost account that has “dm for credit/removal” as their bio like are you seriously that lazy and brain dead

[lwoorl]

I'll say it: "Oh all AI artists do is write a stupid description and immediately get an image with no effort, there's no art in that" is the new "Digital painting doesn't count as art because it takes no effort"

[causalityparadoxes]

If i took a shot everytime i saw someone greviously overestimated what ''''''Art AI''''' are capable of, or had ridiculously out of touch ideas about they worked, i would be a raging alcoholic

[denrukatheblogger]

Concepts for characters in "Stolen Gods" Part 1

I completely forgot to say that the working title for now is Stolen Gods and idk if it'll change yet or not oops

Anyhow!

here's the doodles for the first half of the 6 champions!

Quill's the main guy I'm planning to start the whole story with, but Posie is like the character that will always be with him while Rillione is someone they meet not that far from the start.

Trying to deal with other aspects of the webcomic now, but I started off with wanting to mess around with character interactions and dynamics so ngl I'm quite fond of this trio already pff

Rillione's changed a lot in a short span already, I wonder how they'll be in the future pff

[akajustmerry]

I feel like those of us who are longtime Video Essay Enjoyers™ have been aware something was suss about James Summerton (I remember when Lawrence called out Somerton for stealing their Hannibal essay years ago) for a while. But I think it's cynical to reduce Hbomberguy's vid to just a "dunk" when it's more of an odyssey railing against how influencer and content culture devalues the work of culture critics, academics, and activists. As Harris said, it's not a problem exclusive to Somerton, but a corrosive attitude baked into late capitalist "content" culture. The video is a clear exploration of the consequences of all media and art being flattened into "content" creates a system where the labor of marginalised creatives and storytellers are exploited and stolen by people with more privileges and resources. As someone who has witnessed rich tiktokers quote articles and posts I've written verbatim without credit to make money from their 1000s of followers, this video hit super hard for me. From James Somerton claiming the works of dead gay activists, to Charli D'Amelio building a career from stealing dances created by Black tiktokers - plagiarism is often inseparable from discrimination and exploitation of labor rights. Harris' video is about how the nature of influencer content culture has further exacerbated the exploitative systems that already existed, wrapped up as YouTuber drama analysis. But I hope people don't miss the forest for the trees and remember you should always be citing your sources, fact checking, and be very wary of people who don't. And for the love of God, please stop getting your information exclusively from video essays, tiktoks and podcasts.

[midnightwind]

remembering the dumbest discussion about A/I I ever had and wanting to walk towards the guy with a bat in a definitely not menacing way

[maikaartwork]

Artists, let’s talk about Instagram commission scammers

There’s been a huge rise in commission scammers recently, mostly on Instagram. A lot of new artists don’t know what to look out for, so I figured this might help people.

How they begin

Usually the scammer will write to you asking about a commission. Something deceptively cute - mostly I encounter asks about pet portraits, with one or two photos sent. They’ll probably try to sell you a sweet little story, like “It’s for my son’s birthday”. They will insist that they love your artwork and style, even though they don’t follow you or never liked a single piece of your art.

What to look out for:

Their profiles will either be private, empty, or filled with very generic stuff, dating at most a few years back.

Their language will be very simple, rushed or downright bad. They might use weird emojis that nobody ever uses. They will probably send impatient “??” when you don’t answer immediately. They’re in a crunch - lots of people to scam, you know. 

They’ll give you absolutely no guidelines. No hints on style, contents aside from (usually) the pet and often a name written on the artwork, no theme. Anything you draw will be perfect. Full artistic freedom. In reality they don’t really care for this part.

They’ll offer you a ridiculous amount of money. Usually 100 or 300 USD (EDIT: I know it might not be a lot for some work. What I mean here - way higher than your asking price, 100 and 300 are standard rates they give). They’ll often put in a phrase like “I am willing to compensate you financially” and “I want the best you can draw”, peppered with vague praise. It will most likely sound way too good to be true. That’s because it is.

