Allodoxa (S3r) · @Allodoxaa
8th Jan 2021 from TwitLonger
JakerZ and art theft (part two, electric boogaloo) @Jakerz954
The first ever preview of Woodkid was released over two years ago, and while the level itself is awful, it's nowhere near as awful as its creator JakerZ is as a person. At least 4 of the art pieces in woodkid are partially or fully traced; 3 of the traced images can be linked directly to named artists; 2 of the traced pieces have "no derivative works" as part of their licensing agreements; 1 has had its creator indicate clearly that they do not want JakerZ using their work; and JakerZ didn't ask permission in advance for ANY of them, nor has he credited any of the artists in the description or otherwise (and as we shall see later, he has contempt for artists and refuses to ask their permission). Let's just go in order:
Wings:
In Level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ihM-mWRg8&t=1m40s
Original Image (the first instance of it I could find on the internet, though likely not the original source of the image): https://rlv.zcache.com.au/angel_light_my_fire_barely_there_iphone_6_case-r01523044d918463eb71b149b1b08df76_zz0f5_324.jpg?rlvnet=1
This one is the most forgivable for two reasons. For one, the JakerZ version is incredibly reduced (though looking at individual parts reveals that it's obviously traced to a large extent). For two, I couldn't trace it back to the original artist. It's almost assuredly stolen from somewhere, but I went as far back as 2015 and I cannot find from whence it came, and it appears on numerous stock image websites (which are usually not actual stock image websites but I can't imagine that someone as JakerZ would know that). So while this is traced, and him not crediting the website he got it from is kinda scummy, it's more forgivable because at the very least there isn't an artist he's directly accountable to. I cannot, however, say the same for the other drawings.
Horse:
In Level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ihM-mWRg8&t=1m26s (and in the background of the part preceding it)
Original Image: https://www.deviantart.com/starborineo/art/Horse-Tribal-Art-580738331
Don't be fooled by the fact that it's rearing in the level and galloping in the original picture; if you compare the individual parts of the horse, it's very clear that it was traced and then moved around so as to make it galloping. The artist for this picture isn't credited, and while they don't say to ask permission anywhere, it's kind of just the thing you should do if you're not an asshole (a bar which is incredibly low yet JakerZ fails to clear every).
Tribal Girl:
In Level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ihM-mWRg8&t=1m57s
Original Image: https://www.deviantart.com/pikamine/art/Tribal-girl-431289907
Once again, there's no attribution of this artist anywhere. However, it's made even worse by the licensing agreement at the bottom:
"Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License"
There it is, "No Derivative Works" clear as day (also Noncomercial, so JakerZ better not put any ads on his videos). It's clear that this artist doesn't want you using their art, and yet JakerZ not only didn't ask this person, but he didn't even bother to credit them (which, to be clear, would not have been enough anyway because this person explicitly states that they DO NOT want derivative works).
Demon Skull:
In Level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ihM-mWRg8&t=12
Original Image: https://www.deviantart.com/shadow696/art/Demon-Skull-Tribal-No-Eyes-295886283
This is much like the Tribal Girl Art; it has no attribution in the level and even if it did, it would not be sufficient as the licensing agreement states "No Derivative Works". However, with this one I actually went a step further.
Back when the level's first preview was released, most of these traces were ALREADY NOTICED by me and others (more on that later). In any case, I actually contacted the artist of this image. Here's our entire correspondence (note that my messages were always sent before his, but DeviantArt's layout is confusing):
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/252967391061999616/796889844860452874/unknown.png?width=1032&height=615
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/252967391061999616/796890438032162837/unknown.png?width=918&height=615
So, in other words, this person wanted JakerZ to ask, but JakerZ DIDN'T ask and outright ignored the artist when he tried to get in touch, to the point where he had to resort to striking the video. This exact same piece, which the artist CLEARLY DID NOT want JakerZ using, is STILL in the level.
Those are the four images I can prove are traced, but I suspect the rest of them are as well. After all, it's really easy to just search "tribal art (insert keyword)" in order to get these kinds of stencils. Again, I have no proof that they are, but the fact that 4 of the pieces can be proven to be traced should put heavy doubt on the entire rest of the level.
In any case, as was quite evident earlier, JakerZ already knows that this art is traced and doesn't care about it. I brought this up to him in a public comment, but he demanded I go to him in private instead. So, I went to his DMs and made the entire case. What did I get for my efforts? I got made fun of by him in a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZRP94apsMw&ab_channel=Jakerz). You may be able to see in the video, but these were the exact words he responded with:
"so, I will not dwell on it
I will not do anything"
Source: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/252967391061999616/796892624526114836/unknown.png
All of this is to say that JakerZ is a tracer and knows it but doesn't give a shit. It's been two years but it's been brought to his attention multiple times by me and even one of the artists, so I don't buy that his attitude has shifted even a little bit. JakerZ is still the contemptuous piece of shit who feels entitled to other people's hard work with no need to give any credit. I'm surprised he even had the decency to credit the other decorators, but I guess it's harder to pick on big community figures than it is to pick on DeviantArt artists who don't even get 200 views on their work.
BoldStep may not know but if he has any self-respect at all he'll drop the project. Ideally, no one will even agree to verify this level until the stolen art is removed, but no one in the community has enough of a spine to do that. Luckily, I have some stuff I can do to hopefully prevent this, but until I receive word back on it, it's up to all of us to collectively condemn JakerZ for being a sleezy piece of shit.
That's all I've got for now. Until next time.
-S3rios