How to Protect Your Digital Art from Online Thieves

It's a pretty sad world we live in that you can't even post your artwork online without having to worry that someone is going to steal it and then make money by selling either the picture itself, or the picture on things like t-shirts and coffee mugs. Unfortunately that is the world we live in. Recently at Renderosity one of the websites I post digital artwork that I create in Poser at, there has been a rash of thefts. It has the entire Renderosity community up in arms, and even though I haven't discovered any of my artwork has been stolen, it is still of great concern to me as I am sure it is to anyone who posts digital artwork online.

While there is no sure-fire completely 100% proof way to protect the digital art you post online, there are some steps you can take which will make it so difficult for a digital art thief to use your artwork they will hopefully decide it is not worth the trouble.

Put a Watermark on Your Digital Artwork

A watermark is a transparent mark that you can put across your images. A watermark can take away from the beauty of an image a bit, but it is worth it if you want to make it harder for online thieves to steal your work. While a watermark can be erased using a good photo- editing software such as Photoshop, remember the idea is to make it more difficult and too much work for a thief to want to bother with your images.

Create a Logo

Anyone can create a simple logo with any paint program such as Paint.net or Paintshop Pro. A logo looks professional and implies that you view your art as a business. While anyone can create a logo, and it is not a guarantee this will deter an online art thief, the thief might think twice about stealing an image with a logo if they think that as a business you may the resources to pursue an online thief.

Add a Copyright Signature

Did you know that copyright law in the United States says that as soon as you create a work of art it is copyrighted? Well it does. That means that you or anyone else for that matter can add a copyright signature to their digital art. An example would be: © 2007 by Regina Paul. Adding this to your pictures is one way to let the art thieves of the online world know your work is copyrighted. While it does take away from the picture, I suggest adding your copyright signature to the middle of the picture rather than at the bottom or on the sides as it is more difficult to crop it from the image. Although, such a signature can be erased with a good photo-editing software, keep in mind you are trying to make your artwork too much trouble to bother with for the online thieves. It will take away from the picture a bit, but you don't have to put it right over someone's face for example, you could instead put it over something that is less distracting like a character's dress.

Add the Words All Rights Reserved to Your Copyright Signature

Adding the words All Rights Reserved to your copyright signature is letting the world know that only you have the right to post or use your artwork unless you give someone permission in writing. Not everyone does this, I've personally been pretty amazed at the number of digital artists who will add a copyright signature, but not the words All Rights Reserved, as if just adding the copyright is enough. Adding the copyright signature is great, but adding the words All Rights Reserved is even better!

Add Your Website Address to Your Digital Art

Even if you do not have a website with a digital artwork gallery or post your digital artwork at your website, adding your website address to your digital art is a good way to make you easy to contact should someone notice your artwork where it does not belong. Many in the online art community take this very seriously and will even take time out of their busy days to look and see if their and other's art is turning up where it shouldn't. Having your website address on your artwork solves the problem for a fellow artist or someone else to find you should there be need to.

Ideally, having a watermark with all of the other elements included is probably the best way to protect your work, but using even one of these is better than nothing at all. While many digital artists create art for no other reason than personal pleasure, the fact is they have taken the time to create something beautiful and no one has the right to steal their artwork. I have even heard other online artists say that they don't care if their artwork is posted elsewhere on the internet as long as the copyright signature and or the watermark is left on the image since they just create art for themselves. However, keep in mind of how you would feel if someone was stealing your digital artwork and selling it either by itself, or on products. That thief would then be making money off of your hard work, and wouldn't you rather be the one making that money?

So, now you can see how important it is to protect your digital images, and you know how to do so.