Break the Chains That Bind Your Artwork

Breaking boundaries and becoming more creative than you ever thought you could be. That is what today’s blog is all about. I’ll be the first to admit that I changed my entire drawing style to build myself as a professional artist. I honestly felt no one would take me seriously if I kept drawing characters, and creations out of my mind. I tried, I really did. I would post my work online and got nothing back in return. Was this because I wasn’t good enough, or people didn’t like what I had drawn? Now that I look back on it I don’t think so. I think it was because I didn’t believe in myself enough. I held back in a lot of my work and it suffered dramatically. I would spend hours creating a lot of detail in the beginning, and then just tire of the drawing because it wasn’t me. It just didn’t represent me as an artist.

I have felt really chained down as an artist these past few months and as I was looking up a reference shot for my next piece I asked myself why? This picture I am about to draw has already been captured on photograph it’s done. What about all the great pictures in my mind that are trapped in there. I literally had thousands of images screaming to be released onto paper, and I was scared that I would mess them up. There is pressure to create; I always wanted to be original and draw different than everyone else. Even when I would draw from reference I wanted to find a way to change the image, but I really felt bound to make the image look like what I was drawing just because. I know it’s not a good reason but the pressure to be great, and build a portfolio got me thinking I had to make everything believable and real. And then it hit me just the other day why can’t I have the best of both, and make the imagination real and believable.

I found myself with a dilemma. Do I continue to build my portfolio with realistic colored pencil drawings or do I draw for fun. In the end I answered with my gut feeling to do it for me. So my next piece is called Beyond Imagination. At first I started to collect pictures of things I would add to my work I thought to myself that I am doing it again. I was already judging myself, and holding back by using images as a crutch. If I really wanted to release my talent I had to just draw. So in this image I am drawing it from left to right adding all the detail as I go. I started with a dragon, and a witch, and a phoenix. I have no idea what is next, and I don’t care if it makes sense. It’s imagination and fun. I hope you can do the same.

I propose a challenge to everyone. On your next piece, if you want to find out how much you have evolved as an artist, I want you to use everything you have learned to this point and just draw. Lay it all out on the paper. Don’t think about judgment from peers, or from yourself just go. Whatever comes into your mind go for it. The only other rule I ask for is to not use reference shots, photos, or any previous artwork. Make it yours, make it new, and take your time. Sometimes when you hit the professional level you get a following who love your “style.” If so fantastic don’t change. For me although I have gained a lot of praise for my work, it’s time for me to take a step back for a while and brake the chains that bound my imagination. I plan on growing, and releasing all I have to give, I hope you do too. Take the limiters off, and be creative again.

I hope to see some great new creations. Find me on my Facebook page at http://Facebook.com/DerricktheArtist and share them with me.

Thank you for reading,

Remember to Share, Comment, and Subscribe.

Derrick Bruno-Rathgeber

http://DerricktheArtist.com

Break the Chains That Bind Your Artwork

Breaking boundaries and becoming more creative than you ever thought you could be. That is what today’s blog is all about. I’ll be the first to admit that I changed my entire drawing style to build myself as a professional artist. I honestly felt no one would take me seriously if I kept drawing characters, and creations out of my mind. I tried, I really did. I would post my work online and got nothing back in return. Was this because I wasn’t good enough, or people didn’t like what I had drawn? Now that I look back on it I don’t think so. I think it was because I didn’t believe in myself enough. I held back in a lot of my work and it suffered dramatically. I would spend hours creating a lot of detail in the beginning, and then just tire of the drawing because it wasn’t me. It just didn’t represent me as an artist.

I have felt really chained down as an artist these past few months and as I was looking up a reference shot for my next piece I asked myself why? This picture I am about to draw has already been captured on photograph it’s done. What about all the great pictures in my mind that are trapped in there. I literally had thousands of images screaming to be released onto paper, and I was scared that I would mess them up. There is pressure to create; I always wanted to be original and draw different than everyone else. Even when I would draw from reference I wanted to find a way to change the image, but I really felt bound to make the image look like what I was drawing just because. I know it’s not a good reason but the pressure to be great, and build a portfolio got me thinking I had to make everything believable and real. And then it hit me just the other day why can’t I have the best of both, and make the imagination real and believable.

