ArtTutor images & copyright

We want you to use ArtTutor lessons and images worry-free, so here's a quick guide to what you can and can't do with images from our courses and classes.

Please note, this guide is not a substitute for our terms and conditions. 

Lesson Artwork

Lesson artwork is any artwork that is clearly based on the artwork produced in an ArtTutor lesson. 

• You CAN display your lesson artwork in the lesson gallery here on ArtTutor. When you add an image to the lesson gallery, you'll be prompted to type in the course or class it was from and this acts as a way of crediting the tutor. But it isn't mandatory to credit the tutor when adding your image to our gallery.
  
  
• You CANNOT sell your lesson artwork in any format unless you have written permission from both ArtTutor and the lesson tutor. 
  
  
• You CAN share your lesson artwork outside of ArtTutor's galleries if you wish. Please credit the tutor and ideally ArtTutor when you do (any format of credit will do). If you haven't done this in the past, don't sweat... the ArtTutor police are not coming for you! Just try to do it going forward :)
  
  
• Reference photographs that belong to either ArtTutor.com or the lesson tutor, are there to help you re-create the lesson. Please do not download and share these reference photographs through another medium.    

Challenge ArtWork

Challenge artwork is any artwork you produce that is based on a challenge in one of our challenge groups.

Assuming you haven't simply copied another artist's unique interpretation, that challenge artwork is uniquely yours and you should be able to do with it what you like.   

Original ArtWork

Original artwork is artwork you make of your own accord and that is not based on an ArtTutor lesson or a challenge reference photo. 

It is your responsibility to make sure you have permission to use any reference material on which your original artwork is based. You can't simply do a Google search, for example, find a photo you like and make a painting from it (even if you credit the copyright owner).

Taking your own photos is the safest option but that's not always possible. Instead, you could use sites like Pixabay to search thousands of photos with a CC0 License (making them effectively copyright-free). See our blog here about finding and using images with a CC0 License.  

If you have contacted a photographer to use their photograph for your art, and you have written permission from them, you should always credit that photographer wherever you post your artwork image (on ArtTutor or elsewhere). There's a place to do this when uploading an image on ArtTutor and if you want to be extra diligent, you could watermark your image when posting to Facebook etc.

Here's a free online tool to watermark your images. 

If you're using a tablet or phone, search the App or Play store for eZy Watermark Photo Lite. 

A Note About Reference Photos on ArtTutor

Reference photos are used in many of our lessons, guides and challenges. Some of these images are sourced from sites like Pixabay, who states that all their images have been granted a CC0 License by the copyright holder (effectively making them copyright-free).

There is a small chance that someone other than the true copyright holder has uploaded the image, or that a model release was not obtained (for portraits). While the likes of Pixabay put checks in place, it's impossible for them to guarantee 100% that no image has been uploaded illegally.

As an organisation, we are comfortable taking this very small risk. If you're not, here's what you should do:

• Don't display your lesson artwork on ArtTutor or anywhere else. Use the lesson to practice techniques and keep the results private.
  
  
• Don't display your challenge artwork based on a reference photo on ArtTutor or anywhere else.  

Remember to put this in context though. The vast majority of images on sites like Pixabay and Unsplash are completely safe to use. 
 

Taking Your Own Reference Photos

You don't have to be a David Bailey or Annie Leibovitz to take a great reference photo for your next masterpiece. And with the quality of today's smartphones, you don't even need a separate camera. 

But there are a few tips and tricks that will help you take more inspiring and helpful pictures. 

We've put those tips into a short downloadable guide for non-photographers. It covers landscapes, portraits and still life: 

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE