#tagging him just for that. publicly shaming him /j

[canonically47]

"my favorite driver is doing badly" 👎👎👎❌❌❌

"shit car" "shit strategy" 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️‼️

[lifblogs]

Summer Reading/Writing/Arting Tag

Tagged by: @evilwriter37

Tagging: @ashleybenlove, @knowerofuselessfacts, @eddieelliotmunson, @poisonedyouth, @stand-up-and-screamo, @jayalaw, @strawbearri-frog, @thetrapperstrap, @envydean, @uh-ohspaghettio, @cascigarette, @fictionalnormalcy, @flurbejurbvondurp, @iidigestive-readerii, and @thepagemasternerd

1) Describe one creative WIP project you’re planning to work on over the summer.

I just finished my first ever novelette “The Dragon Mark,” and I actually really loved being in that world. I am planning on writing a companion piece, “Zhang Jue’s Demon,” and I just want to know more too! Maybe I’ll start writing something from the character Yuxuan’s POV before he’s assassinated. He seems fun to work with. Am I planning a book? I don’t know, but I would love to stay with these characters for the summer.

2) Rec a book!

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan! It’s great political and war fantasy and with only 411 pages it still somehow seems so jam packed! It’s also queer in its own way. Basically the main character was told her fate was nothing, to truly be nothing. So what does she do? Try to steal her brother’s fate after he dies, and she takes on his name, Zhu Chongba. So publicly, one of the main characters is a man and has roles that a man would have. Another central character is a eunuch general named Ouyang, and I love him. This takes place near the end of the Great Yuan Dynasty (the rule of the Mongols) and the rise of the Ming Dynasty.

But okay if you need a summery book read Son of a Sailor by Marshall J. Moore. Pirate Captain Quint Thatch goes back to his island home of Ember Bay after the death of his father, and is trying to hide his pirate identity from everyone. This doesn’t go very well because his crew eventually shows up, and two parts of his life collide. It’s summery, it’s fun! I didn’t even think it’d be my kind of book and I adored it. The author suggests reading it near a body of water and with a cold drink nearby, and I heartily agree!

3) Rec a fic!

Holy crap, A Thousand Lives is so good. It actually understands the Force and the Jedi! It’s a Star Wars: Rebels AU where Kanan is an Inquisitor hunting down Ezra while he slowly falls in love with Hera. The implication of a thousand versions of them existing that’s put in the epigraphs is truly fantastic. I don’t usually like Star Wars fics because of how many people misunderstand the Jedi but this one was truly amazing. I can’t wait to read it again.

4) Rec music!

Fam, I’m forever listening to the album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey. I do want to update my music at some point though, see what my favorite artists have been putting out.

5) Share one piece of advice!

Find something you like and own it, without any shame. If others want to join then good! If people want to be negative about what you enjoy then they’re not worth your time. Your own enjoyment is precious, and when you work towards it you will find moments you like—or even, love—existing in.

[schnedoop]

Servitude (Kaeya x Reader)

SUMMARY: You were just so sweet, so diligent, so noble. Too noble, if Kaeya’s honest. He’s glad that he was the first one to take advantage of it.

WARNINGS: dubcon/noncon

TAGS: cockwarming, PIV penetration, manipulation, abuse of power, asshole Kaeya

WORD COUNT: 2.4k

Kaeya can’t help but think that you would have made an amazing knight.

You were born with all the qualities needed for the job: a quick wit, a reassuring demeanor, a natural respect for the Anemo Archon, and a blinding devotion to serving the people of Mondstadt to top it all off. Inside you seemed to be a fierce combination of Diluc, Jean, Varka—and Kaeya can’t deny that, in your early training days, he sometimes saw himself in your unfailing persistence—and you seemed to carry everyone's best traits only, all weaknesses of character cast to the side.

Yes, the man muses, continuing to write his report. An amazing knight indeed. 

He still remembers how popular you were during your training years. Captains and soldiers alike stepped away from their taverns to spend their free time watching you, someone they all imagined to be the future of the Ordo, the next grandmaster, someone even Jean couldn’t hide her favoritism for.

Kaeya can’t say he blames any of them. He was always among the spectators, of course, watching you train, eavesdropping on your conversations in the mess hall, taking stalker-like measures to decode the enigma that was you.

In the beginning, it was out of wariness.

Kaeya was disinclined to believe that anyone could be so perfect, so pure. He assumed that you were putting up a facade, that the way you always took the long way home to help any citizens who crossed your path was nothing but a vicious scheme to gain Mondstadt’s trust so you could betray it—but soon, he learned that it wasn’t a lie. That you truly were this good a person. That your blinding naivety was natural, and not even a little feigned.

That was around when Kaeya began to watch over you, not as a potential threat, but as a subject of interest.

He found that everything about you was sincere. That you were one of the only knights who wouldn’t lie about their numbers for the bi-annual physical evaluations, who would spend their free time scouting out hillichurl camps and anonymously reporting them, who would wake up early to get extra training in, who would do anything and everything you could think of to better equip you to serve Mondstadt.

Kaeya found it endearing. You were so sweet, so diligent, so noble.

Too noble, if Kaeya’s honest. 

He’s glad that he was the first one to take advantage of it.

It started off with a casual comment during training. Your instructor was on bedrest after getting ambushed by some Electro slimes while swimming in a lake, so Kaeya had been asked to fill in. He paced down the line of your fellow soldiers-in-training slowly, offering loud compliments and gentle corrections to everyone he walked past, only for him to come to a halt at you.

“Come on, I’m sure you can do better than that. Training is no joke, cadet. Please take this seriously.”

You practically froze when he said that to you. 

His words were whispered, hushed low into your ear as if Kaeya didn’t want to embarrass you by chastizing you publicly, as if Kaeya was still the amicable Cavalry Captain everyone knew him to be, as if his criticism of you was genuine and wasn’t a stupid lie to make you question yourself.

It took all of Kaeya’s self-restraint to keep his expression neutral as he moved on. No doubt, it was the first time anyone had ever spoken to you as if you were failing to meet expectations instead of surpassing them—and Kaeya half-expected you to protest, to argue that you were doing a better job than everyone else in the room. 

He was pleasantly surprised when you mumbled an even more determined “Yes sir,” before continuing. 

A perfect soldier indeed. 

After that, you seemed determined to impress Kaeya. He could see the hierarchy in your mind: the fact that, although Jean was higher in authority, her praise meant less to you than Kaeya’s because he was the only one to not be impressed.

After you set your sights on impressing him, it was all over for you.

Crushing your spirit was an easy feat for Kaeya. You were a brilliant soldier, probably the strongest recruit the Ordo has had since Diluc, but you were nothing exceptional when it came to mind games. The occasional “do you need a break, cadet?” and the more often “there’s no shame in admitting weakness, solder” began to wear into you. Whereas before you responded to his every criticism with a fierce determination to do better, Kaeya could sense the change when you began to think your efforts futile, when you began to feel like the Cavalry Captain you so wanted to impress would, seemingly, never find you as exceptional as everyone else did. 

Kaeya still remembers the devastated look on your face when you barged into his office at midnight on the eve of your official recruitment into the Ordo.

“What do I have to do?!” you blurted, hands balled in fists. “What do I have to do to make you think I deserve to be a knight?!”

Kaeya recalls how surprised he’d been at that. He stared at you, that night, with genuine shock at your outburst. 

Before, he assumed that your attempts to impress him had merely been out of a selfish desire to earn the praise of everyone around you. Yet, there you stood, cute little tears building in your eyes as you revealed that the true reason was that you felt bad joining the knights without his approval, as if Kaeya was some benchmark that you needed to pass.

