Many of us have software piracy to thank for our entry into the digital art world. I myself got started with a copy of Photoshop 6.0 a friend had given me. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that one of the reasons programs such as Photoshop and Flash are so popular in the first place is because of piracy, and I’m certainly not the only one who thinks so. As amateurs, it’s much harder for us to legitimately get our hands on professional software for obvious reasons, mostly financial ones, but that does not mean that you have the right to pirate the software. Legal ramifications, taking money from the poor giant corporations, etc. etc. Basically, it’s just wrong. You know it’s wrong, I don’t have to tell you it’s wrong, but I’m gonna do it anyway. It’s wrong.

But then what can you do? What kind of alternatives do you have?

First off, you can pay for the software. Although I’m sure most of you are as broke as I am, I know that there are some of you out there who could actually afford the software package of your choice. This can work as a motivating factor for you, because now you have the ‘option’ of working so hard you can make some money off your work and at least compensate a bit for the price of the software, or even save up to buy another package if you want. For those of you who can’t afford some of the more expensive packages, I would suggest looking for good deals, seeing if you can get a student license, or maybe finding some cheaper alternatives.

You know what’s better than cheap software? Free software! Well, not always. Free does not necessarily mean good, but luckily for us creative types, there is plenty of quality free software out there that do a surprisingly good job of replacing the professional packages. From GIMP to Blender to many many more, some of these alternatives will astound you. Yes, astound. Especially because they’re free. These programs are not always perfect, but in many cases they are at least worth not taking the risk of downloading software you have not paid for, and at most fantastic and allow you to make anything you could with the pro software. Also, by downloading, using, and perhaps being part of the community of certain free software packages, you promote the development of that particular program, and secure it’s improvement for yourself and others. And let’s not forget the influence you can have by recommending your favorite free digital art software packages to others. And the better the free software gets, the greater your advantage and the worse your excuses for pirating software will get.

So I ask of you, my fellow amateurs, to show some professionalism (yes, I dare) and only use software you pay for, or get somebody else to pay for, or otherwise legitimately get your hands on, or use free alternatives.

I will list your free and cheaper software alternatives extensively in future posts.

What are you stealing? Software? Well yes, but that’s not what this post is about. This one is about stealing COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL.

image by gruntzooki

I will admit, I have been guilty of it too in the past. Stuff like using cool songs, images or video clips in my works. It’s very tempting, sometimes you listen to a song and get great ideas, or you already have something created but find a work that would fit perfectly into your project. Sometimes you just have to, right? No, you do not. In most cases, it’s just plain wrong, and in others, it’s not advisable to use copyrighted work even if you can get permission from the original author. Here’s why:
First, the obvious. You are using other people’s work without their permission. You would not like it if someone else was making a name/profit for him/herself from your work without your permission. There are always legal implications to be considered, and yes, there is such a thing as fair use, however, when claiming fair use remember to do your research, and more importantly, that as an artist you are trying to create something new.
You could always ask for permission, and in the case of some smaller works (where you do not have to approach a monstrous corporation) you might even get that permission, but that leads to the same point, you are not creating something new yourself. If the work you are using is particularly well-known, you run a big risk in that work taking the center stage, pushing the parts you did create yourself into the background, and you certainly don’t want that.

So what’s an amateur digital artist to do? Well, as an amateur, you basically have less access to resources that would benefit you than the pros. You are most likely not making any money from your work, and therefore are not in the mood to pay for stock photography, etc. So what options do you have?

Well, for one, in this day and age, there are more quality free resources at your disposal than ever before. (Listing the places where you can get these resources would be more than a post in itself, because that list keeps on growing. In fact, expect regular posts where I try out and review these kinds of websites.) So there, if you want to use other work in your own project, get them the right way. It’s important to still pay attention to whatever licenses these works might have (Creative Commons and the like, I’ll post more on that in the future as well) and to respect those licenses.

But wait, doesn’t this still create the same problem, that you’re not creating something entirely new yourself? Well, on the one hand free works don’t have corporations and their pr-guys behind them, but on the other hand free works are more likely to be used by others, and therefore could still be well-known.

So now what?
You still have options, don’t worry.

First up, you could create everything yourself. Need a song for your animation? Make it yourself. Need a video for your song? Make it yourself. Need better graphics for you game? Do that all by your lonesome my friend. This attitude does not come without its own problems, of course. Basically, you have two obstacles: Your own knowledge, and time. Your own lack of knowledge is the easiest to fix, just go out and learn how to do it. My projects tend to be ambitious, so I have to know my way around a few different media to make them real. It can be a very interesting and refreshing experience to dive head first in a medium you have never toyed around with before. Almost like reliving that time you were first exposed to the world of creating digital art.Still, this is one of the things that leads to the second obstacle: Time. The bigger the project and the more media it requires to be complete, the longer it’s going to take. And this is something you do in your free time, which is always severely limited. A project taking too long to complete can be a very discouraging experience. And when you lose that essential motivation, you can pretty much forget finishing that project.

So are you doomed? Should you give up? Of course not! You still have one very good option:

Collaboration! Yes, on the one hand you will lose some of the creative authority (this is not always a bad thing, a fresh point of view can be very helpful), but this is entirely dependent on the specifics of the agreement you have with the other person(s). Sometimes you just need a helping hand, and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there willing to join creative forces to create something really spectacular. So get out there and seek people who would want to help you. Sometimes that is the only thing standing between you and a finished product.

So there you have it, three awesome alternatives to using copyrighted material.

Now stop stealing!