Official Sourcing Guide {open for questions}

[Reilas]

Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ

I realise that a lot of people hare having some trouble with sourcing so I'm here to help! I'll be going through some important things to know and some tips and tricks about sourcing. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask them here.

Ｃｏｎｔｅｎｔｓ

• What is sourcing?
  
• When should I not use an image?
  
• Sourcing any picture from the internet
  
• Sourcing an image found on zerochan
  
• Sourcing and deviantArt
  
• What should be sourced
  
• Help Team

 

[Reilas]

Ｗｈａｔ Ｉｓ Ｓｏｕｒｃｉｎｇ?

Sourcing is simply giving credit to someone because you are using something of theirs. Like a movie or TV show rolls credits at the end of a show to thank those who took part, we should also take time to thank artists for their work. It may be difficult at times to find the original source for an image but it's only a small amount of effort compared to the time the original artist spent creating an image.

Always when sourcing, you want to source the person who drew the image. Edits or renders aren't original, don't source them. If you're having a bit of trouble distinguishing an edit or render from the original image, you can ask for help (links in the last post to people who are happy to help).

Typically, when you see sourcing in a post, it's in the form of a link to an artist's page or to the original image location. Sometimes these links are hidden under spoilers, sometimes you can find the links by clicking on the image in the post. Sources may also take the form of text on the picture however, this text should be clearly displayed so the artist gets the recognition they deserve.

"Is there any time where I don't need to source?" you may ask. Yes there are a few times when you do not have to source:

• The first is when you have created the piece of art yourself. This doesn't include when you make a graphic out of other people's art, this is only when you have drawn the character in the image.
  
• Another time is if your friend has drawn a piece of art for you and has specifically given you permission to use the piece without sourcing.
  
• The only other time when it is fine not to source is when you're using official art. What do I mean by 'official'? Official art is art originally distributed by a company as part of a product. Official art can be manga panels, anime stills and images from promotional material such as official art books and posters. If you have trouble distinguishing if a piece of art as official, you may like to ask (links in the last post to people who are happy to help).

 

[Reilas]

Ｗｈｅｎ Ｓｈｏｕｌｄ Ｉ Ｎｏｔ Ｕｓｅ Ａｎ Ｉｍａｇｅ?

It is important to note that there are times when you should not, under any circumstances, use an image.

The first example is simple; you can't find the source. This happens a lot with images found on google images. There are heaps of the same image, but there is no way to find the original. This usually happens because an artist has deleted their account on a site because their art has been overused without their permission or even any sourcing. Do not use these images under any circumstances. It is disrespectful.

Second reason not to use an image; the artist has specifically stated that they do not want their art used by anyone. Yes, you may need to dig around to make sure the artist has not stated this, but it's the right thing to do. People will either put something in the image description about not using the art or in their 'about me' sections on their main page. Just have a quick look, if needed put their 'about me' into google translator so you have an idea of what is being said there. If they say that they don't want anyone using their images, do not use their image. Don't be rude!

 

[Reilas]

Ｓｏｕｒｃｉｎｇ Ａｎｙ Ｐｉｃｔｕｒｅ Ｆｒｏｍ Ｔｈｅ Ｉｎｔｅｒｎｅｔ

So you've found an image you want to use and you've saved it onto your computer, what now? Well, straight away you should be thinking about sourcing that image. You shouldn't make graphics or a posting style until you know where your image comes from.

Where first? Saucenao should be your first stop. It's a simple tool that looks through art sites to find where your image comes from. It comes up with a list of potential matches to your image from those sites. Please note with this site though: you may not see your image when the results come in because it's in an image set with one of the images that did appear. Image sets are commonly used on pixiv.net to group images of the same character, from the same series or images that have the same theme.

If you're feeling adventurous, you may like to try going around the long way. You can drag images into Google Images and it will search everywhere to see where that image appears. I don't recommend doing it this way, especially if you're just learning how to source now, but it may be needed if the art was originally posted on the artist's own website. You can ask for help with this if it's required (links in the last post to people who are happy to help).

 

[Reilas]

Ｓｏｕｒｃｉｎｇ Ａｎ Ｉｍａｇｅ Ｆｏｕｎｄ Ｏｎ Ｚｅｒｏｃｈａｎ

If you find an image on zerochan.net, sourcing can be a lot easier. On zerochan, they often give the original source right in the tags. The artist is the tag labelled 'Mangaka'. (example) Clicking on the artist's tag in the list will bring up the artist's tag page. Sometimes there is a link directly to their pixiv.net or deviantArt page on the right hand side of the page, but sometimes you just have the Pixiv ID (example). When you are only given the Pixiv ID, it's as simple as pasting the ID straight into Google! (example)

If the image either doesn't have a source tagged with it or the artist's tag on zerochan doesn't give an address or ID, follow the same steps as you would with any other picture.

Zerochan is never a source in and of itself. Do not link to zerochan as a source.

 

[Reilas]

Ｓｏｕｒｃｉｎｇ Ａｎｄ ＤｅｖｉａｎｔＡｒｔ

DeviantArt is a common source for images however deviantArt also has a problem with people resubmitting art from other people and claiming it as their own.

What can you do to make sure that the art someone has posted is actually theirs? If you know the artist and you're certain it's theirs, then you should be fine using it and sourcing them. However, if you don't know the artist, you will need to do some looking. First look at the description. Usually if it's extremely short (I mean one sentence or non-existent) alarm bells should be going off. Even if the description seems legitimate, look through comments on the piece of art and on their page. You may spot someone claiming that the image was stolen. You should also look through the user's gallery. If their style changes from picture to picture, there's almost a certainty that they have stolen their images. If you need help checking out a deviantArt user, don't be afraid to ask for help (links in the last post to people who are happy to help).

 

[Reilas]

Ｗｈａｔ ｓｈｏｕｌｄ ｂｅ ｓｏｕｒｃｅ?

Quite literally every image that appears in your layout. If you've made a picture out of multiple images, you have to source every single picture. This also applies if you have smaller images in your posting style that contain images that you haven't already been sourced.

 

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