Thanks to B and P!

Ninja January 18th, 2008

Ninja says

I recently received emails from 2 NvP readers, B and P (I don’t think they want their real names known), mentioning that someone borrowed some elements from my First Kiss print for a tee shirt contest submission.

There is a noticeable similarity between the two:

ninja-vs-penguin_first-kiss.jpg

uncle_sam_and_his_lady_liberty_unite_for_freedom-5gonbk-s.jpg

P created this overlay image to use as a reference when he contacted the contest moderators:

overlay.jpg

I guess I am a bit flattered that this contest participant liked my illustration. I took inspiration from baroque patterns for my piece, so I cannot fault this person for drawing inspiration from my illustration. However, inspiration aside, I wish he would have done more than just take my image off the web, slap on head gear, facial hair, and stenciled elements. He did a pretty shoddy silhouetting job, too. Without the negative space created by the position of the girl’s arm, it looks like “Miss Liberty” has a huge hump in her back.

It seems that even his concept idea wasn’t that original (then again, what is). When I saw his tee shirt submission, I was reminded of Asaf Hanuka’s Kissing Liberty illustration for Men’s Health Germany (pictured below).
asaf-hanuka-kiss.jpg

Anywho, my intention of this post isn’t to make a big stink about it, but rather give some background info as to why I’m publicly thanking B and P. They’ve both been incredibly sweet, and I’m really touched by their concern and all their efforts to contact the tee shirt contest site.

Thanks so much, B and P!

^__^,
Ninja

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  • Ninja
    Hihi Ophelia,

    Thanks for your sweet words about my work & for stopping by! I'm blushing already. It's an honor, really.

    I really enjoy seeing what you come up with, too (your Poo series brings a smile to my face). I'm also completely jealous of your Vandercook!!

    I have some bits and bobs collected for you as well. I just need to finish gathering them first.

    Cheers,
    Ninja
  • i love your work. and people who copy other people's work is just....(steam coming off the top of my head)...just wrong! i hate that cliche about "copying is the sincerest form of flattery" what it is, is the complete lack of a fresh idea.

    your work is inspiring and will be to many people. just wish they would get
    inspired to do their own work.

    :O) ps. i have a pile of stuff to mail out, one of them is for you. once the torrential rain stops here i will be at the PO.

    ;O) ophelia
  • Jeff
    I don't think ninja ever is fully awake penguin. A ninja never sleeps... at least the ninja we know doesn't.


    Ninja, I hear ya. It wouldn't bother me either if he lifted the concept, but he lifted the drawing itself. Yikes!


    And honestly.... look at the changes this person did make. Looks like some very rudimentary Illustrator paths to me (ehm... hello rounded corner rectangle) ;)


    sigh... i guess i have a pet peeve about plagarism of all kinds. I don't like it when someone tries to get by on the work of others. I've been burned by that before too, and it's not so fun when you put so much work into something, and so one else tries to claim credit.
  • Ninja
    Ha, Penguin! >___<
  • NinjaVsPenguin
    3am, 10am, 3pm... when are you fully awake ;) jk

    -Penguin
  • Ninja
    Hi Ahasver,

    I hope you're having a lovely Saturday! Thanks for your kind words about the First Kiss print. I appreciate the suggestion, but it's a little late for touch-ups though, as it has already been printed (yay, offset litho).

    Oh, I've tried various positions and angles for the figures (not all posted because there would be about 20 different screen shots). When slightly puckered, the lips extend beyond chin (in a profile view), so the chins wouldn't be touching. Haha, I've looked at myself in the mirror (and felt quite foolish) at kissing the air. Later, a few of my friends kindly offered to pose for me. Much thanks goes out to K, S, and K—I had the necks all wrong until they came along. ^__^

    And thank you for stopping by, Ahasver!

    Cheers,
    Ninja
  • Ninja
    Hi Jeff,
    Good morning! Hmm, well, I'm not always that coherent at 3 in the morning (when I usually decide to post). ~__^ I'm still probably not fully awake at 10 in the morning, now.

    I wasn't even sure if I should post about this as I didn't want to come off as being bitter or angry when I'm not. I was more surprised to see my illustration being used in such a strange, new context. Really, the post was to showcase the real heroes, B and P, for going out there to defend my work.

    Part of what I meant to come across was that there's nothing new about the idea of drawing a kiss. So if the fellow got inspiration from my illo and decided he wanted to draw his own kiss, good for him. But as you mentioned, this person jacked mine off the web, made some minor mods, and passed it off as his own (which I don't approve of). I would actually be quite upset if he won and profited off of my design.

    As always, Jeff, thanks for your readership & comments.

    Happy Saturday,
    Ninja
  • wow! i LOVE the original kiss /although it needs some touch on a girls chin i think.../
  • Jeff
    No need to appologize. That is ridiculous that someone would do that. It's one thing to reappropriate something and make it your own artistic work, pay respect artistically to an artist you admire, build on the work of someone who came before you, or in some way satire a popular work of art.

    This is anything but a proper example of that. This person copied... blatantly copied your work with almost no changes at all, tried to pass it off as their own, and even went so far as to enter it into a contest.

    I'm glad you're taking it in stride. And I really respect that. I'd probably be the same way, but I'm also glad you posted this. What this person did was definitely the wrong thing to do. I just hope this person knows that and understands why.
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