Grab this free 2 PG printable PDF Digital Artist Copyright Cheat Sheet below to stop online theft of your digital art plus 9 Essential Rules to Posting Art Online + more!
NFTs are a unique topic for artists as it surrounds digital art and has been associated with established artists, celebrities, and crypto currency. As a digital artist it sounded great to me, so I did some research. I found out a lot about NFTs both good and bad. But what are NFTs? What do NFTs do and why should artists be aware of their digital art being stolen? You can protect your art from NFT theft & plagiarism while helping prevent it by looking out for fellow online artists with the simple yet effective tips in this article. I will give you a basic understanding of NFTs, the controversy surrounding them, and how to protect your digital art from being plagiarized on social media.
- What are NFTs?
- NFT Controversies
- Should You Be Worried About Your Work Being Stolen?
- Harmful Impacts of Plagiarism on Artists and Art Community
- How to Protect Your Art from NFT Theft and Plagiarism
- How to Help Stop Art Plagiarism Online
Why You Need to Protect Your Creative Work From NFT Art Theft & Plagiarism Right Now
What are NFTs?
An NFT stands for “non-fungible token” but what does that even mean? What is a “non-fungible token”?
A “non-fungible token” is when a digital file is assigned a digital, non-tangible ‘token’ or certificate that makes that file or digital artwork unique and one-of-a-kind. In other words, that assigned file is digitally minted as unique and unlike any other file on the internet. An NFT artwork is minted as an original piece of work, as if it was an original painting, drawing etc. The only difference, is that the artwork or file that is minted as an NFT, is digital and no physical version of it exists in the real world.
But what if there are multiple versions of that same image or copies of it on the internet? Will those other images decrease the value and rarity of the NFT?
The short answer is no.
Once a digital work is labeled and sold as an NFT of NFT art, the token attached to it keeps its value and rarity.
Even if there are copies created of it on the internet. An NFT can also be sold and traded again to other buyers. It exists on a digital block chain, where the NFT token is created.
As great as creating originals of digitally created artwork is, an important point to be aware of is that anyone who purchases an NFT may gain some copy & reproduction rights to the file they purchased. The buyer doesn’t keep all the rights to the artwork as the original IP, copyrights, and other rights granted upon creation of the work still belong to the original artist.
Honestly, I do love the idea and concept of NFTs. NFT art sound like a great alternative for artists to make money and become more noticed in the art world, especially in fine art and the digital art market. It sounds great, especially when artists get to keep the rights to their work and get paid a nice amount. I like that, a LOT.
But at what cost? Keep reading to find out why NFTs have controversy surrounding them.
For more information on NFTs, check out these links:
- CNET Article “NFTs explained: These pricey tokens are as weird as you think they are”
- Verge Article “NFTs Explained”
- Free Code Camp Article “How to Make an NFT and Render it on the Opensea Marketplace” **Explains positives and drawbacks of NFTs, creating NFTs, meta data usage, and ‘on-blockchain’ vs. ‘off-blockchain’ NFTs.
- Bitcoin.com Article “Non-Fungible Token Sales Begin to Dive, NFT Interest Declines, Finance Author Highlights NFT Oversupply” **Explains the possible oversupply of NFTs on the block chain with a more in-depth article reference.
Controversies Surrounding NFTs
As amazing as the benefits of NFTs for artists sound, there are a few but extremely important things to understand.
- Currently, NFTs harm the environment and contribute to global warming.
- Depending on the platforms you sell your NFTs on, there may be little done to authenticate the originality of an NFT being sold. In other words, NFTs open the door for plenty of plagiarism and art theft.
- They are prone to “bit rot”.
- UPDATE 11/4/2021 : NFT buyers are prone to scamming & some have even lost upwards of $500,000.
1. Environmental Harm
When an NFT is created, not only will it cost around $40-$200 to have the token created but complicated equations are put into computers that generate the tokens that identify the NFT as one-of-a-kind.
The complicated equations force computers to work harder and keep running 24/7. This uses much more electricity than normal. The generation of all that extra electricity results in CO2 emissions into the environment which further contributes to global warming.
There are ways to make NFTS without hurting the environment.
If you’d like to learn more about the environmental impact of NFTs, check out this video by artist Ten Hundred. He does a good job of explaining NFTs with some examples of how they negatively affect the environment. He has some great links in the video description as well. And here’s an article by Illya Ovchar from fstoppers.com that has some more environmental impact info. on NFTs with a brief description on how they could still work on the block chain without negatively affecting the environment.
UPDATE 5/17/2022 – Some crypto companies have been making NFTs more environmentally friendly including Ethereum, the main blockchain that NFTs are created/minted from. You can read more about it here.
2. Art Theft and Plagiarism
As NFTS are entirely digital, guess what’s the number one place to find digital art & digital IP?
That’s right, the internet.
Many people don’t understand that when you do a Google image search of art or anything really, that a good amount of the photos and content you see are already copyrighted. It might not say so on the image, so you’ll need to visit the image’s website to see their copyright policies. But in general, images, art, and content posted online are automatically copyrighted by their creator upon creation.
In general, images, art, and content posted online are automatically copyrighted by their creator upon creation.
