Anyone can draw inspiration from artwork, but some makeup artists are c
alling out Snapchat for stealing their work to use as filters. Makeup artist Argenis Pinal, also known as Instagram user argenapeede, started the hashtag #snapchatstolemylook to call attention to the issue. He took to social media to share an original face-paint design he had created.
On the left is his design, and on the right is Snapchat's version. The Joker face-paint filter eerily resembles the user's unique comic-book creation, which he noted took him five hours to create.
"Yes I'm aware of whatever posting on social media can easily be taken but have respect," Pinal wrote. "At least ask the artist for the filter idea and give them credit."
According to the artist, who has 128K followers, he discovered the filter "was up as early as 6am" and "was taken off at about 10pm." He added that the main problem wasn't just Snapchat copying his idea but also the fact that it didn't give credit where credit was due. Pinal argued that if Snapchat had simply asked to use his work, even without pay, he would have consented.
Sadly, this incident of repurposing an artist's work without their permission or knowledge isn't the first. A similar Snapchat filter situation also happened to fellow makeup artist and Instagram user mykie_, who shared this side-by-side image of her watercolor design and Snapchat's watercolor filter.
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"Hard to call it just 'coincidence' on 4 different works from 4 different artists in a 3 month timespan — this is not about just one filter," she remarked. "Art needs to be changed enough to count as a new work. That's copyright law, not my opinion." She also explained that Snapchat has since admitted that this was an issue.
Snapchat's original statement said:
The creative process sometimes involves inspiration, but it should never result in copying. We have already implemented additional layers of review for all designs. Copying other artists isn't something we will tolerate, and we're taking appropriate action internally with those involved.
We've all enjoyed using these beautiful filters, so we hope that Snapchat works with these brilliant makeup artists and their talented colleagues to come up with new, credited ideas.