* This is actually more of a rant about the cesspool of douche bags the internet breeds than about the actual internet itself.

Now, before I get too far, I want to make clear that there are many things I LOVE about the internet. Easy access. To ANYTHING. I can find just about any funny video I could ever want on Youtube. I can find any photo reference on Google images or Getty images. I can follow any artistic badass I want on Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter. I can get my art in front of the pros pretty quick via digital webbing or the publisher blogs, and sometimes even on DeviantArt. I can post some sweet artwork here on D.A., and within an hour, 1,000 people have already seen it.

And that’s the problem. The internet is a both blessing AND a curse.

As a lot of my deviantart followers know, there’s been some recent drama over one of my images that was traced, or copied , and put up for sale on DA as a print, without crediting me as the original artist. I mentioned to this poster (lets call them "Tracer" ) that I own the copyright to the art in question, and that they should not be selling prints of it. And that’s when I was answered very rudely by Tracer and her friend and fellow deviantart poster (lets call them "Flaming Otter" ). Of course, that’s when I got pissed and mentioned it in a journal and proceeded to watch the flame war begin.

*I’ve since removed said journal, as I now feel that the last thing the problem and the questionable posters need now is more attention.

I realize that I may have over-reacted a bit to this situation, but some of you may remember that this happened only mere months after the last case of art theft involving my work here on DA. The last douche bag from months past didn’t even bother to trace my drawing, he merely reposted the same file, forgot to remove my initials, and slapped it up on deviantart to sell as a print.

I am aware that when one person copies another’s art, it’s the most sincere form of flattery and praise. I believe that is true in most cases, but in this particular instance when the culprit was confronted, the response was something to the tune of “I didn’t copy sh*t, and F#@K YOU anyway”. I don’t see the flattery there.

And why does it bother me so much? Because successful artists, or even just artists in general, have spent hours upon hours…most of their lives…building upon and perfecting their skill to put out good art that people enjoy and maybe, IF THEY’RE LUCKY, make a few bucks. So when I see my work has been swiped and put up for sale, it irritates me. Immensely.

But, as one commenter mentioned, this is the price of being successful and making art that some people like, and I realize that if I wish to have a successful career involving art, then I damn well better get used to these situations. I should be happy that people find my artwork worth stealing.

Now WHY, you ask, do I hate the f#@king internet? It goes back to what I said earlier. I can post up a piece of art, and an hour later 1,000 people have seen it. And it’s guaranteed that not all 1,000 of those people are honest individuals of integrity. This last case started with my ink drawing of a very popular Capcom character. I then authorized another artist on D.A. to color the drawing. He did a stellar job, and was later contacted by an online artistic print store owner. This owner wanted to put the colored version up for sale in his print shop and the colorist said “O.K.” I was not informed until way later, but that’s not the point. So now, the colored version of my drawing is up on the online print store where people outside of DeviantArt, or my Myspace page, can now find it. Respectfully, the store owner left our signatures on the art. This is when things go south. Someone found the print on the online store and saved the image to their computer. Then, they proceeded to erase my signature as well as the colorist’s signature, and then posted the image up on photobucket.com. This turned out to be “Flaming Otter”, the best friend and “twin” of “Tracer”. I figured it out when the names on the photobucket account and the deviantart account matched. I don’t think I have to explain the rest. This does put into perspective, however, how Flaming Otter and Tracer have no fawking clue who the hell Aaron Minier is.

So now, it’s become a battle for me to get my stuff online and not worry about getting something ripped off. Which is WHY I cannot and will not post ANY of the personal graphic novel/comic book work that I’m doing because YOU JUST CAN’T TRUST ANYONE ON THE INTERNET. You run the risk of losing everything from character designs to the entire stories themselves when you put your personal work online. This is exactly why I can’t show you ANY of what I’ve been working on the last couple months, because the comics industry works in complete secrecy, and it doesn’t take smarts to know why. You’ll get to see the stuff when it’s already in print and on shelves, and that’s a looong way away. Maybe if I were a more well-known artist, then people would get away with copies less, but for now, I’m still just that one guy who did a few flashback pages for PUSH.

I also will likely refrain from posting much else aside from “Fan Art” of characters that I don’t own (so that prints can’t be sold legally) and with heavy watermarks. The D.A. watermark is practically a joke and anyone with a modicum of Photoshop skills can get rid of that.

So in conclusion, I am VERY happy to have fans and people that find value in my work, and I am also happy that I have the ability to reach large numbers of appreciative people, an opportunity available to nearly everyone in this day and age (even the d-bags). Some of you D.A. fans will be some of the best I’ll ever have. It’s unfortunate that many other lurkers around the internet can’t be the same.

I wish to continue sharing my creations with you all, but it requires me to become very protective, guarded, and prepared to battle for the rights to my own work….and that’s why I F#@KING HATE THE INTERNET.

Thanks for reading.

Be well, and keep creating art!