THE ART THIEF MANUAL

During my career as the „Perverted Art Thief Hunter” I have encountered various plagiarists. I don’t consider myself to be an uber N00B killer (Hell, it takes more than just one person to get the scum banned! So, teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!), but I’m no newbie. And I’d like to share my experience with you.
Why? Some of you may find this essay simply amusing. Some may want to use it as a tutorial. Or just to compare my stories with their own. But let’s not focus on the introduction, and cut to the chase, shall we?

TYPICAL ART THIEF LINES (and what do I think about them)

“You’re just jealous!”
Yes, I am… Of the original artist’s talent, not some low wannabe, who doesn’t even try to lift up a pencil.

“It’s not mine! My brother/sister/cousin/friend/whatever made it!”
In that case I suggest your brother/sister/cousin/friend/whatever get their own account.

“It’s a wallpaper!”
Putting something in the “wallpaper” category doesn’t automatically make I yours. I once found a plagiarist that submitted everything as “wallpaper”, even though most images we’re in a resolution that could not fit on any desktop. And one more thing: Sadly, you can only post wallpapers you’ve made of stock images. So don’t even think about piling up cropped pics on a background and calling it yours. Same goes to banners, icons, etc. And one more thing, don’t even think about using some one’s art as a wallpaper on your desktop, making a screenshot and then posting it along with dozens of other screenshots in the “desktop screenshot” category.

“You’re abusing me!”
Well excuse me, princess, but if you consider a comment “Posting official artwork on dA is against copyright policy, please remove it.” to be abusive, then your life (especially social life) must be really sad.

“It’s not mine but I gave credit!”
When you post something on dA you automatically claim it as your own work. So giving credit on a pic unless its an art trade, commission, gift art, collab/coloring* or photomanipulation* won’t change a thing. It’s like riding a stolen car with the words “This ain’t mine!” painted on it.
*Colorings and photomanips still need the permission of the original artist, unless they clearly state that their work is free to use.

“I’ll watch you and you’ll forget about the whole story, ok?”
No, not ok. Don’t try to bribe me, that’s one. I value my watchers and don’t want someone, who doesn’t respect copyrights to be one of them, that’s two. The same goes to faving/commenting my stuff.

“This isn’t tracing! It’s referencing!”
People with common sense know the difference between copying an image, and using it only as an example to help improve. If you want to trace something that bad, then trace your own photos/drawings.

“Everyone else is doing it!”
Well, then “everyone else” also need to be tracked down and reported. Mass syndrome…

“Why do you hate me?”
Line popular among the youngest thieves (some even too young to join dA). Don’t try to move my sympathy, kid. I sold it on e-bay a long time ago. Don’t expect people to kiss you on the forehead for something like that (stealing art that is). Get a new account and start over. This time honestly.

“You are mean and make me cry!”
(Similar to the line above.) Poor damn baby! Did you ever think how people you are stealing from might feel? No? Then cut the emo act.

“I’m a fan! I can’t help it!”
Lemme tell you something. Stealing artwork from a series you “wub” so much, is not what decent fans do. It’s like saying “I’m Carlos Santana’s greatest fan!” and then stealing his guitar.

“You’re an art thief yourself!” (because I draw fan art)
(This one always cranks me up, although it happened to me about three times.) If there's a special category called “fan art”, then why isn’t there a category “some-one-else’s-work-I-wanna-post-because-I’m-so-lame”? And another thing, fan art is your own interpretation of a character, which requires to put your brain and hand into drawing. Stealing art doesn’t.

“Don’t act like you own dA!”
Lord gracious, I wouldn’t want to own deviantART, even if they’d pay me! I couldn’t handle such a big responsibility. Besides, I’m a very lazy person. But back to the subject. The admins can’t be everywhere, and I think it’s my duty (ok, that sounded lame and nerdy) to help them find/ban art thieves.

“You don’t know who you’re dealing with!”
Yes I know exactly who am I dealing with – an art thief who sucks at intimidation.

“You can’t do nothing to me!”
Ooh, a rebellious one! You’re right, I can’t. But the admins sure can.

“I’m older than you so I know better!”
Hey, grandpa/grandma! If you’re older, why doncha give a good example to the kids, and start acting like a decent deviant?

“No pervert bitch is gonna tell me what to do!”
Oh, so you took the time and browsed my gallery, how nice. Here’s a tip, free of charge – erotica, artistic nude, soft hentai (but not porn!) is legal, unlike art theft.

