Illustrator Urasora has been the subject of an investigation by 2ch, which found him guilty of egregious tracing. Rather than face 2ch’s wrath, he opted to retire from the business…
The images which led to the fiasco:
He regretfully explains his actions (in typically overblown Japanese style):
Maybe you know, but the things I have done have become an issue in a number of places. I searched for images online and traced what I found when drawing small objects in my pictures. I realise now this was a gross violation of copyright. I even made excuses. In truth, this was all utterly inexcusable.
I have been harshly criticised, and I solemnly accept the criticisms made. Henceforth, I will take the liberty of refraining from further work. I am afraid I will have to refuse any offers of commercial work, though I will have to finish such work as is outstanding. After that, I will take an indefinite break. I beg your forgiveness for all the trouble I caused.
I am deeply, deeply, repentant.
Urasora
In case you were scratching your head, nobody on 2ch has heard of him either (save the ones who obsessively dissected his illustrations in order to have something to hound him with).
He has done illustration work for a number of low profile light novels, eroge and similar, so it is fair to call him a low level illustrator.
He also reports closing his Pixiv account, although since Pixiv is already full of (often very beautifully) traced photographs, to say nothing of huge numbers of copyrighted characters used in an unauthorised fashion, it is unlikely anyone there cares.
The strong reaction both from the artist and the more aggressive elements of 2ch has sparked much debate, with nobody able to agree on the level of “tracing” or “reference” allowable.
Many consider the reaction of both Urasora and 2ch to be overblown, pointing out that using photographs, with or without explicit permission, is part of the industry and of the process of learning how to illustrate, and that expecting artists to use live subjects or bought photographs would drastically increase the costs involved and be quite unworkable.
It is also easy to see why some might find fault with the notion that making a drawing of a photograph constitutes copyright infringement, though clearly the ethical implications of tracing another drawn work are rather more hazy.
Whatever Urasora’s reaction, it is clear there are some much more prominent artists who will not be retiring over something like this any time soon…
Aoi Nishimata seems to have traced a sweet little bird in this illustration, which shifted tonnes of overpriced rice to otaku desperate to put it in their rooms. Certainly easier than hunting one down in the field.
Even Tony is evidently not above tracing – though possibly he should do this more often, considering how well he draws feet…
He certainly has skills with vector art, inking, and other illustrative techniques, as clearly many other artists do. While so many other artists and companies get away with this without their audience even realizing it (ie. they take their own photos, hire photographers, or buy stock imagery), it’s just plain silly when someone goes online and grabs anything available with no regard for copyright.
Just as Pandemonia said, he has the freedom and skill to continue working in the graphic field. Many small-budget or niche-market companies will readily grab him – willingly, even with the knowledge of his previously traced work. They may even hire him for that very reason. I used to provide freelance work within the IMVU community, digitally “painting” over screen caps of users’ avatars and scenery. It is not an easy thing to transpose photography onto digital canvas, especially by hand.
damn,… its one thing to have an archive resource, but to totally depend entirely upon your sources and copy every last detail is – is – just so wrong.
Its perfectly alright to have a source for refference, but you have to use your own creativity and immagination to conjure your very own interpetation of a subject. So that nit-pickers and copyrights won’t be infringed upon.
A lot of the great artists use sources for refference, I’ve encountered lots of media that are slightly diffent in poses, surroundings, down to odds and ends that fill in the background and foreground. You just have to add enough and make it different enough to make it your own unique version.
geez he even copied all the tiny things down to the little nicks and dust particulates!!
I didn’t know crab mentality existed outside of the Philippines…
whyever someone so talented got pushed to that extent?everyone does what he did.
KyoAni did so.
++
Yet more proof that the peeps at 2chan are utterly batshit when it comes to digging up stuff that you’d never expect an ordinary human being to actually be capable of discovering.