Character Images
 

How do you prefer to show what your character looks like? Does it vary from site to site? Are there any methods that make you uncomfortable?

I RP in forums and on tumblr. On sites like this, where I typically use OCs, usually I will draw them myself or take to a dollmaker if I'm having particularly bad art block. Sometimes I will also go commission pictures of them, if I get particularly attached.

On tumblr, I mostly have canon characters from existing visual media, therefore I use official images from said media - screencaps, scans, etc. On tumblr, icons are often used to convey tone. I have a great deal of fun making icons from said images.

I get immensely uncomfortable when people use a minor artist's work as a character reference without credit. If it's a professional artist, who has released the work to the public as long as it's not for sale, that doesn't bother me at all. If it's a faceclaim from existing media, and you're using official art, it doesn't bother me. But as a minor artist, taking artwork without credit really rubs me the wrong way.

I've seen a lot of people with similar feelings about using real people as faceclaims; my thought has always been, if it's an actor, model, singer, etc. - someone who's already in the public eye - and has NOT expressed discomfort with the idea, then I have no complaints; raiding a random person's Instagram, on the other hand, strikes me as kind of creepy.

Anyone else with two cents to spare?

I haven't thought about that before, the art use without giving credit to the artist.
I will have to start doing that from now on.

I feel weird about using a real life image of someone as a faceclaim. I have done it before with celebrities who are not as well known, but for the most part, I prefer to not use famous celebrities because when I see them, I already have their characters in mind and I worry my character will be too similar to theirs if I'm using their picture as a faceclaim.

Most of the time I use digital drawings from life of other people. (Such as celebrities or drawings used by reference) to avoid the whole, "I'm stealing someone's art" feeling. Then I also don't have to feel weird about using a real life celebrity's face as my own character.

I wondered if anyone would bring this up. I think about it a lot, but I tend to keep quite because people hate on me.

Some people get REALLY up in arms about using other's art for references, but I just don't care a lot? I'm an artist, went to art school, almost went down the professional track, mind you. Is it that big of a deal? I don't feel when people use pictures as references, that they're claiming the art as their own, or even that character really. People call this stealing art, but stealing art would be saying you drew it. I know I'm never giving any sign that's the case should I use a random reference. Maybe it makes some people unhappy. Maybe it doesn't; I suspect a lot of artists don't care. I've tried real hard to think of it as an artist and I just don't get where the harm is? If someone knows, please tell me.

I normally use some kind of reference, either a drawing or a face claim when I start off in an rp. I'll make avis or dollmakers too, but it's hard to recreate what I want accurately half the time. I almost always come up with my design first and then go looking for an image to fit it if an rp requires one (or even if not, I'm visual and I like references before I consider drawing them). Eventually I do commission and make my own art, usually shuffle out the borrowed references for the more accurate art made to match my character.

I feel...there's so much more to a character than the face though and it's way more offense to be stealing the innards of a character than the outers.

I consider it the same as art theft. You're taking someone else's creative property and using it without even bothering to ask permission. That could be someone else's original character that they designed and created, or someone else's original character that they commissioned or paid for. Even if you aren't claiming the art as your own, you're claiming the design as your own- Not as in, "I designed this." but "This is MY character's design." That's hella rude. You shouldn't be using anyone's creative property without their expressed permission.

I avoid using anything labeled as commissioned or an oc, but I really wouldn't give a hoot if anyone did that with my art. Half the people who use references either don't follow it exactly or flit through images and characters faster than I go through my socks and have no attachment to the physical appearance. It's just something you put in the front of the rp. I don't feel I've lost anything until it gets in the way or my profits or reputation.

And there's nothing wrong with feeling that way. But not every artist or commissioner shares your feelings, and they should have the final word on their particular piece of art. Its just common courtesy to ask instead of assume.

I was forced to make a tumblr account for my music tech class in my undergrad. I never used it after that until a friend was like...omg go on tumblr. So i logged in and the firat thing i saw was some post by a random user that i wasnt even following..it was just random...using a picture one of my beat friends drew OF ME as their profile picture and character pic. It weirded me out and pissed me off enough that i logged back out of tumblr and havent used it since.

I'll try to be more courteous, but isn't it actually VERY hard to find or contact the original artist for 90% of the images you find on the internet? Hell, how do I even know if what I found is an original art or design?

Maria: the fact that it's you makes it infinitely creepier.

Kat: Use tineye.com to reverse image search. You can upload images directly or link to the image wherever you found it, and it can find the oldest version online most of the time. It's not infallible, but it is certainly a start if you're trying to find the original artist of an image.

Personally, I use whatever images I can find when it comes to character images for roleplay. I do make a point of leaving watermarks and signatures alone and I never alter art unless it is to crop it. I also leave pictures alone if I see that they are marked not to be used. So, yeah, that's where I draw my lines at. I figure, leaving watermarks and signatures alone might possibly bring the original artist more traffic by using their art as a reference, and that can't hurt any. I also think it would be insulting if someone edited out a signature, watermark, or any other sort of editing aside from cropping and resizing (I hate it when I see obviously photoshopped art because someone wanted the hair color to match their character. It has to be insulting, like basically saying what the artist did was not good enough). I also like using dollmakers, as there are some really good ones out there that the artists and programmers of them have stated they can be used any way you want so long as it isn't for profit.

:/ It is pretty hard to find the original artist of something just because people tend to take things and spread them around without asking, or worst of all, edit and remove signatures and watermarks. In general, if I'm not sure, I leave it alone. But if you absolutely must, then I'd say give it your best effort to find the source (A reverse image search as Sarah suggested is a great start.) and always be willing to take it down if someone notices and contacts you with sufficient proof that they're the original owner.

Ah yeah, there is that, too. If anyone ever came to me and asked me to stop using their art, I would take it down right away and apologize. I have yet to have that happen, though, and any I have asked have been fine with it so far.

Another good resource for finding original artists is SauceNAO. I use it and tineye almost daily to source fanart found on tumblr.

...I have a long-running love-hate relationship with tumblr.