Inktober Book Plagerism Accusations

[davidhohn]

@Pamela-Ruddy I saw this recently too. Weird guy. But also funny? Definitely a YT "personality".
The chart and comparisons were potentially interesting, but he never quite explained it fully. At least in a way that I understood.

More than most opinion videos on this topic, this one felt like the most blatant view grab. And I don't fault him, he was pretty clear from the start of the video that was his goal! He did wrap it up with the commentary on mob justice which is maybe the most important issue to come from this whole situation.

Well, that and the idea that "fuzzy balls" could become a shorthand for an accusation of plagiarism.
As in: "Seems like you've got a real fuzzy balls situation going on here!"

[NessIllustration]

@davidhohn LOL for someone unfamiliar with this situation, "fuzzy ball" sounds like it could reference something entirely different.

[pixel.dsp]

@davidhohn It also seemed pointless to have used Loomis’ Creative Illustration as a comparison reference. That book is mostly about composition exploration, not pen technique.

[Pamela Ruddy]

I only came across this channel when it was referenced by one of the channels who had also had a video about this plagerism situation and this is the only video I have watched of his. It definitely looks like he's on the entertainment side of art YouTube rather than educational

His comments section definitely seemed to be more sceptical about the allegations anyway.

[davidhohn]

@NessIllustration I'm sorry . . . I can't possibly imagine what in the world you could possibly mean. . .

. . . Tennis perhaps?

[jthomas]

Just got comfirmaiton my Inktober Book will be shipping Oct 20th! Yeaaaah!!!

[NessIllustration]

@jthomas That's too late for Inktober though That's too bad that they missed their perfect release window because of this - the revenue will very likely be affected...

[davidhohn]

@NessIllustration True that it is perhaps too bad to miss Inktober this year, but this feels like the kind of book that will have a long sales tail. I actually don't think it will be a significant issue. In fact a year from now, when the drama has died down (and ideally when the plagiarism issue has been put to rest) I would see that being better for the book.

[danielerossi]

@davidhohn Especially now that Inktober52 is around, too Gives us a year to read the book in preparation for October 2021.

[pixel.dsp]

@jthomas Whaaaaat?.... It is still marked as "currently unavailable" on Amazon Canada...

[burvantill]

@pixel-dsp @jthomas
Me too!! Arriving 10/20/20
=)x

[braden H]

@pixel-dsp Amazon Canada cancelled my order, but it's now once (as of today I suppose?) again available for preorder.

[charitymunoz]

Mine says now expected Oct 20th, but it hasn't been shipped yet and when you get on the page of the book, it still shows as Currently Unavailable. I'm hoping it arrives as a nice well-done present for finishing Inktober - something to read while I get ready for 2021!

[Shyam Sailus]

Can Anyone Explain ??

[George Broussard]

@Shyam-Sailus Just feels like vultures circling trying to capitalize on a weakened animal. Scavenging.

[Shyam Sailus]

@charitymunoz

Its not available in India..

[Gary Wilkinson]

Not much to add about the controversy, but I just want to learn art so i'm looking forward to my pre-order of the inktober book thanks @Jake-Parker

[jimsz]

@George-Broussard

Why? If someone wants to promote their brand, there is nothing wrong with that. If Inktober can't be used commercially than there is little choice than to do something new. As for using both hashtags, why promote a competitors brand?

Just like Jake trademarking Inktober, it's not personal it's just business. Anything successful will spawn copy cats.

[pixel.dsp]

@Shyam-Sailus Well, Inktober is just one of the inking challenges, and if other group of artists want to launch their own inking challenge, they should be allowed to, and why wait until November? October is coming up. Inktober has never claimed monopoly on this. Jeff Watts seems to be a very level-headed person and extremely experienced fine art artist, and most likely has no interest in this controversy. Just my guess though...
Just adding one more thing: the prompt from Watts' atelier has a very different flavor then Inktober, some artists might find it more suitable for them. Or maybe some will combine the two challenges and do ink drawing that work with both prompts. This will be very interesting!

[Coreyartus]

Meh. I had to think about this for a while. Watts Atelier's strength isn't in inking. It's in the charcoal portraiture and figurative renderings in the old-school Russian realist style they're known for. It is indeed a great list that focuses on methods instead of word inspiration and feels really academic if you're looking for that, but at this point the whole thing seems kinda bandwagon-ish to me. It's hard to separate the angry anti-Inktober hashtags from the legit alternative-things-to-be-inspired-by lists.

I don't know why they wouldn't want to make commercial arrangements to pair with Inktober if they were going to do something specifically ink-based to promote their brand/school--they could have reached hundreds of thousands of potential new students. Seems like a missed opportunity. I think they'll just get lost in the literal sea of alternative prompt hashtags in October, personally. I'm sure it will appeal to their own current following and students looking for the flavor of instructional development rather than singular word prompts (if those people ever actually find it). I don't think they're purposefully creating something to spite Inktober--there are too many of those out there already. I'm just not sure it will do them any good to create an ink-based challenge in October though...