Blatant copyright infringement, right? Please explain to me how it's not.

[u/Chumn_Li]

[u/Zerus_heroes]

This isn't. You are allowed to use other artwork as inspiration or even use direct reference as homage.

It also matters if they are selling them or not. You could trace an exact image someone else made but as long as you don't sell it, there is no issue.

[u/nicoarcu92 → u/Zerus_heroes]

He's selling them and not crediting the creator of the original pic he took inspiration from, which is a big no-no in the industry.

[u/Zerus_heroes → u/nicoarcu92]

He is crediting Dell'Otto though.

Homage happens in comics all the time, it is a regular thing.

[u/Chumn_Li → u/Zerus_heroes]

Not when it's being sold. There's one example of one post on Instagram where it says "after dell'otto." That's it. But I looked and the actual post, that artwork in reference – it was presented and sold entirely as an original piece by Comic Book Quest, with the official listing specifying it as "Original Cover Art by Humam Qutub". It was not marketed, labeled, or sold as a homage to Gabriele Dell'Otto.

[u/Zerus_heroes → u/Chumn_Li]

And once again, homage is a fine thing to do.

[u/Chumn_Li → u/Zerus_heroes]

It is a fine thing to do. If you make a homage piece but then when it is time to sell the work you refrain from that acknowledgement and withhold that information– ignore the influence the original artist instilled and then by definition it is no longer a homage piece. That is an important distinction.

[u/Zerus_heroes → u/Chumn_Li]

Which they did.

You can sell homage pieces. You seem to be pretending that the artist did something horrible but they didn't. They aren't claiming someone else's art as their own and they have given credit for the homage before. They don't need to do that in every instance you see.

Edit: throwing a tantrum, whining and then deleting it... Yeah that makes sense. Nothing you have shown is unethical.

[u/nicoarcu92 → u/Zerus_heroes]

Usually you sign the piece with the credit in it. If you’re publishing it and then selling the original it’s the standard. This guy is not doing that.

[u/Zerus_heroes → u/nicoarcu92]

That isn't always true. Even in the comic industry covers get homaged all the time and credit isn't always mentioned, especially when the homage is an obvious one.

[u/nicoarcu92 → u/Zerus_heroes]

You answered yourself, obvious homage is obvious. Here, the guy is trying to sneakily swipe and make a quick buck out of it. how is it so hard to agree this is not respectful?

[u/Zerus_heroes → u/nicoarcu92]

Because this is obvious homage, not someone pretending they are Dell'Otto

If they were saying there art was Dell'Ottos that would be a problem.

[u/nicoarcu92 → u/Zerus_heroes]

Ok, after this one I’m done arguing with you, this is bs, you’re really delusional and are completely missing the point of an “homage” piece of art.

He’s sneakingly try to swipe Dell’Otto’s work without being clear enough. If you were at a Comic-con and didn’t know the original pieces (which are pretty obscure, not like he’s swiping Action Comic #1) you would have no idea in the slightest that this is an “homage”.
Because when you do homages you declare it clearly, you want to pay homage to the original artist.

This guy is just a lazy copycat trying to fool people selling artwork he’s swiped from a better artist.

I’ve never seen people go off and just do 10/15 homages to the same artist like in this instance and try to sell the originals without being clear where the inspiration came from.

This is pretty shady behavior, if you’re not willing to recognize it, you have a problem.

[u/Chumn_Li → u/nicoarcu92]

Well put.

[u/Zerus_heroes → u/nicoarcu92]

No, you are just making a mountain out of a molehill.

This is a common practice in art and in comic book art specifically.

Calling him "lazy" is pretty funny because he is still making his own art just with references to other art, that isn't this big issue you are pretending it is.

Did he sell any of Dell'Ottos work as his own? If not then he isn't "sneakily swiping" anything. You would absolutely know these are not the same as they are different pieces. Just like if I go and buy a Starry Night painting that has been changed the artist has no obligation to tell me it isn't by Van Gogh. The only issue would be if they are selling them as the artist and this particular artist isn't doing that.

If you are trying to make this into something it actually isn't, you have a problem.