Sign your 3D Artwork! To be or not to Be?
Payat Parin
Posts: 980
in The Commons
An artwork such as 3D requires knowledge, skills, effort, time, and money. Once it's finished or rendered with or without postwork, it's ready for the public eye. Some digital artists sign their work for protection against cyber thieves, recognition of their work, promotion, and status. Others see art signatures as self perpetuating, insignificant, distracting, aggrandizing, and inappropriate.
Do you sign your 3D work with your official signature or with your website? If not, would you sign it? What do you think about art signature in general?
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I don't sign mine. I don't generally care one way or the other if other people sign theirs. Sometimes large or colorful signatures and logos can be distracting from the work.
I tend to sign my art, I always have.. even as a kid in school when we draw those paintings for our parents and such. For me it comes naturally to sign them, since I did them. Just like I sign off on things I write etc.
Though unlike when I was a kid, I do try to make the signature discreet to not take away from the picture itself :)
I put some initials on most of my pieces, and have started to include the year, as I see a few others here doing that. Sure, if someone wants to rip off your art they can just clone out your signature in Photoshop or whatever, but at least this involves a little extra work for them to 'fix'...
Of course, I haven't really offered much of my art for sale yet, although some of the other vendors do allow you to sell pics in their online gallery stores. There are WAAAAAAAY better artists than me working in Daz Studio, but I do think about it off and on...
Mostly I just like the process, and making my own 3d art...
I always sign my work but in a way that doesn't distract from it. I use a small font size, positioned in the lower right or left corner, and a color matched close enough to the render that my signature only barely stands out.
Any 3d art I post online other than my animations are free for people to use as they like in their own projects withn no credit required. anything i don't want others to use I will clearly state so and add meta data to the image with keywords and etc to see who is using it. I usually place no share images in my gallery with no click or copy code on my web site ( which is under reconstructions at the moment) I even state on my of my art accounts that my images are free to use like on my Daz art thread. Ivy's Art & animation thread
I dunno it just tickles me to see someone use one my renders with something they did to modify it to make it their own art. I seen my renders used in ads online, I seen my renders used in other peoples profiles or as web sites cover art. on their social media etc. I just think its cool to share what I have done no name required, I pretty much know my works
Do you sign your 3D work with your official signature or with your website?
Sometimes, it depends on the image. If it's wallpaperish, then yes, but small so that those that want to crop it or remove my sig can.
If not, would you sign it?
No plans to really make it a thing. I expect a small fraction of what I make would get ripped off, but usually those that are in a position to REALLY make some head-way with your art, wouldn't.
What do you think about art signature in general?
I find that in order to be effective, it has to basically ruin the image. I like the ones that says "Here's where to find more of me stuff" or "I did this" but the big ones that cover the entire image are obnoxious.
Especially when it's a weak image.
I've also done it all on the back end, removed watermarks and logos. So I don't know how effective it really would be if someone is truly determined.
I am fine with people protecting their commercial art or even 'samples' of their COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE art. That's a business move. But I do find it weird that those "I gotta protect my stuffs!!!!!!!!!!!" people tend to rail against any kind of digital restrictions on the files THEY use or want.
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I do belong to a few groups and I have seen Promo art from Daz passed off as ORIGINAL HAND DRAWN ART because, you know, cartoon filters.
And it made my brain ache to see the guy getting compliments for his LINE WORK and it was, I kid you not, DAZ promo art ripped straight from the store.
Long story short, I mentioned to him- that it's not a good look to pass off the PA's digital artwork as his own. I posted the original promo art in my comment in with his image comments.
He hit me with a private message saying he thought "the scene was included in the software and it was ""a preset"" and fair to use- since he bought the software"
Since Daz is FREE and anyone who used Daz, knows what an asset is, I assumed he was lying and treated the Daz store like Deviant Art.
I think he left the group (or possible blocked me) since I haven't seen him or his Incredible Artwork since.