“I don’t have a scanner so I can’t upload my own kickass art!”
That’s no excuse. If you really want to share your art, then you can do a photo of your pic (although this often looks sloppy), go ask someone who has a scanner to scan some pics for you, scan them at places like libraries/school etc.

“My English is poor so I didn’t know I’m doing wrong!”
DeviantART uses mostly English. The policies, FAQ, help desk issues, etc. are written in this language. But ok, let’s say that’s not a problem. But you know what? Not understanding the rules doesn’t mean you don’t have to adhere to them.

“I can’t draw!”
I rarely shout, but… IF YOU CAN’T DRAW THEN WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?! This is the stupidest and lamest excuse I ever came across. Now, I know there are lurkers and art appreciators, who don’t draw. There are also photographers, writers, poets/other people. Okay. So if you can’t draw then don’t post anything. Got that? Same goes to lack of photography/literature/artistic craft/other skills.

“I don’t know how to remove those pictures!”
You knew how to join, set up a profile and upload stuff so don’t play dumb… er.

“I want to share this pic with everyone!”
That’s what Photobucket and Imageshack we’re made for, not dA.

“I have permission of “insert name of a big game/anime/cartoon/movie whatever company!”
Stop lying. I seriously doubt that Disney, for instance, let you use their official artwork. So don’t make a fool out of yourself with stupid lies like that.

“I have a subscription, you don’t, so shut up!”
A plagiarist with a subscription is a sight so rare that it’s almost legendary. Spending some money to change the “~” into a “*” doesn’t make you a better person/artist. I’m gonna use an old cliché: some things money can’t buy. There are artists that have a “*” but seriously SUCK, while a lot of artists with the “~” have a talent that “*”, “=”, and even “$” or “^” can only dream of. BTW, every art thief, even with the “*” will sooner or later have “!”, next to their nick.

“I’m on dA longer, newbie!”
This one was common when I was new to dA, and now is no longer accurate. I’ve never seen a plagiarist that lasted more than about 2 months.

“ #%#$&%&*%$&@$&@%$ ” (random curses, insults, threats…)
*yawn* (clicks the report button)

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”
Stop stealing. Stop stealing. Stop stealing.

“No, I’m the victim here! Everybody else is stealing from me!”
There’s a good method to verify this excuse. Check the date of submissions. But sometimes it’s not even necessary. Some kids are naive enough, that they think other people will believe that a professional artist (Luis Royo for example) is stealing from THEM. So idiotic, that it’s almost cute. Almost.

“I am not stealing from X! I AM X!
Identity issues? I suggest you go see a specialist.

“Well, your art SUCKS!”
This line makes me feel like I’m back in kindergarten. It happened a few times to me and my fellow hunters. Yes, my stuff isn’t perfect and it doesn’t make you stare at it in ave. But it’s my art. Tell me, who will you respect more? A beginner, who tries his/her best to improve, or someone who only uses ctr-c and ctrl-v?

“Don’t ban me, please please please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111!!!!!!”
It’s not my decision if you’re gonna get banned or not. Go wine to the admins. Besides, you got into this mess yourself. So deal with the consequences.

“Shut up or I’m going to steal your art!”
Great, it will be much easier to prove you’re a thief.

“Aww, come on, we’re from the same country/fandom/city/whatever. Don’t be mean to your homie!”
You make me wanna puke my guts out. NO, I do NOT want to have ANYTHING in common with a slimy, dirty, false, suck-up thief!

“Fuck off, or I’m gonna hack into your computer!”
Lemme see… You don’t have the right age to even be a member, you can’t draw a straight line, but you DO have outstanding computer skills? Interesting. Now why won’t you put that divine mind of yours into learning some drawing skills, instead of idle threats?

“I’m badass! You hear me? BADASS! So don’t mess with me!”
Didn’t you mean “dumbass”?

“My daddy/uncle/brother/whatever is a policeman/lawyer/judge/prosecutor/whatever!”
So? The day Canadian (for instance) law enforcers will raid my house, will be the day I stop smoking weed. Oh, by the way, if your family is so keen on these issues, why don’t you ask them what does the word “copyright” mean?

“You have no life! Back off!”
Says the thief, who instead of spending their life on being a good person that wants to improve at art, goddamn steals and uses weak excuses. Drawing, appreciating art and caring for it is not having no life. Having no life is wasting it on trying to chew off someone else’s talent.