Very well, the knight remembers thinking. With your official graduation from soldier-in-training to soldier, Kaeya had been prepared to release the possessive grip he had around you...but when you presented him with such an obvious opportunity to take what he wanted, who was he to resist?

“It’s not anything you can change, cadet. Some people are meant to be soldiers. Some people aren’t. I already know which kind you are, but it doesn’t matter.” 

Every word Kaeya said had been carefully placed. He phrased his response in a perfect way, all to prompt the inevitable question from your soft, sweet lips:

“A-and which kind am I?”

“Which kind of what?” Kaeya asked, pretending as if he was barely giving this conversation any thought. He brought his eyes down to the map that he was detailing, pretending to continue working on it. 

“Wh-which kind of knight do you think I am?”

Kaeya remembers how hard it had been to stop a vicious smile from spreading across his face.

“You don’t want to know, cadet.”

“I do, Captain! I really do! Y-your opinion matters to me!”

“Oh?” That had been the first time Kaeya placed his quill down. “So if I tell you that I don’t think you’re ready to be a knight, you’ll heed my advice?”

“Well…” 

Your sheepish expression had been almost too much to bear. 

“If you came here to ask for my opinion just to ignore it, I’d advise going elsewhere. Please don't waste my time. The Ordo will spend enough resources trying to turn you into a half-decent knight, so don’t disregard all of that by—”

“Why?” you practically sobbed. You’d come forward and placed your palms flat against the surface of Kaeya’s desk, a pose that would have been wholly intimidating if not for the tears building in your eyes. “Why don’t you think I’ll make a good knight? Why won’t I—” you’d broken off to wipe away the tears that had begun to spill. “Why won’t I be able to help the Knights of Favonius?”

Instantly, Kaeya had risen and walked over you to wrap you in his arms. 

You were confused, no doubt, because the captain had been anything but kind to you in your previous interactions, but you openly sobbed into Kaeya’s chest, gripping the fabric of his jacket weakly. 

“I j-just want to help—I just want to m-m-make Mondstadt safer—I j-just—just want—”

“Of course you can help,” Kaeya whispered gently into your ear, wiping your tears away. “You’d be an invaluable resource to the city. It’s just that serving as a knight would be useless when you could be so much more useful.”

That stole your attention.

Instantly, you looked up at Kaeya with hopeful eyes.

“R-really? You think I can...actually help?”

Kaeya remembers how even he had been unable to stop the cruel smile from spreading across his face when he realized that you genuinely believed his words all this time: thinking yourself lesser, weaker, inferior to your fellow cadets. 

“Of course you can,” Kaeya whispered into your ear, gentle as the setting sun. 

And in this way, he managed to persuade you in a single night to abandon your dreams of becoming a soldier. Easily, he made you understand that such a thing was futile. Soldiers were expendable, and when Kaeya asked you if you thought you were expendable, you shook your head like a good girl and said you wanted to be alive to protect Mondstadt, not a dead body that could do nothing.

Still, you would have made an amazing knight. 

Would have, but not anymore.

You were born with all the qualities you needed for the job—but one by one, Kaeya’s replaced them with smarter, more reasonable goals. Your once-quick wit has been refocused on pleasing Kaeya, on figuring out whether he’d rather hear “yes, sir” or “thank you, sir” based on the question he poses you with. The calm, reassuring demeanor that once drew people into you is now nonexistent, completely replaced with something more obedient. The respect you used to allot the Anemo Archon has been redirected onto Kaeya: because what has Barbatos actually done for you? Kaeya is the one who’s given you a home, a purpose—it’s him that you pray to every day when you get on your knees.

The one thing that has remained constant is the devotion you carry for the people of Mondstadt: but that, too, has shifted.

Where you once wished to serve your people by protecting them on the front lines, you now understand that your purpose is to personally aid the superiors who already know how to do the job, to make Kaeya happier so that he can protect the nation for you. 

It was hard, at first.

But your mind is pliant, now, moldable and malleable as Kaeya wraps a hand around your naked hip to halt your grinding.

“Now, now,” he chides, kissing your shoulder as he continues to write his report. “None of that. I’ll fuck you nice and good after I’m done with this, so don’t distract me.”

“But—but sir,” you whine, wriggling your hips gently on top of Kaeya as if hoping that it’ll convince him to forgo the report and fuck you now. 

Internally, Kaeya appreciates how well you’ve acclimated to your new life. Externally, he clicks his tongue and lays a slap against your bare bottom, ignoring your delighted giggle.

“Be a good girl and let me focus. These are important documents, okay? You being here only helps me work if you’re not trying to distract me. Or do you not want to help Mondstadt out after all?”

That line always works, and you instinctively coil in on yourself, ashamed as you halt your playful teasing and rest your head on Kaeya’s shoulder. 

“I—I want to help Mondstadt…”

“I thought so. So be a good girl and keep my cock warm until I’m done.”

And you do a good job of it. Oh, you do such a good job, your little cunt clenching down on Kaeya the whole time as he proofreads his report once, then twice (and then thrice, though that’s more to torture you than it is to actually check for mistakes)—and when Kaeya finally tucks his report inside an envelope, sealing it with the crest of the Cavalry Captain, he knows you deserve a reward.

“Good girl,” he coos, slipping his gloves off to massage the soft flesh of your ass with his bare hands. “How did that feel? What do you want me to do to you?”

“Felt good,” you whisper, and Kaeya loves the shudder that runs down your spine when he drags a finger to circle at your clit. “P-please, Sir. Want more. I-if you have time. If you're busy with your captain duties...I can w-wait. But if not. Please.”

So cute, Kaeya thinks, loving how even now, months after you’ve been isolated from the world, you still cling to the naive hope that somehow, being Kaeya’s private slut is contributing to the prosperity of Mondstadt. Not that it’s something Kaeya will ever correct. He can keep you here for as long as you believe you want to be here, so he won’t do anything to jeopardize your innocent naivety. 

“Hmm, you’re going to be more specific than that, sweetheart. What do you want more of?”

“You, Sir,” you gasp, rolling your hips down on Kaeya’s cock to enunciate your point. “Wanna get fucked. Pretty please.”

“Oh?” Kaeya chuckles, lifting you up and laying you down on his desk, not caring about the paperwork your body is sprawled over because goddamn, you look hot like this, tits exposed, face flushed, pupils dilated, like the only thing you can think about is Kaeya’s cock and how bad you want it.

“You don’t want anything else?”

Normally, this is the part where you deliver a mumble about Mondstadt and how you want prosperity for the nation. Those comments have been getting more and more halfhearted recently, overshadowed by your larger desire for the overwhelming pleasure that Kaeya, and today—

Today, you forget about your so-called love for Mondstadt altogether.

“No,” you babble, wrapping your legs around Kaeya’s hips, desperately trying to tempt him into fucking into you. “No, Sir, don’t want anything but you so please, please, please—”

A breathy laugh falls from Kaeya’s lips as he leans over to press a quick kiss to your forehead. 

“Of course, sweetheart.” His hands find your hips, slender fingers digging in to grip them with bruising force as he prepares to wreck you from the inside. “I’ll always give you what you want.”

[thegreatlibraryfangirl]

Paper & Fire Readthrough - Chapter 12

Holy FUCK it’s been A YEAR AND A HALF since I did one of these. Wow. Ouch. Ok. The things that slip when your life goes through changes, omfg.

For the doubtless many of you who’ve never seen one of these before, this is me re-reading the series and recording feelings and theories and impressions, with a focus on my OTP Khalila/Dario.

In theory the #paper and fire readthrough tag should take you to all the preceding ones in this book, but since tumblr is tumblr, I’ll probably reblog this later with links.