-Drawism.com
One important note about NFTs is that they may make way for plagiarism and art theft. With less accountability for art theft, it’s more likely plagiarism of all sorts will continue to happen, especially among NFT art. It’s as easy as saving someone’s art off the internet, and uploading it as your own. And even if you or someone else purchases an NFT, there’s always a chance that you or a buyer maybe purchasing fraudulent or stolen art from someone impersonating the original artist.
There are instances where artists were victims of NFT art theft.
UPDATE 5/17/2022 – There’s been a famous digital artist with millions of social media followers who found out that at least 100 NFTs were made of her art without her permission, in this NFT Evening article by Yolo – “Deviantart’s Loish claims her art was stolen for NFTs & OpenSea should help”
UPDATE 5/17/2022 – Here’s another story about an artist whose work was stolen to make tens of thousands of NFTs quickly & how NFT marketplaces put the responsibility on artists to flag plagiarized NFTs of their work: NBC News Article by Kevin Collier – “NFT Sales are Booming. Just Without Some Artists’ Permission”
There’s even been a very well-known band that was caught for stealing an artist’s artwork and using that stolen work for an NFT. The band made at least a couple thousand dollars off the stolen art. Thankfully, people found out about it. The original artist was notified. And yeah, the artist wasn’t pleased about it.
As artists, we spend our time and efforts creating things we enjoy. For a lot of us, we want to get paid and recognized for our work. Depending on what I’m creating ( either art or content), I want to be paid for my work. I don’t like creating (especially art) for free. It’s beyond disrespectful to take someone else’s work, not even credit them, and even worse get monetary gain while the original artist gets nothing in return.
What you absolutely need to be aware of, are the sites which NFTs are sold on.
I don’t expect everyone to check out every NFT art marketplace for their terms and conditions. But making a little effort to put an NFT notice on your work will go a long way.
Websites that sell NFTs seem to do very little to verify the seller’s authenticity of the art. There are usually no background checks on the work to verify if it was plagiarized by the seller.
In other words, the original artists whom are plagiarized are not protected.
Once the NFT art is sold, it’s sold!
The artist can’t recuperate those lost funds. To add to that pain, the seller faces no repercussions, if any.
The lack of artist & copyright protection and verification allows plagiarism to run rampant quickly and the potential to affect many more artists. So, we need to be vigilant in protecting our own work while helping other artists if they’re work may be plagiarized. More than likely if an artist is notified their work is plagiarized, they’ll appreciate the notice. I know I definitely would.
Usually on sites where NFTs are sold, the victims (original artist or creator) are neither notified by the website of plagiarism, nor given any compensation or damages for the effects of the offense. This is NOT okay! Again, why we artists must be aware of plagiarism.
Instead of always rewarding originality and self efforts, sites that sell NFT art may seem to reward plagiarism by taking no actions against it or its perpetrators.
3. NFTs are Prone to “Bit Rot”
Bit rot is when a digital file’s quality, resolution, format, etc., decreases in quality as technology advances.
For example, gifs that are made using the current Photoshop, will be of lesser quality than those made with a newer program 10 years from now.
Nfts are made like they last forever. But there’s a chance they won’t.
What will happen if the NFT crypto token completely disintegrates or gets lost in the digital system? How will it be recovered? Will an NFT be fully recognizable when it was created as opposed to how it will look & what information it keeps, 50 years from now or even 100-200 years?
These are all questions to think about when purchasing or selling NFTs.
What also matters are the devices NFTs are stored on. Depending on that, some NFTs ( their data, info, and image quality) may rot faster than others. It’s something to keep in mind, especially if it’s labeled as “one-of-a-kind”.
Technology is always changing and advancing. So, there’s no way to say bit rot won’t happen to NFT art.
A good example of bit rot is when you see image quality of a show or movie from 10 years ago, to even 50 years ago. Then compare it to films today. You can see the huge difference in quality. It’s quite drastic. So the same can be said of NFTs if digital technology keeps advancing.
4. NFTs Buyers are Prone to Hefty & Untraceable Scams – UPDATE 11/4/2021
When popularity for anything valuable or rare increases, you better believe the amount of people who want to take advantage of these trends skyrockets as well and NFTs are no exception.
Since some NFTs are worth well over the hundreds of thousands, NFT scammers are everywhere.
Besides the sheer immense value for these digital artworks and tokens, the currency used to purchase NFTs are all done in cryptocurrency.
Why is this is an issue?
Well, cryptocurrency is untraceable and confidential. I don’t know much about cryptocurrency but I’m going to guess that NFT and cryptocurrency marketplaces will do a lot to keep their clients’ and buyers’ real identities under wraps, as that’s part of their main draw and policies. And you can bet if one of these marketplaces breaks this policy, they’ll most likely receive a plenty of backlash. So, I wouldn’t count on these places to be 100% safe for the customer. Basically, if a scammer steals an NFT worth $50,000, there’s a very good chance the original buyer will not be able to recover that NFT nor the money they lost. This is a humongous loss in assets and even a few hundred or thousand dollars may be a huge loss for some people.
