tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post3495126171939202212..comments2024-03-18T07:23:32.809-04:00Comments on Gurney Journey: Wish You Weren’t HereJames Gurneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-82426510161731628142011-12-08T10:38:20.767-05:002011-12-08T10:38:20.767-05:00I suppose everything that needs to be discussed al...I suppose everything that needs to be discussed already has, so I'll just say:<br />Team James!C. Desiree Blackburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10913326564106640048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-2602235586524776882011-12-07T17:04:48.204-05:002011-12-07T17:04:48.204-05:00Speaking up for Jim here. It is completely unprof...Speaking up for Jim here. It is completely unprofessional for ad company to troll the internet for dinosaurs with human images and then ask the artist if it OK to just use that image. To insult the artist and creator of Dinotopia they go on to explain the TV show... that sounds very much like Dinotopia. Putting myself in Jim's place I would be boiling mad. If the company had gone this far along with the idea you would suspect they had some clue about the Dinotopia works. Telling them they are out of their minds is very much what most of us would love to do and I happy to see Jim doing it to someone who needed it.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16918126828577872389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-61474409323735221262011-12-06T09:59:30.838-05:002011-12-06T09:59:30.838-05:00I have no idea what Dinotopia is? Obviously neithe...I have no idea what Dinotopia is? Obviously neither did the lady in the mail. I think they just wanted to work with you? <br /><br />I think your response is harsh and that you jumped to conclusions. Not everyone in the world knows Dinotopia and how successful you are. It was a simple request illustrated with a scamp of your work.Emhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16348694900206182367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-35495806555006863072011-12-06T01:03:09.393-05:002011-12-06T01:03:09.393-05:00@SurfinSquid.
It really came across in the blog po...@SurfinSquid.<br />It really came across in the blog post that this was Mr. Gurney's response!(so yes many of us missed the info that there had been communication before ET made an appearance)<br />Eh, in any case, I hope his private response to them was as effective as ET has been here!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-22784315892012089902011-12-05T11:59:01.043-05:002011-12-05T11:59:01.043-05:00In case anyone wasn't entirely clear on, or mi...In case anyone wasn't entirely clear on, or missed, the first paragraph in Mr. Gurney's second comment on this post: this satirical (and amusing) blog post was <i>not</i> his original response to them. His initial response was private and professional and looked, I'm sure, nothing like the blog post while still getting the idea across that he didn't want his work used nor imitated for the ad campaign. It was only when they failed to respond to that professional decorum that he created the blog post. He had, in fact, done the very thing that some of you have been decrying him for <i>not</i> doing, when he never explicitly said anywhere on the blog post "yes, this is what I sent as a reply to the offer". Let's hear no more of this petty and erroneous chastising of a man who has worked as a successful professional illustrator for decades and knows far more about how to communicate maturely with a potential client than some of you are giving him credit for.T. Arispehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384209171396117798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-554579562563926442011-12-05T11:37:04.636-05:002011-12-05T11:37:04.636-05:00The point is, corporations don't pay attention...The point is, corporations don't pay attention to the little guy (independent artists), even if they have a lawyer. What really scares them is negative publicity, and I think James used his blog to that effect to prevent his being ripped off. I for one, appreciate this show of strength as it could possibly discourage the agency from doing it to another artist in the future.Rocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023548506198486232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-38121920834476465252011-12-05T08:06:41.627-05:002011-12-05T08:06:41.627-05:00Maybe they did not respond in any way to your e-ma...Maybe they did not respond in any way to your e-mail at first because there is a 7 hour time difference between you and South Africa and the apology that came through was in response to your e-mail and had nothing to do with your blog post at all. <br /><br />I doubt that you have any idea or knowledge of any of the ad campaigns that take place in South Africa and if she had wanted to use your work without checking it with you first she wouldn't have contacted you at all.Emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15861141589911874168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-4541019373997957652011-12-04T09:21:43.717-05:002011-12-04T09:21:43.717-05:00By the way, Mr Spielberg says he's a huge fan ...By the way, Mr Spielberg says he's a huge fan of illustration, from which he claims to have learned story telling and styled some of his illustrative movies after.