DIGITAL_DEVIL_DATABASE Community Forum

While this site probably has way too many smilies as it is, I suppose it can't hurt to have more that are well designed. Anything that actually pertains to Megaten in some fashion would be great, since that's what this place is lacking the most.

New avatars would also be appreciated. The desired size is 180x100, but if the avatar is quality it will still be considered. I'd like for there to be a far wider spectrum to choose from than the site currently offers... particularly for games that we have no options for yet.

Please keep in mind fanart rules when submitting avatars or smilies or anything else. Utilizing someone else's fan work without permission is not allowed here or anywhere else, regardless of whether or not you understand the language of the page you got it from.

If you have an image you'd like to submit, feel free to upload it as an attachment with your post. Otherwise a simple link would do nicely.

:thanks:

We have custom avatars! What more could we ask for? :xd:

Well not everyone is capable of making those... I'm sure anyone without the ability would appreciate a few donations. :smug:

Here it goes, I hope it works.

Those are too big.

Yeah, I suppose I should be more clear: 180x100 is the desired size, but it's also the maximum size lol.

Woops... Sorry. Let's see now... I'll add some more then.:smug:

What is the approximate size in inches, picas, etc for avatars if I know this then I could make custom ones by request in photoshop7 or illustrator10.

As I said in the original post, 180x100 pixels is the desired size. You can do smaller ones, but that's the size I'm going for.

Here are a few:
http://crescens.xepher.net/random/avatar

(sorry that I'm too lazy to link them individually)
They're simple... :/  But they do the job. xD

And most of the scans are gotten from http://www.beyourtruemind.net

This doesn't make much sense -- you use official art, right? Pretty much everyone uses it without permission, so... I really don't see how one can say you can't use fanart, but you can use official art. Ultimately, both were drawn by someone else, and both are posted publicly, whether it be online, in artbooks, in games, etc.

I really have no desire to use fanart in my avatars, but I figured I might as well ask, as this somewhat "universal" rule has always been something that's bothered me.

I just put it down because people always bitch about it otherwise. The second you use something that some random fan online made without giving some link is the second someone PMs you telling you to put the link in. I'm just going with the tide here.

There's really not much we can do about it. Unless everyone is expected to draw their own images in every last thing I don't know what could be changed. It won't really happen. Anything beyond it is just going to get dragged into a circular debate of "if this is wrong, how is this right?" and essentially every single fan site on the planet would have to be dismantled. I'm not really sure what the best path in that case should be, but I often find myself posing a similar question as you have.

The main issue with fanart, from what I can gather, is that by using it, a lot of the time you're giving off the impression that YOU are the one who drew the piece. I notice a lot of people will lie and take the credit in that situation. That obviously isn't going to happen with something that was very obviously drawn by Kazuma Kaneko or whatever other major artist and is regularly available for all to see on websites and in press packages. It's not giving the remote impression that that person with the avatar or image on their site is the one who drew it.

That's what I figure people get bothered by. I don't really draw much, so I don't have any first hand experience with someone stealing my own stuff. I just do graphic design, which by basic definition, largely just requires altering existing things.

I don't know, read this? -> http://www3.to/ofp *shrugs* I guess because it was made by a "fan" and they see the image as theirs. The character, no but the image they created, yes. Sometimes I don't understand the rule myself but it's good to go by the rule. Do you ask the people to use their fan art in a layout? Avatar? Banner? Like the site says, asking is fine by them.

Also, a lot of times it makes it much easier for people to "claim" the art as their own. How well are fan artist really on the internet?

Let's take Kaneko for example. I can make a layout out of his art but simply can't say, "I DREW THIS CHARACTER!" A lot of people would be out to get me because well, I didn't draw it in the first place right? People KNOW Kaneko drew it.

Now let's take a fan artist who drew one of Kaneko's designs. I can take his/her art without asking, stick it on a layout, and easily claim it as my own art. I mean, who would know? The art was drawn by a fan not Kaneko so I can easily take my claim to that piece of art.

If you ask the person, it's fine. If you didn't, it's not fine. Seriously, if someone states, "Please don't reproduce my art." Then please be nice and not do it. Simple as that.

EDIT: And damn I'm late because Tony just gave you the answer.

I admit the obvious issue of taking official work into the public sphere and doing with it as you please. Even that website mentions one should avoid using official work. Yeah, I'd give the same weight to being asked to remove an image to some random 15 year old kid as I would Atlus or Kaneko himself.

This is something I often find myself thinking about with the site in general. Even with screen shots. I didn't make the game, but I plan on utilizing direct screen grabs of models that weren't made by me in various sections of the site. The Persona 2 section, for example, has a good amount of screen grabs for the Personae listing. Should that be treated any differently than normal art? I don't really know.

I've considered removing the art section that I have on my site from time to time. I think it's interesting to see these images (and the books I've been using seem to be difficult to find and out of print) and a bit about their existance in real world mythology... but they're still not my images to make use of as I please. I give credit to the publisher and artist, but is that enough? By comparison, using only stuff in press packages would severely limit things. I'm just trying to come up with things fans would actually be interested in looking it, I guess.