Here’s a Verge Article by Andrew Wang about NFT scammers and how one buyer lost upwards of $500,000 in NFTs from scammers!
If you do decide to buy or sell NFTs, be sure to do plenty of research on the companies and marketplaces first.
Should You Be Worried About Your Work Being Stolen or Used as an NFT?
The answer to this question depends on how you feel about your own work. You may feel indifferent about it or you might really despise it.
But the short answer is yes, you should be worried about your artwork being stolen if it can be viewed publicly online.
But the short answer is yes you should be worried about your artwork being stolen if it can be viewed publicly online.
Nicole Adamson- Drawism.com
Plagiarism is when someone steals someone else’s work and claims it as their own without giving credit to the original creator.
Plagiarism and art theft is the number 1 taboo in the art community. Committing plagiarism of someone else’s artwork will instantly damage your artistic reputation while making it incredibly difficult for you to be hired.
Plagiarism is a huge no-no and needs to be avoided at all costs. Even more so if your work is copyrighted (it automatically is, upon creation) and the offender commits copyright infringement. Copyright infringement is basically the same as plagiarism but with a few important keypoints. First of all, COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS ILLEGAL (depending on where you live, so check your country’s copyright laws to see if you’re protected)! If someone redistributes, copies, transfers ownership of your work, or otherwise infringes on your exclusive rights to your work, you have the right to file a lawsuit against the offender. While this does sound nice, filing a lawsuit isn’t always in the best interest of the artist and can cost you a lot of both your time and money. Usually lawsuits are appropriate when the artist has lost tens of thousands of dollars or more from an unapproved use or distribution of their work, and financial damages to the artist are staggering. Otherwise, it’s not something to get caught up in. But knowing and spreading the word that copyright infringement is a serious offense and that offenders can be taken to court, will help discourage and prevent these types of uses with your art and those of other artists, online.
With the internet, art theft is easier than ever. It’s as easy as saving an image from the internet, doing a few alterations and uploading it as your own work.
“When we understand how art theft affects us, we can take steps to prevent it and help other artists that are victims to plagiarism.“
Nicole Adamson-Drawism.com
As long as your artwork exists on the internet and can be viewed publicly online, there is always a chance that your work can be stolen, NFT or not.
If you don’t feel 100% comfortable uploading your work, there is NO HARM IN KEEPING IT PRIVATE AND OFFLINE.
To help you make thoughtful decisions about NFT art and art theft in general, here are some questions that will let you think critically about this.
Questions to Help you Decide Posting Your Art Online
- The first question to answer is how important is your artwork to you?
- How would you feel if your artwork was sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars and you weren’t credited for it?
- How would art theft of your work affect you both in your life and artistic journey?
- Would plagiarism of your work affect your mental health?
- Do you think you’d be able to continue with your creative work knowing someone copied it? How would you feel if your work was continuously plagiarized?
- Are there steps you are taking now, to prevent plagiarism of your own work? (It’s okay if you’re not. I cover this later in the article.)
If your answers were mostly in defiance of plagiarism, then most likely it will better to keep your art offline for now until you feel comfortable posting it.
If you feel you’re not taking much risk posting your art online and feel comfortable posting it even if there is a chance your work may be stolen, then feel free to do so. I only post older work or things that I don’t care about, if they do get stolen. It helps me prioritize and value my work first before I share it online.
Harmful Impacts of Plagiarism on Artists & the Art Community
Artists
When plagiarism happens to your work, it’s a bad feeling.
It can make you feel anxious, irritated, and upset. And these are perfectly valid emotions to feel. After all, you spent your precious time to make a piece of work that you feel good and proud of . . . only to have it taken from you and claimed by someone else. This feeling sucks. You want to be recognized for your work, time, and effort, but someone else gets that recognition instead. It’s a dirty feeling, especially knowing you did nothing wrong to deserve this.
Unfortunately, plagiarism happens all the time, especially in places where it’s the most accessible: the internet.
Dealing with plagiarism can be infuriating when it happens to you or someone else. When I see stories of other artists’ work being stolen, I genuinely get a bit frustrated and upset for them. Their work is taken by someone else.
UPDATE 11/4/2021 : In my opinion, Art Station is one of the best places for artists to showcase their digital art because a lot of the artwork is protected and copyrighted to the original artist. But with the popularity of NFTs, digital art thieves gain money and exposure from stolen digital art , including some victims that are well-known artists and art directors on Art Station. Unfortunately, plagiarists do steal artists’ work and make money off the stolen art in many cases, disregarding an artist’s extensive time and effort used to perfecting their craft.
As an artist, it pains me to see someone’s art plagiarized because I understand the time, effort, investment, and sacrifices it took for the artist to produce their work.
What’s worse, the art thief often doesn’t consider the sheer magnitude of time and effort the artist has put in, trying to get their art to the level of work you currently see online. They usually think to themselves, “Oh, I like this work (a lot). I think I can use this for my own portfolio, business, merch, etc. No one is going to care if I copy and paste it. Also, I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong.” Also, what people don’t think about, is that some artists like myself, already feel uncomfortable about posting their art online.
