What No One Will Tell You [But You Should Know] About Art Theft

When I was in my early twenties, I drove my dad’s 1986 Lincoln Continental that I “improved” by attaching a cheap portable CD player (featuring the latest anti–skip technology) with velcro to the dashboard that then ran a cassette adapter to the stereo system. It was the early aughts and I had a humongous portfolio of homemade mix CDs thanks to Napster and Limewire. I know, I know; I’m even cooler than you ever imagined.

2002

Less than a week after pimping my ride, someone crashed a brick through the window and ripped the CD player and portfolio from inside the Lincoln. The door was unlocked, the CD player retailed for $!0, the window replacement cost me $400, I was picking shards of glass from the car for the next three years, and truth be told I was more embarrassed how much Spice Girls the thief would discover on my CD mixes than anything else. This is a relatively mild case, but theft is such a personal crime that it’s hard not to feel extreme anger and frustration over even minor infractions.

The irony is how little we all think about that individual connection. I just admitted the hardest part was getting over the theft of the music I illegally downloaded (and still had the MP3s on my hard drive back home anyway). So this is all to say no one is truly blameless, and to my topic at hand, we’ve all taken part in online art theft in particular to some degree. Maybe you downloaded something from Google to put in a PowerPoint presentation or make a fun birthday card for a family member. I’ve seen tons of Facebook and Twitter banners or avatars that certainly weren’t created by the user or credited to the artists that did. Consider this blog post your public shaming and absolution on the matter. May the almighty and merciful Lord grant you indulgence, absolution, and remission of your sins. Amen.

Seriously though, the main reason I want to write about online art theft is to show you just how poorly the odds are stacked against the creators, why it affects everyone, and how you can help. There are so many insanely frustrating and infuriating stories that I reached out to four of my artist friends who have experienced art theft so that I could get help to paint you a picture of how common this actually is and submit real experiences for your consideration.

Justin Piatt is a young up and coming artist who was flabbergasted to find someone else he did not know selling his art on various merchandise on RedBubble.com

“I feel frustrated, helpless, and taken advantage of. I was slightly flattered at first because I've never had this happen before and it almost feels like validation that my artwork is finally good enough to get stolen, but that quickly faded.

Now I just think about how any money, however little it might be, that these thieves receive from this is money that could have gone toward my rent or taking care of my wife. And it makes me mad because my struggling so much to make a career out of being a ‘starving artist’, and I'm literally having the food taken out of my mouth.”

The theme of being flattered at first is definitely a running one, but similarly most artists also know how difficult it is to sell their own stuff. People who just steal content tend to be a lot more savvy when it comes to online sales and can turn a profit quickly. I should mention that Red Bubble is actually pretty quick when it comes to taking down stolen art, but that’s where the good deeds stop. The seller is usually free to continue using their shop and whatever sales they’ve made using stolen art does not affect their remittance. Red Bubble also insists you not put these sellers on blast but rather let them handle things.

“Handling things” is where $#!t really hits the fan. There’s basically two ways to go about calling a thief out. Neither works well. The first is old west style, contacting the individual directly. Now keep in mind you’ve just found some schmuck who is openly and arrogantly selling your art, so realistically, you’re most likely in a foul mood. “Hey buttface! That’s mine! Take it down or I’ll call my lawyer!” Yeah right. Often, the seller can actually file a claim against you for harassment and now you’re the one on trial. Plus, hostility is usually met with more hostility. When you have art stolen and the chance to confront the seller directly, you have to eat a larger–than–humanly acceptable slice of humble pie and politely ask them to remove the stolen item for sale, “Please and thank you, hugs and kisses.” Barf. My personal experience is that 9 times out of 10, they’ll play nice… for the time being, but now you have to keep vigilant watch on this kleptomaniac, because they will almost certainly do it again.

Now to be fair, there are very rare instances where online art theft turns out to be a misunderstanding, or at the very least, a lovely kind of ignorance. My good friend Jamie Carroll tells this sweet story:

“Someone was printing a Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem image (a licensed piece that I created for Disney and Acme Archives' Dark Ink department) and putting it on socks. I contacted the site and the person responsible. It turned out to be a couple of kids raising money for some school thing. They were just using Googled images. There's a lot of that. They took it down, I received an apology and a pair of socks.”

