diesel
08-18-2009, 05:26 PM
Hi guys,
Here we will be discussing the line between making something your own, and just copying someone else i.e the use of stocks
The staff and I have been discussing what the line is, after seeing a few sigs that were really bordering on this line.
We are just here to show you what this line is, and how much work needs to be added to something to claim it as your own. Now with this, im talking about using stock pictures and wallpapers, not other peoples original art (sigs etc)
Here is an example that +dd. KRS25 has kindly whipped up.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6146/lolxmp.png
Now this sig looks pretty wicked ay? Got some cool effects, lighting and depth etc
Well now have a look at the original.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m127/acerv551/wallpaper_ugo_volt_01_1024.jpg
It is pretty clear that all +dd. KRS25 did was find a cool looking stock and did a few minor tweaks. He adjusted the lighting, blurred, sharpened and added some topaz filter.
This is where the line has been crossed. You need to do more to a stock/wallpaper to be able to claim it as your own art. You cant just add a couple of splatter brushes, add a gradient map, blur the background, sharpen the focal and call it a sig. You need to put more. Sure, doing all the above mentioned may take you a while, you may be new, inexperienced etc But you need to learn to create something original/artistic instead of editing someone elses art.
Lets have a look at the fair use doctrine, explained by +dd. jeffsigs;
Fair Use Doctrine:
Fair Use allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders.
To justify the use as fair, one must demonstrate how it either advances knowledge or the progress of the arts through the addition of something new
The third factor assesses the quantity or percentage of the original copyrighted work that has been imported into the new work. In general, the less that is used in relation to the whole, e.g., a few sentences of a text for a book review or (art in our case), the more likely that the sample will be considered fair use.
Looking at this, +dd. KRS25 'sig' above can be considered ripping, as he has used 'too much' of the original and has not added enough of his own work to the piece.
Using the fair use doctrine you can understand that rendering is allowed. As you are only using a small portion of a stock/wallpaper that it is deemed acceptable. So if KRS had rendered the character from the wallpaper then it would be fine.
We are not going to punish members who use stocks who don't 'add enough to it' but what we will do is discourage people from doing it. At sigbar we focus on helping the new up and coming designers improve and get better, and we believe focusing on originality and individuality will help you improve your skills more so then changing the color or adding some blur/brush to a pre-made stock.
If you have any questions or queries, or need help in determining whether or not you have 'added enough' then feel free to send a PM to any member of staff and we will gladly assist you.
Thanks,
Diesel
Sigbar Admin
Here we will be discussing the line between making something your own, and just copying someone else i.e the use of stocks
The staff and I have been discussing what the line is, after seeing a few sigs that were really bordering on this line.
We are just here to show you what this line is, and how much work needs to be added to something to claim it as your own. Now with this, im talking about using stock pictures and wallpapers, not other peoples original art (sigs etc)
Here is an example that +dd. KRS25 has kindly whipped up.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6146/lolxmp.png
Now this sig looks pretty wicked ay? Got some cool effects, lighting and depth etc
Well now have a look at the original.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m127/acerv551/wallpaper_ugo_volt_01_1024.jpg
It is pretty clear that all +dd. KRS25 did was find a cool looking stock and did a few minor tweaks. He adjusted the lighting, blurred, sharpened and added some topaz filter.
This is where the line has been crossed. You need to do more to a stock/wallpaper to be able to claim it as your own art. You cant just add a couple of splatter brushes, add a gradient map, blur the background, sharpen the focal and call it a sig. You need to put more. Sure, doing all the above mentioned may take you a while, you may be new, inexperienced etc But you need to learn to create something original/artistic instead of editing someone elses art.
Lets have a look at the fair use doctrine, explained by +dd. jeffsigs;
Fair Use Doctrine:
Fair Use allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders.
To justify the use as fair, one must demonstrate how it either advances knowledge or the progress of the arts through the addition of something new
The third factor assesses the quantity or percentage of the original copyrighted work that has been imported into the new work. In general, the less that is used in relation to the whole, e.g., a few sentences of a text for a book review or (art in our case), the more likely that the sample will be considered fair use.
Looking at this, +dd. KRS25 'sig' above can be considered ripping, as he has used 'too much' of the original and has not added enough of his own work to the piece.
Using the fair use doctrine you can understand that rendering is allowed. As you are only using a small portion of a stock/wallpaper that it is deemed acceptable. So if KRS had rendered the character from the wallpaper then it would be fine.
We are not going to punish members who use stocks who don't 'add enough to it' but what we will do is discourage people from doing it. At sigbar we focus on helping the new up and coming designers improve and get better, and we believe focusing on originality and individuality will help you improve your skills more so then changing the color or adding some blur/brush to a pre-made stock.
If you have any questions or queries, or need help in determining whether or not you have 'added enough' then feel free to send a PM to any member of staff and we will gladly assist you.
Thanks,
Diesel
Sigbar Admin