Is it okay to "fix" someone's art? (+poll)

[TAMAnnoying]

It always depends for me, context is everything.

If your doing it to simply be salty cause you don’t like the artist- even if I agree with your “fix” it’s gonna put a bad taste in my mouth. A lot of people do “fixes” to snipe at people’s hobbies or art styles, some people “fix” things like people’s skin colors to be more or less darker and it’s just really petty. I’ve also seen people “fix” women’s breast and other features in an artwork cause it dosn’t fit their ideas “feminism” even tho the entire point of feminism is to love yourself no matter what Your body type is. I’ve seen this happen from everything to flat chests to giant boobalus and it just feels like everyone in the world HAS to be born with B cups to make these people happy.

I disagree a lot with this kind of art “fix” I also feel like if your gonna do it- don’t act like a victim for being called out- your not helping anyone your being salty. Also if the artist asks you to remove it because you’re not properly siting their original piece or spreading your “fixed” piece around more then their own. Maybe do what they say and take it down.

Now the “fixes” I do like are not really what I’d call fixes but I understand the #fix movement that has come out of Twitter in order to get as much clout as possible being a starving artist- I get it- just like I get clickbait- don’t like it, but I get it. In truth these are redesigns or proper red line fixes where you actually take the Design of the character and actually try to make it better or see if it’s possible to improve. I think this is good cause your now making your own artwork rather then drawing all over someone else’s in order to “fix” it, it’s also good for your own personal development because you are taking an existing broad idea of a character and trying to redesign them as you would personally. Overall I think it’s a fun exercise so long as your doing it for your own personal development and not doing it cause your super salty about a successful artist.

I also really appreciate red lines, tho I rarely see them, prob cause most people- at least people with some manners, Tend to only do it if the artist has asked for advice- or- they already know the artist well enough that they would appreciate the corrections, ie being a friend or irl friend. Redlines can be helpful tho more for young developing artist then professional ones. Tho I’ve seen a few times professional artist try new poses they’ve never tired before and they usually appreciate the help.

So yeah that’s my thought prossess of “it’s ok” with my detailed asterisk

[IdiotWithPencil]

if you do it for fun then sure go nut, but if you do it to call out the original artist or touting you did it better
then sorry you are a deuce

I mean you can "fix" and art piece (usually composition and anatomy errors are what I mean by Fix, or perspective which let's be frank is something most artist get wrong) but if you show off like you did it better or berate the og artist cause they aren't as good then you may please go to hell

[Luminosophy]

I voted no but I shoulda put 'it depends', lol. Honestly there's two contexts where I don't mind it. First is obvious, if someone is just asking for way to improve their work sometimes the best way is to show rather than just tell. Secondly, I don't mind if someone's edited something to be fun and exploring an idea. Like: "Hey what if Sailor Moon, but Edo period Japan".
In that case just link to the artist's original work and be respectful. I know most artists will just re-draw their own thing but it doesn't largely bother me if it's someone who isn't confident in their ability to draw and just wants to make some edits to make something transformative out of it - which does fall under copyright law.

But when we're talking about the subject of "is it ok to 'fix' someone's art" more than likely it's touching on the people who are claiming they've "fixed" a professional's artwork for a game character and the only modifications they really made was a hack job at covering bits of exposed skin because they were offended over the designers using sex appeal. And I cringe every time. You're allowed to not like a design because you think it's "too much", or whatever. But there's a reason those guys were hired, and it's because they understand basic principals of good design regardless of whatever theme they're designing for. I'd sooner rather look at a boob'd up heroine in colourful streamline spandex than Hobo Baggins who's got so many layers and random conflicting shape language tacked on that I can't even really distinguish who they're meant to be. I also would caution some of those youngsters about the potential ramifications of insulting working professionals if it's an industry they're hoping to break in to.

[33rdCenturyCaveman]

So me am still doing unauthorized edit of popular webseries. Yes, it asshole thing to do. Can't say that me don't have selfish or trollish reasons for doing this. On the other hand, me can take moral stand on this too. Story have literary significance, and it terrible shame that it not more popular. It also terrible shame that author not more popular and financially-secure.

[Hodge]

I just don't like the word "fix". Like even if I'm giving critique, I wouldn't use that word.

However, I think the word is effective if you want to work up outrage on twitter, and idk maybe if a fanbase is genuinely upset by how a character or title was treated its understandable. But even then I don't think it's fair to direct it at who they think the character designer was, for reasons others already went over.

