vectorartzbygabs

[vectorartzbygabs]

Part 2

1. Explain what copyright means.

Copyright is a type of intellectual property placed on creative works that are mass produced. For example, books are copyrighted material. Copyright does not protect ideas, only the manner in which they are expressed.

2. Why do we have copyright laws?

Copyright protects the author of a creative work from intellectual theft and guarantees them the right to profit from their work and maintain its integrity.

3. How long does copyright last?

In Australia, as of 2004 copyright lasts up to 70 years after the death of the author. Prior to this it was 50 years, however, works that were out of copyright at the time but less than 70 years old were not retroactively placed within copyright again.

4. What will happen if you break copyright laws?

Breaking copyright can pose large fines, and in severe cases, imprisonment. For individuals, this can be up to $117,000 and 5 years of imprisonment, while for corporations it can be as much as $585,000.

Find two (2) examples of when copyright laws were broken, and what action was taken.

a. In 2010, Getty Images was sued by Daniel Morel, a photojournalist, for taking and selling photos he had put on his Twitter account. Morel was awarded $1.2m in damages. However, while this established that social media does not allow for free commercial use of pictures posted, it’s still a common occurrence for people to infringe on copyright through social media.

b. In 2007, photographer Benjamin Ham trespassed onto the Dixie Plantation in South Carolina, USA, to take photographs that he later began selling commercially. The Dixie Plantation sued Ham for copyright, alleging that he was robbing them of exclusive rights to image location. While the court fined Ham for trespassing, he was allowed to continue selling the photograph, establishing that taking a photo on private property doesn’t constitute a breach of copyright.

5. What percentage, if any, of a copyrighted image are you legally allowed to use in your artwork?

You are not legally allowed to use any percentage of a copyrighted image in your artwork. Even a small part can be considered copyright infringement.

6. What are moral rights?

Moral rights are the rights attributed to the creator when a work is copyrighted. This includes three main legal rights, the first being the right of attribution. This makes it legally enforceable for you to be credited for your work. The second is the right of anonymity, which allows you to publish a work anonymously or under a pseudonym. The third is the right of integrity, which allows the author to protest to alteration of the work that would be damaging to the author’s reputation.

7. How can you assert your copyright and moral rights when publishing your original artwork?

In Australia, copyright is automatically attributed to a work when it is expressed in a material form. However, it doesn’t hurt to reinforce your rights by including a © copyright symbol.

Citations

Fitzpatrick, Alex. “Judge: News Agencies Can't Use Twitter Photos Without Permission.” Mashable, 15 Jan. 2013, mashable.com/archive/twitter-photos-permission#rhFuM49uAGqR.

Watson, Anthony B. “Australia: Dispelling the ‘10% Change’ Myth of Copyright Infringement .” Mondaq, K&L Gates, 8 Apr. 2011, www.mondaq.com/australia/copyright/128770/dispelling-the-10-change-myth-of-copyright-infringement. Wright, Carolyn E. “Update on the Lawsuit Against Benjamin Ham for Photographing Private Property .” Photo Attorney, 25 Jan. 2009, www.photoattorney.com/2009/01/update-on-lawsuit-against-benjamin-ham.html.

[vectorartzbygabs]

Week 9 Activity 1

[vectorartzbygabs]

Assignment 1

T1.       What is vector art and why is it used widely in both screen and print?

       Vector art is the use of mathematical formulas to create images and illustrations that, unlike pixel-based images, retain their quality after being manipulated. This type of art is commonly seen in logos and advertisement.

2.       What are the benefits of using Adobe Illustrator to create digital images?

        Adobe Illustrator is currently the industry standard program in the creation of vector art. It has a large variety of different tools suited to the task, the most important of which being the pen tool. It was originally designed in 1985, and continues to be one of Adobe’s most popular programs well into 2021.

3.       Briefly explain the purpose of the Pen tool, the Brush tool and the Pencil tool when creating digital images, and describe when it would be appropriate to use these tools.

a.       The pen tool is Illustrator’s main feature, which uses editable anchor points to specify the outline of the shape the artist wants to create. It’s a very precise tool that is best suited for tracing or mathematically precise artwork such as logos.

b.       The brush tool is a more imprecise tool that acts as a freehand brush akin to that in Photoshop or any other drawing program. It’s generally used less for this reason as vector art as a medium tends to favour precision. The brush tool can be used for anything that requires less precision, such as freehand sketching to plan a piece or minor details like an eye highlight.

c.       The pencil tool acts as a blend between the two. The artist can draw freehand lines that are then converted into a series of anchor points which can then be manipulated similarly to the pen tool. It favours imprecision, but mistakes can easily be corrected by editing the anchors. This might be used when an artist feels confident in their freehand skills, or in an area of a piece that requires less precision.

4.       Find three (3) examples of vector art that you like. Upload (with referencing) each image and specify:

The artist of this piece embraces the use of overlapping gradients and large, simple shapes to create a very aesthetically pleasing portrait of this young woman. The eye and the mouth in particular have a lot of complexity to them, in comparison to the hair which, for the most part, is a single, dark brown. This juxtaposition between complexity and simplicity makes this piece very strong.

_iqbaljsmn. 2019, ‘Do you want your photos to be changed like this?’ [Instagram]. 19 July 2019. Available at: 18 November 2020 https://www.instagram.com/p/B0aioWjHDYc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (Accessed 1 August 2021)

The next portrait I find interesting in how it feels like the impressionistic piece of the vector art world. The artist has used the brush tool to add a lot of interest to this piece in a way that few vector portraits do. The unnatural use of colour and the solid blocks scattered throughout the piece makes for a very abstract take on the medium. Like the previous artist, we see a lot of gradients and use of solid shapes that juxtapose each other in complexity vs. simplicity.

Vanhaeren, Bram 2016, ­­Explaining How I Create My Artwork #BramTalks, artwork, viewed 1 August 2020 <https://www.behance.net/gallery/42298737/BramTalks>

This last piece uses a style more common in tattoo artwork, with bold, dark linework, hatching shading, and stark colours that looks straight out of a comic book. It’s my personal preference that Illustrator is most powerful with this style of artwork - something that embraces the precision it allows for to create a piece that is mathematically very symmetrical. There is some use of gradients, but far less than the previous two images.

Blackout Brother 2019, Cyberpunk Vector Art, artwork, viewed 2 August 2021 < https://blackoutbrother.com/cyberpunk-vector-art>