Inktober Book Plagerism Accusations

[pixel.dsp]

@carolinebautista In his video, Alphonso said he was a chemistry teacher and had resign from it in order to finish his book. Later he also said that even now he still has a full time job. So my assumption is that he went back being a chemistry teacher after the book was published. But he did not specify what his current full time job is. From the tone of it, it’s probably not art/illustration related.

[A Former User]

@pixel-dsp Thanks. Do you know if he sell his work as fine art?

[pixel.dsp]

@carolinebautista I don’t know... the extent of my knowledge of his work is that his publication consist of those two books and his educational videos on YouTube. He does have an official website but doesn’t seem to have a web shop. I’m not in the art industry so I’m not the best to answer this question...

[pixel.dsp]

@carolinebautista He has a Masters degree in Fine Art... which makes me wonder why he said it took him 2 months to come up with the term “varied stroke” when Arthur Guptill and many other artists before him used the term “vary your stoke” and it’s variations...

[A Former User]

@pixel-dsp yeah, it's too big of a question, but your answer does help, thank you. Trying to watch that video again and look at his work at this point is a little too frustrating for me, so I appreciate it.

[A Former User]

@pixel-dsp That is really odd!

One of the things I've noticed is that people talk about a bias for/against Jake in terms of whether they like him. When I talk about bias it's mostly to do with familiarity with an artist's work and who their audience is. It's like people forget that even if they've interacted with Jake, they don't actually know him. What must it be like to have so many people on the internet discussing whether they like you? It's so far beside the point.

This thread has helped me be more generous in my thinking toward Alphonso, and for that I'm really grateful. It has given me a clearer picture of where he's coming from (self-publishing and all the frustrations with that) to temper my anger at his happiness over causing a mob and misinforming his students. I think his behavior is not professional and it seems like he wouldn't have done that if his income depended on his professional reputation.

[djlambson]

This really does get more frustrating daily. Maybe I'm naive but I tend to think this may be as simple as professional jealousy! The climate of the world right now is not in Jake's favor either, I think that's another unspoken factor.
I used to work with glass..I made glass beads and at least once a year there would be one artist call out another for copying a design. It's the same sort of thing. There are only so many ways can you design a bead without there being some sameness going on. But the perceived wronged one was so passionately indignant that they would stir up a noisy crowd for several days. Then of course, it would die down until the next time. We all want to be a star. An original star. and the thing is, there really is room for all of us. The success of Jake's book would not hurt the success of Alphonso's book. What a terrible waste of energy and I really hope that Jake can continue to just keep rising above it all.

[andersoncarman]

I was asking my Instagram audience to give me suggestions for my theme for this year's inktober and I had two different people tell me that I should not do inktober becuase of the allegations. I moved the discussion with them to messages and I had a pretty civil discussion. A ton of people are looking for a quick jab but I felt like I was really able to through to at least one of these dissenters. I don't think that text is a great way to communicate on such an intense issue, And I can't convince everyone to wait for all the information, BUT I have seen that being civil and patient can lead to a fruitful discussion. Even though they went well both converstaions were emotionally draining. I just want to encourage you all to stay calm, dont give in to anger or rage. and keep DRAWING!

[lpetiti]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz the sad thing is it was one of my closest friends in college that said that. It's hard not to be made to feel "naive" in situations like that...hahaha

[duttychai]

@CaseyKinseyArt This guy, Dunn, may or not have jumped the fence with his accusation, but he is generally respected. Unkindness hasn't seems so unlike him, not his way. But I do think he should have gotten publisher and legal inform before tossing like that on social media. Sets a bad tone. And he says in his video that he had not spoken with Jake at the time. If wrong move by Jake, I hope he will do the honorable.

Also I don't think he is fully acquainted with the standards for copyright or trademark infringement as applied to media. The physical design, the wording, and terms used by him, and the images all must be given a proportion of importance. Perhaps the closest to his complaint is some similarities in the Tools and Alternate xxx pages.

Otherwise, at a minimum of 30 years of reading art instruction material and class handouts, informs me that I've seen and heard these concepts before.The various words used to instruct on line quality to sculpt, shape, contour a 2D image have been here forever.

I've followed Jake and Alphonso for years. So sorry to see this happening. PS: They both have admired and recommended each other.

[duttychai]

Thank you for the post, Lee.
Judge a legal issue by law rather than personality. If I don't like a book or the person I don't buy it. We all need to take the business side of putting our art out there more seriously either in our own hands or professionals we hire as gatekeepers, not social media. Beware of Karma.

[duttychai]

@LauraA
I am here in USA. It's not you, it's US.

In agreement, at first I wan't going to participate in Inktober. My decision now is to buy both books as keepsakes. Also to compare. Two people whose virtual schooling and life outlook inspired me to come back to my art.

[duttychai]

@pixel-dsp
His video did not mention that he consulted his publisher or legal. Also he had not spoken with Jake Parker before the blast.

[duttychai]

@Geoffrey-Gordon
Good points. Thanks for the links to kesh etc.
Ironically his home page reminded me of svs fundamentals page.
Irony or just another example of similarities.

[duttychai]

@lpetiti
Browsing his YouTube on that, you missed me and others who may have replied at top level or to other posters.

I had recommended that he should have tasked his publisher and lawyer before a public blast even if he was so certain.

[duttychai]

@annegreenstreet
From his years on YouTube, he impresses me as a passionate teacher. These are frustrating times. Perhaps emotion took hold. He definitely should have fact checked with his publisher and legal.

And even if he hadn't spoke with them, it's always best to discuss with the other person before going on social media which is such an unforgiving medium for all.

[duttychai]

@Julia Unfortunately democracy does not come with a built-in kindness default. And censorship in a democracy at its most democratic is to opt out.

[duttychai]

@Lee-White
Isn't it common to start a book on even numbered page, and pen(cil)s angled down right to left as you look at the page. Mentioning it as a common design choice.

[danielerossi]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Glad I’m not the only one

[jdubz]

@Molambo said in Inktober Book Plagerism Accusations:

yeah, i really wonder when the innocent till proven guilty thing changed. based on the last insta post from alphonso the thing will not be done in a shot amount of time. i really wonder how this will end, book itself is still listed on amazon.

It's really strange watching that change before my eyes over the last 2-3 years. Social media and cancel culture has really given a lot of people the sense that they personally choose what happens, and algorithms like we see where it only shows skewed comments on someone's profile do not help (on either side I might add). It gives people the impression that a small but vocal minority is the popular opinion and that simply is not the case.

I was genuinely concerned that Alphonso inadvertently opened himself up to a pretty big lawsuit. But thing have gone a completely different direction than I had initially thought. I was expecting Alphonso to tell people to simmer down and wait until he, his lawyer, Jake and his lawyer and the publisher to meet determine what actually happened. It seems it's going the other way. If his posts, videos and audience influence Jake's product and it's conclusive that Jake didn't steal anything, that's provably a huge amount of revenue not just for Jake but for for a large publisher. It's more likely the publisher themselves will go after Alphonso than Jake.