A recent ongoing problem with the online art community has been art theft. Large companies such as Hobby Lobby, Shein, Hot Topic, and Zara have been notoriously stealing art from smaller, less popular artists, using popular trends as their target for the art. The motive behind these thefts is unknown, but possibly due to the price of commissions. With stealing popular online art, that price is gone. Another reason could be high demand and the fast pace of incoming trends, to keep up with this quick movement, companies steal from the helpless. Small young artists tend to not have legal resources to take down multi-billion dollar corporations in court.

The most common issue in the art community has always been theft. Smaller, less confident artists would steal from bigger ones and pose as if that art was theirs. These smaller scuffles could be called out and handled, but when it comes to big corporations, it seems almost impossible to defend yourself. It can be very frustrating to see others profit off your work. Another issue that connects to stolen art is generative AI usage for art. People who believe they are less talented will use AI to fake their work, and AI takes art styles or designs from other artists to use as references, which makes it practically a near exact copy. So even using AI to generate a drawing for yourself can be stealing from other artists too.

The more hard work you put into your own drawing the better. Even if it isn’t perfect, at least it’s human and a process of learning. To avoid stolen art in some cases, you can always leave little watermarks, or some piece of you that can always be traced back to you. Your signature mark on your own art. It seems frustrating having to prove that something you put your heart into is yours, but it’s better safe than sorry!