I’m going to be antisocial and see how many of us have turned on Tumblr’s “shorten long posts” feature. Mainly because I get so sad when tumblrs delete and their ReadMores become impenetrable. I have no intention of disappearing lol but this is the internet and you never know.

And with all that bullshit out of the way, let’s go.

--

So, while Jess, Thomas Morgan and Glain have been struggling with converting an automaton (and Thomas’ trauma), Khalila, Dario, Santi and Wolfe have been having a nice lunch of cold meats and cheeses. LOL.

Dario is, as per usual, the person to pessimistically and pragmatically point out that Morgan’s escape plan of Translating them all out of Rome is flawed because it’s really fucking obvious. He asks Jess if his cousins could help, but that’s not an option.

“Our code is: Get caught, count yourself dead.”

Please remember that Callum Brightwell drilled that so firmly into Jess’ head that he took him to watch his own brother be executed. And then join me in wishing Wolfe had done worse to Callum than publicly shame and punch him.

Khalila asks all the good questions next, which boil down to: Where can we go? and What chance do we have of the Library not catching us?

“None,” Dario said. “Not unless we find allies, quickly. Jess isn’t willing to put his neck on the block, so someone has to.”

Pausing to SCREAM at this choice of words from Dario. Again, Jess has literally watched his brother die, though I doubt Dario knows this. Jess is the one who genuinely understands what’s at stake here, whereas Dario has just seen his chance to provide something that Jess couldn’t. Which is all he wants, really, at this point in the series.

“Dario!” Khalila grabbed for him, but he was quick, the arrogant Spaniard. He grabbed her hand instead, raised it to his lips and then pressed the back of it to his forehand as he bowed. “Don’t go!”

Adorable, help.

Dario’s only response to her is to talk about Jess. Child. Boy. Please stop being SO homoerotic and desperate about this.

Then he doesn’t come back. The group give him the full hour, where he only asked for half, and Glain, of all people, suggests stunning their captives again, but no. They’ve got to go.

On a quick side note, it’s nice to see Santi just being absolutely undeniably in charge here.

Now the good stuff. I’m not going to quote it because dear god I’d have to type out about four pages. But let’s look at some bits.

“No, I’m not going to leave Dario behind. Jess-” She tried to get him to look at her, but he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. “Jess!”

Going directly against my above point - Khalila doesn’t appeal to Santi, who’s just announced the decision, and to whom both Jess and Glain are deferring. She goes straight for Jess. That’s interesting. I think it might  be because she’s already tried to appeal to Santi and Wolfe; she tried to get them to stop Dario leaving or to chase after him, and they didn’t. So she thinks it’s Dario-and-Santi’s plan, and so she looks to the person who she knows breaks rules and devises plans all the time instead. But he doesn’t help her either.

Jess points out that Dario didn’t say where he was going. He refused to, in fact. Bearing in mind what’s coming up in the Iron Tower, it’s a nice little question mark. Is that because he didn’t want them to waste time chasing after him, or risk capture by the embassy security ... or was it because he didn’t want them to find him? Mwahahaha. Very nice.

Then Jess makes the mistake of physically restraining Khalila from running, and, oh dear Jess, why are you so constantly surprised by any time Khalila shows she’s stronger than you think?

And here we get Khalila just POURING out Dario’s inner demons here lol. The two of them must have talked about this a lot, which makes it all the more fascinating at the times elsewhere when Khalila compares them directly.

“He’s not like you! He wants to show you that he can be just as clever, just as fast, just as ...” She hit him again, this time a knee square to his family jewels, and he did let go. “Just as ruthless! And if you ever lay hands on me again, I will kill you, Jess Brightwell!”

Ok, so what’s interesting here, distracting me from talking about Jess/Khalila/Dario viibes AGAIN (the first 3 books all have hints that make me convinced that at some point in the history of her planning this was intended as a love triangle) is that Khalila is letting herself be held, here. I doubt she truly believed she would be able to get away. Outrun Jess? No.

She’s not even fighting to make him let go. Jess thinks she is, look:

He wrapped her in his arms and she fought surprisingly hard, with sharp precise blows that almost made him let go. Almost.

He looks at Glain for help and she just folds her arms. Why? She doesn’t want Khalila to put herself in danger either. If there was any real danger of Khalila breaking free, Glain would help, yes, but why is Glain just watching this too?

When Khalila WANTS to be freed, as we’ve just seen, she just knees him in the balls. And on the word “ruthless”, at that. And then she threatens to kill him if he does it again.

She doesn’t attack Wolfe, and she doesn’t attack Santi. So what’s going on here? This is essentially Khalila losing her temper. No-one will help her save Dario, which she takes as a moral failing, and then Jess tries to physically stop her. Jess, who is a postulant not a teacher so less intimidating, Jess who she surely knows has a soft spot for her a mile wide and yet still won’t help her, Jess, the very reason that Dario ran off like that. So she hits him and she shouts that it’s all HIS fault, and then once she’s finished with that she shrugs him off with one well-placed knee. And a death threat.

She doesn’t lose her temper much, but oh when she does it explodes!

And the Glain thing? GLAIN AGREES. Poor, poor Jess. he’s not superhuman and it’s not actually his fault that Dario imprinted on him as a role model in Ink and Bone. But his friends think he can make a difference, or at least that he should try.

And here we see Khalila’s rage, verbalised at last:

“Her face was set and terrible, her eyes like dark pits, and she met no-one else’s gaze as she nodded. “Then let us run,” she said, in a voice drained of anything but anger. “Run and hide, like frightened rabbits.”

Jess is already wondering whether Dario just ran off to save his own skin. Whether he’s actually selling them out to the Library. Nice seeds laid for the betrayal later.

Ah, forgive me an off-topic moment:

Morgan walked next to Wolfe, like a favoured student or a fond daughter.

I live for Dad Wolfe& daughter Morgan vibes okay????

Obviously there is no Dario for the rest of this chapter lol, while they fight their way into the Basilica to try and Translate away to London.

Worldbuilding note: Jess notices that the Translation Chamber and the torture room in the prison underneath are the same shape.

Second worldbuilding note: Jess and Glain Translated into Rome from a Serapeum in Darnah. In our world, that’s in Libya. We see Libya mentioned once more in the series, in Sword and Pen, so I think we can assume Libya is allied to Alexandria.

And oh! The heartbreaking moment when Morgan realises Keria has utterly outplayed her, and that the only place they have left to go is the Iron Tower.

--

Okay, those sure are some words! Maybe I’ll get to the end of this book eventually??

[kirbysucks]

hey , kirby nelson , can you airdrop me the pictures from last night ? you were way too funny , remember when you gave your fake id a viking burial for your 21st birthday ? now i get it why they call you the rookie  . hopefully next time they’ll play  fvck somebody by the wrecks . don’t forget to study through , if not you’ll never graduate from psychology  this year ! [ an iced coffee at ten o’clock at night, taking naps in ungodly positions, using things that aren’t furniture as furniture, and flannel bed spreads ]

ɴᴀᴍᴇ: kirby nelson

ᴛɪᴛʟᴇ: the rookie

ᴀɢᴇ: 22

ᴅᴏʙ: april 17th

ᴘʀᴏɴᴏᴜɴꜱ: he/they

ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ: psychology

ᴏᴄᴄᴜᴘᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: part-time waiter

ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ:

ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ - elena nelson (fc: stephannie j block)

ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ - jean nelson (fc: lisa edelstein)

ʏᴏᴜɴɢᴇʀ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀ - russel "russ" nelson (fc: wyatt oleff)

ᴘɪɴᴛᴇʀꜱᴛ

ʀᴀɴᴅᴏᴍ ꜰᴜɴ ꜰᴀᴄᴛꜱ:

☺ musician who almost exclusively plays annoying instruments (see: the melodica, the accordion, etc.) really fun at parties, annoying literally anywhere else.