I found myself with a dilemma. Do I continue to build my portfolio with realistic colored pencil drawings or do I draw for fun. In the end I answered with my gut feeling to do it for me. So my next piece is called Beyond Imagination. At first I started to collect pictures of things I would add to my work I thought to myself that I am doing it again. I was already judging myself, and holding back by using images as a crutch. If I really wanted to release my talent I had to just draw. So in this image I am drawing it from left to right adding all the detail as I go. I started with a dragon, and a witch, and a phoenix. I have no idea what is next, and I don’t care if it makes sense. It’s imagination and fun. I hope you can do the same.

I propose a challenge to everyone. On your next piece, if you want to find out how much you have evolved as an artist, I want you to use everything you have learned to this point and just draw. Lay it all out on the paper. Don’t think about judgment from peers, or from yourself just go. Whatever comes into your mind go for it. The only other rule I ask for is to not use reference shots, photos, or any previous artwork. Make it yours, make it new, and take your time. Sometimes when you hit the professional level you get a following who love your “style.” If so fantastic don’t change. For me although I have gained a lot of praise for my work, it’s time for me to take a step back for a while and brake the chains that bound my imagination. I plan on growing, and releasing all I have to give, I hope you do too. Take the limiters off, and be creative again.

I hope to see some great new creations. Find me on my Facebook page at http://Facebook.com/DerricktheArtist and share them with me.

Thank you for reading,

Remember to Share, Comment, and Subscribe.

Derrick Rathgeber

http://DerricktheArtist.com

Free 50 Pack Colored Pencil GIVEAWAY!!

Free 50 Pack Colored Pencil 

GIVEAWAY!!

http://DerricktheArtist.com

_________________________

Enter to win a Free pack of 

50 Pre-sharpened RoseArt Colored Pencils. 

Learn to color with colored pencils and Earn a Free 50 pack!!

How to Enter: 

1.) Choose your favorite art lesson from below and follow the link to get started.

2.) Produce it following the step by step instructions.

3.) Post the results on my Facebook Page at http://Facebook.com/DerricktheArtist 

     by December 15th.

Contest Rules:

1.) Multiple entries are acceptable as long as they are a different lesson.

2.) Colored pencils drawings only. 

3.) Blending tools and techniques are acceptable.

4.) Results must be posted by December 15th by Midnight PST.

    How to Color A Daisy. 
    http://derricktheartist.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-color-daisy-with-colored-pencils.html

   How to Color a Pink Lady Apple.

   http://derricktheartist.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-color-delicious-pink-lady-apple.html

   How to Color an Autumn Tree.
   http://derricktheartist.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-to-draw-autumn-tree-with-colored.html

   How to Color Glass.

   http://derricktheartist.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-draw-glass-with-colored-pencils.html

 I look forward to seeing some great drawings. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. 

Derrick Rathgeber

http://DerricktheArtist.com

DerricktheArtist@Live.com

 

Pencils of Color to Unleash Your Imagination

What drives you as an artist? I strongly believe that there is a hidden unleashed artist in all of us. We often feel limited or stuck trying to find ourselves. Have you ever had that image stuck in your head that you cannot seem to escape? It follows you everywhere, at work, doing chores, listening to music, and in your dreams. You try to draw it but find yourself making mistakes and wasting mounds of paper. You can’t figure out why you cannot draw a stick figure to save your life when you have drawn portraits,  and landscapes flawlessly in the past. Well Today in this blog I am going to give you a glimpse into how you can begin to make the changes to unleash your potential.

The biggest problem is finding what medium you feel most comfortable with it has to be an extension of you. For me it just happened to be the pencil. The next thing you have to figure out is your style. Each of us has a unique fingerprint, and in art we each have what I like to call an “Art Fingerprint.” An Art fingerprint is an original style that no one on the planet can replicate, almost like your signature. Sure they may try, but all copies will be just that another copy. You have to let go and find your own style to do that you have to take yourself back to that one point in time when you were really excite to finish a piece of art. It could have been when you were a child, in school, or a week ago, but that moment when you caught yourself off guard paused, and smiled at your picture. It’s that excitement you have to get back, and pull into everything you do.