“Nothing on the Internet really belongs to anyone! I CAN TAKE WHATEVER I WANT!!!”
No. You can’t. And if you are so smart, I wonder what would you do if someone stole your passwords to any accounts you have on  the web including tour bank account. Hey, it’s the Internet after all!

“I don’t care whatever you’re saying looser! I’m not even reading your stupid comments! So there!”
Translate: I have no logic arguments and I’m chickening out of this conversation trying not to turn out a coward and a fool. (Fail.)

“I have autism! You can’t say anything bad to me!”
I can. And I will. Having autism or any other dysfunction is NOT an excuse to act like a tit. It will not shield you from responsibility of your actions.

TYPICAL ART THIEF BEHAVIOR

Replies to every compliment, but ignores critique and troublesome questions.
Okay, maybe the artist just doesn’t like critique, but why doesn’t he/she answer something like this? “Lovely, what kind of program did you use?” Suspicious.

Ignores questions like “Did you draw this”?
Ignoring this basic question is equal with admitting your guilt.

Hides comments.
Coward.

Hides comments + blocks.
Even bigger coward, plus with the lack of balls to continue the argument. BTW, blocking doesn’t disable the “report policy violation” option. And you can only block up to 100 users.

Replies politely on his/her frontpage/deviation, but leaves a flame at your frontpage/notebox/e-mail.
That’s being a false little bitch. If the scum would act like an asshole on his/her territory, his/her watchers would see his/her real image. But no, they have to keep the reputation of a “talented-but-still-modest-sweet-lil-‘ol-thing”. Too bad that reputation is built on some one else’s hard work.

Writes a long journal entry of what a victim he/she is, so his/her loyal fans can burn the none believer.
Hiding behind some one else’s back and not having the guts, to stand up and admit the truth about your art, is one of the things that I hate the most about plagiarists. The second one is being a little drama queen.

Posting more and more stolen pics, with a special dedication for you.
This happened to me twice. Nice, but I rather receive gift art that’s not stolen ;)

Says he/she is very sorry, but then does nothing.
This will sound cruel – never trust a thief. Don’t believe they will make up, even if they promise on anything that is holy. I like to check on them every once in a while, just to make sure they’re playing nice.

Writes grammatically incorrect, with tons of retarded slang, literally raping your eyes.
Do art thieves have some kind of secret code or something? Maybe they think that their grotesque writing will make them cooler? Or are they just mentally disadvantaged? Here’s an example so you can decide yourself: ”LIEK I DR3W THIS OFFA MY PC YA N00B, U PEEPS KEEP 8UGGING ME CUS UR JEALOUZ AND I DONT CARE SO FUCK YOU U STOOPID N00BZ!!!”


HOW TO TELL AN ART THIEF?

The level of skill doesn’t match the deviant’s age.
I understand there are child prodigies, but it’s a very, very, very, small chance you’ll find one.

You have the feeling you’ve seen the pic somewhere before.
Try to remember! The deviation you are dealing with could be a rip-off or tracing! Check TinEye. But keep in mind this could be a legal coloring/photomanip/etc., so read the artist’s description carefully.

Lot’s of hidden comments.
This doesn’t have to mean someone’s an art thief, although it mostly does. Hey, maybe someone’s got a nasty troll or spammer?

Various styles of drawing/coloring.
Art thieves don’t have enough intelligence to realize, that other people can tell the difference between styles.

The signature on the deviation doesn’t match the deviant’s nickname.
Stealing someone’s art and not removing their signature is pure STUPIDITY. If you’re gonna steal art, at least do it intelligently so I can have more fun reporting you! ;P

Gallery stuffed with popular art.
Most art thieves steal from series that are currently hip. Right now, there’s a plague of Naruto tracers!

Similar, laconic titles.
Mostly: “Manga Girl”, “Anime Girl”, “Japan Schoolgirls”, “Kakashi 12”, “Fantasy Dragon”, and so on, and so on…

Laconic artist description.
I see a great drawing and all the artist (90% chance that it’s an art thief) has to say is: “…”, “:D”, “good”, “[repeats the title]”, “***”, “drawing”, “I like it”, …

Pics with bad quality and/or small resolution.
This often happens when some wannabe steals pics by directly copying/pasting them from Google, etc.

HOW TO FIND ART THIEVES?

Search in popular art.
Remember what I said about Naruto tracers?

Browse the “newest” section.
If you’ll find something too pretty for the “newest” section make sure it’s not stolen!