They also just might not respond. Why should they? There’s the likelihood the site they’re selling your stuff on doesn’t allow direct communication anyway, so now it’s on you to report theft to the web host. Man, get ready to have even more of your precious time taken from you. As mentioned, Print On Demand (POD) sites like Red Bubble have links to submit Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Takedown Notices that don’t even question things. If someone says it’s a problem, they’re not interested in pursuing the matter further and you’re more or less done. Larger corporations however have the time and power to let sellers sell, and that’s more money for them! When I contacted Amazon about someone selling my art without my permission, they required I prove the art was mine. I sent the original link I posted the art to, a ToughPigs article showcasing the work, and this website as proof of my identity and profession as an artist. They proceeded to tell me that this was not enough to verify my claim and insisted I refill out their exceptionally long and tedious form again for re–submission. When I protested, the email chain closed and suggested I apply for Amazon Brand Registry—something that might work if the thief wasn’t selling my fan art of Kermit the Frog who is already trademarked with the Walt Disney Company and if I was willing to pay between $225–$400. Thanks, I hate it!

My email correspondence with Amazon.

The amount of time one has to devote to fighting online theft is exhausting. As Jamie explains;

“I  get pretty cheesed, but there's little I can do most of the time. Trying to get justice for art theft is like a full time job of whack-a-mole. I report the ones I can, but then let it go.“

Of all my artist friends, Kenny Durkin probably gets ripped off the most. He has told me he finds his work being sold without his permission on a daily basis, even going so far as to say, "I can teach anyone how to get their art stolen. I'm really good at that." Like Justin, Kenny was initially flattered and even encouraged by others to view any theft as flattery, but his view on the subject changed very quickly.

"I went through a huge phase where I got really angry every single time it happened, even to the point of never wanting to post artwork ever again. Basically 'taking my ball and going home'. Now I see it as a minor annoyance, it seems like most of the time the stealing of my artwork is done by bot accounts. So I try to shut them down the best I can."

Photo taken by Kevin Williams and Lin Workman, 2007

Another form of online art theft doesn't even take potential money from the artists pockets, but rather goes viral and takes away something arguably more important: their name! I always get a kick when someone on Instagram (especially an official account or someone with lots of followers) posts my art, but then feel like a drowning rat trying to get the account to credit or even just tag me. I'm willing to bet paper money most people reading this blog have seen this very touching tribute of Kermit reaching out and touching a photograph of Jim Henson. It's so good that it's just assumed it was created and owned by The Henson Company or Walt Disney Studios. In fact, it was staged and shot by my friend Kevin Williams and his associate Lin Workman. This picture has been passed around so much that Kevin actually wrote about its origin and continued life around the web that I strongly recommend you read.

"I guess the first thing was getting over the shock that so many people liked it that they were sharing and sending it all over the world, ignoring that it originated with our little team here in Memphis.

Friends noticed the image getting posted everywhere and would tag me in it, and I would follow through with 'Here's our story.' Eventually, I wrote the article to link to just because it was easier than repeating the story every time."

Kevin basically threw his hands up and said, "Here, please read this!" Jamie again succinctly explains how discovering online art theft over and over again weighs an artist down:

"Friends notify me all of the time about bootlegs and, to be honest, I'd rather not know. It just puts me in an angry and helpless place where I want to do something, but can't."

Online art theft is so burdensome to creators that they feel helpless to a point of giving up or changing their online presence completely. That can lead to creative slumps or a desire to not grace an online audience with something that can truly make someone else's day. And none of that even comes close to dealing with the stress and frustration over what to do when an artist learns their work has been stolen. Just finding the time to fight a battle that will usually end in defeat is more than should be asked of someone who didn't even want to take part in this problem in the first place.

So what can you do? First and foremost, support artists directly. If you want something specific, either commission your favorite artist via DMs or email or find out if they have an online store. Those that do will have links readily available on their own websites or in the descriptions of their social media accounts.

My dad wanted a coffee mug of a bootleg Chef, so I made him one myself instead.

Try and avoid products from ads on social media. They almost always sell stolen art. Even items that look official usually have no affiliation with the intellectual properties (IPs) they're selling or especially the artists that created them. Facebook in my experience is infamous for selling stuff like this. As a hardcore Muppet fan, I can tell you no official merchandise of The Swedish Chef saying, "Vert Da Furk" would ever get approval from any board of directors associated with the property. All they need is a clean looking website and no one thinks twice.