<br />Together with George Lucas, the two movie moguls have compiled a vast collection of Norman Rockwell's that were on display at the Smithsonian the year. <br /><br />Well, the business of Illustration has always been a cottage industry, like Mr Gurney describes it, "I'm one guy with a wife and a parakeet and one office in one country." James, like Norman Rockwell and anyone daring enough to plot a course in the field of making pictures, make up a history replete with stories of artists being taken advantage of by big corporations. <br /><br />Yes, thank GOODNESS Mr Gurney has a blog!Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05400061467355574566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-35360412032975489132011-12-04T00:18:03.261-05:002011-12-04T00:18:03.261-05:00While I can understand why James isn't happy, ...While I can understand why James isn't happy, I'm not sure if his response will have the right effect.<br />If this person is as naive about fair use of artwork and how to approach artists I suspect the might have benefited from something that spelled that out rather than going straight to PlanB (Plan ET?).<br />Quite possibly they'll simply come away with a 'WTF' and 'Geez, artists are prickly' rather than 'Next time we'll approach the artist first'.<br />The other thing that comes to mind is that the work may have been a proof of concept to sell to management before being able to approach James at all. Anyone who's worked in this business knows how much difficulty clients/management have visualising *anything*.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-14131383875958737702011-12-03T19:52:00.536-05:002011-12-03T19:52:00.536-05:00Gary,
You are misunderstanding.
They have alrea...Gary,<br /><br />You <i>are</i> misunderstanding. <br /><br />They have already used Jim's work in the course of their business... the creation of a comprehensive (comp) is a work of commercial art done during business hours as part of the business of making money. Somebody is paid to create a comp. They used Jim's art <i>without his permission</i> to build a comp. <br /><br />It does not matter that they were using the comp to pitch Jim the idea to illustrate. They had already stolen his work for their own business purposes.<br /><br />Now, your other issue, your "challenge" to Jim, I can't even bear to discuss, it is so self-regarding.kev ferrarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09509572970616136990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-16416942930140660462011-12-03T18:57:29.261-05:002011-12-03T18:57:29.261-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Andrew Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06309931870496121201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-33542976594069628062011-12-03T15:04:21.401-05:002011-12-03T15:04:21.401-05:00Mr. Gurney, I had to stop reading the comments lef...Mr. Gurney, I had to stop reading the comments left before mine around the 'whoopty freekin doo'comment. <br /><br />I think you handled this situation with a great deal of generosity and grace. <br /><br />This individual definitely (hopefully) learned something from this experience. <br /><br />How would a young professional know they made a mistake unless someone with experience was to point it out to them.<br /><br />This generation (Im 27, Im referring to my age group and younger), needs to get smacked around a little more to get a point across than some that are only just a few years older.<br /><br />You seem to have taken more preparatory time and put more thought into E.T. Zilla and its graphics then she did about contacting you with this proposal.Trench-Arthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13323479611160753898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-54594783348312767832011-12-03T13:13:27.095-05:002011-12-03T13:13:27.095-05:00Hi Kev
What I said was accurate. Perhaps I misund...Hi Kev<br /><br />What I said was accurate. Perhaps I misunderstand, but they were giving an example of what they were HOPING James could provide for payment. It was James that published his work being used for their benefit - not them. Yes, they were taking a long shot, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. They gained publicity from James blog they would never have gotten otherwise - and for free, I might add. Not to mention they are probably getting offers from artists right now, because of the posting. Very few artists can afford to ignore opportunities to work.<br /><br />I have no doubt James is a great guy and would be a fantastic person to call a friend. However, I think we all need to be challenged to do better and to see our work in a different light.