Hello Internet: #1 (Things you can't steal)

I always find it funny, when a person's gallery is full of "pictures" of poorly drawn Microsoft paint characters, or sketches that are just a little off, and then suddenly, in a stroke of artistic brilliance, happen to post a piece of art that was clearly sketched out masterfully, lined digitally, colored over, and edited (most likely using an advanced tablet) in Adobe Photoshop.

Now, don't get me wrong!  I love the artists who use MS paint, and those sketches that are just a bit off still show room for growth and improvement!  My sketches are just the same!  The thing I find funny about the situation, is that they would clearly steal and upload somebody else's work, just for their own personal fame and recognition.  This is art we're talking about.  Why be an artist, or be known as an artist, if you're not even creating your own art?

This happens all the time, and problems are constantly raised and resolved, but one thing has always brought my heart-rate to an indescribable high.  One thing has always brought the darker side of me to light, tearing at my patience until my blood boils with an unearthly rage, that simply tests the boundaries of both my morals and my temptation to force someone's sin to light.  This terrible act, this indescribable crime, both impossible and hopeless to properly achieve, but committed nonetheless, is the stealing of somebody's character.

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When an artist creates a character, a GOOD character, they usually don't just spin a wheel and pull random pieces of emotion and scattered attributes to collage them into a new and unique character.  No, what an artist does, is reach inside them self, and find a piece of their own heart, their own mind, and place it on a page.  They give it flesh, they give it bone, they give it expression and personality!  They give it a past, a present, and a future!  They give it relations, hopes, dreams, strengths, weaknesses, love, hate, joy, sadness, and desire!  Desires to grow, desires to achieve.  They give their character a reality, and they give their character a dream.

This creation is as close as one can get to feeling the bond God Himself felt as He created Adam.  It's as close as we can get, to speaking a life into existence.  Through a person's art and text, they can not only create a life, but a world with it.  They can populate it, give it history, give it form, and events (of both miracles and tragedies).  They spin the thread that holds it all together, and until the end of time, that original creator will still know that character better than anyone else, unless they abandon or forget them, with time, or by losing their personality in an abundance of other creations.

So, it just strikes me speechless, to see somebody else attempt to steal a character, because, for lack of a better explanation... it's impossible.

You can't steal a character, and be successful in the end.  All you can do is cause trouble for both yourself, and for the original creator.

You can't know this character any better than the original owner, you can't think as this character, in the way that the creator did, and it's simply because this character came from their heart.  When you steal a character, you rip a piece of the creator's heart out, a piece that simply doesn't fit in your own.  You have no place stealing a character, because you don't have their personality hidden in your own.  You can't go into a conversation, and think the same thoughts as your character, with the same bias, same emotion, or the same personality.  Each character, hero or villain, always relates to the author in some way, and try as you might, you can never be anyone but yourself.  Forcing yourself to act like the author will only leave you an empty facade of what you could be.

If you steal a character, you leech from the respect and recognition that the original author deserves!  Especially if your art is better than theirs is currently!  They'll notice that you are recognized as the owner, and to everyone, they'll simply look like a fool, usually leading to depression, and no more motivation to draw or continue any works involving that character.  Nobody likes a hollow character, and if you liked a character enough to steal them, you'd like them enough to step back, give the credit to whom it is due, and watch the character grow and change.

Speaking of change, it is possible to take someone's creation, and morph it into something that it wasn't meant to be.  You might think you successfully stole a character, but in reality, because you weren't the creator of their personality, you've changed them.  They just aren't the same character anymore.  This doesn't mean they aren't interesting, it just means that you've taken the credit from whom it belongs, and changed their creation, until it is viewed as the original, as the creator loses his grip on who his or her character was really meant to be.  If you want to create art or other items with a certain character, remember that the respect goes to the creator, and either link or add some way to find them and their works, rather than just yours (in which case, you are free to change their personality as well, to show how you view them).

I'm not against fan-fiction, and in-fact, I encourage it openly!  This is part of the reason an artist can create unique characters, because as they read your fan-work, they find things that they agree with or disagree with, opening them to layers of their character they never knew, showing them pieces of that characters personality that were hidden within their own mind previously.

All I'm saying is, if you like a character, go ahead and write about them, draw them, make comics about them all you like!  Just give the credit to the author, and give that author your support.  If somebody asks you, "Is this character your's", link them to the original author!

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That being said, if you notice a post or an item taking the credit for something that simply doesn't belong to them (And I'm not just talking about having the same name/hairstyle/outfit/weapon, I'm talking about a full-on copy with little change in either physical, mental, or social aspects of a character), simply alert the author, and they will investigate it.  At that point, it's up to the author to determine his plan of action (which will hopefully be mature and respectful, while still being stern and determining to gain his character back).

Respect each other out there, and though most of you won't agree with me, I don't really mind.  I got my thoughts out there, and that's what matters to me.