ao3feed-thorki replied to your photoset “IF YOU DIDN’T MAKE IT, YOU DON’T OWN IT Don’t be a jerk. Reblog, don’t...”
So Googling Loki images and posting fanart because they are pretty is a no-no? I may have committed this sin a few...thousand times.
Yeah, that’s basically the idea of what not to do.
I’m going to try to break it down, without sounding like a total bitch about it, but you know, it is a source of frustration for us since we deal with things like this on a daily basis.
See, the idea is that when you find an art you like, you have a protocoll you follow. It’s unspoken, because it’s built on respect towards the fanwork’s creator, and one would think that it shouldn’t have to be explained, but sadly it does.
What to do when you find art and fall in love with it
1. You locate the original artist. Mostly their artist name is on the art itself, so that’s normally not a hard thing to track down. If you’re lucky, you’re already viewing the original artist’s post. If there’s no name available, a reverse Google image search is always a good bet in order to find the original post/artist.
2. Next you can do two things.
2.a. Once you find the original post, if you really feel like a repost is the only way you want to promote their art, ask the artist if they’d be okay with you reposting their art to your blog/page/social media account, with credit and link to their original post. Wait for a reply. If they say yes, go for it. If they say no, it’s a no, move on to step 2.b. If you don’t get a reply, it’s still to be regarded as a no. Again, move on to 2.b
2.b. Reblog the original artist’s post to your blog, using the “reblog” button (the two looping arrows at the bottom of every tumblr post on your dashboard, next to the heart, aka “like” button.) This is the way most artists prefer you to promote their art, and I will explain why.
Why you should Reblog, not Repost
A reblog is basically you passing on the original post from the artist’s tumblr page to your followers. The artist will receive credit and notes for their work, as well as recognition, and easy access for fans who wish to see more of their work, and/or follow their blog.
By reposting, you take this away. The artist will no longer receive notes or updates, because these will all be added to your post, not theirs. Even if you tag them in it, or link to their blog, they will still not get any real credit or feedback for their work. What takes you 30 seconds to repost, with or without link, took them maybe +50 hours to make. And now that hard work, all those hours of looking up references, tweaking colors, shading, erasing, redrawing, swearing, and maybe even somtimes crying, because HOW DO FINGERS EVEN FUCKING WORK, all of that is being overlooked. Simply because some can’t be bothered to even look up the name that’s written on the art itself, and ask permission. (Again, that’s step 1, always.)
It all boils down to mutual respect.
If you make something, pour your soul into something, and then go to show it to your mutuals because you’re proud of that work, and someone yanks it our of your hand and goes, “yeah this is mine now,” and also ends up getting all the credit, wouldn’t that hurt? Wouldn’t that make you feel like all that work was for nothing? Don’t you think it would make you feel uninspired to make more of that stuff in the future?
We, as artist, realize that not everyone reposts art and fanwork with the intent of taking credit. Most people just don’t think further. Maybe because they’re not artists themselves, or because they don’t have friends who are artists who can explain why or how this works. They come into fandom and see other people do it and assumes that it’s okay, and that is why we together must make an effort to change it.
If you see art blogs with NO reblogs, only resposts (aka. no source on their posts other than their own blog) don’t reblog from them. Make the effort, start at Step 1 and reblog the art properly, like the artist intended.
Don’t claim ownership to something you didn’t make. And even if you repost it and add “credit to the artist” at the bottom, thinking that people can Google the artist’s signature, that’s still not proper credit. The artist will never know that you just reposted their art, they will never see those notes, read those comments, feel the appreciation for their work.
So in short, and to come full circle to the original tagline of this post:
Don’t be a jerk. Reblog. Don’t repost.
//Every fanartist, everywhere.
andulkaphoto
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