Dan Mumford and Drew Millward on Plagiarism

Recently, two developed illustrators visited and offered a talk on their experiences in the industry and their artistic styles (examples of their work below).

Dan Mumford:

Drew Millward:

I took the opportunity to ask the two "Have you found that people plagiarising your work has been a big issue", to which they responded (paraphrased):

"It's a tough thing to say because, what's the line between plagiarising, homage, and influence? As students, artists are told to look at work and take influence from it, but there does become a point when you take too much from other peoples' works. When I (Dan) was working on music stuff, it was difficult because my aesthetic was kind of the look that many people took on - but it's also difficult to get annoyed at people simply for liking your work, though the line is crossed when they start to earn money from it. In a professional capacity, it's difficult to confront people, you usually get the same answer along the lines of "Oh well I just really like your work." I (Drew) have had more of a problem with people outright stealing my work. There are aspects of your work that people can steal like style, linework, colouring, and subject matter, but ultimately if it isn't something that you yourself have created that's being stolen, it's hard to deal with. People tracing work is also something we've come across and again this crosses that fine line. As much as plagiarism is a pain, it kind of helps you in the same place because it makes you sit and think - if my work is that easy to replicate, then maybe I need to improve. Whilst it can drag you down, plagiarism from other people is the same thing that is pushing you forward."