Do you ask the artist or commissioner for permission, before you repost something to e621?

How/when/where do you ask?

I usually send a note on Furaffinity, because I can do that directly from the post with an Xmonkey script, and because most artists are on FA.
And I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of everything :)
It's extra work, but it's better than using *only* the train wreck that is the notes system on FA.

When ever I want to post something first hand I ask the artist, I'll ask the commissioner if it's an artist stipulation. I rarely find myself asking though, as these days I largely do BVAS which I honestly don't get confirmation from artist lest I see that the artist has a disclaimer on source requesting people don't share art or ask. And when I do post first hand it's usually from a handful of artists I associate with whom have given me permission already, and even give me files in some cases for the explicit purpose of archiving here.

It's always a good idea to ask the artist if you can repost their content to e621, even if you commissioned the picture yourself. As for the "where and how" part, you should ask them through notes where they're most active, and if it contain's someone else's character, make sure to also ask the owner of the character is fine with it as well.

What text (boilerplate? template?) do you use to ask artists (and/or commisioners) permission to repost to e621??

Current text i have now is:

Wandered across your art today and was wondering:
would it be ok to upload some of your art to e621??

( https://e621.net/help/avoid_posting
says "If they do not have art on the site, ask permission first" )

When I wander across furry art in the wild (example: on Telegram, on via random chance at Google Image Search, or uncredited in a YouTube video, or elsewhere)
and I want to find that artist who did it and look at their other art,
I find the usually the best way to find those artist is via e621 (thanks to e621 tags, etc).

According to my FA blog I asked twice (except different avoid_posting link):
1) asked Kumalove and no reply ( https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8345925/#cid:56394606 )
2) asked MewSprouts and they replied "id rather you didnt " (https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/9866876/#cid:58361390 )

(If i asked others, i forgot to added to FA blog post)

Firstly, my text apparently insufficient as neither request got a yes.
Secondly, probably better opener than writer wandering across artist's art (maybe "I like your art"?)
Thirdly, what about wording if some of artist's art already uploaded to e621?

* * *
(I was going to post a new thread, but this thread seems latest thread that is closest to my question)

related:
What text (boilerplate? template?) do you use to suggest to artists (and/or commissioners) about them uploading art to e621??

Latest(?) text i have now is:
"I hope you will upload art of your character to e621.net (or give others permission todo so).
e621 doesn't accept images from Second Life, but the rest of the art should fit right in.
example: furaffinity.net/view/8324494/ "
(FA shout at https://www.furaffinity.net/user/droccy )

(used short text to fit into FA shout)

In retrospect, maybe should have posted question to one of droccy's FA blog posts (so question and reply more likely to be grouped together on same page ... and don't worry about shout getting bumped off by more recent shouts)

(shout-version of question probably good for when person on FA doesn't have any FA blogs to reply to)

earthfurst2 said:
What text (boilerplate? template?) do you use to ask artists (and/or commisioners) permission to repost to e621??

We don't have an official template, you will just have to craft one by yourself. The most important thing is to be genuine and straight to the point.

It should at the very least have:

• A proper introduction of who you are (e.g., "I'm <insert name>, and I have taken some interest in your artworks...")
• What do you want (e.g., "I want to share your artworks to a wider audience, could you grant me the permission to repost your works on e621.net?")
• What can you do (e.g., "I can provide proper tagging and crediting so that all of your posts will be linked back to your profile.")
• Added bonus if you can guarantee everybody's consent first (i.e., have permissions from the artists, commissioners, and character owners before posting here).

Current text i have now is:
According to my FA blog I asked twice (except different avoid_posting link):
1) asked Kumalove and no reply ( https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8345925/#cid:56394606 )
2) asked MewSprouts and they replied "id rather you didnt " (https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/9866876/#cid:58361390 )

(If i asked others, i forgot to added to FA blog post)

Firstly, my text apparently insufficient as neither request got a yes.
Secondly, probably better opener than writer wandering across artist's art (maybe "I like your art"?)
Thirdly, what about wording if some of artist's art already uploaded to e621?

Firstly, that is NOT the proper channel to be contacting artists from, always send them a direct message through notes and not openly in public. Most of the time artists wouldn't bother to respond to comments on their old posts/journals, especially if they are very busy.

Secondly, (again) be genuine and straight to the point. "I saw your artworks and I would like to repost them."
If they don't respond immediately, wait for a week or so before sending a followup message (e.g., "Hey I was wondering if you had received my earlier note...").
If they still haven't replied or said no, move on and respect the artist's wishes.

Thirdly, you may or may not choose to omit that point as it is not relevant to the topic of your inquiry. Your focus is to secure permissions for yourself to repost here.
Some may find it thoughtful if you had mentioned it, but some others may not take it as kindly.

Be warned that some artists may interpret your message wrongly and berate you for posting their works on the site without their permission (even though you didn't post it yourself; they wouldn't know since the uploader's names got removed from posts), so wording is key here if you feel that this point is worth mentioning.
E.g., "I found a few of your artworks posted on the site already by some people, which is how I came to know about your arts."

earthfurst2 said:
related:
What text (boilerplate? template?) do you use to suggest to artists (and/or commissioners) about them uploading art to e621??