When did art become work, and competitions, and who can sell the most? It’s a pressure that we all face especially in this age of modern sharing on sites like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and so on. Likes, comments, and shares to the highest bidder. When we don’t see the results we like we fall backwards in fear that our work is maybe not as good as the artist with over 10,000 hits. I will be the first to admit I fell into the category of envy of other artists who hit these numbers because I don’t have the income to pay for ads, or other forms of web advertising. I am going to tell you some wise and great advice that someone very smart once told me… (my wife.) They are just numbers, and do not represent the great artist you are. Remember that as you are fighting an invisible battle online to become viral, because the greatest artists that ever existed were alive WAY before the internet was born.  So do not let competition hold you back. Pressure to succeed in today’s market had me torn, and had me creating art I thought people would like. I changed who I was in the artwork, and it wasn’t me at all. It became only business, and it made me very unhappy. I was un-motivated with no passion to continue drawing the same tired drawings that had no imprint of me in them at all. It was funny how me trying to fit in with the art community and be seen with them was what got me lost in the shuffle. I was just another artist with no originality, and I had lost who I was in the process. I needed to change or I was finished.

So what got me motivated again, the catalyst that broke the mold. It was something as simple as a sketchbook, and freedom. Eliminate the pressure, and just draw. You have to just let loose and let it all come out. No techniques, no references and no hesitation. Just draw the first image that comes to your head. T doesn’t have to be the best image in the world, just enjoy it. You don’t even have to finish it. Then for the next week  I challenge you to do it again, and again. You will start learning how you perceive your imagination. You might even shock yourself a bit, and may be able to find that you had more to show than you thought. The trick is to continue pushing what is hidden within. By just drawing out your thoughts, and experiences you begin to let go of all the pressures the world places on your shoulders.

The next thing you will want to do is refine it. Take the images you drew for the week, and just revisit them all. Ask yourself how you felt when you were drawing them. Find out what motivated you to draw them, this may go deeper in your core than you thought, and bring more than just art out, but I guarantee that you will feel much better when you do.  It may help to write your own journal or blog about each of the seven drawings. Nothing elaborates, but it will help you find out what motivates you to draw, and why you started in the first place. In doing this and remembering your reason for art, you will also come to remember the passion that brought you to art. I want you to carry that passion onto your own new original piece of artwork.

Skin through your artwork in your sketch book and choose your most favorite image. Not the most detailed, but the one that catches your eye. It may be more than one. I want you to incorporate this image into your next large piece. You can even take multiple images new and old from this sketchbook, and compose them into one great image or piece. Take your time on this one, and really enjoy it.  Make it yours and give it your style, your art fingerprint if you will. Place yourself in the scene and picture yourself there. The sights, smells, movements, take it all in and enjoy it. Use references only to refine your image, such as the flowers you drew, or people. Don’t simply copy the image left to right, or up and down like a printer. Move across the paper with randomness, or start from a different spot than you are used to just to get you away from all that technique that locked you down. The point of this is to find out who you are as an artist. In school we learn to look at a picture and make a copy of it, I want you to take that picture right out of your head, and draw it to the paper or canvas.

What it all comes down to is the fear and the challenge. The fear that no one will appreciate your imagination, or understand how you think. To be honest it doesn’t matter if they do or don’t. The only person you have to impress is yourself. It’s your art, and your mark on the world. To put it another way do you want to be remembered as the artist who copied other art, or the artist that broke free and decided to do something never before seen. Me I would rather never sell a piece of art and be original and happy doing it, than an artist that just drew pictures that someone else already did. I want you to challenge yourself and bring out the best artist you can be.

 (Then again I would really love to be an original artist and sell artwork too, feel free to check out my website on the links below to find out how you can purchase the originals. :D Cheap plug.)

Thank you, and I hope to see more new great artwork

Derrick Rathgeber

http://Derrickr.Webs.com

Feel Free to share your art with me at Pinterest.com on my open group boards. http://Pinterest.com/DtheArtist/

Don't Let Life Hold You Back.

It's been a while since my last post. There has been a lot going on in my life that has put a strong hindrance on my ability to focus on my artwork, and website. As most of you know I don't make a living off of my work, one day I would like to, but for now it is a fun hobby. I enjoy all the feedback, the chance to share lessons with you all, and of course any advice I can give.

I feel lately that I needed some advice and help, and I wasn't getting that in return. I reached out, and got nothing. I'll admit part of me was really bitter and spiteful. I ran scenarios in my head wondering how convicted killers could get donations in the thousands for the best lawyers, or how people come together to build a brand new home for someone that already has a nice trailer home, because they felt it was too small for them. I didn't understand and I was going down a really dark road in my head. I think the nail in the coffin was when I asked a company I have been supporting all this time with free lessons, and promoting their products with my artwork completely blew me off. All the plans we made in the beginning for a duel artist pencil sponsorship and advertisement went right out of the window after they got what they wanted. A free art lesson from an artist that used their pencils because it was all he could afford. It's not the first time I have been burned by the big corporations either, but that is many other stories, and I don't want to be that guy anymore. I am done reliving failures, or believing I have have failed due to my situation.

