Agent Smith Painting / Ethical Question

[Matterialize]

Hooray, two part thread!

Part A: I digitally painted one of my most favourite movie villains: Agent Smith (http://matterialize.deviantart.com/art/Smith-75801170) from the Matrix! Go nuts, comment, etc.


Part B: My question is this, and it involves that painting up there. I did not paint that entirely out of my head - I obviously used a reference photo (for his facial proportions, etc). In fact, I more or less attempted to reproduce the photo via Photoshop, with a few changes of my own.

Reference Photo (http://www.zonalibre.org/blog/moe/archives/imagenes/agent-smith-standing-in-rain-matrix-revolutions%5B1%5D.jpg)

I just want to know: Do I deserve any credit for making the painting? I didn't come up with the character, the pose, or anything else, really. Yes, I didn't trace it or something silly like that, and I changed the colors and lighting a bit. I did do it from scratch. But I just used my own method (which does make it look drastically different) to more or less reproduce someone else's work. Can I count this piece of art as "mine"? Or am I a dirty plagiarist?

[Lynley]

You deserve credit for the amount of work it took. The concept is not yours, but the effort is completely yours, which I always felt was more important. As long as you give credit to the original source and state that you used a reference, I think you're fine.

[Relaps]

Well, if you say the character and shit isn't yours, and you put in in fan art, I don't see why you can't be given credit for 'painting' it.

[JW]

Part A: That's pretty awesome.

Part B: I reckon you could count it as yours, 'cause you did it and all. Using the reference is just a small part of it, since you painted it and crap all using your own head, while looking at the reference a bit.

[Derelict]

You can count it yours as much as any painter counts a painting of a mountain his or her own. It's your painting and your own talent was used to produce it, so why not?

Excellent, by the way.

[DarkMountain]

Good job, did you do that with that digital painting program Urser told us about a few weeks ago?

I once worked with a guy who said I technically traced most of my drawings because I used reference photos, ie I looked at a picture and re-drew it bigger/smaller to fit what I was drawing on. He said since I wasn't creating something original I was tracing, but you have to remember that what I'm doing is no different than a person painting a portrait, they aren't being original either, yet does that make it any less a great work of art?

[I_Smell]

Oh this is an easy question: You can take credit for it, but you're not allowed to go asking for credit. And if anyone asks if you made it up, you have to say no.

And generic criticism: He's too messy|grubby lookin. Agent Smith's purposefully really clean and angular. Unless he's really pissed, then he's all RRRRRR mushed out of shape.

[Matterialize]

Thanks guys, I feel a lot better about it now. And I'm glad you people like it. <3

Good job, did you do that with that digital painting program Urser told us about a few weeks ago?

Nope, just good ol' Photoshop.

EDIT: Smelly, I don't mean, like, legally. I mean morally.

[Rob]

FYI, it's not a "painting" if it's in Photoshop. Either pick up a paintbrush or call it a photoshop.

Looks good though, except for the mouth area. Very muddled.

[BaseOnAc1d]

If you call it "your" fan art then definitely. Enjoy.

[Matterialize]

FYI, it's not a "painting" if it's in Photoshop. Either pick up a paintbrush or call it a photoshop.

It's a digital painting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_painting).

[Spiffy13]

That's extremely well done, even if you used a reference photo. The only problem from what I see, is that to me it seems like the sunglasses are a little misshapen or something.

[Godly]

It's pretty good, kinda messy in some places, but the overall drawing is good enough for us to overlook the little mistakes.

As for the whole morality question; many people draw other characters and take their idea's from something that's not theirs. But the fact is that (unless they completely copied everything) they made it their own and drew it themselves based off of something else. So You can totally take credit for how the drawing ended up and the style you chose to draw it in, but you can't take credit for who the person/pose/whatever else is cause that part wasn't you.

[Hats of!]

That's nice.
That picture really gives me memories of Hugo's amazing acting in the movie. I love how realistic it looks, even though you can still see how it's painted.
I would rate it without doubt 4/5, seems as if you hushed at the end.

Now, continue with V from V for Vendetta with the same style.

[I_Smell]

Yeah I was talking morally.