This is a special message for all YouTube Spyro video makers. I will know if you didn't read this.

For the past six months or so, I've been seeing my art pop up in various Spyro videos. Now, I don't really mind this, so long as I am credited somewhere, be it in the video's credits or in the information about the video. However, most of the videos wherein my art has appeared do not seem to be made by people who realize that real people are behind art. If they credit anyone at all, it's usually this faceless viewing site known as deviantART, and, as we should all be aware, dA does not draw its content, artists do.

Well, I am an artist. I work hard on the pictures I provide for all of you. I don't get paid to do this. I do it for free. All I ask is a little recognition. What do I get instead? Complaints, demands for free art, and the work I have done gets stolen by kids who spent maybe half an hour cramming it into a video with a horrible song and claiming they worked really hard to make it.

And just today, not only was my art stolen, it was defaced. A YouTube user put two of my Spyro/Cynder pieces in her video...and defaced them so that Cynder was replaced by her Mary Sue fan character. (It is also worth noting that she took and modified a piece by :devartiste_violet: and ~Spyroflamesredsbum.)

This. Is. The last straw.

From this day forward, if I see my art in your video and my name is not listed anywhere as the artist, I will flag your video for deletion. No polite comments explaining to you that you have committed art theft. Not even a bitchy complaint asking to be credited for my own work. You have no excuse not to know who I am and no excuse to leave my name out when my work is involved. Should you decide to keep including my art without crediting me, I will seek to have you banned from YouTube.

I am sick of this and I will not stand for it any more. If you like my art, that's great! I love it when people want to include my work in something they're making, but at least include my name along with it so that your viewers can come and see the original work and, if they feel like it, maybe give me the praise that is all I get for drawing for you people every. Single. Day.

Oh, and Art-Defacing YouTube Thief? Try editing this. >(

Love,
Razz

(Color coming soon.)

Cynder and Spyro belong to Universal.

My copyright is on the art.

Edit: I'd like to make an addendum to my original post.

I do not support flaming of art thieves. If you see someone stealing art, it is very likely that she doesn't know she's done something wrong. If you must say something, try to be polite and let her know that what she is doing really is theft and it hurts not only the artists but her viewers who won't have access to the full-quality images they deserve to see. Insulting the video maker is disreputable, mean, and heartless, especially when the maker is most likely just a kid. There is a difference between constructive criticism and just being a jerk.

Flagging videos for deletion because of art theft is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.