How would you feel if someone used your art to promote their own products, tried to get an art job with it, or made money from your art without any of your permission & you didn't realize it? I'll take a guess and say it probably wouldn't make you feel great.
If you're posting your digital art online, there's always a chance your work or IP could be stolen, even if you don't realize it.
Why?
Because as long as it exists on the internet, it's as easy as someone downloading your image and uploading it as their own for whatever reason. It's that simple! With the popularity of NFTs, digital art thieves gain money and exposure from stolen digital art , including some victims that are well-known artists and art directors here on Art Station. Unfortunately, plagiarists do steal artists' work and make money off the stolen art in many cases, disregarding an artist's extensive time and effort used to perfecting their craft. There's even been a horrendous incident of digital art theft done to a talented artist who is longer with us. Sadly, it's been more common with the creation and demand of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). But even if you don't know what an NFT is or don't have interest in making one, it doesn't mean your work won't be stolen.
Taking just a few minutes to visually protect your digital art is incredibly easy. Yes, your art is automatically copyrighted by you when it's created (depending on your country) but that's not enough to stop digital art thieves nowadays. Unless you create direct visual cues that let online art thieves know IMMEDIATELY THAT YOU OWN THE RIGHTS, IP, AND THAT YOU WERE THE ARTIST WHO CREATED "THE ORIGINAL WORK", you run a large risk of having your art stolen. Or at least used in ways you most likely won't be comfortable with, such as monetary gain, or in the creation or promotion of someone else's products, content, or even art.
With some research plus combining my own personal tactics for protecting my art, I've created a guide with 13+ ways you can start adding instant visual protection to your posted art, preventing unwanted theft & use of your personal art right now. As an industry artist, I understand the steps needed to protect your art in both a physical and digital setting.
In this 2 -page Digital Artist Copyright Cheat Sheet, you have 13 effective ways to protect your digital art across social media platforms and your personal website (if you have one). I've also included a quick technique to check if your art has been stolen. And in page 2, I've included a list of 9 Essential Online Art Rules to follow when posting your digital art online. These 'art rules' include preventing digital art theft, the rights you have when creating an artwork, and if you should be worried about your digital art being stolen. Your digital art and intellectual property will be extremely, if not fully, protected from art theft with the information in this sheet.
YOU GET :
- 2 - FREE Printable PDFs sized 8.5 x11" @300DPI
- 13 Ways To Visually Protect Your Digital Art when Uploading Online & Prevent Theft
- 3 Tips to Guarantee Your IP & Artwork Belong to You
- 1 Quick Tip: Check If Your Digital Art has Been Stolen
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9 Essential Digital Art Rules - (Titled 'Online Art Tips')
- All Information conveniently packed into 2 Categorized Pages
- Created for both 2D & 3D Artists
- Can be Printed or Used Digitally
- Comes in Colored and B&W Versions (4 pages total)
Tip is greatly appreciated!
**If you're looking to relax and de-stress from those crazy work days or just need a break from 'art mode', grab my FREE Artist Stress Relief Cheat Sheet with 9 essential stress relief tips for artists, a draw-able stress relief sheet to relieve stress & anxiety, & more!
OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES & GUIDES FOR ARTISTS HERE
Keep creating!