PLEASE ASK PERMISSION BEFORE POSTING OTHER ARTISTS’ ART!!!

iluvfairytail:

iluvfairytail:

Reposting without sourcing is bad, but so is reposting someone’s art without asking their permission first! 

Pixiv, deviantART AND tumblr (yes tumblr) require EVERYONE to get permission before posting an artist’s art elsewhere.  It’s part of their terms of use and community guidelines.  I recently found out about this (around January) and I have completely changed how I run this blog.

You should too.  Please be considerate of artists and ask their permission first!  There are a few other blogs I see who do, and I thank you.  But there are also plenty of blogs (popular ones too) that do not ask permission and are posting art from artists I KNOW FOR A FACT DO NOT WANT THEIR ART REPOSTED or already have tumblr blogs on which they post their art.

Ask their permission – most artists will be very grateful that you ask, but may still decline.  This happens A LOT on pixiv for me, but I still respect their wishes.  Some artists never reply which is an implicit denial of permission.  Unless the artist EXPLICITLY gives you permission privately, or publicly on their profile, DO NOT REPOST THEIR ART.

I know it’s hard when you find a really awesome artist, and you just want to share, but unless that artist lets you share, refrain!  Many artists, especially Japanese artists on pixiv, have stopped posting their art completely because of this!  So PLEASE STOP.

EDIT: This applies pretty much exclusively to FAN ART, not art produced by Mashima, the animation studio, spin-off artists (BOKU, Watanabe, Shirato) and any other officially licensed artwork.  Unlike the aforementioned artists, fan artists can actually get in trouble for making fan art if it’s distributed too widely/makes a big enough profit illegally.  

This is especially a problem for overseas artists, especially those in Asia!  If their fan artwork is spread too widely/made into bootleg products without their knowledge, THEY will get in trouble, not the people who stole the artwork.  That is why it is especially important to ASK PERMISSION of fan artists.  They need to be able to control the distribution of their work – and that is also why many Asian artists let me share their artwork on the condition I do not use it for business (i.e. make a profit) – which I would never do, but there are A LOT of people out there who do!

So, posting any officially licensed artwork, Mashima’s tweets, and artwork by any artists officially connected to the Fairy Tail franchise, is fine as long as you credit or don’t claim as your own work.  Well, technically, gifs, edits, colorings and reposts of officially licensed artwork/animation aren’t “legal” per se, but are largely overlooked on the internet – as long as someone isn’t trying to make money off of it!  Many copyright holders recognize these things as ways for fans to express their enjoyment of a franchise (and it’s also free advertising!)

(Just felt like clearing that up a bit – but do let me know if any of the information above is incorrect.  I’ve learned most of this through my own research over the past few months, but I could be wrong in some points!)