Using other people's designs as references?

Hello all,
I've been searching and searching, and have not found a thread addressing this exact issue; but if there is one please excuse me, I apologize in advance!

Anyway, what is the usual sentiment regarding the use of other people's designs as reference / inspiration? By this I definitely do not mean taking someone else's photo(s), posting them and representing them as one's own. I think we all know better than that. And I'm also not referring to using design photos that we have not actually painted on our design / menu boards at events (I saw a thread about that). But what I mean is; suppose I see a photo here on the forum, or somewhere else on the Internet that I think is really cool, I save it, then I try to replicate it, or at least try my own version of it, take a photo of it, and then post it here to show what I did? Is this very poor form? Or would you generally say something like, "here is a design I tried, based upon so-and-so's design?" The problem is, I've been building a face painting "morgue" but I can't possibly remember exactly where I got every photo! (A morgue, by the way, is what we makeup artists call a collection of photos we use as references. I think I've seen it perhaps referred to as an "inspiration book" or something similar around the forum here.)

I've seen some absolutely brilliant designs here, far more creative than anything I could have invented! You folks are just amazing! Some of the designs I would like to try on my own models, take my own photos of them, and then maybe show them to you on the forum here for feedback. Maybe even have those photos in my booth as examples of faces I've painted, IF they turned out okay. But this feels almost like borderline plagiarism to me, and as an artist, the last thing I would EVER do is misrepresent someone else's work as my own. But perhaps I'm comparing apples to sushi? What do you think?

If it's your painting, you're ok to post/use it. If you've made a direct copy of someone else's work, it's nice to say "my version of Xx's reindeer", but if you don't remember the artist, just say so and a lot of times they'll come forward to claim it.

It's not plagiarism. There are a limited number of elements you can combine to make designs and a limited number of designs our customers want. Everyone "copies" everyone else, in that sense. There are a few people out there who get all two-year-old possessive and think they "own" every design they've ever done, but most are reasonable. As long as you're not misrepresenting someone else's painting as your own, you'll be fine.

It's lovely and wonderful to credit someone else's design as having inspired yours, especially if you worked hard to recreate it. We learn by recreating and practicing these learned strokes until our brains and hands meet up and give us some new material to work with.
Plus, it's really flattering to have someone use your painting as inspiration, you'll totally make someone's day.

I'm with Jenny, if you don't know, it's fine to say you don't know.

What I, personally, feel NOT okay to do is to use a design you've seen around, copy it, and enter it in a contest or represent it as your own. It's really hard to come up with new material for contests, so most entries are some version of something else we've seen. However, if you find yourself going back and forth between your painting and a picture trying to faithfully recreate the elements in it? It's probably best to keep that one for your portfolio and not enter it in a contest.

Also, check out any by Austin Kleon for a good ethics metric:
http://austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

Thank you, JennyNixe and GildedCat! Good advice. I got a kick out of Austin Kleon's writings.

As one of my favorite Theatre professors always used to say, "We all stand on someone's shoulders". So I think it is good to draw inspiration from many, varied sources.

If I copy a design of someone I would mention it.
As for my own display, all the pictures I have on it are copied designs of designs I found on internet or from a book.
All the designs are painted by myself on myself or on my daughter.
For a display it usually are the most wanted designs like butterfly, tiger, spiderman, pirate and so on.

Happens all the time! As long as you give credit to the original artist then it shouldn't be an issue. Artist usually don't have a problem with it and are flattered when others do it!

It's really not that hard to keep track of the artists name. If I can take the effort to right click a photo because you like what they've done, then I can name it properly to give credit where credit is due.

I name the files I save in my folders like "tiger_fantasy_reid.jpg" It helps me when I'm searching for a particular design "tiger" and then I write something distinguishing "fantasy" and then the name of the artist. If the distinguishing feature is that it's quick I put that in the name so I can search for that when I'm making up quick boards.

I'm bad about putting my website on my photos. I've got to start doing that because photos get so easily separated from their comments and titles on Facebook or Pinterest.

I have been copying all the time, but make sure to give credits!
I keep a list of photo's and their original painters.
Sometimes it's hard to find out who's design it was in the beginning!

I never use pictures from others on a board/site/facebooksite!
But I I hadn't been copying, I wouldn't have learned a single thing....
Everybody learns in copying somehow... Babies to elderly!

I'm still very new here but it seems to be that it would be VERY hard to get by without copying in some way. Lets face it, we as artists can get wildly creative in our designs and come up with radically new techniques and creations but when it comes to painting for children there's a limited set of designs you're likely to be asked for. How many ways can you paint Spider-Man? Probably quite a few but most kids want the traditional Spider-Man face.

As a makeup artist myself, I totally get where you're coming from. I would never replicate another MUA's work and use it in a photoshoot or anything like that. However, when it comes to facepainting I think the ethic is slightly different, I can see someone's tiger design and take it as inspiration to create my own or something very close. Although as Julie said, it's never okay to pass it off as your own design in a contest or anything like that.

Thank you everyone for the feedback! Since I've read all of your replies, I've been working to go back through my face painting folder in an attempt to identify as many of the designers as possible. I'll take Jenny's advice and simply mention that I don't know who it was, as the need arises.

It really is amazing how much I've already learned from all of you!

Hauntedhouse62 wrote:Thank you everyone for the feedback! Since I've read all of your replies, I've been working to go back through my face painting folder in an attempt to identify as many of the designers as possible. I'll take Jenny's advice and simply mention that I don't know who it was, as the need arises.

It really is amazing how much I've already learned from all of you!

If you are apart of any face book groups, you can ask there as many people have a good eye for a certain artist's style and the artist themselves could be there! Also feel feel to ask here!! I've been asking for certain artist's names for my Pinterest board! So far all artist have been found

The greatest fine artists in history (DaVinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio) learned their trade by literally copying the works of the masters that came before them. Once they learned the techniques, they then found their own style and began to create masterpieces of their own. They wouldn't try to sell their reproduction of a previous master's work, but those reproductions were useful tools in learning technique and gaining inspiration. Fine art students today (myself included) are required to reproduce paintings from old masters as class assignments, but none of us would say "Starry Night by Becky" and try to sell the painting!

In the 2 1/2 years I have been painting, my designs started as almost exact copies of other painter's works, but over that same time period, I have watched my style evolve and change. My first designs were a lot of Carmen Chase designs because they were fast for a beginner. I purchased the full Gospel Face Painting line so I had the step by step flip cards as well as the DVDs to learn from. I was doing a lot of church events, so the Gospel designs made sense. Since then, I have watched hundreds of Youtube videos and subscribed to FABAtv and been inspired by so many artists here as well. Now my designs are a combination of styles from many painters. I incorporate techniques that work for me and don't include ones that are not to my taste or that I have trouble committing to muscle memory.

I don't even look at my design board anymore during an event. A child says they want a tiger, I try to make each tiger slightly unique. The same is true for my party masks and eye designs. Each child is unique and so is the design they receive. Then when I create a new version of an old design that I like (often by accident), i will ask the parent if I can take a photo for my board and/or website and the new version becomes the design I advertise. You should see how my butterflies have evolved!

I hope all of that makes sense!