This is 25-year-old Esther García López based in Albacete, Spain. They were (until recently) a freelance artist who often shared their work online.
However, more often than not, people will liberally share artists' work without attribution. (Just ask any self-employed artist online about this.)
"By doing this, they are making it more difficult for people interested in our work to find us, and therefore, losing chances of getting a job," López explained.
"For someone who lives [off] occasional commissions, it's vital that every work we share has a proper credit."
In late October, López received an email from a Spanish editorial company asking if they'd be interested testing for a position as an illustrator.
Spoiler: López impressed the company, and they offered them the job soon after. And López accepted! "I'm super excited about it," López told BuzzFeed News.
López is incredibly grateful to the Facebook page that thoughtfully included attributions. They wanted to make an example out of the sequence of events, so they tweeted about it and urged people to "always credit authors. it's important."
guys, i just wanted to say i've received a job request because someone who reposted my art on facebook took the t… https://t.co/krBTYhhvNX
Strangers and followers of their work congratulated them on the opportunity. But it also helped to reinforce the message.
ALWAYS 🗣 CREDIT 🗣 ARTISTS 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣 https://t.co/l2mKp7Uqkm
!!ALWAYS CREDIT CREATORS!! https://t.co/L4vANYo0iP
And the practice extends to other kinds of original work, people noted.
Credit authors, credit illustrators, credit co-writers, credit editors Give credit where it’s due 👏🏾 https://t.co/8C2sMEP6JJ
"Please always credit artists when sharing work, be it writers/ painters/ photographers/ models/ actors/ costume makers."
Please always credit artists when sharing work 💜 be it writers/ painters/ photographers/ models/ actors/ costume ma… https://t.co/DdBIbXtHSa
López joked that they and other artists have to repeat these statements "like parrots" sometimes, but they believe more and more people are listening and learning every time.
For anyone who thinks giving credit to the artist is a waste of time... do it. Please! 🙌🏼 https://t.co/elfYaCSlJE
Plus, López added, everyone can relate to "how frustrating it is trying to find [artwork] when it isn't properly credited."