☺ totally works at one of those fifties-style diners/soda shops where the waitstaff wear bowties and the paper caps. going to work every day is humiliating.

☺ big comedic relief energy.

☺ falls asleep in weird places, can be found napping anywhere on campus at any time of day. catch them at the quad passed out on the edge of a fountain, probably getting sunburned.

☺ probably eats cheetos with chopsticks like that one picture of oscar issaac.

☺ weed > cigarettes > alcohol

☺ has playlists specially crafted with his different friend groups in mind.

☺ thrifts for old tech, and has one of those clunky vhs camcorders with him at all times. there's different tapes floating around his apartment with oddly specific labels just so he can keep up.

☺ went semi-twitter viral for making a “kissing the homies goodnight” joke.

☺ unironically enjoys anime but won’t admit it’s unironic. catch him in the manga section of the campus library to publicly shame him,

☺ skates but please don’t ask him to do tricks, they will end up in the hospital.

☺ defiantly pulled a, “fuck da’ police,” before climbing over a fence moment ala john mulany. in general, their gut reaction is to catapult themselves over something to avoid confrontation.

☺ will go anywhere if you ask them to, he will drop everything if his friends ask. even if its just a quick trip to cvs. he wants to tag along.

☺ favorite movie is probably paddington bear.

☺ pretends he believes in conspiracy theories, and probably blames red food dye for them being the way that they are.

ᴏᴏᴄ ɪɴꜰᴏ:

name: e, age: 21, pronouns: they/them, timezone: cst

[helenpattersoon]

How to share creative work fairly in the digital age

Reposting beautiful illustrations, inspiring quotes, and funny doodles on social media has become ingrained in our online habits—it’s a new era of digital sharing, and we’re still kinda figuring things out. But there are certainly a few fundamental things to take into consideration before sharing the next illustration that makes you feel, “it me”.

In many cases, these viral gems are original creative works by an artist—an illustrator or graphic designer who has decided to bless us by posting their work online. Artists share their own work as a means of growing their business, to build their portfolio or online presence—of course they want to attract fans and customers who might purchase from their store, hire them for a project, or recommend them to others.

But what often happens is that the original creator’s Instagram handle gets cut off in the process of reposting, or their image is simply uploaded to Twitter without any credit, shared without any trace back to where it came from. There are consequences to this which can affect a designer’s livelihood. So it’s important for all of us to know how to share creative work properly online, whether we want to repost something to a personal channel, or a brand social account. I reached out to artist and author Adam J. Kurtz to learn more and put together this deep dive on how to do it right.

  View this post on Instagram

  this is actually sorta the opposite of that old one i posted last week oops

actually just made this today during a zine making workshop i did for @wix’s design playground. it was a fully analog exercise (except for one or two designers who cheated but ok i know it’s hard to not use all our tools!!!) but i just did this little single panel version to share because i like it so much. anyway i had a great time thanks for having me etc.

event photos by @yotiroboti!

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 18, 2018 at 7:49pm PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Meet Adam J. Kurtz, an artist and author whose work often goes viral—often without credit

Adam recently published a vlog about his experience of finding his work posted to a company’s social media channel, without his permission or credit. Adam’s first step was to contact the company directly first, asking for the post to be deleted. He received an apology, and was promised that it wouldn’t happen again, however it totally did happen again with the same company. So Adam decided the next step was to request a payment for a ‘retroactive social media license’ for the use of his work—he invoiced the company and was successfully paid. Adam’s vlog is a great explainer on how to share creative work properly online, whether for personal or work use:

When I first saw Adam’s video I was instantly struck by how well he addressed this new aspect of digital sharing. “I don’t think many of us can exist without sharing our work online”, Adam told me by email, when I asked him about being a very shareable creative in the digital age. “Whether it’s a creative studio portfolio showcase, or individual creatives sharing new work, process, daily warm-ups, or other bits and pieces. It’s how we build our brands, find new fans, and get more clients. This is how the business mostly works now. It can be scary enough to share your work with an audience when you’re worried they might not like it,” Adam explained.

Adam makes a living from his creative work—he’s designed products for the likes of Fish’s Eddy, Urban Outfitters, Tattly, and some of his other clients are Adobe, Instagram, The New York Times, Penguin Random House, Pepsi. Adam’s products, his writing and graphics tap into universal themes that resonate deeply (and are super fun)—it’s understandable that many people connect with what he does and that his work often goes viral.

  View this post on Instagram

  the bitch (ur undeniable responsibility for ur own actions) is back

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Dec 23, 2017 at 9:35am PST

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

While an artist can choose to share their work online to build their own following and establish a presence online—Adam for example has built a following of nearly 200,000 followers on his Instagram account—we need to be more aware of the best way to share designs when it’s created by someone else—whether it’s on our personal account, or when sharing something for a business.

What are the best practices when sharing creative work online?

  View this post on Instagram

  inspired by the response to my lil “f u pay me” vlog, here are some guidelines on how to repost my work. in general i’m rly chill and grateful about this but i’m not trying to directly help you sell your granola or meditation classes… when a company wants to use my art for business purposes they can hire me or license something. and of course use your best judgement! . if you’re coming to my instagram or anyone else’s and thinking it’s just a stock image service, you’re mistaken. if you’re enjoying something or feeling encouraged, that’s totally awesome (and the point) and i’m so glad. this post is really more geared towards stopping companies from posting for their own profit, under the guise of “friendly reposts” that undervalue creative work made by real human people. . and if you wanna hear me talk about this for 13 minutes head to YOUTUBE.COM/ADAMJK

i kinda just went in on how our creative work has value and how it’s up to all of us to educate others, especially if we work for a company with a social media team.

the response has honestly got me inspired to talk more and put more videos up. . p.s. i’m not here to publicly shame anyone! that’s not usually the best way to get things done. but if you wanna repost these guidelines or privately share this post with an account you see doing this stuff often, that’d be cool. remember that kindness is often more powerful than anger, especially when trying to educate someone!

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 18, 2018 at 4:44am PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Of course if you find something funny or touching, you want to share it with your followers—and there are soooooo many social sharing buttons which make this super easy. But this also makes it easy to accidentally or otherwise cut off the original creator’s handle. When people repost artist’s work to a personal network, this is no doubt a very beneficial action for artists, but you still want to just check quickly that you’ve credited the work properly.

Adam’s tip: When sharing to your personal account, tag the creator in both the image and caption, don’t alter the image, or edit out the creator’s handle or watermark.

Here are some best practises based on Adam’s suggestions, that we encourage everyone (whether for personal or biz use) to consider when sharing creative work—that could be a cartoon, illustration, quote, photo or other image. It’s super helpful advice that can generally be applied to all creative work:

Check that the artist’s credit is not buried under a long comment and paragraph of hashtags. Be mindful of tagging the artist in the first couple of lines underneath the post.

Feature the artist: Is the work being shared because it’s going viral and you want to get in on that, or to showcase the artist? In Adam’s case, he is only ok with brands sharing his work if the point is to showcase the work itself.

Communicate: Brands should not share work without a credit or if the image has been altered. A partnership should not be implied, and the post shouldn’t advertise a sale or promotion if there isn’t one. If you want to set up a partnership with a designer based off an example of their work you like, reach out!

Some of this is common sense, but it’s always good to remind ourselves that there are living, breathing humans behind these designs whose livelihood depends on being properly credited for their work. Why do they post it online if they don’t want us to share it, you ask? Good question! The point is, artists are quite happy for you to share their work—the right way, and with a proper credit. And if you’re a brand using someone’s creative work to build your following online, there should be compensation involved for the artist.