Regardless of where I am in life I have to remember that others are either in the same position I am in, or worse, and I have to remember that they look up to me. I felt recently that I let those people down because I cracked under pressure. I stopped drawing, and I stopped making lessons. I just froze up. Just know I am still here, and I have more work to show. I have more help to give, and I look forward to helping again. I am sorry I was gone for a while, but I am back, and I don't want to let life interfere with my love for art ever again. I may need some help with that.

I just need to know that what I do here, and on the web is worth it. I pour hours into the lessons, and I don't ask for money like other sites or artists do. If it helps you learn a technique that improves your work that is my payment. In time I will eventually make a book, but for now I just like to help out because I know there are artists that cannot afford to pay for lessons. The same for my comic strips. They make me laugh, and I am happy to know that it made someone laugh. And my artwork, I plan on drawing some more again, in fact I set up the paper for a new piece today. It will be a black and white and that is okay with me. I am going to stop placing rules on my artwork, all that did was hold me back, and make me unhappy.

After all of this I am in a better place. Looking back on what I wrote I feel that I needed to get somethings off my chest if I were to continue. I am going to start drawing for me for a while, and I promise to share new lessons. In fact my daughter gave me the idea for the next lesson. She wanted to learn how I draw trees so fast and realistic so look forward to that in the near future. My next piece on the other hand, you'll just have to tune into my Facebook page for updates, and work-in-progress images. What I can't give out all the details right? I didn't go away for good, but I did fall asleep for a bit. Thank you for sticking around and supporting me through it all. I have learned one all powerful lesson in all of this.

Support doesn't always come in the form of a dollar sign. Your kindness, comments, likes, and just all around support for my work. It helps make everything I do worth it, and I cannot wait to do more. I am not going to let life's obstacles hold me back anymore.

Thank you,
Derrick Rathgeber
http://Derrickr.webs.com
http://Facebook.com/DerrickRathgeber
Donations Accepted

Originals and Prints for Sale! Starting at $40.00

https://www.facebook.com/DerrickRathgeber/app_309028460694

Prints and Originals starting at $40! 

Shop today right on Facebook!! 

You can also visit my site at http://Derrickr.webs.com for more great artwork to choose from. 

How to Color a Daisy With Colored Pencils by Derrick Rathgeber

How to Color a Daisy With Colored Pencils

By Derrick Bruno

Http://HalfEvil333.com

Thank you for your Donation & Support!

 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/60869032437031919/

Welcome to the next lesson in colored pencil drawing. In the last lesson we learned how to layer different colors to create a solid multi-colored pink lady apple. In this lesson I will teach you how to train your brain to see your drawing as different individual pieces. The perfect way to do this is with the daisy. We will focus more on directional shading and coloring in this lesson, and how to obtain textures using different strokes.

Grab your box of Colored Pencils out and grab the following colors; Pale pink, Pink, Cerise, Ruby, Light Brown, Golden Yellow, Grass Green, Black, and White. These will be the 9 colors we will be using for this lesson.

Tip: If you would like to change the color of your flower, you may substitute the petal colors (Pale Pink, Pink, Cerise, & Ruby) to another four colors. Just make sure you go from light to dark. For example a purple flower you could use Light Lavender, Lavender, Purple, & Orchid. 

Step 1: Lightly draw your daisy using faint strokes of a pencil, or light grey colored pencil. Start with the circle in the middle of the flower. Follow that with about six individual petals all roughly the same length, but different characteristics. If you note each petal has two fold lines going down the, and the ends are jagged. Behind these petals you will draw more petals. Continue layering your petals until you are satisfied with the shape of your daisy. Now use the Grass Green colored pencil and draw two curved lines for the stem.

Tip: If you would like to skip ahead and focus on the coloring lesson. You may download the sketched out image seen below. Click the link Below.

http://www.4shared.com/office/lLB4l57E/How-to-draw-a-daisy-001.html

Step 2: We are going to put down the base color for the flower. Take the Pale Pink Colored Pencil and start coloring in each petal. Now to do this we are going to use a fun technique. The reason I chose a daisy is because it’s a circle shape. You will want to color in the direction of each petal; to do this can get frustrating because you have to contort your hand into uncomfortable positions. So what we are going to do is keep our hand in the same position and rotate the paper. Use light gentle strokes across each petal evenly, and use more pressure on the lines, and towards the center of the flower. Continue rotating the paper and coloring each petal until they are covered.

Step 3: Practice Makes Perfect. Find a petal to start with, and start adding the next layer of color. Using the Pink we will start off at the base of the petal and color in the direction of the petal. Color only the base of the petal and the center area of the petal. Again rotate the paper as you go and color in a position that is most comfortable for you and your wrist. This will allow smoother lines and more control.

Tip: Treat each petal as a new drawing. Taking your time and giving attention to each one will allow your brain to see shapes that you would otherwise over look. Remember to draw comfortably, take breaks when you need them, and just have fun.

Step 4: Using the Cerise you will continue adding more color and depth to the flower. We are going to start adding some shadows and curves to the petals. Color from the base of the petal with more pressure and lighten your strokes as you reach the end of the petal. Define the shadows for the petals underneath by using darker strokes where the top petals overlay.

Step 5: We are going to fine tune the shadow by adding one more red color. Using the Ruby Colored Pencil we will once again add more depth the flower petals. Rotating the paper as you go of course, sharpen your lines toward the base of each petal around the circle. Then define the lines of each petal using the Ruby color. Now as you rotate the paper use back and forth strokes to really get the dark Ruby color to make an even shadow on each petal towards the center of the flower to make it look like the petals fold inward.

Step 6: Now we are going to get into the middle of this flower. Don’t worry no more rotating the paper for this one, unless you want to of course. This part is actually kind of fun for me. Making a realistic pollen look is easier than it looks. Using the Light Brown find the center of your circle and make a much smaller circle. This will be your starting point. Now continue making small circles around this circle, and continue until the center is full. Once you get to the edge of the petals, use the Light Brown to fill in any gaps between the flower center and the petals. Now add some of this brown to the stem with some lines dark lines, and we will move on to the next step.

Step 7: Now it’s time to add some color to the center. Using the Golden Yellow make even circular strokes to fill in the center area. Continue going over it until you get a nice even color. Once you are finished use the same Golden Yellow color and very lightly go over the base of each petal. We do this because light reflects colors onto nearby objects. Sometimes it’s not noticeable, but just enough will make your drawing look that much more realistic. Then to finish off this step add some more light stroke lines onto the stem to give it an earthy browning like color when we go over it with the green.

Step 8: Probably the easiest step of the drawing. Take the Grass Green color, and color the entire stem. Be sure to color right over the Golden Yellow and Light Brown colors. Remember to color along with the shape of the stem in the same direction. You can even rotate the paper to give you a comfortable position and clean lines. Color the area by the flower darker show the shadow of the flower covering the stem.

Tip: By now I hope rotating the paper comes to you as a reflex. This will help you draw strait lines and curves, and can be used to draw all sorts of shapes and objects. Draw smarter not harder.

Step 9: Now to cast the final shadows. Use the Black Colored Pencil and outline the base of each petal and the flower center. Next begin shading the top petals lightly just enough to show that they curve inwards towards the center. Add some more black color to the petals underneath using the top petals as a guide. Next tilt the black pencil to the side a bit, and give a shadow to the center of the flower. Use crosshatching strokes towards the bottom of the circle to make it look like a sphere. Finally cast the shadow on the top, and down the side of the stem to finish up the shadows.

Step 10: To finish up our flower take the White Colored Pencil and color the edge of each petal. Next blend together the light and the dark colors by coloring from the edge of the petal down to the middle of each petal. This will even out your colors, and help cast light onto your drawing. Next add white to the cent of your drawing, and to the stem. And there you have it a beautiful flower.

Tip: Find your light source. Sometimes when I draw I will cast a light over my drawing and see which way the paper casts a shadow. Use this as a guide for your shading.

That does it for this lesson. I would love to see your work. Send it to us and we would be glad to share your results on my Facebook page at http://Facebook.com/HalfEvilProductions

Twisted Fate: Show Off by Derrick Rathgeber

Twisted Fate: Show Off

by Derrick Rathgeber

Twisted Fate: Show Off by Derrick Rathgeber

Our Fate decides to create an elaborate pulley system with the threads of life. This can’t be good…Awesome maybe.

