No to DeviantArt For Now

[dewline]

I'd been considering setting up an account on DeviantArt for a while now, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to back away until some issues of policy change for the better regarding their handling of comics inkers. Bob Almond makes the case better than I can, so I'll refer you directly to his statement:

http://www.firstcomicsnews.com/?p=13403

Bob is the founder of the Inkwell Awards, so his opinion on the subject is not without just cause, I believe. If you want to know more about them, take a gander over here:

http://www.inkwellawards.com/

Comments

[starfire68.livejournal.com]

I read his statement about the dA policies...I've long been a dA member. I can understand the concerns to a degree, but honestly, a simple "pencils used with permission" would have alleviated the problem.

The policy is there to protect all artists...I know quite a few on there who have had artwork stolen, others who have had pencilwork inked/colored/claimed by someone else. The policies aren't there to hurt inkers or anyone who is a second or third step in the comic chain (some fantastic colorists, both professional and amateur, have dA accounts, and don't have policy problems for building on someone else's pencils.)

Honestly, there are policies on dA that I'm not particularly fond of, but to me, the positives outweigh the negatives.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

My (possibly ill-informed at present) understanding was that other members of the Inkwell Yahoo!Group have had problems with this particular aspect of dA policy despite being legally in-bounds on the other fronts you refer to.

Further Update from Bob Almond

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Bob asked me to pass along the following:

It's true as PJ Magalhaes identified himself today on the Inkwell Yahoo Group mailing list. I seem to recall that when he first made his announcement, others chimed in about similar scenarios. I am not suggesting a boycott or anything, just an awareness, which has been what the Inkwells are about. I never accused them of trying to hurt inkers as they most-likely had good intent. I use many social networks for myself and my organization and this is the first time that I've heard about these kind of stories with an artist community venue. After I posted this I've had messages from people saying they were happy that I was informing folks because DA didn't sound like they knew what they were talking about and that their standards were unreasonable. So there are two sides. But inkers can make their choice if they want to join/stay or not....they can write "pencils used with permission" if they want. It's nothing personal to me. And I'd want to be informed if the shoe was on the other foot.