I don’t believe any of my work has been plagiarized but I can’t be 100% sure of that. After all, it does exist on the internet.
“One of the first keys in preventing plagiarism is to understand and realize the value in your own work, first.”
Nicole A. – Drawism.com
Plagiarism’s Negative Effects on Artists
1. It can cause artists to feel their work is futile.
Spending hours trying to improve your work and then suddenly have it taken from you can be a defeating feeling. You’re not recognized for your work and you weren’t credited. It’s completely understandable to feel frustrated, upset, or angry.
Internal questions can start making you doubt your efforts or creative passion.
Some artists ask themselves , “Why did this happen to me?” or “why was my art stolen”.
Most likely the plagiarist stole it because they liked it. The reason why people steal artist’s work can be that simple. They probably thought it was a great piece that’s popular and could make money off of.
2. It doesn’t recognize the original artist for their hard work both technical and conceptual.
Plagiarists only care about their own gain from an artist’s work. They don’t care about how the artist feels. Or how plagiarizing artwork will have a negative impact on the artist.
When online artwork is stolen, there is complete disregard for the artist’s work both technically and conceptually. Plagiarists don’t always realize the countless hours and effort that was put into getting the artist’s work to a desired quality. And usually, there’s a lot of time put into it.
Plagiarism is incredibly disrespectful to the artist and the artwork.
3. Plagiarism can cause doubt and distrust among other artists and creators.
The art community is all about having fun, connecting with other people who share your interest in the creative arts, and enjoying the work you create.
When plagiarism happens by an artist, it can cause other artists to feel uncomfortable posting or sharing their work online. In some cases, it can even break friendships and lead to many lost career opportunities (for the plagiarist).
4. It can cause artists to become demotivated and potentially lead to abandoning their artistic passion altogether.
This is a scary thought.
Sometimes in tough situations we tend to close ourselves off to the things that hurt us emotionally. That’s fine. It’s how we protect ourselves. But sometimes, the emotional damage can be so great, it can cause someone else to give up on something they love, if it’s a negatively enough emotional experience for them. This sounds extreme but it can definitely happen.
I know. Because it almost happened to me.
To be honest, I had a few moments where I almost gave up on my art journey. The emotional pain and negative feelings that swirled in my head when one of my clients decided to not pay me for the tens of hours I spent working on their project left an emotional stain and feeling of incompetence on my part. Not only did I feel let down by my client, I wasn’t paid for my work or time. I felt ashamed, like it was a stain on my career. Every time my mind went back to that incident, I would tear up. It was so difficult to move forward with my art that I lost my confidence, my self-esteem, and my motivation. I felt it was something I could never emotionally escape. It felt easier to stop being an artist. I wouldn’t have to deal with pesky and thieving clients. No more worrying about getting paid or not. I could easily do something else.
If someone doesn’t pay you for the work you did, that is stealing!!
But I loved art too much. It had played such a positive role in shaping me as a person. It definitely wasn’t easy but with the help of my friend and family, I overcame the emotional pain of having my work stolen.
The effects of plagiarism aren’t always visible. It can be an emotionally damaging experience, art or not.
Emotions tend to go crazy when plagiarism happens and that’s absolutely fine. It really is, trust me. Just make sure you take time to care for yourself first 🙂
– Drawism
Taking care of your self is the number one action to take if you have or may experience plagiarism of your art. If this happens to you, make sure you have emotional support from people you can talk to, to keep you mentally grounded. Not only will you think more rationally about the situation but it’ll help you take the right steps moving forward. I usually go to my best friend for advice because they’re experienced with these types of situations. I like to collect my thoughts, (sometimes with a bit of drawing as it helps calm me down), do a bit of research on the actions I need to take, and ask some of my previous instructors if they have any advice towards this. Doing this for a few days will calm you down and more likely turn the tide in your favor.
Plagiarism can be overwhelming and scary at first but with some time and thinking, you can solve it!
Art Community
1. It devalues artists’ work.
Plagiarism happens when there is a lack of respect for how an artwork is made. This includes the artist, their efforts, and how the art came to be created. As most artists know, creating work is an extremely long process of learning and mastering techniques while mentally training yourself to think creatively. It’s not an easy process. And it won’t happen overnight. Even worse if the artist put in financial investments to perfect their craft.
Plagiarism is also caused by the lack of understanding of the creative process on the offender’s part.
2. Plagiarism facilitates more disregard and disrespect for artists and art communities.
When plagiarism continues to happen without consequences to the offenders, they will continue to plagiarize other artists’ work. The more it happens, the more disrespect for artists and art communities. So it’s incredibly important to notify the artist and offender when this happens, to prevent repeat offenses.
3. With more plagiarism, there’s less accountability for art theft.
On sites that sell NFT art, there is barely if any, accountability for plagiarism. If a work sells, it sells.
The offender is not held accountable for the losses the artist sustained while an NFT sold or when their art was stolen. This can include everything from how much the art sold for to the loss of recognition, exposure, and credit to the artist. Even the time, resources, and talent of an artwork’s original creator is thrown out the window.
This doesn’t help artists at all. It just makes them look valueless.
