Re: Roleplay Character/Art Theft
Posted: March 9th, 2015, 1:51:34 am
As someone who's been roleplaying on the internet since the age of eight, I can say this isn't anything new. I think we've all done it. But there is a distinction between claiming someone's art as your own, and using it for roleplay. I've used other's art countless times for roleplay. Or just as a profile picture. I'm pretty sure 99% of the roleplay population knows that the person they are roleplaying with didn't draw the character they are pretending to be.
What I would do, back when I was a young weaboo, is I'd come up with a character; then scour the internet in search of a drawing that closely resembled the character I'd come up with. But I'd never claim to own the artwork, and no-one ever asked.
Personally, and I know it might not be what you want to hear, but unless someone is claiming it as their own (literally saying "I drew this") it shouldn't matter. It does take time and effort to draw our OC's, but it's the internet. There's very little we can do about it, and there's very little reason to do anything about it.
I think the only reason anyone would be bothered by it is they designed their OC to be unique. Putting time and effort imagining them; then someone just pops in and sets it as their display picture without even reading your paragraphs of background information. They throw a really lame name like-- *whips out google translator* Yūutsuna Kōfuku (literally translates to Depressing Happiness).
I had an ex-girlfriend who roleplayed her OC "Nyuu Lilium" which was stupid. It was an Elfen Lied canon, not even an edited photo, and someone "stole" the name and pictures. They "stole" her roleplay identity and she was mad about it for years. Kind of unrelated, but it's just an example of how stupid some roleplayers can be.
When it all boils down, I changed characters so rapidly I never used any one artist's images for more than a week. Now I just stick to canon characters to spark conversations with people about anime I like. (i.e. Midosuji of Yowamushi Pedal).
Edit:
As a musician though, I know how this feels. I've had band names, album covers, the whole-bit stolen. Now that can be infuriating. I do know that if someone stole the OC I've had for the last four years, I'd want to fight.
What I would do, back when I was a young weaboo, is I'd come up with a character; then scour the internet in search of a drawing that closely resembled the character I'd come up with. But I'd never claim to own the artwork, and no-one ever asked.
Personally, and I know it might not be what you want to hear, but unless someone is claiming it as their own (literally saying "I drew this") it shouldn't matter. It does take time and effort to draw our OC's, but it's the internet. There's very little we can do about it, and there's very little reason to do anything about it.
I think the only reason anyone would be bothered by it is they designed their OC to be unique. Putting time and effort imagining them; then someone just pops in and sets it as their display picture without even reading your paragraphs of background information. They throw a really lame name like-- *whips out google translator* Yūutsuna Kōfuku (literally translates to Depressing Happiness).
I had an ex-girlfriend who roleplayed her OC "Nyuu Lilium" which was stupid. It was an Elfen Lied canon, not even an edited photo, and someone "stole" the name and pictures. They "stole" her roleplay identity and she was mad about it for years. Kind of unrelated, but it's just an example of how stupid some roleplayers can be.
When it all boils down, I changed characters so rapidly I never used any one artist's images for more than a week. Now I just stick to canon characters to spark conversations with people about anime I like. (i.e. Midosuji of Yowamushi Pedal).
Edit:
As a musician though, I know how this feels. I've had band names, album covers, the whole-bit stolen. Now that can be infuriating. I do know that if someone stole the OC I've had for the last four years, I'd want to fight.