As with any justice system, that of deviantart is horrifically faulted.

I could make this into a long rant of a journal, but I think the following will speak for itself.

[link] This person has posted pictures that are obviously from photobucket. These images have been reported numerous times each. Each time the case was closed and the blatantly stolen artwork was not removed. This made me loose so much faith in the deviantART staff.

More thieves:

[link]


I plan to add to this list until by the power of we deviants, not the unreliable moderators and staff, we may cut down the amout of art thieves on this community, or at least let them know that we know they are phonies.

EDIT: Good news everyone! All stolen work from both of these thief's galleries has been removed ^^ Thus showing that it is the dedication of normal deviants to the eradication of art theft that makes a difference.


~WHAT CAN I DO TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO ART THEFT?~

*Report the deviation. If you can find the original image and provide the URL to it, this will provide a much greater chance of the image being removed than if it was to go without evidence. Finding original images is made quick and easy with [link]

*Break down the thief's support system. Politely inform anyone who has commented or faved the work of the thief that it is stolen, and if it has been favorited ask them to please remove it from their favorites. Most people will do this gladly, but not all. There is nothing we can do about this minority. If you can, show the original work or name the original artist to prove that it is indeed stolen.

*Spread awareness of art theft to friends, Watchers and anyone else who will listen. No one likes having their art stolen and we can all make sure that this does not happen.

*If you are suspicious of people stealing your art, consider adding a signature or watermark to your images. They may be ugly but it's better than being robbed.


~soysparrow's Guide to Catching Thieves (this woman is awesome):

I usually browse the front page/ search keywords that are commenly stolen (anime, anime girl, wolf, neko etc bs...)

then i just look for things that don't look right (or look too right?)
* The most obvious if Ive seen it before on the internet somewhere
* I click every mind blowing piece of art no matter what
* Anything that looks colored over
* Anything with words added to it
* Any piece that is way better than everything in their gallery
* Any piece that is in a completely different medium
* All the pieces are in completely different styles
* Anytime someone says their full name and the signature on the art is...not that name?
* Any piece with some amazing skill in one part but fails at basic design elements in another part (amazing wrinkles in clothes but no face?)
* Any piece that is cropped strangely (especially the bottom where a name or signature would be)
* Tiny images
* Low res
* Newer user
* Weird or vague titles (such as just calling a picture 'anime girl' or something)
* Vague or obvious descriptions of how the piece is made(such as I made this with the computer or I made this in photoshop)
* Vague or obvious artists comments ( such as HES MINE or a lot of the time just '...' )
* A user defending the fact that they DID draw it (if its your art you don't beg people to believe that you drew it ya know?)

and of course good ol' [link] always helps you