On the other hand, if we find plagiarism in an artwork and help notify the artists, we can help prevent it and be more recognized in our art and the value we bring as artists.
On the other hand, if we find plagiarism in an artwork and help notify the artists, we can help prevent it and be more recognized in our art and the value we bring as artists.
– Drawism.com
4. It makes it easy for thieves to continue stealing more art, if they’re not caught.
Art theft and plagiarism is stealing!!
If offenders are not caught, they’ll continue to plagiarize art. They’ll continue to trample on the efforts and hard work of artists.
When there are no repercussions, it’s much more likely to happen again.
But if the offenders are caught, and the original artist is notified, there’s a good chance it won’t happen again.
Keep reading to start protecting your digital art right now or check out out my copyright checklist created to help digital artists easily protect their posted art!
Protect Your Art from NFT Theft and Plagiarism
Depending on the platforms you use to post your work, protecting your artwork from NFT art theft and plagiarism will vary and is unique to each website.
NFT crypto art theft has been most prominent on social media. Why? Social media is the most accessible and easily available resource to grab and steal art. One main reason is social media sites don’t particularly cater to artists and creative people. Therefore, the rules and protections for art content posted on those sites are not as stringent as rules and policies of art-catered websites. Basically, it’s extremely easy for someone to steal an artist’s work on social media with little to no repercussions to the plagiarist.
Basically, it’s extremely easy for someone to steal an artist’s work on social media with little to no repercussions to the plagiarist.
– Drawism.com
How artwork is stolen, is that bots are used on social media websites. They gather images and data of artwork or creative property. That collected data is then sent to the person controlling the bot. From there the art is used and (most often) modified extremely minimally and then created as an NFT.
Since social media sites are one of the top targets for NFT art theft, I have created ways to help you protect your work on some of the most popular social platforms.
UPDATE 11/4/2021 : Photoshop will be adding a “Prepare as NFT” option for artists to help stop the creation and purchase of fake NFTs and to authenticate the original artist’s work. It will be under the “Content Credentials” tool that will allow artists to link their Adobe ID to their cryptocurrency wallet. To read more about this, here is a Tech Times article by Joseph Henry talking about the new feature with a story about a buyer who purchased a fake NFT for tens of thousands of dollars and a Medium article by MRAMOR about “Content Credentials”.
**I will not be going over art-tailored websites such as Deviantart or Artstation as those websites are dedicated to artists and hold creators more liable to plagiarism and art theft. These art sites also do more to protect their users and artists from plagiarism than social media sites, as they have a better understanding of and are specifically tailored to online art communities and artists’ needs. That doesn’t mean your art will not be stolen on these sites. But if it does happen, you’ll have much more credibility and recognition to your work. This will definitely help when gathering evidence, witnesses, and proof of your copyright or IP when confronting a possible plagiarist.
I will go over:
- Simple Art Protection Tips
- Prevent Plagiarism Before You Post Online
- Prevent Plagiarism When Your Work is Already Online
- Tumblr
- Prevent Plagiarism on Your Website
- How to Confront Someone Who Stole Your or Someone Else’s Artwork
Simple Art Protection Tips
1. Always Take Extra Steps to Copyright Your Art
2. It can be as easy as putting a copyright on your website
Here’s an example from my website. I used the copyright symbol along with a brief statement stating what can’t be done with my work.
3. Sign Your Work
You’re putting your mark on your work. Basically a stamp and marking it with your signature. Try putting your signature in places where it’ll be hard for plagiarists to photo-shop out but not distracting in your work.
If your signature is subtle, even better. That way, the plagiarist could miss it and have it end up being in their stolen art where you could easily flag them for it.
Below is an example of placing a signature in an important part of the work while being subtle. See if you can spot it 😉
4. When selling your work online or offering it to someone, put in the description that you own the copyrights and what the work’s intended use is for.
I usually put a little sentence on my phone wallpapers and sketchbooks that it’s only allowed for personal use, not commercial. And that no type of copying, reproduction, or altering of my images is allowed, unless I give them written permission to do so. All you need is a little sentence stating that. If you don’t want people using your art for a specific thing, type or post how you want them to use it, either in your description or using a watermark.
For example, you could place text on your digital art stating “This Image can’t be used for NFT art.” It can be something as super simple as that.
Below shows a quick copyright statement that’ll let viewers know immediately what they can and can’t do with the art.
Make it as simple or descriptive as you like! The more descriptive your copyright statement is, the less likely someone will steal your art.
5. Use a Watermark
Your watermark can be anything from a symbol, logo, or just text as long as it covers the image.
It’s best to use a watermark that covers most of the image but is also transparent. Your client or viewer won’t be able to get rid of the large watermark without damaging the image. But they’ll be able to see the work underneath if the watermark is transparent.
I usually use one when I’m showing my clients the final piece but haven’t received my full payment. Once they approve my work, I ask them for payment, remove the watermark, and send them the final image.
Just like most things these days, it feels that once NFTs are popular, they’ll continue to be popular regardless of the controversies surrounding them. That said, if you don’t want someone to steal your work and use if for NFTs, put a little watermark on your posted art, saying “Do NOT Use for NFTs”, “Not for NFT use”, or anything similar. This will let perpetrators know directly that you don’t want them stealing your work for use in NFT art. And if they do, you’ll have the watermark to prove it. This is especially useful if they end up suing you for your own work. It’s not incredibly common but it does happen.