Finally, if you see someone's art being sold that you know does not belong to the seller, don't just notify the artist, submit a DMCA Takedown Notice yourself! The more voices fighting an issue tend to get noticed quicker. If you see someone post art they didn't create (primarily because they're not an artist), politely ask them to credit the artist. If you want to post someone else's art, most artists will be thrilled at the attention but only if you make it clear who the creator is.

Many thanks to Justin, Jamie, Kenny, and Kevin for contributing to this post. Please check out their stuff and follow them on social media because they are super talented and genuinely wonderful humans the world could use more of.

Justin Piatt: UzzyWorks.com and @uzzyworks on Instagram
Jamie Carroll: jvcarroll.com and @jvcarroll4 on Instagram
Kevin Williams: muleycomix.blogspot.com and muleyshow.com
Kenny Durkin: kennydurkin.com and @thekennydurkin on Instagram and @Durkinworks on Twitter

A Beginners Guide to Passive–Aggressive Clients

When I was a young and green, fresh–faced graphic designer brand new to the professional world, I was extremely fortunate to get some of the best career advice from a great and wise art director: “Detach yourself from your work.” Especially when you are young, it is firmly believed you know what is best and which concepts a client needs to choose, and in reality, you’re probably right. It is antithetical to your creative insight that they should choose anything other than what you know is “the one,” and so it is mind boggling when they don’t heed your sagacity or experience (regardless of how much of it you actually have) and choose to contribute to the already over populated world of “bad design.” You may even then proceed to take on bad habits like creating black cats, but nothing is more shocking than being told directly that your work—and hence personal taste—is not good.

It’s a stereotype that creative people are sensitive, but real artists have thick skin. In fact, if you’re willing to put yourself out there, even if you’re a delusional narcissist, you have to expect a notable chunk of the world’s population just isn’t going to dig your stuff, and that’s okay. Truth be told, I felt like I finally “made it” when someone flat-out told me I suck on deviantArt once, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to that art director of mine. I was crestfallen that a client was unhappy with the concepts I had done and wanted new ones. Now I need you to know, this is not a blog to build up your self esteem and affirm that you’re good enough. You’re not. To quote one of my favorite mantras: “Nobody cares, work harder.” The reality is that this client who didn’t mix words and said, “Do it again.” Is the most wonderful type of client a designer/illustrator can have.

Don’t worry if you don’t get this comic, no one else did either.

Most people (believe it or not) don’t want to be horrible human beings, so they won’t tell you that you suck on a free online art community. Clients have opinions too though, so they need to convey if they want something else, primarily because they are paying for it. Welcome to the world of passive–aggressive commentary on your artistic endeavors. I’m not personally familiar with the Catholic theology surrounding Limbo, but if I had to take a guess, it probably sounds a lot like the electronic correspondences between a client and the artist they hired. I think it stems from the idea that someone has reached out to a person with a unique skill set that they themselves do not possess and are possibly even in awe of, only to discover what they got isn’t what they expected. They’re gracious, but unsatisfied. It then (eventually) becomes desirable to the artist to be hired by someone direct and clear who won’t beat around the bush and make you guess as to how to proceed (although it’s possible you just stop caring as you age I suppose). The sting to all of this is that when I posted the above comic strip—which I thought clearly spoke this idea—most people didn’t get it at all which ironically lead to a flurry of passive–aggressive comments in response. C’est la vie.

Awesome concept, okay delivery… but he LOVES it!

Now on the other end of the bell curve are clients and critics who just want to watch the world burn. In the American vernacular, they’re known as @$$holes. It’s one thing to be direct and tell a creative person, “This just isn’t what I’m looking for.” It’s another thing entirely to insult their life choices and curse their children for generations to come. That being said, “Detach yourself from your work” clearly becomes a necessary tool, especially if you’re submitting your work to a large audience. Sure, it’s not nice to be reminded that the internet’s toxicity can and does in fact extend to you personally; but there’s a reason the first rule of the internet is ‘never read the comments.’ I think that those dumpster fire responses are critical though for developing a thick skin and understanding that not everything you do has to make it into your portfolio. In other words, whether they are faceless trolls or paying customers; being a creative person requires abject criticism if for nothing more than a heaping dose of humility. Oh yeah, and ultimately the chance to grow as an individual, yada, yada, yada.