Visit the Twisted Fate comic strip series on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/derrickr333/twisted-fate-by-derrick-rathgeber-comic-strips/

Be sure to find me on Facebook for more fun and great art. http://Facebook.com/DerrickRathgeber

Thanks again, 

Derrick Rathgeber

Featured Art: MezmerEyes by Derrick Rathgeber

Featured Art: MezmerEyes

By: Derrick Rathgeber

MezmerEyes is an illustration I drew in my sketchbook in 2011. This piece I can honestly say is one of those drawings that stick with you. It makes you form questions in your head like what is it, and what is it thinking as you stare into it's eyes. I drew these eyes originally going for a cat eye, but as I drew it I noticed that I gave it some human like features like the nose and faint eyebrows. I was mostly playing with the grey and black colors. The actual eyes I was going for was a nice glowing yellow with a small hint of gloss. 

I am proud to say that this was the first drawing that I did post accident that sold a print. It was in a church auction, and I listed the base price at $10. It got a few bids and sold for much more, and the buyer insisted that I sign the piece, as she had faith that I would be big one day. I was of course humbled and didn't think anything of it, but she was pretty serious, and was extremely happy that I signed it for her. I kind of felt like a celebrity for the moment. Kind of cool. 

This drawing is still available for prints, with great framing options from FineArtAmerica.com along with all of my showpieces. Some originals are available as listed. Feel free to view my profile on there and own one that sticks out to you, as low as $40.00! 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/derrick-rathgeber.html

You can even purchase right off of my Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/DerrickRathgeber/app_309028460694

Thank you for all your support, and enjoy the art. 

Derrick Rathgeber

http://Derrickr.webs.com

Selling Tragedy for Likes

The advertising game has changed in the last 10 years. I have moved merchandise for several companies in my life, and worked on advertising campaigns that were very successful in a multitude of business’. It used to be so much different. You would create a creative slogan, or do mass mailings, possibly a banner on the highway to improve the number of people who see your product. Now it’s all about social media. and public relations.
When I was younger there was a thing called business ethics. The way you would promote yourself and your company would represent your character as an organization or company. In this day and age that concept seems to go right out of the window. One of those examples is the way Blogs, and some business’ promote themselves on Facebook. I have seen several Facebook pages use a tactic that is completely un-ethical, and deceitful  I feel this practice needs to be regulated more, and seen as spam and illegal.

When I am scrolling along my feed I too often come across very disturbing images of a child with a serious illness, or being seriously abused, and the worst I have seen was an open casket of a deceased infant. Sure you see these images everywhere in the news and on the web, but what makes these images more disturbing is the pages that post them are soliciting likes from these disturbing images. For example the image below is stating that if you like this picture it equals 1 prayer for the child.

It sounds like a very enduring act. But in reality it’s the most deceitful ugly way to promote your Facebook Page, blog, and or business. Facebook uses a feature called “Edge Rank” which is used to increase the likelihood that your products or services will appear. Edge Rank is increased by adding “Weight” to your page. Weight is a word for anything you post that enables an interaction such as a like, or comments. So lets say someone has a website that sells goods/ services, and they want to promote something new. Before they would start promoting the new item/service They would need to add weight to my page. So will they do this is the ethical question. In this case a blog posted a child in pain, still at the hospital in the attempt to recieve more likes on their Facebook page. I have seen others use abused children, and worse. These companies are profiting on the suffering of others.

A good majority of the companies and bloggers that use this practice don’t even own the picture. In one instance the child in the photograph(Seen Below), who was attacked by another child at her pre-school nursery. The photograph of the child was apparently stolen from the Daily Mail article or elsewhere on the Internet and reused in this utterly pointless protest message without the permission of her family. They went on to spread the image across the net asking for likes to stop abused children. This in no way fights abused children anywhere, all it did was increase this criminals page rank and set them up to increase sales or hits on their blog.

These individuals need to be stopped. They are distributing these children's photos across the internet, and in many cases lying about the situation in the picture. In one case an infant was just born, and the doctor was holding her up for the camera and all you saw was his hands holding him/her up. In the caption it claimed the baby was being choked, and asked for likes to stop abuse. They took a happy moment and turned into a nightmare and gained over 500,000 comments and 50,000 likes on their page. What a joke. It's disgusting, and does not need to continue. To them someones pain is opportunity, and that is the lowest form of advertising. 

So what can we do about it. Well first off do not respond to these posts. That means do not comment or anything. Instead report them to Facebook as abuse. Something else we can do is gather together and ask for Facebook to implement stricter guidelines on images, and create rules banning this practice. I hope to see more action, and less of these images. If you are too, let Facebook and other media outlets know. 

Thank you for reading I hope I have been some help.

Derrick Rathgeber

Visit me at http://derrickr.artist.cm