Artistic Integrity and Why it is Essential
Hello my little spores!
Have a seat, kids. Time for a serious discussion. No, it's not about the birds and/or bees. It's about artistic integrity and why you absolutely need it.
To have integrity is to have good moral principles. And to me, artistic integrity is incredibly important. So important that I consider it just as vital as artistic talent. I've recently come across a number of people copying a number of my stamps, ranging from the ones in my Scraps to the ones that get multiple 
es every single day. Now, to me, stealing art can range from a direct copy-and-paste from someone's gallery to taking the exact same idea and mildly tweaking it, then claiming it as your own, and everything in between. Regardless, I consider you an art thief and nothing more. And I'll let you all know right now: I -hate- art thieves. There are very few things in this world I will readily admit to hating, but art thieves are one of them. I have zero respect for someone who blatantly rips off the ideas of others. I also can't respect anyone who knows someone who does this and chooses to look the other way. I don't like labeling people, but if you choose to look the other way, you are an enabler and nothing more to me.
If you are an art thief and/or enabler of such, do me a favor: stay away from me. Do not favorite any of my work, do not add me to your watch list, do not leave me comments, do not contact me at all. Fuck off. If you see me at a convention, do not approach me and do not purchase anything from me; your money is below worthless to me, and so are you.
I really dislike going on long tirades about things like this, but I have very personal reasons as why art theft in any fashion hits a raw nerve with me. Earlier this year, I dated a girl that seemed rather nice and was rather artistically inclined. She played a very big part in helping me make my appearance at ACen this year as successful as it was. However, I soon discovered that a multitude of the designs she had made and was selling were direct copies of other peoples' works. This alone made me lose respect for her on the spot, despite all the time and effort she had put into helping not just me, but some close friends of mine as well. The cherry on top of this clusterfuck-flavored sundae was watching her get called out face-to-face by the (very well known) original artist. While I felt embarrassed by this, I only felt so because I was now sharing a table with an art thief that was just caught in the act. Thankfully, I contacted the artist who called her out and said artist has no negative feelings towards me, as I was completely unaware the designs in question were stolen. This is something that I could not get past, and within three weeks of ACen's conclusion, she and I were done.
In short, my ex-girlfriend is my ex because she is an art thief. While I will admit that there were also other factors that led to that decision, this was the biggest reason. She had artistic talent, but decided to throw such essentials like dignity, integrity, and respect for her fellow artists to the wayside. And for this, I chose to completely disassociate myself from her in every fashion.
Which brings me to the stamps in question... my "Open Your Mind Before You Open Your Mouth" and "Never Apologize For Your Art". I have never claimed to own any of these phrases; they're too general to be claimed by any one person. It's like trying to claim the wisdom encapsulated in your fortune cookie. However, I was the first to put these little proverbs, if you will, onto stamps.
Let's say, for example, the phrase "Cheese on a Stick" has some deep, significant meaning. Then, let's say a band writes a song about it. But Cheese on a Stick is very broad, and can be described in a multitude of ways, so more than one band writes a song about it. This is a perfectly acceptable process; two bands singing about the same thing. But if one of those bands writes a song with the exact same lyrics as the first band and tries to justify it by saying Cheese on a Stick is too broad of a concept to be owned by any one person, that excuse should not and would not hold any weight whatsoever.
I'm like all artists in that I get inspired from all sorts of places, but if you check my deviation descriptions, I'll cite what inspired me. I'm the first to admit that I'm no prodigy. I don't own a timeshare in the land of inner enlightenment.
It's not my idea that was stolen, it was my execution of the idea that was. And riding my artistic coattails is still, to me, underhanded, wrong, and a form of ripping me off. It brands you as an art thief to me, and unoriginal, to say the very least. Regardless of whether or not the admins take action, I want you all to know that I'm not going to conclude this by saying I'm leaving dA to ride through the desert on a llama with no name; To do such a thing would be to admit defeat. I'm going nowhere, kids.
So please! If you're inspired, say so! And if you're inspired by an artist with which you can contact, TELL THEM! Unless you've obviously copied an idea of theirs, 99% of the time, they will be absolutely flattered to know they inspired you! Who knows, they may even become a fan of yours!
Be original! Be honest! Be happy! And most of all, be yourself!
Xbox Live!
Yes, I have taken the plunge and purchased an Xbox Live account. If you're on there, feel free to say hi! My gamertag is The Quazo. (Don't look so shocked.)
Current Projects
Eevee & evolutions: 7 of 8 complete
[ 0]
Eevee: DONE!
Flareon: DONE!
Jolteon: DONE!
Vaporeon: DONE!
Espeon: TBA
Umbreon: DONE!
Glaceon: DONE!
Leafeon: DONE!
Monthly Pokemon pieces: 3 of 12 complete
[ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0]
May: [link]
June: [link]
July: [link]
Artist Block! >_< 
Offline! 
Joy
Tired