Where the scam actually happens

If you agree, they will ask you for a payment method. They’ll try to get to this part as soon as possible. 

Usually, they’ll insist on PayPal. And not just any PayPal. They’ll always insist on sending you a transfer immediately. None of that PayPal Invoice stuff (although some do have methods for that, too). They’ll really, REALLY want to get your PayPal email address and name for the transfer - that’s what they’re after. If you insist on any other method, they’ll just circle back to the transfer “for easiest method”. If you do provide them with the info, most likely you’ll soon get a scam email. It most likely be a message with a link that will ultimately lead to bleeding you dry. Never, and I mean NEVER click on any emails or links you get from them. It’s like with any other scam emails you can ever get.

A few things can happen here:

They overpay you and ask for the difference to be wired back. Usually it will go to a different account and you’ll never see that money again. 

They’ll overpay you “for shipping costs” and ask you to forward the difference to their shipping company. Just like before, you’ll never see that money again.

The actual owner of the account (yes, they most likely use stolen accounts to wire from) will realize there’s been something sketchy going on and request a refund via official channels. Your account will be charged with fees and/or you get in trouble for fraudulent transactions. 

You will transfer the money from your PayPal credit to your bank account and they will make a shitstorm when they want their money back, making your life a living hell. They will call you a scammer, a thief, make wild claims, wearing you down and forcing you into wiring money “back” - aka to their final destination account. 

Never, EVER wire money to anyone. This is not how it’s supposed to go. Use PayPal Invoice for secure exchanges where the client needs to provide you with their email, not the other way around.

You can find more info on that method HERE.

What to do when you encounter a scammer:

Ask the right questions: inquire about the style, which artwork of yours they like, as much details as you can. They won’t supply you with any good answers.

Don’t let the rush of the exchange, their praise and the promise of insanely good money to get to you. That’s how they operate, that’s how they make you lose vigilance. 

Don’t engage them. As soon as you realize it might be a scam, block them. The sense of urgency they create with their rushed exchange, and pressure they put on you will sooner or later get to you and you might do something that you’ll regret later.

Never wire money to anyone. Never give out your personal data. Never provide your email, name, address or credit card info. 

Don’t be deceived by receiving a payment, if you somehow agree to go along with it. Just because it’s there now doesn’t mean it can’t be withdrawn. 

Here is a very standard example of such an exchange. I realized it’s a scam pretty fast and went along with it, because I wanted good screenshots for you guys, so I tried going very “by the book” with it. 

Please share this post, make it reach as many artists as possible. Let young or inexperienced artists know that this is going on. So many people have no idea that this is a thing. Let’s help each other out. If you think I missed any relevant info, do add it as an rb!

Also, if you know other scam methods that you think should be shared, consider rb-ing this post with them below. Having a master post of scam protection would AWESOME to have in the art community.

[werewolfvegan]

SHEIN and Temu aren't the innocent, budget friendly alternatives you may think them to be. They're both companies rooted in exploitative, inhumane business practices, including dehumanising working conditions and slave labour. There's a viral video going around that shows a large amount of Temu factory workers, barely clothed and being observed by security guards, as they sort through thousands upon thousands of packages.

These companies thrive on enticing people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds into overspending by using game-like incentives (interactive spin wheels to increase discounts, minigames revolved around adding more items to your cart or wishlist, etc.) while using their apps. These apps are carefully and consciously designed in such a specific way that encourages people to feel pressured into overspending for fear of missing out on an unmissable deal (this is a common business practice that extends far beyond SHEIN, Temu, and other fast fashion companies).

Their apparel and clothing is made as cheaply as possible with poor quality material (which ultimately means these items have to be replaced sooner and thus help perpetuate a toxic consumerist cycle) and often using stolen art and designs from independent artists. Do yourself a favour and stop supporting the toxic fast fashion industry. Thrifting, upcycling, and learning to make DIY clothing are infinitely better alternatives and help to support your local community.