Suggestions for rules against Art Theft

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So, the rules against art theft on the forums as they are, are ‘innocent until proven guilty’. Thats a great system for most things, but when it comes to reporting art theft, it relies on individual users to come up with proof that a user is tracing, rather than the user showing they aren’t tracing in the first place. This can easily let stolen and traced artwork through the cracks, which could be prevented with some simple rules put in place, which I’ve drafted here. These mostly come from several art forums, groups, and Aminos that I have been part of, and theyve worked pretty well.

Digital Art

3+ Layers:

For artwork with advanced coloring/shading and linework.

  • Users must submit a screenshot of the layers, including their signature, which should be the same or similar to their forum username. This prevents theft from sites that also require layers as proof (this has been done before, people are wildin)

1 or 2 Layers:

For sketches or simple coloring.

  • Users must submit a speedpaint of their drawing (can be done in real time, or after the fact with programs like IbisPaint)
  • If traditional art is uploaded to be uses as a base for the digital art, adequate traditional art proof must be given as well

Traditional Artwork

Paintings, sculptures, and pen-and-paper drawings.

  • Users must submit a picture of the original drawing with their signature somewhere on it, or with their username on a separate piece of paper.

Bases

Premade linework that you can color in.

  • Bases should not be allowed to be used in art competitions.
  • Drawings using bases should credit the base maker and link back to the original base.

Art in RPs

Faceclaims

  • Art used for faceclaims should credit the original artist on the FC slides.

Banners & Post art

  • Banners and other art used in RP posts should have an embedded link back to the original artwork.

I hope you guys like these ideas, anything I should add?

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That looks like you covered everything

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I think these ideas are pretty great ! It’s often much harder to find evidence of tracing or general art theft than it is to prove that you didn’t do it.

Though I do have question. Would everyone have to show evidence of not tracing their work every time they submit an art piece . Or only when the originality of the art itself is being questioned?

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So would that mean that I’d have to take a screenshot of all my 25+ (100+ for more complicated art) layers? :eyes::eyes::green_heart::no_mouth:

And you could still delete the layer with the art you traced from and take a screenshot without it, so it wouldn’t be real proof in my opinion :eyes::sparkles:

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I think only when it is being questioned because you don’t have to prove yourself if you know your work was done by hard work but if they start suspecting then yes, show them.

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I personally feel like it should be any time, though there could be a ‘certified artist’ badge where an artist with a set style and who posts frequently doesn’t need to verify their work unless questioned.

That’s a lot :no_mouth:

Probably just one ‘chunk’ of layers, depending on your program

Well, most traced art is just coloring or linework, so it would still fall under the ‘1 or 2 layers’ category. And traced art is usually obvious, so more proof could be requested if they suspect anything.

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Can an artist who likes to vary from style to style,but has proven evidence time and time again that he or she actually made that drawing get a badge as well?

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It’s probably safer if they just send the evidence every time, since it’s already pretty uncommon for artists to have more than one or two styles mastered.

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