Trade Issues

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

I did an art trade with a user a while back, everything went a-okay. Both parts are completed. I check FA today and see a 'Prepose' flat rate sale and see something wrong.

It was the trade they did for me.

When I did the trade, they showed me two sketches to pick from, I chose sketch A. The user is now selling off BOTH sketches, including the one I chose, as prepose commissions. They said it was okay because they are not using my character. I told them I felt ripped off, because I expected an original piece, and provided one, and now there will be mass copies made of mine (multiple people can purchase the sketches).

They haven't replied yet, but I'm wondering if it's okay for them to do this because it's a trade, or if I'm right to be upset and feel ripped off?
And if the latter, should I pose a beware?

Comments

[morti-macabre.livejournal.com]

I really don't think it's wrong.
I mean like I obviously cannot see the pose we're discussing but if it's something really mundane then... no.
But if it was something really unique like, gosh, I dunno... juggling while dancing on one foot or something, then I'd be skeeved.

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

It's not a pose that was just reused, it was the exact sketch.

[morti-macabre.livejournal.com]

Okay? The finished piece won't be a sketch I assume so it'll have new final linework, so I don't understand the frustration?

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

We agreed to a trade on the grounds the image was new, and unique. A month later he sells off my trade sketch. Which means there will be multiple copies of it floating around, and thus, no longer unique.

[waffelle.livejournal.com]

Did you actually specify "new and unique" in an agreement, or did you just expect that? I would expect it as well, but obviously this person had different ideas. They didn't technically do anything wrong, but it's definitely unpleasant.
I personally wouldn't trade with them, knowing this, so I do think it warrants a beware.

[lovegonnadrown.livejournal.com]

Was the final trade a sketch or was it a finished image with inks, colors and everything? If so, then yes, it is unique. It's just the pose that would be the same.

I don't know about this person but I know that when I draw my base sketches are always really sloppy and vague and don't have any real detail to them-that's for the final sketch over that, and then the lines over that, so if their process is anything like mine I think it's safe to assume the images are all going to be pretty different in line quality, color, background choice, character, etc.

However, it is kind of skeevy that they just copied and pasted the rough sketches for your trade to provide examples. The problem here seems to be in the presentation of the sale. They really should just replace the bases with new sketches of identical poses (which really wouldn't take that long, but sometimes people get lazy...)

I guess what I'm saying is you have a right to feel "eugh" about it, but I don't think you should worry too much about your commission no longer being unique or looking completely identical to any sold base commissions.

[chronidu.livejournal.com]

The problem is that the trade was done with two original pieces of artwork being traded.

However, what OP is getting is essentially an edited base instead.

I'm assuming had they known they'd just be getting an edited base, they would not have been so quick to have made the trade in the first place, and that's where the problem lies.

Technically the artist can do this, but it understandably feels cheap and honestly kind of skeezy to have this done to you, especially when you did not know or agree to trading for an edited base as apposed to a completely original piece.

Hopefully this explains some of understandable frustration the OP is feeling.

[morti-macabre.livejournal.com]

I do understand what they're saying but I still do think it's an awful lot of stink to raise over something that I assume will be inked over again with new lines anyway?
If they redraw the same pose it would still look almost exactly the same, I dunno.

To me, it seems like a non-issue, but I can after some thought understand the frustration on the whole.

The artist should have just drawn something new. I would never do such a thing but I can see this happening with just more than this artist, reusing an old sketch I mean.

[houndofloki.livejournal.com]

Yeah, basically. I think this is fairly jerky, because it means the artist they traded basically got an edited base instead of an original piece.

But it's not illegal, and unless the artist feels strongly enough about it to post a beware for others, there's not much that can really be done.