CALL OUT POST FOR ORISONI/MALEFICARUM
Due to the inconsistencies in style her style, I had suspicions that Ariel might be tracing. Deciding to look further into it, I came across a stock photo that looks remarkably similar to this piece of hers here:
From then on more and more evidence of her having traced many, if not all pieces of her art began to emerge. Not only has she been tracing various stock photos:
She used one of the stock photos to trace a commission for tumblr user @looktothehorizon
Sheâs also traced non stock photography
T.v screen caps
And different other peopleâs artwork, one belonging to tumblr user @elvishness and another who I couldnât find the source for.
Tracing stock photos is one thing, but to trace another artistâs work, whether it be their photography or drawings is completely unacceptable. To do that and also charge money for it is beyond believable. @orisoni if youâre going to go around policing other people, claiming that theyâre copying your art and stealing your ideas, maybe you should learn not to do that yourself?Â
The thing is, I donât think any of this personâs art is traced. It does look like they referenced or were inspired by all of the pictures youâve found, but there are pretty obvious differences between their art and the original pictures that would be hard for someone who was tracing to make. Additionally, the bottom two pictures are poses that arenât exactly rare in the art world.Â
Referencing photos is an excellent tool for every artist. I once had an art teacher who told me that you should never draw something unless you have a reference to look at. I donât really believe thatâs necessary, but her point was that there is this culture thatâs recently arisen online in which referencing pictures reflects badly on someoneâs skill. Every time I reference a picture from sight only, I worry that someone is going to come along and do exactly what youâve done to this artist. Plenty of artists have taken pose or piece inspiration from stock photos or other artists, and Iâm curious as to why youâve chosen to attack this particular artist for something so common.
 Accusing this artist of tracing, especially tracing for a commission, is a serious claim that could damage this artistâs reputation needlessly. All youâve really done is shown that they possibly referenced these pictures. You cannot prove that they traced them (Iâm inclined to believe they didnât) and itâs not really your place to police their references or sic the Internet Mob⢠on them for a crime (?) that youâre not even sure that they committed. Finally, whether or not they traced the commission is absolutely none of your business, and is between the artist and the person who commissioned them.
I BET THEY TRACED THAT AMAZING COLORING TOO RIGHT
This witchhunt is actually disgusting-
I agree with cellartater on this one. Referencing poses is a key things that many artists do to make sure their work is accurate. It also helps further the ability of an artist. I often look up pose reference to make rough base poses from to practice my art flow. Honestly, trying to flame an artist who is using reference for POSES alone and claiming they are tracing everything is justâŚ
Every artist is guilty of tracing poses to start off before they gain confidence and draw the poses better and easier on their own. Reference is always the starting point.
This isnât a beginning artist, she has been drawing for 5+ years. No one once said that artists were not allowed to reference. Every artist does it. Thatâs not the problem here. The problem is tracing/heavily referencing something and then not giving credit to who youâre referencing from, denying claims of tracing/heavily editing, and blocking or ignoring anyone who tries to discuss the matter with you. Referencing how an artist usually does would not result in the art being able to line up almost identically with the reference. All Iâm asking is to not lie and give credit to those who deserve it.Â
Hereâs the thing though. Artists are ALWAYS learning how to better themselves. Five plus years drawing is still pretty small experience considering most artists have spent almost their lifetimes drawing. Thatâs not even considering how fast an artist can pick up anatomy and shading naturally without having to use references. And even if they are super talented, most artists will continue to use them. Iâve been drawing for 30+ years and rely on looking to photos for references to this day. I had to especially chuckle when you mentioned one of the pictures closely lined up to the hands. OF COURSE it does. Hands are the freaking devil!
I can tell you that artists reference things differently too. Some trace, some simply eyeball it. The link you put up is simply one way an artist can reference.Â
The artist you talk about in your initial post simply used photos as references for for her fanart. If she had simply redrawn the same people in those pictures or used the same subjects in the other art shown, but sheâs clearly changed the subjects at hand and used a different art style to call these pictures her own.
Anyway, a great example of one artist ripping off another is the below gif. The below example is art theft. The stuff youâve posted isnât.Â
Just because she adds things to the drawing and fixes things her own way to make it to her liking doesnât mean itâs a new art piece or it hasnât been traced. Sheâs STILL using theses images as a base and not simply a reference. Like I mentioned above, all Iâm asking is to be honest and give credit where itâs due.Â
Posts like these honestly absolutely terrify me.
I use references. A lot. Iâm still uncomfortable with proportions in my less-cartoony style and using those references is how I improve. Every reference I use is either from free stock, stock Iâve paid to use (which is NOT as expensive as OP makes it out to be), pose reference libraries, or other sources such as pornography (live action).
But you know what? Thatâs why Iâm so open about using them. Hell, on my commission page I openly offer slight discounts if someone comes to me with a good free stock reference for a piece they want done.
Posts like these demonize artists for trying to use every resource available to them in an attempt to improve their craft. Posts like these try to ruin artistsâ reputation for no obvious gain. They are malicious. And it scares me that people think these callouts are okay.
You know what else pisses me off? This line right here:
Due to the inconsistencies in style her style, I had suspicions that Ariel might be tracing.
People change the way they draw all the time, and itâs not always some gradual improvement. Using my own stuff as an example? I have two very, VERY different styles. Both of which are constantly shifting and evolving. Iâll figure out a new way of drawing eyes that I like, or some such thing, and itâll be night and day from piece to piece.
Saying âinconsistenciesâ in the style prompted you to spend what must have been HOURS hunting down the references used for each of these images is an excuse. If it makes you feel better, all power to you. But what this post comes down to is this: The OP wanted to hurt this artist. I donât know why, and quite frankly I donât care.
I hope whatever misplaced sense of justice or victory they got from it was worth it, because this shit doesnât fly in the artist community.Â
OP: You will be proven wrong time and time again, and each time you will circle back with the same âIâm right youâre wrong lalalaâ logic.
Referencing is not art theft.Â
Whatever crusade you were trying to start against this artist has failed.Â
Sit down while you still have some dignity left.
Reblogging this because there is a very important lesson to be learned from the reblogs that came up in Discord today.Â
Like seriously the fact they even included the stock image ones is pretty damn weird. Theyâre stocknimages, most of them are available for use so its not art theft.
Also they diverge pretty quickly so its clearly not traced and being used for proportions and poses