Latest(?) text i have now is:
"I hope you will upload art of your character to e621.net (or give others permission todo so).
e621 doesn't accept images from Second Life, but the rest of the art should fit right in.
example: furaffinity.net/view/8324494/ "
(FA shout at https://www.furaffinity.net/user/droccy )

(use short text to fit into FA shout)

In retrospect, maybe should have posted question to one of droccy's FA blog posts (so question and reply more likely to be grouped together on same page ... and don't worry about shout getting bumped off by more recent shouts)

(shout-version of question probably good for when person on FA doesn't have any FA blogs to reply to)

Again, not the proper channels to be asking permissions in.
NEVER ask for it in public (i.e., shouts or comments), ALWAYS conduct your inquiries through private messages (i.e., notes).

You can reference how I write my messages here, though I have to say it is very lengthy and you should keep yours short and simple.
Note that these are formatted for FurAffinity, so it may seem broken on e6.

This is what I usually write artists. It's not as lenghty and formal as the message from Wolfgang but includes a link to their existing artwork here and mentions takedowns. I only ask when the artist has 50 or fever posts.

Just a tip, try to avoid messaging them on twitter. I have gotten a disproportionately large amount of no replies from there. Some are only on twitter and you have to deal with it but I always try to avoid it when I can. Other than that, always private message like Wolfgang said.

Some stats:

From 127 artists I got a response from 105. 90 of those said yes while 15 said no. Overall that means 17% don't respond, 12% say no and 71% are fine with it.

74 asked on FurAffinity, 95% responded
42 asked on Twitter, 60% responded
7 asked in Inkbunny, 100% responded
4 asked on Reddit, 75% responded

Inkbunny and Reddit are a too low sample size to say something definitiv but I can definitely see a pattern with twitter.

Thanks for the replies.
I got permission from two artist, but my brain gets overwhelmed with
1) thinking of amount of work in asking all the commissioners (& artists) of the artworks I want to upload,
2) thinking of how to keep track of who has granted permission.

The computer i use now is old (so wary of starting a spreadsheet on it and then losing it if computer dies),
thinking of keeping track of permissions by adding a list to my e621 profile (or starting a wikitable in my WikiFur userspace). Any suggestions?

earthfurst2 said:
Thanks for the replies.
I got permission from two artist, but my brain gets overwhelmed with
1) thinking of amount of work in asking all the commissioners (& artists) of the artworks I want to upload,
2) thinking of how to keep track of who has granted permission.

The computer i use now is old (so wary of starting a spreadsheet on it and then losing it if computer dies),
thinking of keeping track of permissions by adding a list to my e621 profile (or starting a wikitable in my WikiFur userspace). Any suggestions?

Google Sheets might work for you. Gmail account is free, and the spreadsheet wouldn't be stored locally.

earthfurst2 said:
Thanks for the replies.
I got permission from two artist, but my brain gets overwhelmed with
1) thinking of amount of work in asking all the commissioners (& artists) of the artworks I want to upload,
2) thinking of how to keep track of who has granted permission.

The computer i use now is old (so wary of starting a spreadsheet on it and then losing it if computer dies),
thinking of keeping track of permissions by adding a list to my e621 profile (or starting a wikitable in my WikiFur userspace). Any suggestions?

For the FA note system, at least, I use the colour-coded priority labels to keep track of the permissions I have gotten.

• High priority means either permission was denied or no response.
• Medium priority means permission was granted for only one particular artwork.
• Low priority means general permission was granted for all artwork.

A simple CTRL+F of the username when viewing any of the priority labels would tell me if someone has given me permission or not.

For keeping track of artists, I would suggest just writing down on a (physical or digital) list of their usernames since it is easier to keep track of that way. A section on your e621 profile would also suffice.

For keeping track of commissioners/character owners, I would say to not bother due to the large number of people you may come across. Just take note of those names you come across often and ask for their general permission on all artworks. You can create an online spreadsheet like @Quenir suggested if you want to be super organised.

I'm too afraid to ask becuase i don't wanna bother the artist. Social anxiety is one hell of a thing.

Iknow if an artist allows their art of e6 if they have a sizeable amount of posts already available there.

wolfmanfur said:
I'm too afraid to ask becuase i don't wanna bother the artist. Social anxiety is one hell of a thing.

I've got my own fair share of social anxiety in the beginning, but you will get used to it after sending a couple dozen notes.

Iknow if an artist allows their art of e6 if they have a sizeable amount of posts already available there.

That is a false assumption to make. I was also told about that before, and it may be true for some artists, but the reality is that most of them don't know about it until you bring it to their attention.

thegreatwolfgang said:
I've got my own fair share of social anxiety in the beginning, but you will get used to it after sending a couple dozen notes.

That is a false assumption to make. I was also told about that before, and it may be true for some artists, but the reality is that most of them don't know about it until you bring it to their attention.

Well, this is especially true if someone doesn't check the Avoid Posting list, that they'll get into this mess. This is one way that verified artist uploads is a nice thing to have! It's a great big warning sign that you are doing something wrong.

thegreatwolfgang said:
For the FA note system, at least, I use the colour-coded priority labels to keep track of the permissions I have gotten.

• High priority means either permission was denied or no response.
• Medium priority means permission was granted for only one particular artwork.
• Low priority means general permission was granted for all artwork.

A simple CTRL+F of the username when viewing any of the priority labels would tell me if someone has given me permission or not.

For keeping track of artists, I would suggest just writing down on a (physical or digital) list of their usernames since it is easier to keep track of that way. A section on your e621 profile would also suffice.

For keeping track of commissioners/character owners, I would say to not bother due to the large number of people you may come across. Just take note of those names you come across often and ask for their general permission on all artworks. You can create an online spreadsheet like @Quenir suggested if you want to be super organised.

That is a very good system.
Simple, but effective.