On Using Images From My Gallery

I know it seems like every time I even bother to log into this account and post anything, it seems like I'm doing it to bitch about something, but clearly it's time for me to go over this yet again. I've been receiving a lot of messages lately from people who apparently aren't bothering to read the usage terms on my page in regards to images from my gallery. Many of them are from people who practically want to be given a cookie for taking my artwork and doing whatever they damn well please with it, like I ought to be flattered that they're stealing from me. That said, I'd like to remind you of a few things.

- My artwork is not stock art to cut up and use for your own projects. You're not allowed to take digital images out of my gallery to make glitter graphics or backgrounds for your web pages. I'm not going to be flattered if you rip my stuff off to slap onto the cover of your latest self-published NaNoWriMo project. You're not welcome to use physical prints you buy from me to cut up and use for crafts, greeting cards, or anything else either.

Obviously I can't physically show up at your house and stop you from doing whatever you're going to do, especially in regards to physical prints or products you buy that have my images on them. However, you can rest assured that if I see anything appearing on this site or elsewhere on the internet that uses my artwork without my having given you my express permission to use it, I will report you for copyright violation. God help you if I ever catch you trying to sell the things you make with art I didn't give you permission to use for the purpose. Adding a bunch of glitter, lace, or stamps to someone else's work doesn't give you the right to upload it to your own gallery here and call it yours.

- I've also been getting a ton of requests to upload my work to private galleries on Facebook and other similar sites. Again, I can't physically stop everyone who decides they're going to simply take my artwork and post it wherever they want. However, I really want to make it clear that I'm not cool with that sort of thing happening either in the hopes that maybe some people reading still have some kind of respect for how hard artists work on what they create. People need to stop assuming that every artist on this site or elsewhere just wants their work seen as much as possible and by as many eyes as possible.

I'm sorry I sound so cranky and pissed off, but to be totally honest? I am. In fact, stuff like this is exactly why I don't care to be more of a participant here anymore and why I've pretty much stopped sharing new artwork with people online altogether. It's not just the fact that people are constantly treating my gallery like their own private stock art cache. It's that people actually have the balls to message me here assuming I'm going to be flattered and pat them on the head for doing what they're doing. Other artists' mileage may vary, but I'm personally not all right with any of this. If that means anything to you at all, you'll respond by treating my work with the respect it deserves.