I'd say keep using the paper, if you can afford it. Generally, those who
complain, unless it's a legit, quality concern such as increasing smudging,
dust collection or inksmearing or whathave you, I see absolutely no reason
why anybody should be complaining about the type of paper being used.
Security Features? Works fine for me.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Take a wild, friggin guess" <a_change_of_plans_at_yahoo.com>
To: <SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 11:00 PM
Subject: [SkunkworksAMA] Okay, folks, I need some input on this...
> I recently received an e-mail from Second Ed stating that some of
> the folks who are buying my artwork from him are less than happy with
> the kind of paper it is being printed on now. For those of you who
> do not know, the paper I'm using for my folios costs about 45 bucks a
> ream, a cost which I have not passed on to either Ed or to the
> consumer. The paper is a very pale grey/offwhite stock which
> incorporates a certain safety feature: any attempt to scan or copy
> the image will result in the text "COPY COPY COPY" appearing all over
> the picture.
> Now, why did I decide to use that paper? Because of pathetic
> little shitbags who think it's totally okay to post unauthorized high-
> resolution scans of an artist's work online. People who run their
> little art-pirating sites are quickly becoming a weed that needs to
> be plucked.
> Having been the victim of such activities more times than I can
> count, I can honestly say I understand why some artists just pack up
> their bags and call it quits. And I won't lie, there were more than
> a few times when I was standing at that doorway myself. But I like
> what I draw, and (excluding those few pathetic ass-ticks who pirate
> stuff) I like the fandom and all the folks in it. I would feel it
> would be akin to a betrayal if I were to do something like calling it
> quits. That's not really what I want to do. But I have to do
> something to stem the illegal duplication and redistribution of my
> artwork.
> There seems to be a little clique in the fandom of folks who think
> they are entitled to furry artwork (or anything, really) simply
> because they want it. The only thing these individuals are entitled
> to is a mouthful of broken teeth. Obviously, they fail to realize
> that it takes a lot of time, effort and money to make a single
> drawing, let alone something as large as a portfolio. Those markers
> I use? Those sons-of-bitches are 4 bucks EACH. One marker may last
> as much as 3 pictures. Those pencils? A buck-twenty-five each. So
> if I need to stock up on, let's say, 20 pencils and 20 markers,
> that's about 110 dollars just for supplies (not including paper, ink
> pens, erasers, etcetera). Add that to the regular monthly bills, and
> the $430 worth of medicine I must now buy every month, and you can
> see why I might get a little miffed about someone posting
> unauthorized copies all over the place. I'm not made of money, and I
> haven't won the lottery. In fact, I filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy back
> in December because of massive debt due to medical bills and loans.
> So obviously, greenbacks are not falling out of my ass.
> Now, some of these customers have stated they won't buy any more
> folios if I continue to print on the special paper. It's possible
> they don't know WHY I'm using that paper. That's definitely a
> possibility. I do not want to upset anyone, or lose any customers.
> But I also do not want to have art pirates posting high-resolution
> scans of brand-new material online. It's been several months since
> the Skunkworks Animated folio came out, and I haven't seen any
> unauthorized scans. Ditto with Better Mousetrap.
> I feel that if I back down and change back to standard stock, it
> will appear as if the entire situation is motivated by money. And
> it's not. I draw what I draw because I like to draw it. Plain and
> simple. Do I expect to become rich off drawing furry art? No.
> Would I still draw it even if I were no longer selling it or posting
> it? Yes. Do I want my artwork all over the place? Not really. And
> don't give me the "Well, if it's posted online, it's fair game"
> bullshit. That remark is gonna lead to a need for massive dental
> reconstruction.
> I do not have the money or the lawyers or whatever that folks like
> Jeremy Bernal have to go after art pirates. Personally, I'd prefer
> to beat those guilty of such activities with a lead pipe, but there
> are laws against that sort of thing. So I do the next best thing:
> make it as hard as possible for someone to illegally distribute my
> artwork. Stop them before they start, so to speak.
> Now, the only way someone would notice the special watermarking is
> if they tried to scan the pictures into their computer. Otherwise,
> the text is extremely faint. You have to be pretty much on top of
> the picture in order to even detect it. So maybe some of those folks
> were trying to make digital copies of the artwork. They sounds very
> legit. I know some people who do that, so I don't doubt the
> possibility. It's always a good idea to have a "back up copy".
> Unfortunately, there's no way to produce a kind of paper that will
> allow "legitimate copying" while stemming the flow of "illegal
> redistribution".
> So, in short, I'd like to know what you folks think about this
> situation. I can guarantee if I come out with another folio on
> standard stock, it's gonna be less than a month before it shows up
> online in it's entirety. And at this point in my life, I've had it
> with some of these 90-pound weaklings behaving as if they're 7 years
> old, hiding behind a computer screen and making it their life mission
> to make other people's lives a little more hellish. I'm pretty much
> at the point where I think these particular folks need to be stopped,
> and I don't much care about the method used. They're ripping off a
> lot of good people, and that just doesn't sit well with me.
> Again, your input on this would be very much appreciated. The copy-
> protected paper is the least troublesome method I could think of to
> keep things moving along at a nice smooth pace. If you have any
> other ideas, please post them here or e-mail me directly.
> Thanks for your time and for listening to me vent...
>
> --JMH, not willing to let "the other side" win...
>
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Received on Thu Jan 19 2006 - 14:58:37 CST