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Now ideas, are something I wish I could protect. Seeing my ideas swallowed again and again is really annoying..
And you don't care if others heap praise on that artist for what they think is an entirely original piece? I ask because a number of artists on my 3D art board have a long history of fighting someone on DA who's notorious for posting their work on his DA page and claiming ownership. He creates a new DA page every time the previous one is banned.
The modify it to make it their own art. seems to be the point there.
I'm not really sure how much post work or photoshop would be needed for that to occur.
AHHHHH I see, looking at the art page, it looks like the files are separated and .pngs so you can do a lot with the offerings.
That's not quite the 'taking a full and complete image' and then re-working it.
Makes sense.
I don't. I don't think mine is to the level that I need worry about it.
Still, as someone that has had a totally mediocre video game I published stolen (it was already free but whatever) I see the need for a signature or logo of some sort mostly for protection of the viewers from misrepresentation of my renders than me trying to protect potentional earnings.
Nope it doesn't bother me at all. Something I learn along time ago with Illustrations. 99% times its going to be ripped off anyway . and names can be removed easily with PhotoShops Spot healing tool. Besides I know my renders when I see them, even if other people create stuff with them, it makes me happy to know someone thought my stuff was good enough to be used in their own projects. Animation is different I have a complete copyright for each animation and are meta data for internet tracking using my website analytics so I am always getting traffic data from my animations that have been ripped off and being shown in places like Russia or India . the embedded meta data tracks where my animation work is slitting, and everytime its uploaded my metadata places a tracking cookie which has my name all over my animations.
Still rendered images I am happy to share with others I have no ego in that someone may like to call it their own if they add something to it or modify the image from how I originally posted it... Good for them, I'm glad the image got a new life.
I have used other peoples freebies back grounds and added stuff to it and then called it my own. So I guess thats where I come from on this issue.
I can always render more art, some people in the world are luckily if they can get a copy of gimp or printshop & don;t have the resources to create the art like I do and I render about 25 images a week . So I don't mind sharing images or clip arts & stuff
what else am I gunna do with it?
GET A ROPE, TIME FOR A HANGIN!!
The only reason I sign mine is proof of owndership in case there is ever an issue and I need to prove I did the work. I have had to many experiences with people like the guy on devianart who like to steal others work and either pass it on as their own or make money off of it. I remember developing an addon for flightsim and had a couple of users that I made beta testers. Well one of them took the beta and tried to upload it as his own work. It was a fun time in the community after that with this guy, LOL
I really dislike the garrish, vanity signatures that take away from the image, that is something I am not interested in.
I sign everything I make and post publically. Even if it's garbage. It's my garbage and i took the time and effort to pile it up in an aesthetically pleasing (to me) fashion.
I'm not an artist and the the stuff I make is of a very low standard, so everyone pretending it would be his work must be even less artistically able than me... so if it brightens his probably awful live, to claim someone else's work as his, than be it so
I sign but to each their own.
I've thought about signing my work but only so that anyone interested would be able to contact me—perhaps for information about what techniques or assets I used, or to commission me (not that I particularly welcome that as I find doing commissions to be more trouble than it's worth. I've made a couple of hundred Euros out of commissions, but I found the work to be absolute drudgery). But as for protecting my rights, of whatever kind and for whatever reason, I do not care. I put it freely on the internet and anyone can do with it what they wish. If for example someone were to take one of my images and say it is their own I would just laugh at the idiocy of the claim. I don't render for financial gain; I have nothing to lose and they are welcome to it. As it happens, despite having put my work up on deviantArt for 6 years nothing egregious has happened to it. I'm almost disappointed.
I always have at least a large watermark with my website. If I'm planning to use it for something I may be selling, I always sign, large visible watermark, invisible watermark, and put website/social media stuff on. In spite of that, sometimes stuff gets stolen or used without my permission. One girl actually posted to me that she was using the face of one of my characters as her avatar. She didn't ask, she just told me she was. I didn't try to stop her. I started doing all the watermarking after the staff at Comic-Con told me someone applied to Artist Alley using my art and I had to prove to them it was mine! Some people have found their work on Amazon on mugs, T-shirts, and other stuff, just stolen from online! You can't be too careful.