Here are a few articles with more art protection tips!
- Found Myself Blog Article “Art Theft- How to Protect Your Images Online”
- Carrie Lewis at Empty Easel “8 Ways to Protect Your Artwork Images from Being Copied Online”
Tips to Prevent Plagiarism If Your Work Hasn’t Been Posted to the Internet
1. It starts with YOU.
Figure out how you feel about posting a particular artwork. Will posting the art make you feel better? Will posting an artwork make you feel worse about yourself if you don’t get the likes or engagements you want? This may seem petty but this is crucial in understanding what you feel comfortable with and how it affects you emotionally.
“Never showcase an artwork online if it’s at your own expense, either mentally or physically. “
Nicole Adamson- Drawism.com
Chances are, it may come back to haunt you. If you feel you don’t want to post an artwork because of potential plagiarism and copyright infringement on your part, don’t post it. Say you drew an image from a photo and it’s the same pose or character but you didn’t know the image was copyrighted or weren’t 100% sure if what you drew was infringement. Then do your best to not post that drawing online. If you do, be sure to credit the creator or source of the image when you do post it online. If you’re doubting yourself, definitely don’t post it. If you’d like to post the work in question, you can do it later on after you’ve gotten a solid professional opinion from a reputable source like a classmate, art instructor, or a creative professional in your field.
2. Don’t post it if you don’t want to.
No one is forcing you to post all or any of your art online. It’s 1000% fine to not show your work online if you don’t want to. Especially if you feel uncomfortable that someone may steal it for NFT art.
Of course, if you don’t show any, no one will be able to see your art. You’ll be missing out on a lot of job opportunities. But try to stick somewhere in the middle. Post things that you’re okay with being possibly stolen.
3. If you feel negatively or doubtful about posting it.
Don’t post it, better safe than sorry.
4. If it’s a piece you really care about (IP, idea, design, etc.).
Don’t post it!
5. If you feel anxious.
Don’t post it!
Taking a few minutes to figure out what you’d like and not like to happen with your work will end up saving you possible emotional pain while helping prevent plagiarism and NFT art theft. If it’s a piece that will help you get clients but you don’t want it to be publicly seen, ask or check if there are ways you can show your art to them privately. When I apply to jobs, I make a separate pdf of the work I’d like to show and place it in the link where my website or portfolio should be. That way, I share with them only what I want. This method is also great for applying to a specific job that requires a very tailored and focused portfolio.
If Your Artwork Is Already Posted Online
**Twitter is one of the most likely places to have your art stolen, especially if it’ll be used for NFT art. It’s because Twitter allows you to upload high quality images. It’s incredibly easy for someone to steal an artist’s digital work and still use it at full quality. So it’s much more likely digital art will be stolen. If you still want to post your work on Twitter, consider uploading it at a much lower quality. A 72dpi low quality image at around 500px by 500px or lower is a good quality where it’s low enough to not be enlarged but still looks good as a thumbnail.
Deactivate Your Twitter Account
1. Click on the 3 dots on the menu bar.
**Warning: You can deactivate your account for 30 Days and then reactivate it within the 30 day period. After an account has been deactivated for 30 Days it will be permanently deleted. So you won’t be able to reactivate it after the 30 Days has passed. Everything associated with your account, tweets, interactions, engagement, etc. will be deleted also.
2. Another menu will appear. Click on Settings and Privacy.
3. a. Click on Account. In the account screen, scroll all the way to the bottom until you see Deactivate Account.
b. Click on Deactivate Account and you’ll be taken to the screen shown below. At the bottom of this screen, you’ll see “Deactivate”. Click on it to deactivate your account.
Set Your Twitter Account to Private
- Click on Settings and Privacy.
- In the next screen, click on Privacy and Safety.
3. At the top, you’ll see Protect your Tweets. This will set your account to private
Click the switch ‘on’ to make it green and set your account to Private. When your account is private, only you and your followers will be able to see your tweets. You’ll have to approve each new follower once this option is activated.
Delete Your Tweet
- Go to the Tweet you want to delete. In the top right corner of your post click on the 3 dots.
- There will be a drop down menu. Click Delete Tweet to delete your post and it will be removed.
On Instagram
Set Account to Private
- Click on the top right corner where the 3 lines are.
2. You’ll see another menu. At the very bottom of the menu click on the gear/Settings.
3. Under Settings click on Privacy.
4. Under Privacy, Private Account will be at the top of the list. Tap the Private Account switch and there will be a pop up at the bottom. Click Switch to Private. The switch on the right will turn blue showing your account is now private.
This will make your profile viewable only to your followers. So, it won’t be a publicly viewed account which are more susceptible to NFT art theft.
6.You can even deactivate your account. Just go to privacy settings and toggle the switch on and off. What’s great about deactivating your account on Instagram, is that you can deactivate & reactivate it any time you want, without penalty or losing any of your data, posts, profile info., etc.