In the end, you have to ultimately decide if your creative side is going to be a weekend hobbyist or the breadwinner archetype. The starving artist isn’t so much a lifestyle choice as it is a reality and if taking criticism is antithetical to your nature, you are facing a lifelong climb with few to no plateaus. Everyone is in fact a critic, but many of them will absolutely build you up. The rest keep you humble, and God bless every horrible one of them. Besides, everyone gets compliments when they try something, even if said compliment is lukewarm at best. It takes a real artist to not just roll with the punches, but maybe even grow with them too.

Some of the actual and very real comments and messages I’ve received.

I’d love to hear any stories you have from nightmarish clients to online trolls! Please reach out in the comments below or follow me on Instagram or Twitter to let me know!

The Making of The Great Muppet Mural

Have you ever had a really big project that you’re working on that you’re extremely excited about and proud of? Has that project ever taken up so much of your time that you haven’t had a chance to do much of anything else? And has that same project been either a secret or required you to sign a Non–Disclosure Agreement (NDA) so you can’t even tell the world about it?

Awhile back, I was involved with The Great Muppet Mural and I checked off all three of those boxes and was super–hyped when it was finally time to share it online with everyone. Here’s the clincher—I’m still not done with it! Yes, ToughPigs 20th Anniversary has come and gone, and while people are still singing the mural’s praises, that moment has more or less passed too, but there’s actually more of the mural to share!

Let’s go off on a tangent first, okay? Earlier this year, ToughPigs spotlighted (spotlit?) some of my Muppet fan art again, and like an ego–maniacal lurker, I dipped in on the forums to see what people thought of my stuff. Everyone is always so kind and says wonderful things, but one post really hit me hard.

I used to be very descriptive whenever I would post anything anywhere; whether it was on social media, a featured spotlight, or even a concept to a client. Then, between a combination of being lazy and assuming people just didn’t care, I took a page from the book of minimalism and stopped saying anything. So when I saw Scott and my boy Joe (of all people!) call me out, I was infuriated and surprised at how on point they both were.

So now we get back to the present and The Great Muppet Mural. Early on, I had the idea that there was more to tell about this huge project other than the fact it had, “lots of Muppets and took a lot of work from a lot of people.” That thought was shared and encouraged by ToughPigs co–owner Joe Hennes (yes, that same Joe who put me on blast back in May!), and for the last several months, I’ve been making a documentary about the whole project!

I’ve ignored a lot of other things that should have been a priority, and I basically quit on Inktober; but so many great people and artists got excited about this project and helped contribute to it that I think (when it’s finished) you will get a real kick out of it. The very talented and funny actor/banjo playing, Lucas Ross is also narrating the short film and my Hulgreen bro Jerome Green is cleaning up all the audio, so it’s going to have a pretty nice professional varnish over top when it’s done!

So when is it going to be done? The best answer I can give you is “soon.” I have some professional video editing experience, but a documentary is a very different beast. That being said, the lion share of the work is done, and I’m neck deep in final post production. There’s more I could share, but I really want to hold off until it can be promoted properly. In the meantime, here’s the title card and a promise that a very good story beyond “artist made a thing” will be coming soon with all sorts of fun times attached too!

The Long Draw

How long should you work on any project before you “walk away”? This is a question that really beleaguers a lot of artists. I’d like to think I’m a quick illustrator. I’ve worked on developing my artistic muscle memory so that even when I have an “off day” I can at least put out something acceptable. Sometimes that means walking away too soon, and I look at my Instagram and wonder if I’m focusing too much on quantity over quality.

Deadlines are every artists best and worst friend. On one hand, there’s a definitive date and time when you have to walk away. That direction and structure helps in planning, execution, and finishing. Autonomy might equal freedom, but time management is efficient and pays the bills.

A quick and easy Kermit just for “likes”?! Yes! A little too quick? Also yes.

I have many very talented friends whom shall remain nameless (*cough Jamie!) that have a hard time walking away. Not because they don’t know when to quit, but because they’re perfectionists. This is a real blessing and a curse. Knowing something can be better verses knowing something should be better verses simply wanting something to be better (polishing a turd as it’s known in the business) can really keep a creative person awake at night!

