I’d honestly have no problems with anybody using my (admittedly crappy) art as long as they don’t claim it as their own. If you don’t want someone using your picture, ask them to take it down.
 
The reason very few people bother asking permission is because 95% of the time, the artist doesn’t care.

@IchtudirWeh  
“Don’t post things online if you do not want it to go public.”  
By that token one shouldn’t publish anything anywhere and not expect to be plagiarised. Most artists, although they might not mind their work being edited or reused elsewhere, actually don’t publish their work under licenses that permit it (almost nobody I’ve ever seen uses the CC licenses on DA, for instance). Although it’s an endemic problem that doesn’t mean one should just throw up their hands and say “oh well, it’s the internet” - complaining about something that is wrong is the only way to get it to change. Admittedly, more progress might be made if an educational approach was used as opposed to ranting that something ought to be obvious.

I do ask for permission before I post an image cover for a fanfic. Most artists normally don’t care. I mainly use vector images and create my own pictures. Also, if you commissioned for artwork and someone else uses it as a cover, then you should be held accountable for posting it on the internet. Don’t post things online if you do not want it to go public. I cannot understand why people find that difficult to comprehend.

I completely agree with this; it’s the least an author can do.

Personally, I don’t ask for permission (unless I see something that specifically states to ask for permission), but I will credit the artist if I can find out who it was that made the image.

lol those downvotes
 
I would have thought that asking the artist to use their work as a cover would just be common courtesy.

I love it when people make commissions all about them. “I made this pic happen. Me. All me. Fuck the artist who actually did work. This was all me.”

Well, you’re not actually doing any of the work, so is it really, really terrible to send a note, PM or mail to ask?
 
It’s less effort than a comment on this picture.

@Background Pony  
I think there would be far more pictures than fanfics. Consider artists could do a pretty decent cover pic in a few hours, but a 10k word fanfic will probably take 10 hours.
 
I know I’m no artist or author, but I’ve had a crack at both and I felt that I could do a decent picture in much less than half the time I could do a decent fanfic.

@Background Pony  
Bah. It’s “art theft” for lack of a better term. Most people know what “art theft” means, even if the ‘theft’ part is still debatable.

and this is why I make all my own cover pictures.

@Background Pony  
Stop misusing the word theft.

Cover pictures? Why back in the day if y’all wanted a dang, spiffy cover picture for your fanfiction you had to build your own damn website or (if your host didn’t call it “advertising”) post a link that’ll get clicked half as often as your fanfic gets views.
 
…Nah, seriously, I don’t get why fanfics even need cover pics. Since it’s a lot easier to type than produce an appealing and/or engaging illustration, the fics are bound to outnumber the pics. This doesn’t justify art theft, but so long as a fic without a cover gets more attention than a fic with a cover, the art theft will likely continue.

@Zincy  

 
Here, I saved your mind. Thank me later!

@Background Pony  
I find nothing wrong about what anyone did, I don’t attribute arbitrary matters like property to positive or negative qualities. The fact is, they’re both committing the same crime. To make an analogy with thievery (which copyright violations are not) He’s stolen a CD from a sound system stolen from someone’s car. Both know who they’re stealing from. The first thief has no legal right to the sound system, taking a CD from the sound system is not stealing from the first thief, it’s stealing from the owner of the car. They’re BOTH stealing from the same person, the car owner.

On the other hand though, I fucking hate text posts on an image board.

@Background Pony  
Did u steel my watrmellon, nigga¿

Oh shit, I’m a bad commenter, no bandwagoning for me.
 
I have to agree with the OP. Of course I also think the ranting is bad form, but people pulling this stuff could at least have some common decency and ask first.

@Zincy  
Damn shit fuck rape nigga.  
Happy?

Well, what would he do if Hasbro used his art for some covers?

Do you need a straw? Because you really need to suck it up.

Welcome to the internet.  
When people upload any kind of image for the world to see for free, there is no copyright or shit. And no one owe you anything, especially if who used that image make a cover for a free fanfic.

@Background Pony
 
There is also logic in what you say.
 
Damn’t BGP’s, stop not being stupid. One of you needs to make a racist joke, and the other needs to poorly spell everything. My whole view of BGP’s is fracturing.

I’m back.  
@Zincy  
Sorry, no beer or sandwiches. I got some chips, but I ate them all already.

@Background Pony  
one wrong doesnt justify another, jus because commissions have issues doesnt mean it is ok to use the art without asking. the two are only related because the guy who posted this is a hypocrite, but his point is still right.