Hide Your Instagram Posts with “Archive”
If you want to hide your posts, without deleting them, you can archive them.
- When you’re logged into your account, go to the post you’d like to archive.
- Click on the 3 tiny dots on the top right of the post. A few options will drop down in the menu. From here, you can decide if you want to edit your post (note: YOU CAN’T CHANGE YOUR POSTED PHOTO ONCE YOU’VE ALREADY POSTED IT. But you can edit it’s description & hashtags.)
- Click on Archive to hide your posts from your profile. Only you will be able to see them in your archive when you go to Settings > Archive.
* You can also delete it if you’d like under the same menu.
I delete my pics if it’s an artwork I don’t want to be stolen or feel uncomfortable having it up. I feel safer if it’s deleted, especially on the off chance that an account could be hacked. The drawback is that all your interactions, likes, comments, views, tags, etc. will be deleted as well. If you’re fine with that, then delete your post. But if you just want to hide your image from your page, you can archive it.
Select archive from the drop-down menu. This will hide your image from your instagram page. It will not be viewed publicly or by your followers. An archived image can only be viewed by you or the person who is in charge of or owns the account.
To view your archive, go to Archive under settings.
Your archive may show your “Stories” archive. To get to your posts and live video archive, tap the arrow next to “Posts Archive” and you’ll see a dropdown menu. Just select which archive you’d like to view.
On Facebook
- Go to the top right when logged into your account and click on the “down arrow”.
- Then go to Settings and Privacy.
3. On the left menu, click on Privacy.
In Your Activity, you can decide who sees your posts (set your posts to private where only your friends can see).
Click Edit or Limit Past Posts to toggle who can see your posts. You can toggle any of the other settings under this section if you’d like, just by clicking on the section or blue text on the right.
4. To Limit Past Posts click on the blue text and you’ll see a drop down section showing what will happen to your posts. Then click on Limit Past Posts button.
Set Your Facebook Account to Private
- Click on Public Posts under Settings.
- Click on Public Posts Filters and Tools and another menu will drop down.
- Go to Who Can Follow Me and click on the menu with the down arrow on the right.
7. Choose who can follow you and see your posts. Choose Public so everyone can see your profile. Or click Friends to make your facebook page only viewable to your friends.
On Tumblr
Hide Your Tumblr Account (Not Deactivate it)
- Go to top right corner and click the Person icon.
2. A menu will drop down. Click on Settings.
3. You’ll be taken to your account. On the right, click on the blog(s) you want to hide. It will have a profile picture next to it.
4. You’ll be taken to an overview of your Tumblr blog settings. Scroll all the way down.
5. Keep scrolling down until you see Visibility. There, you can hide your blog from being seen on Tumblr and on internet browser (if you activate Hide <username> from search results).
Delete Your Tumblr Post
- Select the post you want to delete.
- At the bottom of the post you’ll see symbols and icons. Click the trash can to delete your post.
Change or Delete Post Image without Deleting Post
- Select the post you want to edit.
- Click on the pencil icon to edit your post.
- Hover over the top right corner of your image until you see an “X” in a red circle.
- Click on the “X” to delete or change your post image.
Make Your Posts Private
- Once you’ve selected the post you want to hide, go to the bottom of the post where the icons are and click on the pencil icon to edit your post.
- Under the description is a green button that says Save with a down arrow next to it.
- Click on the Down Arrow. There will be a drop down menu that says Post Now and Post Privately.
- Click Post Privately to hide your post. And you’re all set!
On Your Own Website
If you have your own website, here are a few tips to protect your art.
1. Password Protection
A great way to protect your art (especially NFT art theft) is to have some of it password protected. Maybe you want some of your newer work to stay private but only show it to clients and colleagues (which is what I do). Instead of showcasing all your work publicly, you can choose to show a bit of your work to give your audience a taste of what you do. For some of your newer work or IPs that you’d like to be private, feel free to password protect your work. I don’t currently have my site password protected but I do leave my important and newest work off my site. I tend to keep some of my best pieces on my art website but definitely not all. If it’s a design or artwork that I don’t want to be stolen or ‘copied’ , I won’t post it on my website nor social media. Doing that lets me keep some of my work and IP to myself. Depending on your website, you may already have an option to password protect your work. But usually, you’d have to go through a 3rd-party password service do this. Fees vary but are usually pretty cheap for a single user per month.
Here’s an article by Rise Design & Shine to help you decide if you want to password protect your site https://www.risedesignandshine.com/blog/2017/8/24/password-protect-your-portfolio-or-not
2. Don’t Post Art You Don’t Want to Show
If at anytime you feel uncomfortable posting your art online, then don’t post it. Only post your art online if you feel comfortable doing it. If posting a certain piece of work will make you feel stressful later down the line, skip it for now. You can always decide on posting it later. Remember, your art and website is yours and it is about you. So if you’re having second thoughts posting it at the cost of your feelings and mental wellness (worry, stress, sadness, etc) don’t share it. It will save you from stress, anxiety, and other potential emotional pains. If you made artwork that’s copyrighted by someone else or a company, ask them first if you can put it on your site. Most clients will say yes. But some may say ‘yes’ only if you password protect your work.