  View this post on Instagram

  checklist for getting over common fears — read the book for the actual advice broken down!

. i’m donating 100% of my pride month royalties for @thingsarewhatyoumakeofthem to the @teganandsarafoundation to help them support economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. . you might remember we raised $7,500 for this great organization with the book preorder campaign last year, but I’m hoping this is a continued opportunity to use my art for good in the same way that @teganandsara continue to use theirs, leading by example for so many of us. . i earn $1.05 per book sold (in bookstores, on amazon, at my 6/13 @strandbookstore event, etc) so we’ll see how much it ends up being! if you haven’t got a copy yet this might be a perfect excuse to help yourself and others. . more details at thingsarewhatyoumakeofthem.com/pride. #thingsare #pride

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 5, 2018 at 12:47pm PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

I don’t want to scare you from sharing your favourite artist’s work, just be careful about how you share it. Creative people are tired of being told that the ‘exposure’ will be great—if it’s for personal use, a credit can go a long way to bringing new fans (and possible buyers) to a designer’s website. If you’re a brand, unless you’re showcasing the artist’s work only, there’s a responsibility to pay the artist for using their creative work—bills can’t be paid with exposure.

Tips for creators: what to do when you find your work shared without credit

Adam also pointed out to me that the risk for artists these days is not only if the work will be received well, but if it might take on a life of its own without any connection back to the artist, spiralling off into the digital sphere across the umpteen platforms we’re all constantly updating, streaming and scrolling through.

“Now you have to be kind of worried that they will [like it], and might help themselves to it for any number of reasons,” Adam explained. “My perspective is kind of the same for both—make your work and share it. If people don’t like it, they keep on scrolling. If one bad apple out there does repost or otherwise use your work unfairly, you can deal with it then.”

For designers who might be hesitant about sharing their work online, Adam feels that the positive results outweigh the possible risk. “If you don’t share, nobody can ever see anything,” he says. “That is worse than any other negative outcomes. We can’t worry about what we can’t control, so try to let go of those concerns until they become relevant. That’s just good life advice in general, really.”

  View this post on Instagram

  sometimes laughter is the best medicine… sometimes it’s mood stabilizers! this pin is for anyone working towards balance. about to be sold out for good, i’ve got 20 left.

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on May 19, 2018 at 9:17am PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

If you’re a designer and you find that someone has posted your work without permission or without a credit, here are some tips for creatives that Adam shared with me.

Ask accounts to update their caption: Adam says, “It sucks when it’s already been up for a while, so there’s not the same benefit of having your work seen and a possible influx of followers. But I have a keyboard “text replacement” shortcut on my phone now. With a few taps I can easily paste a little comment that basically says, “Hi thanks for sharing my work but please credit me in the caption so your followers can find my art and books.” It’s not written aggressively, and since I started doing it, most people have responded positively.

Send a private email or direct message first: “There are plenty of people tweeting at big brands and seeing no retweets, no comments, and no response from the brand. So my approach is typically to be direct and discreet first. I DM the brand, email a listed address, or something like that. It keeps people from being on the defensive. And while I can’t really spend the time to educate everybody, it can make a difference later.”

Adam also told us how a proper credit can go a long way for an artist, if their work is featured and shared with a big audience:

When ‘exposure’ is maybe okay but probably not legal:  Adam says, “I’ve had one or two popular Instagram accounts […] share my work properly, with clear credit, to audiences of several million. That’s the kind of reposting that we’d all like, where a huge audience gets exposed to our work, and maybe 100+ new followers find us as a result. Reposting content might be questionably legal in the first place, but in the case of those big meme accounts, you can get your ‘payment’ in the form of that proper crediting.”

At the end of the day, if you’re a creative person who’s producing artwork, you should get to decide how that art is used.

Remember, it’s your work—decide how you want your work to be shared: Adam says, “When it’s a company, you are in charge. You might not want a certain business using your art to promote their stuff. You can ask them to delete it, and if they really keep ignoring you, you actually can file a copyright claim through Instagram support. Your work has a value and if a brand hasn’t asked or paid for it first, then you can decide how to respond. It’s your work.”

So, what’s the best way to share my next favourite relatable #content?

In an ideal world everyone would stop and think, “Where did this come from?” before sharing the next pug cartoon or cute illustration which is going viral. When posting to your personal social media channels, make sure you credit the original artist properly with a visible tag, and if an artist has added their name at the bottom of an artwork, don’t cut it off if you’re using a tool which resizes an image (the work should really not be edited at all).

What to do if you’re not sure where an illustration came from? Try to trace it back from where you found it, or use Google reverse image search.

If you’re working for a brand and want to share original work to showcase an artist’s work, at least seek permission first with an explanation as to why you want to make the post, and make sure to add a link to their handle at the top of the description. If the post is being used to promote a business or build brand awareness, contact the artist first to discuss compensation—or commission something especially for you!

Finally, if you notice someone sharing original work without an artist credit, give them a polite heads up and encourage them to repost it with a correction. The artist will love you for it.

Want something created especially for you?

Work directly with a designer to make it happen.

Let’s do it!

The post How to share creative work fairly in the digital age appeared first on 99designs.

via https://99designs.co.uk/blog/

[pamelahetrick]

How to share creative work fairly in the digital age

Reposting beautiful illustrations, inspiring quotes, and funny doodles on social media has become ingrained in our online habits—it’s a new era of digital sharing, and we’re still kinda figuring things out. But there are certainly a few fundamental things to take into consideration before sharing the next illustration that makes you feel, “it me”.

In many cases, these viral gems are original creative works by an artist—an illustrator or graphic designer who has decided to bless us by posting their work online. Artists share their own work as a means of growing their business, to build their portfolio or online presence—of course they want to attract fans and customers who might purchase from their store, hire them for a project, or recommend them to others.

But what often happens is that the original creator’s Instagram handle gets cut off in the process of reposting, or their image is simply uploaded to Twitter without any credit, shared without any trace back to where it came from. There are consequences to this which can affect a designer’s livelihood. So it’s important for all of us to know how to share creative work properly online, whether we want to repost something to a personal channel, or a brand social account. I reached out to artist and author Adam J. Kurtz to learn more and put together this deep dive on how to do it right.

 View this post on Instagram

 this is actually sorta the opposite of that old one i posted last week oops

actually just made this today during a zine making workshop i did for @wix’s design playground. it was a fully analog exercise (except for one or two designers who cheated but ok i know it’s hard to not use all our tools!!!) but i just did this little single panel version to share because i like it so much. anyway i had a great time thanks for having me etc.

event photos by @yotiroboti!

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 18, 2018 at 7:49pm PDT

Meet Adam J. Kurtz, an artist and author whose work often goes viral—often without credit

Adam recently published a vlog about his experience of finding his work posted to a company’s social media channel, without his permission or credit. Adam’s first step was to contact the company directly first, asking for the post to be deleted. He received an apology, and was promised that it wouldn’t happen again, however it totally did happen again with the same company. So Adam decided the next step was to request a payment for a ‘retroactive social media license’ for the use of his work—he invoiced the company and was successfully paid. Adam’s vlog is a great explainer on how to share creative work properly online, whether for personal or work use:

When I first saw Adam’s video I was instantly struck by how well he addressed this new aspect of digital sharing. “I don’t think many of us can exist without sharing our work online”, Adam told me by email, when I asked him about being a very shareable creative in the digital age. “Whether it’s a creative studio portfolio showcase, or individual creatives sharing new work, process, daily warm-ups, or other bits and pieces. It’s how we build our brands, find new fans, and get more clients. This is how the business mostly works now. It can be scary enough to share your work with an audience when you’re worried they might not like it,” Adam explained.

