CEAUPDATE 011608


UPDATES FROM $realitysquared : Clarifying the Issue; Tracing and Copying

Today I’d like to attempt to explain our official stance on such things as tracing and copying.

As most people are aware, deviantART does not restrict membership according to artistic experience or level of skill. As a result we have a large population of young, amateur artists, a great many of whom produce fan related artworks.

It is considered acceptable for artists to reuse or reference ideas, scenes, poses, and any other broad concept which may be found in the works of other artists. Generally speaking it is impossible to produce a new and original artwork which does not bear at least some passing resemblance to the works done in the past by other artists.

This is especially true when it comes to poses and character concepts. It is therefore entirely possible for two people to independently draw a stalking wolf without ever having seen each other’s work and have the works appear strikingly similar without having to accuse one of tracing the work of the other. Likewise it is entirely possible for two people to independently create a winged, rainbow colored unicorn without one artist directly copying the character concept of the other.

Superficially similar works are produced everyday without any direct copying or tracing occurring; especially in an active and huge community of people with very similar interests such as deviantART. There is no reason to report works simply for resembling another work.

Now, tracing and copying do occur; simple coincidence cannot dismiss all cases of similar looking works and this is the situation which is most in need of clarification.

Beginning artists often trace or copy other works in an effort to hone their skills. This practice is an accepted part of the learning process and the staff here at deviantART recognizes this fact.

Referenced, copied or inspired works should be created completely through your own efforts and must not directly contain any portions of the referenced work revealing it to be a paint-over, recolor, edit or some other sort of manipulation of the original.


It is considered proper etiquette to cite the original artist of the inspiring work and give them credit for having been the reference, especially if numerous details have been copied or otherwise borrowed. It is also always a good idea to actually ask the original artist if they mind if you trace or directly copy from their original work.


A referenced, copied or inspired work which shows evidence of being directly traced, re-colored, ' painted-over ', vector traced or which reproduces the original in exacting detail will be at increased risk of being removed by staff, but these situations will be judged entirely on a case-by-case basis and preference will be given towards allowing the work to remain if there is any ambiguity.

A report of this sort of thing which is filed by the original artist will be given more weight as a complaint than a report filed from an interested third party who simply noticed the resemblance. Essentially if you have copied or traced a work and the person you copied or traced complains about the fact the staff will be more likely to remove your work.

One area which receives more complaints of this behavior is the various Fan Art galleries. Now the staff views the fan art galleries in a slightly different manner from the other galleries on deviantART.

For one, the very nature of a fan art gallery indicates that you will not find very much originality; all submissions will be directly based upon someone else’s artwork and concepts. One is also more likely to find a younger, less experienced artist submitting to these types of galleries.

For these reasons the various fan art galleries are granted far more leniency when it comes to the subject of direct copying or tracing. The works which will receive the most leniency are those that copy from official sources of popular shows and series while those which copy from original artist creations will be afforded less leniency.

Essentially this means that if someone copies or traces a screenshot from their favorite cartoon the staff will be more forgiving and if someone has copied or traced your original artwork or photograph they will be less forgiving; especially if you are the one to file the official complaint.

Please take note of this clarification and adjust your reporting habits accordingly.

Related links
FAQ #304: Do you remove copies and trace-over art?
FAQ #572: What does deviantART consider "Fan Art" to be?
FAQ #155: How do I report a submission which I think breaks the rules?



UPDATES FROM $damphyr : Doll, Cards & Pushing Buttons

While we at deviantART encourage people to submit original artwork, we do give a little leeway in the Scraps gallery.

While generator made dolls, such as Gaia Online avatars, South Park Generator dolls, The Simpsons dolls, Eloulli dolls, Furrie Dollmaker dolls and so forth are not allowed in the main galleries, we do allow such submissions in the Scraps gallery.

These images were created and intended to be edited and customized within the generator engine and distributed, and as such are allowed to be placed in and only in the Scraps gallery.

Please be aware that official game sprites that must be "ripped" from video games, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Pokemon, Naruto, etc are not intended for distribution and as such should not be uploaded to deviantART regardless of the gallery chosen.

Submissions such as custom Yu-Gi-Oh or Magic the Gathering generated cards are allowed in the Scraps gallery so long as the artwork in the "window" of the card is original artwork, or you have permission from the original artist to use the artwork. Generated cards which contain copyrighted artwork, television/movie screenshots, and other similar content are considered a violation and will be removed.

Please continue to report misplaced generator dolls, but there is no need to report such submissions which are already located in the Scraps gallery.

Further reading:
FAQ #502: Can I submit 'Dolls' or 'Characters' which I made on certain websites?
FAQ #8: What does deviantART consider to be Art Theft?
FAQ #155: How do I report a submission which I think breaks the rules?



UPDATES FROM $y2jenn : Packing Up and Moving Out

There's been a large rise in tickets to the Help Desk regarding our account closure system lately. The common misconception is that we delete accounts, or have deleted accounts in the past when deviants wish to leave. We don't delete accounts on deviantART's servers because our website is not coded to allow it. Accounts are kept, be they abandoned or inactive for a period of time, to preserve the site's history.

Previously, we did have a system which could "close" accounts (by banning), however this system isn't in use any longer. At some point in the future we may release such a system which can be used by the public but until it's released please follow the steps to abandon your account provided in FAQ #113: How can I close my deviantART account?
Following the steps properly will remove personal information that links you to the account.

We don't recommend you go out of your way to cause trouble in order to force us into banning your account. Doing so puts you in danger of never being allowed back on the site again. If you have any questions about this that aren't covered in the FAQ don't hesitate to contact us at the Help Desk.

FAQ #112: Can I change my deviantART username?
FAQ #113: How can I close my deviantART account?