Join an art thief hunting club.
Teamwork is better than being a lone hunter ;P

Read journals.
Especially the popular artists. Sadly, the price of talent and fame are piranhas constantly stealing from their galleries.

Have a limited amount of trust for newly met deviants.
You never know… (But don’t get paranoid!)

Search their favorites and friends list.
Thieves often have stolen stuff in their favs or watch other plagiarists. This really facilitates the hunt!

BODYGUARDS

What’s a Bodyguard? Someone who takes any critique pointed at the art thief personally, and attacks everyone who will dare to expose the thief. Bodyguards are usually friends from real life, family members with their own dA account, suck-up/fanatic watchers. You can group them in four basic categories:

1. Pit Bull – this one jumps you with out thinking with something like “Back off from “X”, bitch!”, or “LEAVE “X” ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111!”. Yup, if this reminded you of Chris Crocker that you basically got the picture. Pit Bulls are mostly friends, or watchers. Fanatics. They’re so blinded, that talking with them is pointless. They tend to shit bricks.

2. Big Brother/Sister – an overprotective  family member. This ones mostly thinks of you as the Public Enemy number 1, but still acts calm (well, mostly). Their devotion comes from blood ties, so there’s nothing you can do about it. Just be polite and ignore them.

3. Faithful Friend – the less irritating and aggressive type. They just can’t believe that their friend could do something like theft. They usually say something like “I know “X”, he/she is a really good person, believe me, he/she would never steal from anyone.” Warning – thieves sometimes use them as shields.

4. White Knight – Appears out of the blue to rescue the damsel (thief) from the monster (hunter). They mostly aren’t even connected with the thief. They just happen to be passing by, suddenly spot you and the thief and then something strange happens. Their IQ evaporates and they switch into combat mode defending the thief with their own body if they have to. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s stupidity, maybe too much fairytales. Or they want to have a noble excuse to be pushy cunts.

5. Sockpuppet – Sometimes the thief thinks he/she is so smart that he/she creates a new account in order to pretend he/she is someone else and defend his/her ass. Dear God. As if dA hasn’t got enough useless accounts. The sockpuppet is easy to spot; uses the same grammar and phrases as the thief, the sockpuppet account is created shortly after the thief’s account in order for some hot self-ass-kissing action. Furthermore the sockpuppet focuses on the thief only. The sockpuppet watches the thief  and no one else, comments only on the thief’s profile and only favs the thief’s stolen art. Poor dear, having no friends so he/she makes them up!

How to deal with Bodyguards? Three basic methods – Ignoring them (the easiest one). Giving them some proof (this might hurt, enrage, or shock them. There is a high chance they just won’t believe you). Talking them down with this simple line – “It’s nice you want to help a friend out, but don’t treat “X” like a baby. If he/she is innocent, then he/she can defend his/her good name without your help.”

Whatever method you use, remember that they’re just bystanders, not your target.

TO THE HUNTERS

So you’ve decided to become an art thief hunter? Congrats! Here’s some advice:

Don’t think you’re some kind of superior Divine Crusader!
NO, you’re still just a member. You have to follow the same rules like everybody else. Remember that!

Never-ever abuse even the worse art thief!
But also don’t treat them like babies. Call me conservative, but I do believe that some kids need a good ‘ol fashioned spanking to learn their lesson. You might call it shock therapy. *cough* bitchslap *cough*

Do not work out your own little frustrations on art thieves!
That’s immature and plain stupid. If you had a bad day, and you spot a plagiarist, just save a link to their gallery and make use of it when you’ll feel calmer. Believe me, you can spare yourself a lot of embarrassment and nerves.

This is NOT a competition!
You are not doing this to have higher “scores” than other hunters. If you are, stop it! Teamwork! Leave your ambitions behind.

What to do if you make a mistake?
Yeah, I misjudged some deviants a few times and accused them of being art thieves. What did I do then? The only possible thing I could do – I apologized.

FEW LAST WORDS

Art thieves are bastards. Sometimes just idiots unaware of what they’re doing, or silly kids. Don’t hesitate to report their asses. But don’t flame them! Start the conversation politely… if they reply rude, then you can spare yourself mercy (But remember, there’s a VERY thin like between being sarcastic/ironic and abusive). Hey, you don’t even need to say anything to them! Just click the report button. And remember this one thing. We’re a community. We respect each other, and don’t steal from anyone. Art is for admiring, loving and RESPECTING.

Happy hunting!

Bydgoszcz
09.01.2008
AirieFeristo.

Last edit:
04.09.2009