Adam makes a living from his creative work—he’s designed products for the likes of Fish’s Eddy, Urban Outfitters, Tattly, and some of his other clients are Adobe, Instagram, The New York Times, Penguin Random House, Pepsi. Adam’s products, his writing and graphics tap into universal themes that resonate deeply (and are super fun)—it’s understandable that many people connect with what he does and that his work often goes viral.

 View this post on Instagram

 the bitch (ur undeniable responsibility for ur own actions) is back

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Dec 23, 2017 at 9:35am PST

While an artist can choose to share their work online to build their own following and establish a presence online—Adam for example has built a following of nearly 200,000 followers on his Instagram account—we need to be more aware of the best way to share designs when it’s created by someone else—whether it’s on our personal account, or when sharing something for a business.

What are the best practices when sharing creative work online?

 View this post on Instagram

 inspired by the response to my lil “f u pay me” vlog, here are some guidelines on how to repost my work. in general i’m rly chill and grateful about this but i’m not trying to directly help you sell your granola or meditation classes… when a company wants to use my art for business purposes they can hire me or license something. and of course use your best judgement! . if you’re coming to my instagram or anyone else’s and thinking it’s just a stock image service, you’re mistaken. if you’re enjoying something or feeling encouraged, that’s totally awesome (and the point) and i’m so glad. this post is really more geared towards stopping companies from posting for their own profit, under the guise of “friendly reposts” that undervalue creative work made by real human people. . and if you wanna hear me talk about this for 13 minutes head to YOUTUBE.COM/ADAMJK

i kinda just went in on how our creative work has value and how it’s up to all of us to educate others, especially if we work for a company with a social media team.

the response has honestly got me inspired to talk more and put more videos up. . p.s. i’m not here to publicly shame anyone! that’s not usually the best way to get things done. but if you wanna repost these guidelines or privately share this post with an account you see doing this stuff often, that’d be cool. remember that kindness is often more powerful than anger, especially when trying to educate someone!

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 18, 2018 at 4:44am PDT

Of course if you find something funny or touching, you want to share it with your followers—and there are soooooo many social sharing buttons which make this super easy. But this also makes it easy to accidentally or otherwise cut off the original creator’s handle. When people repost artist’s work to a personal network, this is no doubt a very beneficial action for artists, but you still want to just check quickly that you’ve credited the work properly.

Adam’s tip: When sharing to your personal account, tag the creator in both the image and caption, don’t alter the image, or edit out the creator’s handle or watermark.

Here are some best practises based on Adam’s suggestions, that we encourage everyone (whether for personal or biz use) to consider when sharing creative work—that could be a cartoon, illustration, quote, photo or other image. It’s super helpful advice that can generally be applied to all creative work:

Check that the artist’s credit is not buried under a long comment and paragraph of hashtags. Be mindful of tagging the artist in the first couple of lines underneath the post.

Feature the artist: Is the work being shared because it’s going viral and you want to get in on that, or to showcase the artist? In Adam’s case, he is only ok with brands sharing his work if the point is to showcase the work itself.

Communicate: Brands should not share work without a credit or if the image has been altered. A partnership should not be implied, and the post shouldn’t advertise a sale or promotion if there isn’t one. If you want to set up a partnership with a designer based off an example of their work you like, reach out!

Some of this is common sense, but it’s always good to remind ourselves that there are living, breathing humans behind these designs whose livelihood depends on being properly credited for their work. Why do they post it online if they don’t want us to share it, you ask? Good question! The point is, artists are quite happy for you to share their work—the right way, and with a proper credit. And if you’re a brand using someone’s creative work to build your following online, there should be compensation involved for the artist.

 View this post on Instagram

 checklist for getting over common fears — read the book for the actual advice broken down!

. i’m donating 100% of my pride month royalties for @thingsarewhatyoumakeofthem to the @teganandsarafoundation to help them support economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. . you might remember we raised $7,500 for this great organization with the book preorder campaign last year, but I’m hoping this is a continued opportunity to use my art for good in the same way that @teganandsara continue to use theirs, leading by example for so many of us. . i earn $1.05 per book sold (in bookstores, on amazon, at my 6/13 @strandbookstore event, etc) so we’ll see how much it ends up being! if you haven’t got a copy yet this might be a perfect excuse to help yourself and others. . more details at thingsarewhatyoumakeofthem.com/pride. #thingsare #pride

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 5, 2018 at 12:47pm PDT

I don’t want to scare you from sharing your favourite artist’s work, just be careful about how you share it. Creative people are tired of being told that the ‘exposure’ will be great—if it’s for personal use, a credit can go a long way to bringing new fans (and possible buyers) to a designer’s website. If you’re a brand, unless you’re showcasing the artist’s work only, there’s a responsibility to pay the artist for using their creative work—bills can’t be paid with exposure.

Tips for creators: what to do when you find your work shared without credit

Adam also pointed out to me that the risk for artists these days is not only if the work will be received well, but if it might take on a life of its own without any connection back to the artist, spiralling off into the digital sphere across the umpteen platforms we’re all constantly updating, streaming and scrolling through.

“Now you have to be kind of worried that they will [like it], and might help themselves to it for any number of reasons,” Adam explained. “My perspective is kind of the same for both—make your work and share it. If people don’t like it, they keep on scrolling. If one bad apple out there does repost or otherwise use your work unfairly, you can deal with it then.”

For designers who might be hesitant about sharing their work online, Adam feels that the positive results outweigh the possible risk. “If you don’t share, nobody can ever see anything,” he says. “That is worse than any other negative outcomes. We can’t worry about what we can’t control, so try to let go of those concerns until they become relevant. That’s just good life advice in general, really.”

 View this post on Instagram

 sometimes laughter is the best medicine… sometimes it’s mood stabilizers! this pin is for anyone working towards balance. about to be sold out for good, i’ve got 20 left.

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on May 19, 2018 at 9:17am PDT

If you’re a designer and you find that someone has posted your work without permission or without a credit, here are some tips for creatives that Adam shared with me.

Ask accounts to update their caption: Adam says, “It sucks when it’s already been up for a while, so there’s not the same benefit of having your work seen and a possible influx of followers. But I have a keyboard “text replacement” shortcut on my phone now. With a few taps I can easily paste a little comment that basically says, “Hi thanks for sharing my work but please credit me in the caption so your followers can find my art and books.” It’s not written aggressively, and since I started doing it, most people have responded positively.

Send a private email or direct message first: “There are plenty of people tweeting at big brands and seeing no retweets, no comments, and no response from the brand. So my approach is typically to be direct and discreet first. I DM the brand, email a listed address, or something like that. It keeps people from being on the defensive. And while I can’t really spend the time to educate everybody, it can make a difference later.”

Adam also told us how a proper credit can go a long way for an artist, if their work is featured and shared with a big audience:

When ‘exposure’ is maybe okay but probably not legal:  Adam says, “I’ve had one or two popular Instagram accounts […] share my work properly, with clear credit, to audiences of several million. That’s the kind of reposting that we’d all like, where a huge audience gets exposed to our work, and maybe 100+ new followers find us as a result. Reposting content might be questionably legal in the first place, but in the case of those big meme accounts, you can get your ‘payment’ in the form of that proper crediting.”

At the end of the day, if you’re a creative person who’s producing artwork, you should get to decide how that art is used.

Remember, it’s your work—decide how you want your work to be shared: Adam says, “When it’s a company, you are in charge. You might not want a certain business using your art to promote their stuff. You can ask them to delete it, and if they really keep ignoring you, you actually can file a copyright claim through Instagram support. Your work has a value and if a brand hasn’t asked or paid for it first, then you can decide how to respond. It’s your work.”

