The short answer is: ABSOLUTELY YES. And no I won't.

But I will elaborate 😉 Besides of all AI aspect (which I will write another blogpost about, but no I don’t use it), I’m sometimes asked if my art is original only. Or if I can draw some movie/game character as a commission or just as an artist for hire. Let’s break it down:

So is it original?

Yes, my art is original. The ideas are mine, the whole process of creating (digital or traditional) is done by me and my own hands, mind, years of experience and life experiences, and with my soul. All my characters, scenes, worlds in my illustrations are my own - unless it’s some kind of a challenge with prompts or a “draw this in your style” action, then obviously the ideas are someone else’s but that’s the whole point of it and I’m always clear about it (and I don’t ever sell those).

Where inspiration ends and copying starts?

Some would ask “how can you say it’s all yours while there’s so much other illustrations of the same subject or ideas?”. Well of course, there’s only so much you can draw and other artists can have similar ideas. We all get inspired and influenced by everything around us so yes, it’s totally ok to have similar ideas. As long as it’s not copying and/or straight stealing it’s all ok. Btw I wrote an article about finding inspiration (without social media!), so check it out next. The chances for 2 artists having exactly the same idea and execute it exactly the same way and style to the same exact outcome is rather zero. Statistically it’s probably a promil of a chance. Cause human art is so much more than just an idea and choosing a style. From skill, through life experiences, personal taste and dislikes, to even temporary vibe a person is having and much much more.

So if you have an idea just go with it. Surely it came from somewhere even if you don’t realize it, something inspired it. Do not worry it seems too similar to someone else’s because the outcome from you will be different enough anyway.

So we can’t ever copy anything or anyone?

I say you can.

Yes I said that, but there’s a BUT.

You can if it’s for experimenting, learning, trying different styles, exploring and growing as an artist. But then you should never present it as your own original art or pretend it’s your ideas and style. Of course it’s just my opinion and you don’t have to agree. That’s what I go by and an approach I think is right. But honestly, there’s no shame in saying “I did that based of an artist I really like” 🤷‍♀️ What is shameful is copying someone and pretending it’s your original idea/character/style.

If you’re curious what I offer check the work with me page and commissions page.

What about tracing? For me it’s exactly the same, tracing is copying, literally. I think it’s ok for learning although I don’t think it’s the best or even a good way to do it, you’ll learn much more if you’d use it as a reference picture. I also use references sometimes, I’m an artist but still just a human and I don’t know everything… using a reference picture is a normal thing and is being practiced by artists since the beginning of art. Even by the most famous artists!

Ok, but if I pay for it will you draw a known character or person for me?

No I won’t.

I just don’t redraw other people’s work, even for money, or actually, especially for money. I know a lot of artists are deeply into “fan art” but it’s not my cup of tea. I once drew Wednesday and posted it on my Instagram, and then I drew a series of Tim Burton’s characters in my spooky face style. It was a lot of fun as I love the burtonesque worlds, it also let me dive deeper into his style and processes so I also learned from it. Still that’s not something I usually do AND it’s not something I would ever try selling.

I know there’s mixed information about it, some people say it’s ok to sell fan art but it isn’t unless the original author (or whoever owns the rights) gives permission for that. I had a privilege to have a year of intellectual property laws at my university and since then I keep myself updated about it. So NO YOU CAN’T just sell fan art, because that’s just profiting from someone else’s work, ideas, intellectual property.

Now, there are some brands that will allow it, at least to some extent, but the general rule is that you can’t. I know some people will say “but who’s gonna find me?”, and to that I ask “so it’s ok to rob someone until they can’t find you?”. No it’s not, the same as the fact that others do that doesn’t make it right. It’s actually terrifying how hard it is for some people to be respectful… and just decent.

Oof, let’s chill down…

It is a very important topic to me and I do get agitated by it easily. I don’t want to sound like I’m accusing you of being bad, I believe that none of my readers steal from other artists (or actually from anyone else…). But I know there’s a lot of people who are genuinely confused about all this. So I hope I helped a little bit, I know reading laws isn’t exactly easy or quick or fun but if you’re selling your art you should get familiar with it. Not only with fake intelligent’s summary on google, but with actual laws, cause in the end it can save you from big big troubles. Or from being robbed by another individual who decides to steal your work!

I hope it never happens to you tho.

If you’re drawing just for yourself or to share it online without gaining profit from it - fan art or even copying (to some extent I mentioned earlier) is ok. Why would you wanna do that while you can create anything in the world? That I don’t know, but it’s for a different blog post 🤭😉

Disclaimer: this is my personal opinion plus some facts you can easily check on official websites. You don’t have to agree with my opinions, but you don’t really have a choice when it comes to facts.

I feel like saying what I said will be taken as at least controversial by some people... So be it, but the truth is it's as controversial as saying "you can't go around and hurt anyone who annoys you" 🤷🏽‍♀️ At least to me stealing from others isn't ok and I will not be doing it.

Some more of my art to finish this post positively 😉