Then there’s personal projects you just can’t put down. I’ve had a few of these pop up in my life. Usually, the size and scope of these projects are meant to be big and time consuming, so you buckle down for the long haul. I’m not talking about rendering something over and over or fixating on one little detail instead of the big picture, rather a personal project that just lets you vibe. It’s more therapeutic than technical, more cathartic than artistic.

This was a quarantine project I started in March 2020 when everything closed down because of Covid. I worked on it sporadically for months. Sometimes for just a minute or two, sometimes for longer. Sometimes I wouldn’t touch it for weeks and sometimes I couldn’t pull myself away from it. It’s certainly not a masterpiece, but it did let me turn off my brain and just sketch and ink, sketch and ink, sketch and ink.

We moved at the end of summer that year and this piece came with us to our new home where it sat in our attic for almost another full year! Spatially it was nearly complete (full), but mentally I wasn’t done with it. That ate at me, but mainly because I didn’t have that closed–off–from–the–world quarantine atmosphere that was originally fueling it. Even though that seems like an oddly specific mindset, the reality is that sometimes your work is actually done with you before you’re done with it. That’s where that giant head at the top with it’s screaming maw pointed skyward came in to close it off. Not a fitting coda for its original tone, but its final note regardless.

One of my absolute favorite “Life In Hell” strips by Matt Groening

I often think about life’s end and how no matter what we accomplish, our “to do lists” will ultimately have several items left to be checked off. Knowing when to walk away isn’t always up to a creative person, and as is also my personal drive when it comes to video games, I’m a completionist. The benefit to working on my own stuff at least gives me the opportunity to say, “when,” even if my heart’s not in it. I think what makes something you’ve worked on satisfying regardless of whether or not it’s actually good is accepting that that’s okay.

The Great Muppet Mural

Over six dozen artists came together to create The (amazing, humongous, colorful, diverse, fun) Great Muppet Mural for ToughPigs.com 20th anniversary. My good friend Jamie Carroll headed up the massive project and I was honored to be the assistant art director as well as a contributor.

I really can’t explain just how big of a project this was… but I’m currently trying by putting together a documentary about the whole thing! So stay tuned.

I want to also thank Kenny Durkin and Joe Hennes and all the other fantastic talent we had working on this. Please also check out the artist spotlights of all of them on ToughPigs.com!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Wayback Wednesday: When Bang & Bump went to SDCC

This morning I had an email from a friend I used to work with showing me a clip from truTV, and holy guacamole; I was on television! Sort of.

Now I'm not sure what the show actually was, but the footage was from YouTube personality Stuart Edge. Back in 2014, I went to San Diego Comic Con with my business partner and future brother–in–law Jerome Green to film an episode for our own YouTube channel: The Bang & Bump Show from our company hulgreen productions. We filmed our puppets interacting with (primarily) cosplayers and even the great Lou Ferigno as well. Now neither Jerome or I, or our friends who were helping us knew Mr. Edge at the time, but we loved his Back to the Future Marty McFly cosplay and asked if he would film a bit with us. He agreed under the condition we film a bit with his team as well. This was our finished episode (you can find his part close to the beginning at 1:37):

After he graciously was a pert of our little shtick, he filmed a card trick with my character Bump: a furry blue monster puppet built by the very talented Kevin Gorby from Lunas Puppets. That's the footage that appeared on TV that my friend saw. You can see the original video Stuart Edge posted here (Bump first appears at 0:37):

It's always cool to have someone say they saw you on TV or something like that and be a part of something fun like Stuart Edge's cool magic tricks. If anyone else saw this on truTV or knows what show it appeared on, please let me know!

As for the puppets; Jerome and I had a lot of fun performing Bang & Bump and maybe one day we will again.

Inktober Presidents!

I've started Jake Parker's annual Inktober challenge early this year, focusing on drawing every American President. I wanted to get a better understanding of each man and how they have shaped the country I love and live in. As we all know, there were/are more than a few bad eggs and ne'er-do-wells in the mix, but there were also quite a few noble and brilliant ones that worked tirelessly for the good of the nation.

Follow me on Instagram to see the art and learn a few tidbits about each man.

Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Adams, and Jackson. Bimoji pen.