So, what’s the best way to share my next favourite relatable #content?

In an ideal world everyone would stop and think, “Where did this come from?” before sharing the next pug cartoon or cute illustration which is going viral. When posting to your personal social media channels, make sure you credit the original artist properly with a visible tag, and if an artist has added their name at the bottom of an artwork, don’t cut it off if you’re using a tool which resizes an image (the work should really not be edited at all).

What to do if you’re not sure where an illustration came from? Try to trace it back from where you found it, or use Google reverse image search.

If you’re working for a brand and want to share original work to showcase an artist’s work, at least seek permission first with an explanation as to why you want to make the post, and make sure to add a link to their handle at the top of the description. If the post is being used to promote a business or build brand awareness, contact the artist first to discuss compensation—or commission something especially for you!

Finally, if you notice someone sharing original work without an artist credit, give them a polite heads up and encourage them to repost it with a correction. The artist will love you for it.

Want something created especially for you?

Work directly with a designer to make it happen.

Let's do it!

The post How to share creative work fairly in the digital age appeared first on 99designs.

via 99designs https://99designs.co.uk/blog/marketing-advertising-en-gb/sharing-creative-work-fairly/

[catherinesnyder]

How to share creative work fairly in the digital age

Reposting beautiful illustrations, inspiring quotes, and funny doodles on social media has become ingrained in our online habits—it’s a new era of digital sharing, and we’re still kinda figuring things out. But there are certainly a few fundamental things to take into consideration before sharing the next illustration that makes you feel, “it me”.

In many cases, these viral gems are original creative works by an artist—an illustrator or graphic designer who has decided to bless us by posting their work online. Artists share their own work as a means of growing their business, to build their portfolio or online presence—of course they want to attract fans and customers who might purchase from their store, hire them for a project, or recommend them to others.

But what often happens is that the original creator’s Instagram handle gets cut off in the process of reposting, or their image is simply uploaded to Twitter without any credit, shared without any trace back to where it came from. There are consequences to this which can affect a designer’s livelihood. So it’s important for all of us to know how to share creative work properly online, whether we want to repost something to a personal channel, or a brand social account. I reached out to artist and author Adam J. Kurtz to learn more and put together this deep dive on how to do it right.

  View this post on Instagram

  this is actually sorta the opposite of that old one i posted last week oops

actually just made this today during a zine making workshop i did for @wix’s design playground. it was a fully analog exercise (except for one or two designers who cheated but ok i know it’s hard to not use all our tools!!!) but i just did this little single panel version to share because i like it so much. anyway i had a great time thanks for having me etc.

event photos by @yotiroboti!

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 18, 2018 at 7:49pm PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Meet Adam J. Kurtz, an artist and author whose work often goes viral—often without credit

Adam recently published a vlog about his experience of finding his work posted to a company’s social media channel, without his permission or credit. Adam’s first step was to contact the company directly first, asking for the post to be deleted. He received an apology, and was promised that it wouldn’t happen again, however it totally did happen again with the same company. So Adam decided the next step was to request a payment for a ‘retroactive social media license’ for the use of his work—he invoiced the company and was successfully paid. Adam’s vlog is a great explainer on how to share creative work properly online, whether for personal or work use:

When I first saw Adam’s video I was instantly struck by how well he addressed this new aspect of digital sharing. “I don’t think many of us can exist without sharing our work online”, Adam told me by email, when I asked him about being a very shareable creative in the digital age. “Whether it’s a creative studio portfolio showcase, or individual creatives sharing new work, process, daily warm-ups, or other bits and pieces. It’s how we build our brands, find new fans, and get more clients. This is how the business mostly works now. It can be scary enough to share your work with an audience when you’re worried they might not like it,” Adam explained.

Adam makes a living from his creative work—he’s designed products for the likes of Fish’s Eddy, Urban Outfitters, Tattly, and some of his other clients are Adobe, Instagram, The New York Times, Penguin Random House, Pepsi. Adam’s products, his writing and graphics tap into universal themes that resonate deeply (and are super fun)—it’s understandable that many people connect with what he does and that his work often goes viral.

  View this post on Instagram

  the bitch (ur undeniable responsibility for ur own actions) is back

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Dec 23, 2017 at 9:35am PST

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

While an artist can choose to share their work online to build their own following and establish a presence online—Adam for example has built a following of nearly 200,000 followers on his Instagram account—we need to be more aware of the best way to share designs when it’s created by someone else—whether it’s on our personal account, or when sharing something for a business.

What are the best practices when sharing creative work online?

  View this post on Instagram

  inspired by the response to my lil “f u pay me” vlog, here are some guidelines on how to repost my work. in general i’m rly chill and grateful about this but i’m not trying to directly help you sell your granola or meditation classes… when a company wants to use my art for business purposes they can hire me or license something. and of course use your best judgement! . if you’re coming to my instagram or anyone else’s and thinking it’s just a stock image service, you’re mistaken. if you’re enjoying something or feeling encouraged, that’s totally awesome (and the point) and i’m so glad. this post is really more geared towards stopping companies from posting for their own profit, under the guise of “friendly reposts” that undervalue creative work made by real human people. . and if you wanna hear me talk about this for 13 minutes head to YOUTUBE.COM/ADAMJK

i kinda just went in on how our creative work has value and how it’s up to all of us to educate others, especially if we work for a company with a social media team.

the response has honestly got me inspired to talk more and put more videos up. . p.s. i’m not here to publicly shame anyone! that’s not usually the best way to get things done. but if you wanna repost these guidelines or privately share this post with an account you see doing this stuff often, that’d be cool. remember that kindness is often more powerful than anger, especially when trying to educate someone!

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 18, 2018 at 4:44am PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Of course if you find something funny or touching, you want to share it with your followers—and there are soooooo many social sharing buttons which make this super easy. But this also makes it easy to accidentally or otherwise cut off the original creator’s handle. When people repost artist’s work to a personal network, this is no doubt a very beneficial action for artists, but you still want to just check quickly that you’ve credited the work properly.

Adam’s tip: When sharing to your personal account, tag the creator in both the image and caption, don’t alter the image, or edit out the creator’s handle or watermark.

Here are some best practises based on Adam’s suggestions, that we encourage everyone (whether for personal or biz use) to consider when sharing creative work—that could be a cartoon, illustration, quote, photo or other image. It’s super helpful advice that can generally be applied to all creative work:

Check that the artist’s credit is not buried under a long comment and paragraph of hashtags. Be mindful of tagging the artist in the first couple of lines underneath the post.

Feature the artist: Is the work being shared because it’s going viral and you want to get in on that, or to showcase the artist? In Adam’s case, he is only ok with brands sharing his work if the point is to showcase the work itself.

Communicate: Brands should not share work without a credit or if the image has been altered. A partnership should not be implied, and the post shouldn’t advertise a sale or promotion if there isn’t one. If you want to set up a partnership with a designer based off an example of their work you like, reach out!

Some of this is common sense, but it’s always good to remind ourselves that there are living, breathing humans behind these designs whose livelihood depends on being properly credited for their work. Why do they post it online if they don’t want us to share it, you ask? Good question! The point is, artists are quite happy for you to share their work—the right way, and with a proper credit. And if you’re a brand using someone’s creative work to build your following online, there should be compensation involved for the artist.

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  checklist for getting over common fears — read the book for the actual advice broken down!

