Originally Posted by
Mermaid Momo
I don't think it's the actual opinion you're voicing that put you on such thin ice but like I said, the way you say it, you're quick to get defensive and argumentative instead of voicing your opinion in a calm and respective way and because you get so defensive so quickly and start making quips and smart ass-y responses it comes off as very rude and hostile.
And I get where you're coming from, I grew up poor too, taking toys from the trash cans, eating one can of chef- boyarde a night for a family of 5, and cooking over a tealight, and yes I have stolen a few times to get by but one thing my parents taught me was that I steal to survive, I don't steal because It's something free because someone else somewhere will probably suffer consequences because of my stealing, whether that be a job, or cuts in their paycheck for missing merchandise, so people stealing just to gain a buck doesn't sit right with me at all.
And as for pricing, you also have to factor into the time it took for them to master their art, and to sculpt things. I charge $60 for a custom sewing pattern, it sure as heck doesn't take $60 to draw a pattern on printer paper and scan it in, but it pays for the time I spent learning how to draft patterns, the time I spent to learn how to use my software to make it into a digital pattern for the customer, and the time it took for me to do all the math required to draft that pattern so while the actual pattern took minimum supply costs, my talents and abilities to make that pattern will bring the price up (which is why they say you can't get something cheap and well done, because if it's cheap then probably they haven't put in the blood, sweat, and tears required to learn that craft well)
For another example about why I hate art theft: I have been an artist my entire life, I have sold my art since I was 12 years old when I got my first artist alley table, My art doesn't sell for much, $30-$50 from me directly, but it's still not enough to live off of, heck, I eat ramen noodles most times and more often than not I'm having sleep for dinner (strangely I somehow gained weight from a diet like this..) but recently I made some Steven Universe artwork to sell, a poster of a character named Garnet, now In my shop this poster was selling for $15, each, but someone contacted me telling me that someone stole my artwork and was selling the posters, shirts, and mugs for insanely cheap, I'm talking $3/poster cheap. This shop had hundreds of reviews for MY artwork on things, they were producing for cheap and selling cheap meaning they were selling more than I could ever dream of, here they were rolling in dough off my artwork and I was looking forward to another night of shut-eye for dinner, something as simple as a stolen drawing on a mug could be taking food out of someone's mouth, so I personally know what it's like to have art theft effect me negatively, and can be more empathetic to people who have had it happen to them too, even if their products are an arm and a leg, I don't know if that's how they feed their kids, or stay alive.