I sign my finished artwork. WIPs, test renders and "here's how I did," images, rarely get signed. I try to make the signature inobtrusive, sometimes working it into an existing design.
You own the copyright to every piece of art you create. The copyright begins the moment the work is published. Thanks to the internet and the ability to download images without paying for them, the general public has the misconception that if they can download it, it's free, with no restrictions. That isn't the case. And having your signature on the image is one way of informing the uninformed that the image they are looking at cannot be downloaded and freely used. When the image they've stolen, (whether or not they realize they have stolen it,) carries a copyright and signature, it's very difficult to argue they didn't know it was copyrighted.
And it will be enough for some people to decide not to use the image.
I wouldn't dream of uploading something without signing it. I even do it to pics that I post on Facebook.
I also initial stamps that I create for DeviantArt. As someone re-uploaded one once, and claimed it as their own.
I know an artist who creates fanart from video games and movies. Because I'm familiar with their work, I've seen it being sold on Amazon and eBay, without their permission. The sellers say that the artist doesn't own the rights to an image of a copyrighted character when it comes down to fan art. Therefore anyone can use it. Or that they've bought the image as stock from "someone else". But the artist has always managed to get the art removed.
To be honest, I don't really upload renders anymore. I've uploaded one to Renderosity, but I just don't have the self esteem and confidence to keep uploading my work.
I do not. For me personally it detracts from other people's images when I see a signature over the top of the artwork; better if jammed into a corner with nothing behind it, really bad if literally over the middle, normally just sorta bad over something less important. But of course everybody is welcome to do whatever they wish.
I believe that would be a watermark.
Yup. I do it all the time, especially on sexier art, right across the boobs LOL. I don't do it on portraits, because people rarely steal portraits unless to use as an avatar..
I publish under a couple of pseudonyms but I sign most of them. Usually in multiple places merged into the image itself as part of the walls, floor, furniture, vegetation or body contours. And I never publish in full resolution. Always keeping the original renders at highest resolution private, as proof of authorship. Fans of my work usually know where to find the primary signature but there are always more in the image, better hidden.
I sometimes do and sometimes don’t. It’s clearly not a habit or something i feel strongly about. I do wonder about the people who go overboard with watermarks though. Most of the time the art is really kinda,so-so. The watermarks usually make the image hard to view and I usually do not like or star images with big obscuring watermarks,
I've always signed and dated, but never really worried about watermarks, until I stumbled across one of my images used to advertise a charity pushbike race. If they asked me, I probably would have said yes, but the got my back up
. Since then, I've watermarked every image I put on Deviantart and tumblr. I've also blocked tumblr images being uploaded to pinterest.
I must admit, I find the disclaimer "images were found on the internet and are presumed to be in the public domain", rather amusing.
I always sign my work (not every single render in my comic but the pages) they have my artists name or sign with my initials on it and the year of creation. I try to incorporate it somewhere in the render without being too obvious, not too much on the side. I always think its a bit sad to have the large watermarks over the art stuff but I can understand the people doing it.
How do you do that, I've done its once with that tedious claiming, but stuff keeps returnig there (at leat they give me credit)
To block tumblr images from being uploaded to pinterest - https://help.pinterest.com/en/articles/prevent-people-saving-things-pinterest-your-site
I recall it wasn't straightforward, mostly because I'm clueless with html. But, I tested it and I managed to stop images uploading to pinterest.
No, why should I? If people share it on other sites I don't mind as long as they don't claim they made it. I don't make any money selling them. I can understand when artists sign their painted art that they worked on for weeks but a render? Come on you must be kidding.
Unfortunately there are people out there that do claim them as their own,