. i’m donating 100% of my pride month royalties for @thingsarewhatyoumakeofthem to the @teganandsarafoundation to help them support economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. . you might remember we raised $7,500 for this great organization with the book preorder campaign last year, but I’m hoping this is a continued opportunity to use my art for good in the same way that @teganandsara continue to use theirs, leading by example for so many of us. . i earn $1.05 per book sold (in bookstores, on amazon, at my 6/13 @strandbookstore event, etc) so we’ll see how much it ends up being! if you haven’t got a copy yet this might be a perfect excuse to help yourself and others. . more details at thingsarewhatyoumakeofthem.com/pride. #thingsare #pride

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on Jun 5, 2018 at 12:47pm PDT

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I don’t want to scare you from sharing your favourite artist’s work, just be careful about how you share it. Creative people are tired of being told that the ‘exposure’ will be great—if it’s for personal use, a credit can go a long way to bringing new fans (and possible buyers) to a designer’s website. If you’re a brand, unless you’re showcasing the artist’s work only, there’s a responsibility to pay the artist for using their creative work—bills can’t be paid with exposure.

Tips for creators: what to do when you find your work shared without credit

Adam also pointed out to me that the risk for artists these days is not only if the work will be received well, but if it might take on a life of its own without any connection back to the artist, spiralling off into the digital sphere across the umpteen platforms we’re all constantly updating, streaming and scrolling through.

“Now you have to be kind of worried that they will [like it], and might help themselves to it for any number of reasons,” Adam explained. “My perspective is kind of the same for both—make your work and share it. If people don’t like it, they keep on scrolling. If one bad apple out there does repost or otherwise use your work unfairly, you can deal with it then.”

For designers who might be hesitant about sharing their work online, Adam feels that the positive results outweigh the possible risk. “If you don’t share, nobody can ever see anything,” he says. “That is worse than any other negative outcomes. We can’t worry about what we can’t control, so try to let go of those concerns until they become relevant. That’s just good life advice in general, really.”

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  sometimes laughter is the best medicine… sometimes it’s mood stabilizers! this pin is for anyone working towards balance. about to be sold out for good, i’ve got 20 left.

A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on May 19, 2018 at 9:17am PDT

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If you’re a designer and you find that someone has posted your work without permission or without a credit, here are some tips for creatives that Adam shared with me.

Ask accounts to update their caption: Adam says, “It sucks when it’s already been up for a while, so there’s not the same benefit of having your work seen and a possible influx of followers. But I have a keyboard “text replacement” shortcut on my phone now. With a few taps I can easily paste a little comment that basically says, “Hi thanks for sharing my work but please credit me in the caption so your followers can find my art and books.” It’s not written aggressively, and since I started doing it, most people have responded positively.

Send a private email or direct message first: “There are plenty of people tweeting at big brands and seeing no retweets, no comments, and no response from the brand. So my approach is typically to be direct and discreet first. I DM the brand, email a listed address, or something like that. It keeps people from being on the defensive. And while I can’t really spend the time to educate everybody, it can make a difference later.”

Adam also told us how a proper credit can go a long way for an artist, if their work is featured and shared with a big audience:

When ‘exposure’ is maybe okay but probably not legal:  Adam says, “I’ve had one or two popular Instagram accounts […] share my work properly, with clear credit, to audiences of several million. That’s the kind of reposting that we’d all like, where a huge audience gets exposed to our work, and maybe 100+ new followers find us as a result. Reposting content might be questionably legal in the first place, but in the case of those big meme accounts, you can get your ‘payment’ in the form of that proper crediting.”

At the end of the day, if you’re a creative person who’s producing artwork, you should get to decide how that art is used.

Remember, it’s your work—decide how you want your work to be shared: Adam says, “When it’s a company, you are in charge. You might not want a certain business using your art to promote their stuff. You can ask them to delete it, and if they really keep ignoring you, you actually can file a copyright claim through Instagram support. Your work has a value and if a brand hasn’t asked or paid for it first, then you can decide how to respond. It’s your work.”

So, what’s the best way to share my next favourite relatable #content?

In an ideal world everyone would stop and think, “Where did this come from?” before sharing the next pug cartoon or cute illustration which is going viral. When posting to your personal social media channels, make sure you credit the original artist properly with a visible tag, and if an artist has added their name at the bottom of an artwork, don’t cut it off if you’re using a tool which resizes an image (the work should really not be edited at all).

What to do if you’re not sure where an illustration came from? Try to trace it back from where you found it, or use Google reverse image search.

If you’re working for a brand and want to share original work to showcase an artist’s work, at least seek permission first with an explanation as to why you want to make the post, and make sure to add a link to their handle at the top of the description. If the post is being used to promote a business or build brand awareness, contact the artist first to discuss compensation—or commission something especially for you!

Finally, if you notice someone sharing original work without an artist credit, give them a polite heads up and encourage them to repost it with a correction. The artist will love you for it.

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The post How to share creative work fairly in the digital age appeared first on 99designs.

via https://99designs.co.uk/blog/

How to share creative work fairly in the digital age syndicated from https://www.lilpackaging.com/

[dailydatguybroadcast]

Imagine THIS!

GET this shit into a court room right fucking now - so I can close these BITCHES OUT! Once and for all! FUCKERS! Imagine that!

Shout out to my dark skin brother in the blue caravan - driving down Florida avenue and his female friend, wife or person in the vehicle with him.

See, when we respect we all can make it. And when we do we don’t have to infringe on the parties of others.

My disappointment is that I failed to get his tag number to give respect publicly to him as I would others. If there are any perks. I would want him to receive them.

I offer explanation as to why I failed at his tag not others. <ul>When a person is in such an anguished predicament- as calm as we seem- we are still internally distraught. And that despair causes us to err in dotting the eyes and cross all the tees due to the anguish. That would be the same if my mom was placed in an anguished situation against all of them. The rush. The desire to get this over. The why’s that are going through your brain. Why and how did we get here- would be the questions in the mind of the anguished person. Imagine if they had placed her against something she did not want to do. Imagine them pulling an old document that was developed before a child was even born - and trying to apply it to an adult that she has seen grow up against everything written in the document. Imagine the internal anguish. Imagine then “ them said and casting blame - well you wrote it”. Imagine the “oh lawd what am I to do?” For an ole lady that loved her son - which they were trying to hurt and cast the blame of hurting HIM on her. Imagine that. Now place with that- her age, her agility, her lioness spirit - and place with that the knowledge of the Rural area and the basis education of her time. Imagine all this hurt that they bestowed upon MY MOTHER said to be because of me and THEN lied on me saying j knew. Imagine being then told to GOD DAMMIT obey. OBEY what mother fucker? My mom only said any thing like an agreement because you - god damn fucker - backed her in a corner - if My synopsis is correct. What- fucker- are you asking me to OBEY- BITCH! When you can’t even tell me what in the god damn fuck is going on! FUCKER lay your ass down and DIE! Imagine all this. And this is just writing in fiction form - just in case. Imagine if it proves to be true. </ul>

As we are attempting to get through the situation. Imagine that!

That was my reasoning for missing the bullet on that one. But he was dark skin, about 250 lbs in a dark blue caravan- with a female spouse in the vehicle with him.

I send thanks to both him and her for allowing him to help. For we must not forget that when he gives to us - if they were a couple- his giving may also be taking from their household.

Thank you for seeing me as a brother not as anything other than that - and helping me out.

Recap: he had paid for his own gas and elected to give me some of what he didn’t have to use. He gave me 15 or so dollars that “sadly” and “shameful” to say - gave me a place to sleep for one more night - in my car.

Such love is not appreciated. Therefore, love as you call it - is not love to me!

From this- it is my hopes that we all learn to share. I did. And will forever keep it in my mind! Thank you my brother and my light skin sister.

I wish I knew what it took to close this out - but I don’t. Usually I could hit an ace as hard as I can to solidify final closure- but here -I can’t see the LINES!

Terry Dwayne Ashford https://youtu.be/UIogrfQhMmU