Take Your Stupid Pills

EDIT: Some people seem to be misinterpreting the purpose of this picture. I don't actually wish death to the people who "steal" my artwork; this is a gross exaggeration, as are most of the pictures in my gallery, meant to reflect the frustration a lot of artists feel when they find their work uncredited on another site that has been used without their permission or awareness, or used as someone's tacky background on a website.

Some people are also concerned about my decision to use Malfatto - despite him being Ubisoft's copyrighted material and not my own original design - which they feel contradicts the message. On the contrary, it was supposed to 1.) be a pun off the fact that he is a doctor in the game Assassin's Creed and would therefor be the one "prescribing" people medication, and 2.) to dismiss the theory that simply because it's a piece of fanart it is free game for anyone to use.

It may be someone else's character, but it is my own artwork. I don't claim to own Malfatto, the same way I don't get mad when other people draw fan art of my characters, in fact I love seeing others' interpretations of them.
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Some people get upset when I get offended for the re-use or redistribution of my art, so to avoid any confusion in the future I thought I'd clarify here and now what I personally consider to be plagiarism of my art:

Generally, if it's in my gallery it STAYS in my gallery. If it's in my gallery it does NOT belong nor need to be in yours. I don't see why my pictures need to be in your Facebook album or on your Myspace page, especially when I haven't been asked or notified for permission. I'm not too bothered if I'm credited or linked back to next to whatever picture has been used, but most of the time people don't do this. I'd also like to know when my work's been used, so is it really so hard to ask?

If I drew it it's NOT your work to use as a background, to crop down for profile pictures or icons, or to chop up for photo-manipulations, since it's not your work.

If it's my original character it most certainly is NOT yours to use, copy, trace, or redistribute at all in any way, shape, or form. I've had people get mad at me because one of my Watchers told them off for using my own original character as their website background! I won't get mad if it's fanart, but passing off my OCs as your own and using them as profile pictures, backgrounds, or as your own characters in chat-rooms or forums is a sure-fire way to get on my bad side.

If it says "Do not copy, trace, redistribute, or reuse without permission" then DON'T DO IT!!!


It's only common courtesy to ask before using something that isn't yours, be it a piece of writing, a picture of someone else's character, or even fanart. I trust we've all been to school; haven't you ever been lectured about plagiarism? That's using someone else's material without due credit or permission, and where I come from you can get expelled quiet easily for that. This is no different, so please, respect the artist's wishes.

If you're still unsure whether an artist will get mad at you - or me, in this case - just drop me a note. I'm sure others feel the same way and would appreciate the effort.


--Sak
Malfatto (C) Ubisoft/Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood