DIY does not mean Duplicate It Yourself
http://offbeatbride.com/2010/04/duplicate-it-yourself-the-dark-side-of-diy#comments
i haven't read the comments on this post yet, but i realized in my zest to write my own response i was writing an essay, so i'm doing it here instead!
this is actually the second time my blog run has brought up the topic, http://www.outsapop.com i can't find it anymore but you should be reading this one anyway if you like fashion :P
as a budding artist myself i find inspiration online all the time, and sometimes there are artists who's vision is so in tune with my own that i mourn the fact that they got there first. of course i always absorb what i see and as the saying goes, no art is created in a vaccum, but for me, it is VERY EASY to determine what is okay and what isn't. you can draw inspiration from a work, in terms of materials or techniques used, or imagery, or theme or message. but there should always be some variation, your own unique style, or at least a color scheme change, this is the MINIMUM if you are using it for your own personal use. but if you intend to take credit creatively, or try and sell something, you better make DAMN SURE that your work is far enough away from the inspiration that the ORIGINAL ARTIST THEMSELVES wouldn't think you were ripping them off. as an artist this seems pretty straight forward. I know, from my own work, how much time and thought goes into something, and if *i* feel icky about something, i change it again and again until it's mine, and sometimes you have to riff off of someone to find your legs.
THAT SAID i have NO idea how you go about asking someone to make a perfect copy of someone else's work. i mean, INSPIRED BY i have no problem with, i've done that. and i mean, if you were going to buy something awesome and pretty, wouldn't you WANT to tweak it to your own personal tastes anyway? it's almost incomprehensible to me. why copy exactly? it's...such a lack of creativity not to mention morals. i'm really upset that this is actually happening either pay the original artist for their time and effort, or mix it up enough that it's your own.
RAMBLE OVER
i haven't read the comments on this post yet, but i realized in my zest to write my own response i was writing an essay, so i'm doing it here instead!
this is actually the second time my blog run has brought up the topic, http://www.outsapop.com i can't find it anymore but you should be reading this one anyway if you like fashion :P
as a budding artist myself i find inspiration online all the time, and sometimes there are artists who's vision is so in tune with my own that i mourn the fact that they got there first. of course i always absorb what i see and as the saying goes, no art is created in a vaccum, but for me, it is VERY EASY to determine what is okay and what isn't. you can draw inspiration from a work, in terms of materials or techniques used, or imagery, or theme or message. but there should always be some variation, your own unique style, or at least a color scheme change, this is the MINIMUM if you are using it for your own personal use. but if you intend to take credit creatively, or try and sell something, you better make DAMN SURE that your work is far enough away from the inspiration that the ORIGINAL ARTIST THEMSELVES wouldn't think you were ripping them off. as an artist this seems pretty straight forward. I know, from my own work, how much time and thought goes into something, and if *i* feel icky about something, i change it again and again until it's mine, and sometimes you have to riff off of someone to find your legs.
THAT SAID i have NO idea how you go about asking someone to make a perfect copy of someone else's work. i mean, INSPIRED BY i have no problem with, i've done that. and i mean, if you were going to buy something awesome and pretty, wouldn't you WANT to tweak it to your own personal tastes anyway? it's almost incomprehensible to me. why copy exactly? it's...such a lack of creativity not to mention morals. i'm really upset that this is actually happening either pay the original artist for their time and effort, or mix it up enough that it's your own.
RAMBLE OVER