[quote=roby_367] I produced a "Meal Deals" banner in the spirit of Dmitri's work (if this is too close to your work, let me know. I did, however, do all of this on my own).[/quote] ^ From your first post. You admitted to copying the basic feel or spirit of his banners and then asked him to let you know if it was too close to his own work. Well he has pretty much told you that it IS too close for his liking and yet you keep arguing the point. =/ Why? If you can make a banner in his style, I'm sure you can make a fair enough banner in your own style. It might take a couple of tries to come up with something unique and pleasing but it IS possible.

I agree, this is too close to Dmitri's work. I think you could keep playing around and find your own style, it's a bit insulting to Dmitri.

Yea, it's nice that you're posting about it and discussing it, but why not come up with an original idea all your own? If you're not the creative type and don't feel comfortable with that, then since the graphics for the mall are already publicly available, why not alter one of those instead of his personal unique banner? This would probably not be such a big deal if it were just an average Neopian you were copying, but Dmitri is someone who has given a huge amount of his time and talent to benefit ALL Neopians and has done sp for years. Because of that, there is a whole different level of respect due when you are dealing with someone like Dmitri. After all he's done for us, we can't really give enough back, can we? The least we can do is not do something that makes him uncomfortable. Really, you owe him this much personal space. :) ~ Love books? Please visit my bookshop. :) http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=lolooma

Personally, I would not take it down. It is your own work. Even if it is somehow influenced by someone else's work. If you did not get the actual pdf file or any file with the layers from the work that you have gotten your interest from then this is called a revised work. It's like saying that I'm copying this image :) without the original work's permission when we all know that smileys are simply modified to create different ones like ;), :o, etc. I also personally think that the comments made before were simply just too rude. If you do not like what he has done and you have something that is offensive, I think he deserves to be personal messaged instead of creating more drama here in this forum. He did suggest this a quite a few times from the beginning...

I'm going to have to agree with 1434neopets on that one. Some of you are getting a little bit out of hand with your comments. You can feel the way you want to feel about this sort of touchy issue, but don't blast people on the boards. It's just a tad impolite :P [center][url=http://temptryst.deviantart.com/][/url][/center]

i could care less since it techinically doesnt affect my mall and after all, 20292982 people already lurk my pages finding stuff to take home with them. What difference does it make if it's 20292983? And I already knew something like this was bound to happen when creating the topshops page. However it's dead obvious that it's been copied so those who know probably wont take you seriously. Graphics "influencing" to that degree is almost the same as stealing and as bad as mall hopping. But seriously though, people need to get more creative. Even "respected" mallers are on my pages copying the design layouts/slogans word for word. Graphics may play a role but it isnt everything. And people "blast away" since many of them are annoyed at previous graphics thiefs like chris_mcdonald (he's now frozen btw) Plus, i may be biased but i think it's better to have people state the truth on these subjects rather than having people suck up and say "Omg it's amazing" even though the graphic is just too plain. Until now, the only responses to all those graphics advice threads were "Omg, that looks so cool" and hardly anything else. If i created a random account and drew up some random 1 minute stick figure job in paint and asked for advice, I bet the responses I'd get is "Ohh that's the best and most unique work ever. Great job!" even though it's obvious that it's noob work :P

I believe everything can be said with a modicum of tact in all situations and the lack of tact here is uncalled for and reflects poorly on the posters who chose to blast the person for the very things admitted in the first post. No matter what you think or feel you can take the time to treat people with respect instead of speaking to them in a dismissive demeaning tone. I am occasionally shocked at the level of familiarity people show with others they do not personally know. How hard is it to avoid personal attacks in writing? Unlike verbal communication you can review what you write, give it real thought and edit it if it is hateful. In the future can we all just agree not to post when we are angry so we don't alienate others? And if you cannot contain yourself, send a private message so you do not embarrass yourself and others. Dmitri, you showed great reserve, communicated your thoughts and feelings well so do not think I am referring to you, please. I would take this as a compliment of your work and realize only truly wonderful works inspire others. _____________________________________________________ ~ Mimi's Ménagerie Avatars ~ http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=temps_bons&misc

Ok I was in a bad mood yesterday for a couple of outside reasons. Anyways it's all cooled off now. Keep it if you like, but seriously though, try something like sleek pink. It'll work better than a brown color. Remember. target audience = 6 to 15 year old girls for the most part and with the rage of Ipods and Iphones and their sleekness.... yeah