[jmhenry]

I saw this quite a lot on twitter, where people would "fix" character designs or pieces of art they didn't like, and I gotta put a big, bold NO on this one. There's a difference between redlining a piece(with permission) that has some flaws that the artist needed help working out, and an artist smugly claiming they're better by taking another person's work and "fixing" it by drawing over the parts they found objectionable. It really does cross the line into being a smug jerk when people do that.

TL;DR: Sometimes we run into art on the internet we don't like, and if you can't leave a polite critique, don't leave anything. "Courtesy is King", even in the wild west known as the internet

[33rdCenturyCaveman]

You am framing art as solitary activity with no social function though.

[Darth_Biomech]

do all "fixes" carry on a message "hey, I made your picture better!", though? There are a lot of edits in the vein of "I liked all of this picture except for a particular element", what about those? They don't feel like an attempt to feel superior at the expense of the other.

I mean, I myself had done it. I wanted to put a picture of my favorite artist on my bedroom wall in the new apartment. I enlarged it horizontally and painted out the cars since they were ending up in a really inconvenient place on the wall.

I admit I didn't ask for permission (I mean, I tried, but didn't get even a "No!" reaction... I don't think my plea was even noticed, considering how popular Stalenhag is), but I don't think it matters that much, considering that it would be basically for extremely personal use and probably a total of four people maximum are ever going to see it, including me.

[jmhenry]

Oh that is absolutely fine, especially since it's in the privacy of your own home and for very valid reason, and you liked the artwork as it was before then.

I'm talking less about critiques and personal edits and more of a "roast this other artist for clout" attitude that crops up in places like twitter, where artwork they don't like isn't allowed to exist, therefore draw over the parts you don't like and show off the "fixes"

[IdiotWithPencil]

I saw this quite a lot on twitter, where people would "fix" character designs or pieces of art they didn't like, and I gotta put a big, bold NO on this one

It reminds me of those articles that took Disney princess and made them more "Realistic". A big NO from me on that one =/

[jmhenry]

I never really liked the hyperfixation on "making fiction better with brown and grey realism" in this day and age... I think I remember the article you're talking about, and yeah, I didn't like that either

[C_o]

No, I wouldn't do this. As others have said, the problem here is the use of the word "fix". It implies a piece of artwork is somehow broken and someone thinking that their solution is inherently an improvement. Weird mentality.

I've done a draw over of someone's work when they asked me to, just to show them some anatomy issues. I didn't completely remake their work and go "Ahhh yes, this is much better now that I've done the world a favour and fixed this".

The world of fan art is pretty strange to me regardless. I think there is a lot of entitlement there.

[33rdCenturyCaveman]

Stories can be broken in the sense that their component parts am not working as intended. Me not know if my edit am best possible edit, but at 60% to 75% the wordcount of the original it certainly easier to read.

[dawgofdawgness]

Honestly, to a certain extent, it might benefit an artist who's struggling and asking for help to remind them of BASIC art principles. Like I mean the more basic the better. Like, show them the color wheel or some human anatomy, but that's it. Once you get into the more detailed stuff, it's REALLY not as simple as "ooh this is wrong, you should do it this way instead" — it's how you get these gross carbon copy art styles all over the web and it annoys me.

I see a LOT of bad Tumblr/Instagram art tutorial posts that follow the "wrong!" "Right!" Formula and it kind of bugs me because a lot of art can't be simply boiled down simplified black and white categorization like that...

Like for example, (and this is only an example)

This i feel is kind of ridiculous. I can sort of see the point of rendering hair so it looks 3D but this tutorial is WAY too simplified and ambiguous to actually be of any use, much like a lot of the other "fixing art" tutorials. Also the whole thing with the "use a nice saturated pink to shade/tint the skin so it doesn't look gross and muddy!" Like uh, ok, that's a trick to make your art look pleasant, I guess, but I haven't met anyone who has extremely rosy, shiny, and perfectly defined skin which light majestically bounces off of.

SO much of drawing/design is a matter of personal taste and technique, which is why actually good art professors take the time to understand what falls into "fundamental practices" and what falls into "a suggestion, a technique that works".

[Luminosophy]

That's not even the same hairstyle, lol. The tutorial just reads "Don't draw characters with straight hair, because I can't figure out how to do it without making them wavy."

[GesuGesu]

Only if there's permission or you notify the artist. Usually in those cases, the artist has asked for critique, redline, or some other feedback.

Redrawing someone's artwork because it doesn't fit your "taste" is a no. Don't be like this person.

And especially don't be like this person:

[33rdCenturyCaveman]

It mebbe asshole move, but me not see higher reason why not. All art am remix.