<br /><br />James has fantastic technical skill and I would love to see him push that skill into driving far more emotion into his work. For example, shouldn't a person riding a dinosaur be really, really excited or frightened?!!!! What if he was falling off? What about a child looking in fear, or wonder as a gentle giant passes by? There are so many opportunities to make a powerful emotional piece for a person with James skills.<br /><br />James I offer you a challenge. Write a book on human emotion and how to portray that in art. I would be curious if you can do that as easily as you did your other technical books.<br /><br />Your blog is ,by far, the best art blog on the net. Kudos, and thanks for giving so much to us all.Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15338453611088201789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-1081940481666687352011-12-03T11:06:57.663-05:002011-12-03T11:06:57.663-05:00To all who are going on about how unprofessional J...To all who are going on about how unprofessional Jame's reply was...<br /><br />I completely follow his frustration and public mockery of this reply, because frankly the email is borderline insulting to James and his accomplishments.<br /><br />The email makes no hint that this marketer did any background research into who James is, or what this artwork she was taking actually was from. She talks to him like he is a complete unknown talent who just happens to have put out some artwork that matches her needs.<br /><br />No where does she acknowledge Dinotopia, the fact it is a best seller series, nor that it spawned a TV franchise of its OWN!!!<br /><br />Being married to marketer myself this comes across as a rookie who has no idea what she is doing or how to conduct herself professionally, and frankly had this mockery coming. My wife spends at least a week researching anyone she is contacting on behalf of a project.<br /><br />Let's also be straight about "being honoured" due to Speilberg involvement, this is clearly a South Africa only campaign. This is not going to make it back to Mr. Steven in any way. Otherwise it would be have been someone from the States doing the asking...traumadorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00387315561167115253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-5524662924606119602011-12-03T10:24:15.845-05:002011-12-03T10:24:15.845-05:00Best laugh I've had in a long while!Best laugh I've had in a long while!Joe Bouldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06148825117186727770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-53005318349271313162011-12-03T06:34:56.201-05:002011-12-03T06:34:56.201-05:00http://www.drip.de/?p=1866
My whole-hearted suppo...http://www.drip.de/?p=1866<br /><br />My whole-hearted support, James.davidmaashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16696298300141402317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-81365179636781516702011-12-03T02:59:40.285-05:002011-12-03T02:59:40.285-05:00Wow! talk about a can of worms!
This one sure illu...Wow! talk about a can of worms!<br />This one sure illustrates how many follow you and your every word.<br /><br />I agree with many points (comments) about their unprofessional behavior, they should know better.<br />I read them all.<br /><br />Also, I too was surprised by your response (post) James until I saw your comment at 4:26 PM. So I can't add much more except ... <br /><br />For the benefit of your devoted readers and followers, a mention of your initial professional response would have been a good idea and prevented some misunderstanding by your readers (myself included).<br /><br />It gives proper context to your post. Now it can be enjoyed for what it is.<br /><br />I especially agree with the last part of your 4:26PM comment... <br /><br />"By the way, Ogilvy & Mather is a giant corporation with 497 offices in 125 countries with approximately 16,000 employees. I'm one guy with a wife and a parakeet and one office in one country. And I've got a blog, thank goodness."<br /><br />It helps even the playing field, and (hopefully) prevents needless litigation.<br />Thank goodness for that!David Teterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747334525619423349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-61932167350231302112011-12-02T23:57:23.653-05:002011-12-02T23:57:23.653-05:00Thank you, James, for striking a blow for the righ...Thank you, James, for striking a blow for the rights of all creative people to control their work. <br /><br />Agencies like Ogilvy and Mather will simply rip people off unless they are stopped. It's a simple cost/benefit analysis for them. I would be willing to bet that this is the first and last time Chantelle will contact an artist about the use of their work, however.sfoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14641207520270872175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-47182103071714218982011-12-02T20:01:46.579-05:002011-12-02T20:01:46.579-05:00Oh yikes, don't give anyone ideas about E.T.Zi...Oh yikes, don't give anyone ideas about E.T.Zilla!Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07179888575243031682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-76997317357667551342011-12-02T19:51:55.733-05:002011-12-02T19:51:55.733-05:00Gary, I find your comments inaccurate, to say the ...Gary, I find your comments inaccurate, to say the least. To say more, I would need to use language inappropriate to the tone of Jim's excellent and popular blog.<br /><br />Jim's artworks, two classic images from his best selling Dinotopia books, were used without permission or compensation to create internal comps for an ad campaign. Comps are commercial artworks for which people are paid in the ordinary course of the ad biz.<br /><br />If I were Jim, I'd gently submit a bill to the ad agency. And state that paying the bill would excuse the agency from further legal action for their abrogation of his intellectual property rights.kev ferrarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09509572970616136990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-89094014534627588352011-12-02T17:06:48.503-05:002011-12-02T17:06:48.503-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Susan Sorgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04023268813537547667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-48074028038029602892011-12-02T17:01:45.544-05:002011-12-02T17:01:45.544-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Susan Sorgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04023268813537547667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-51348518823292281922011-12-02T16:31:45.211-05:002011-12-02T16:31:45.211-05:00Well it is refreshing to see some emotion from you...Well it is refreshing to see some emotion from you! Lets get more of that into your work!!<br /><br />I'm not a lawyer that but doesn't stop me from pretending I know what I am talking about:<br /><br />Dinotopia is about a SOCIETY with friendly intelligent dinosaurs.<br /><br />Nothing they showed crossed that line. Dinosaurs and children are fair game. Friendly and intelligent dinosaurs existed before dinotopia. Even your dinosaurs designs are based on many others work in the field - It is the friendly society and its unique trappings which are the original concepts.<br /><br />Even if they had a society like planet of the apes, with dinosaurs, I don't think you could do anything about it.<br /><br />Sorry dino's chasing children is fair game. If they catch them, then put them on trial in a fancy building, then sue!Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15338453611088201789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-49471714945297552442011-12-02T16:30:58.525-05:002011-12-02T16:30:58.525-05:00i love it! for so many different reasons. this i...i love it! for so many different reasons. this is not as easy a situation as it appears. i think james could have went off the deep end, got lawyers, or sent an explicit email.<br /><br />but instead he found a way to vent his frustrations with humor. sending a clear message. <br /><br />and lets be honest this is no where near the first time this show has borrowed from the dinotopia series of books.<br /><br />a lot of their advertising clearly stole from dinotopia concepts, i posted this back in july!<br /><br />"a bit off topic, just saw the trailers for the new dinotopia tv series, i mean terra nova series coming out.<br /><br />haha, i think like lucas, you have another great admirer. the photo used on wikipedia (which is now taken down) for the series looks just like waterfall city paintig with the waterfalls and terodactyls flying around, and the trailer shows a "utopia", with a heavily guarded gate around the paradise community, that keeps out attacking dinosaurs, hmm seems like i have heard about all this before somewheres?<br /><br />as i watched the trailer i was literly waiting to see treetown or a dinosaur named bix?"<br /><br />i support you 100% james! i thought this was hilarious but at the same time left a very clear message, STOP RIPPING ME OFF! <br /><br />by the way i would watch ET-Zilla repeatedly everyday of the week if that movie came out....Super Villainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464419328369980879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-64932454497862105732011-12-02T16:26:58.278-05:002011-12-02T16:26:58.278-05:00*Asterisk has it right.
As a follow-up, you all ...*Asterisk has it right. <br /><br />As a follow-up, you all should know that I did send a polite, "professional" and forthright private email well in advance of the blog post. I told the art director that I declined the opportunity and requested that they please not use Dinotopia or Dinotopia look-alike imagery in the ad. <br /><br />They did not respond in any way until the blog post aired, and only then did they apologize and promise not to use any of those elements in their campaign. I accepted their apology. I think it's a pretty mild satire, but it was certainly not my first message to Ogilvy. <br /><br />By the way, Ogilvy & Mather is a giant corporation with 497 offices in 125 countries with approximately 16,000 employees. I'm one guy with a wife and a parakeet and one office in one country. And I've got a blog, thank goodness.James Gurneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.com