So I don't know. It's a lot of back and forth argument.

If there's anything I hate more than Yaoi Obsessed Fan Girls, it's Fan Art Zealots.

Ok, that's a lie.

But still. I really don't see the big deal as long as, if asked, you provide the source. And, it's not like you're making money off of it. Honestly, if you post something on the internet, you're going to have to deal with the fact that, if your art or whatever is good enough, people will use it. But, whatever. Your forum, your rules. If you don't want your art being used, though,  don't post it on the goddamn internet.

Anyways, I didn't say anything about claiming the art as one's own -- obviously that's extremely pathetic. Plagiarization annoys me.

Yeah, but you can't really enforce it. You see signs -- "Don't walk on the grass" -- people will do it anyways.

I think I veered away from the point I was trying to make, and honestly, I can't recall what the hell the point was I was trying to make, so, I'm done. I'm just chasing myself in a circle.


Edit:

I don't really visit the main site -- just the forum. But, I checked out the artwork section, and I think you should just remove the watermarks... I mean, really, is it necessary? Sure, you scanned them, but you didn't draw them. I hate watermarks with a passion.

It's no big problem or anything. I just like discussing things and seeing other sides, I guess.

I suppose the best thing to do is change the initial post to "please request permission from the fan artist if possible" and leave it at that. My only real risk with the change is being yelled at by some person I'll never meet and removing an image lol.

I suppose if someone did use fanart and gave a link to the artist, the artist's name and page link can be put under it. That could work, maybe? And if further information is not provided... well, then it won't be added into the vB avatar section and I couldn't really be held accountable for it.

With the watermarks... the images can be direct linked by other servers and have been in the past (I have a few separate sites on the same hosting and I can't have one allow direct links and the other not). I just put them on there because of that problem. I make sure to not cover up the actual artwork itself.

*shrugs* I guess I can just call that person ignorant then. That's like seeing a button with a sign over it stating, "Don't press the button." Press it and get dropped into a trap full of sharks. Ok, that might be going too far but you see my point.

Tony, I'm going to use Nuu as an example. At first, I didn't like what she did. She used fan art in her avatar but seeing as how she credit the artist, I'm totally fine with that, like you said, if they have it in the sig or whatever.

The only thing I'm worried about is that even though it's a good thing that she linked the site, did she ask to use the art? Some sites have those trackers installed inside their counters so they can see where they're getting there hits...and if it points to this forum. D: Yea, I just don't want any commotion...

Well, that can be avoided by simply putting the image on a free host like imageshack.us ... I figured that was just common courtesy so you don't use up other people's bandwidth lol.

Well then, then they can come in, and request the avatar to be removed. No drama has to be made over something as simple as an avatar.

What about using Cosplay in ones avatar? Is that, too, like a form of using fanart?


Meh, if they make a big deal out of it, then you can get satisfaction from the fact that the person is making a big deal out of something that could be solved easily by just requesting, nicely, that the item be removed.

No, I'm talking about the link in her signature. I'm glad to see that she linked the site but I'm just saying, what if she didn't ask the artist for permission?

If I linked my site, right here in this thread, I have a tracker that tells me where I get all my hits from. If I check it, I'll get a link to this thread. That might be the issue with the link in her signature.

EDIT: Are their people using cosplay images in their avatars? Ok, I'm sorry. I find that really weird. x_x; Fanart I can see but pictures of other people??? What?

Ah, okay, I didn't understand that. Anyone can check those things, but I have to assume most people never actually bother unless there's some insane bandwidth spike.

Cosplay... :buh:

ARE THEIR, ARGILLA!? ARE THEIR!? Ha...h.. Right.

I've made an avatar (http://www.devilbuster.net/avatar/chiaki_.jpg) out of a cosplayer. Though, I did it mostly because I can't find any decent Chiaki screenshots. I haven't used it, though. It IS weird using people, and that's why I haven't really used it. Which is a pity, because I like how it turned out. Whatever.

Oh, I know. I have nothing against cosplay but people using OTHER people in their avatars is just weird. Unless they ask or something...or if it's a friend. But if it's someone you don't know then yea, weird.

One reason I stopped using music artist and movie celebrities in my designs. D:

I'm not weird.

I can change my av if it's bothering some people.  
I just thought since I'm promoting the artist's site for him/her anyway...
Well, I'll change it anyway to avoid any problems.

If it's "bothering" people, then they need to gtfo the internet. Seriously. If anyone that isn't the artist bothers you about your avatar, tell them to shut the hell up and mind their damn business, or you'll bite their face off.

Well, I might as well use my own artwork anyway.

Persona 3 anyone?

(http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/2364/persona323xn.jpg)

(http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3857/persona33jr.jpg)

I have some but the files are too big. I haven't had my laptop for awhile and got rusty. Any advise?

If you want to just e-mail them over to me I can look into changing the file size. tony@digitaldevildb.com