Christmas, swag, and a PSA

I hear that Christmas was more-or-less the same temperature in the 'States as it was Down Under. Also, tornadoes in the South and Mid-west, killing three so far and destroying thousands of homes. That's absolutely crazy. Gotta pity those in Tennessee and Mississippi especially. Poor bastards.

What else is crazy is that over fifty homes in Victoria have been destroyed by out-of-control bushfires today. I cannot imagine what it must be like for a family to lose everything on Christmas Day, must less many families all in the same general area. It's not the first time that Mother Nature has unleashed her fury onto this country though; on Christmas Day, 1974, Category 4 Cyclone Tracy swept through a largely unprepared Darwin City, destroying thousands of homes and causing over AUD$800m in damages (over AUD$4bn by today's conversion).

It's hard to find any level of cheer when thousands of people in first-world countries have lost homes over the past few days, believing they were safe, but in fact completely at Nature's mercy. Sorta brings the fact down that we're all just as vulnerable, just as subject to her destructive tendencies as those in the third-world are with all the shit that they have to endure on a daily basis. How can anyone enjoy Christmas unless they remain wilfully ignorant of others' misfortunes?

Well, we can certainly try. And on that note, to any of you who have been affected by the tornadoes, I'm sending you my heartfelt condolences.

---

Now onto the swag!

It sounds a little bit like an owl.

Modified silk print of a very old favourite

Pony party in the house tonight, everypony gonna have a good time.

I can't tell you how awesome getting this stuff felt. Feels.

But, what I can tell you is something highly important.

---

Most of you guys know, or can at least appreciate I'm sure, just how much work and effort artists put into perfecting their craft. It's a largely unrewarded process, but once they find their niche—or if they're lucky, a big break—they can hardly be blamed for just wanting a little credit if people want to use their images, right?

I'll assume you're nodding at your screen right now. Okay, good. Well, when I unwrapped my framed harwicks_art print, I recognised it immediately. He is, after all, one of the fandom's most iconic artists. I did a bit of digging, and as it turns out, both he and BambooDog have had their art stolen many times, by many sites, and sold for their own profit without crediting the artists who rightfully deserve it. Unfortunately, both of my prints, while definitely a most thoughtful gift from my brother and his girlfriend, fall under the "stolen" category.

As someone who pays serious money for commissions and understands the value of an artist's work, I was disheartened to learn this information. There's no way for sure of knowing just how often sites have sold these two artists' works for their own gain. And they're just two artists—two drops in a vast, vast ocean of talent—that have their hard work ripped off, most oftentimes without their knowledge.

So I went and did something that I've always put off, even when seeking commissions.

I made my own deviantArt account.

Pending responses from both Harwick and BambooDog, I plan to compensate these guys for the trouble. Just like the sheer amount of times they've probably been ripped off, so too is the amount of people who likely were not aware of purchasing stolen property. And if they were, SHAME on them! It won't be a lot of money, but it will be something; even if they turn around and tell me not to worry about it, I'm sure they'd appreciate the gesture.

Guys, art theft is a serious issue. Please, if you're that person who just yanks pics from wherever you like and does whatever you want with them, consider the impact that you and others have upon the art community at large. If you don't want to pay for art, that's fine: at least ask permission from the owner before use (when possible), and at the very least, if you cannot do that, for the love of Celestia, please leave a link to the original source and/or a credit to the artist. Thousands and thousands of $ are made every day from digital art theft: here's a recent, notorious example.

Well, Christmas is over for me and a few of my other buddies. I hope the rest of you enjoy your day... or what remains of it. And feel free to share whatever swag you received here too.

Adren

Comments

[BlazzingInferno]

Merry belated Christmas, CV!
Good on you for supporting the artists! Thefts like that are what had me convinced, once upon a time, that I'd never put anything I created online.

[PresentPerfect]

You are a good person. :O Also, this isn't exactly Christmas in Australia, cuz nothing's trying to kill us. :B I mean, the cat's licking my hand right now, but that's going to take a while, kitty. :B

[lazyreader19]

Merry Christmas! Glad you love your swag!

Also yeah, it was about 21-22C on my side of the USA today, and man that was extremely warm for this time of year! Also tons of rain, flood warnings!

Shame to hear about the tragedies and art theft though

[Cerulean Voice]

3642038
3642074
3643644
I've heard back from Harwick, guys. Here's what he had to say:

Hello there and Merry Christmas!

Ah, yes... That image is out there for sale nearly everywhere. I'm sure I can find a variety of products on Amazon at any given time that are being offered with that poker picture of mine on them. I do wonder how much that one has grossed for people over the years... As of yet, I haven't actually gotten a dime for it myself (although it has been offered for sale legitimately at a few conventions in Europe with my blessing.)

I don't actually see any reason for that to change though... there's certainly no reason that you should pay twice to offset the seller making a profit off of my work. There's no justice there. If anyone asks, I grant permission to print and use the picture however they like as long as they're not reselling it, so there's no reason for you (or your brother) to feel at all guilty about it. Hang it and enjoy it... I'm extremely flattered that you would add it to your home decor!

If you would really like to contribute some money for it, however, instead of sending it to me I would ask you to keep an eye out for a charitable cause that could use the donation for good, and give them the money instead. I would feel pretty happy about the whole thing knowing that you got a piece of artwork that you enjoy and a good cause got some much needed funds.

Regardless, I'm very touched that you would make the offer... Thank you for such an uplifting Christmas message, and I hope you and you family have a wonderful time throughout the rest of the holiday season!

--Harwick