3. Put a Copyright on Your Website
This is one of the easiest and quickest ways to protect your work. Although there is still a chance your art may be plagiarized, it’s a fantastic deterrent to ward off would-be offenders and NFT art thieves.
All you need to do is post a line saying “Copyright 20XX”, your name, and a brief statement saying what can’t be done to your work. Adding a copyright symbol will help as well. If someone does steal your work, you’ll have a much better chance of claiming the work as your own. Putting a copyright statement on your site shows you own the work and it’s yours. It acts as solid proof that it’s your work. As a plus, if you do decide to sue the offender or NFT art thief for damages (hopefully it won’t ever have to come to that), you’ll have a much greater chance of winning.
4. Put an NFT Copyright on Your Work
Prevent it from being used as an NFT. As seen with the rise of NFT art, copyright statements and claims may not be enough to fend off digital art theft. A great way to prevent theft of your digital work form NFTs, is to put a copyright disclaimer specifically restricting the use of your art for NFTs. That way, it’s either on the artwork using a watermark or in your copyright statement on your site.
It’s as simple as putting “This artwork can’t be used for NFTs”. It’s a very obvious warning to plagiarists that they can’t use your work as NFT art. I’d highly highly recommend you do this if you’re posting individual art works on social media.
How to Help Stop Art Plagiarism Online
If you or someone you know is or may be a victim of online art theft, what should you do? Here’s a guide on how to help stop plagiarism and notify the plagiarist.
1. Stay Calm
Always, always stay calm! If you’re irritated or anxious you’re more likely to make mistakes and do something you could end up regretting later.
Take a couple deep breaths first to get your mind relaxed. You’ll be prepared and focused to handle the next steps.
2. Contact the Artist or Original Creator of the Work, First!
I say “contact the artist first” because if the plagiarist is the first to be notified of the art theft, it could be the wrong person or they might not have plagiarized the work.
When you contact the artist first, you’re informing them directly. They’ll be able to know immediately and confidently if their work was stolen. Show the artist the image you think was plagiarized. If their art was plagiarized, the artist will take steps to confront the offender. There’s a fantastic chance the issue will be resolved by the artist as they have the proof to show they created the art in question, ie. time stamps, descriptions, process, etc.
3. Contact the Plagiarist
Most likely, it should be the artist of the stolen work who contacts the plagiarist. If you’re an artist and have an agent or representative, they can reach out as well. If the artists reach out directly, they have a greater case for the issue plus solid proof they created the art in question.
Note: Do not publicly shame or harass the plagiarist directly and publicly online. It can make you look potentially difficult to work with if you’re an artist. Acting this way can even lose you future client and job opportunities. If you’d like to talk about it on social media don’t mention their name, account, handle, etc. unless you really have to. It’s alright to mention their handle or account name ONLY IF you’re spreading awareness and letting people know about them if they’re a repeat offender.
Usually, the offender should stop.
But in the off chance they don’t, here are a couple articles that might help.
- Art Business Info Article – “What to do about copyright infringement – for artists”
- Art Business.com Article – “Art Copyright Infringement and Your Creative Health”
How You Can Successfully Navigate Being an Artist Online
Check out some of these helpful resources for more awesome digital art tips, tutorials, and more:
- Free Copyright Cheat Sheet with 13+ Essential Ways to Protect Your Art Online That Every Digital Artist Must Know | Freebie
- Social Media Artist : 7 Ways to Stop Depression & Anxiety When You’re Online | Post
- Why Being a Social Media Artist is a Hard Competition to Win | Post
- Free Copyright Checklist to Help Prevent Theft of Your Digital Art | Freebie
- How to Overcome Art Anxiety Fast & Be Confident With Your Art | Post
- Free Stress Relief Cheat Sheet for Digital Artists When You Just Need a Break Offline | Freebie
- How to Identify Online Art Bashing vs. an Art Critique When Posting Your Art | Post
Sometimes all this thinking about constantly protecting my art and what not can get me a little anxious. When this happens, I take some time to myself and put on an audio guide and draw a bit. Use my free drawable stress relief sheet to get started!
Wooo, that was a long article! I hope this helps you in better understanding NFTs, NFT art theft, and the effects of plagiarism while helping you prevent it from happening to your work and others. If you found this article helpful, share it with your fellow artists and art communities. I want this to help as many artists as possible. Thanks for reading!
I love it when folks come together and share ideas. Great website, keep it up!
Very nice article. I learned a lot. I just shared it on Facebook.
Keep up the good work.
I could not refrain from commenting. Well written!
Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful article.
Thanks for supplying this info.
What’s happening I am new to this, I stumbled upon this
I have found it positively helpful and it has helped me out loads.
I hope to contribute & help others like its
helped me. Great job.
Hey there, you’ve done a great job. I certainly dig it and will personally suggest it to my friends.
I am confident they will benefit from this.
Great job!
After study a few of the blog posts on your website now, and I truly like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon.
Thank you for this post. I have personal knowledge of art and creativity thieves in my own long career as a photographer. It has been a real trauma. So keep up the good work. It will help everyone.
Thank you for your comment Athena!