I don't know if this belongs here, but I'll try. Anyway, I've recently gotten into a fair bit of trouble regarding some wallpapers I made with renders, which I had aquired from planet-renders.net. I'm a DeviantArt lover, so I of course posted it on there but after a while I found that people started calling me a thief. I removed it but the whole ordeal got me thinking. I had created the background etc myself and it was only the render that wasn't mine. I started to feel quite bad and I'm actually refraining from ever posting anything on that site anymore. How come renders are frowned upon so much? Whenever I browse through the website, I see wallpapers and signatures where the deviant is applauded etc? I don't really get it.
You're surprised that you would get flamed for stealing someone else's art on a site for artists? The source and attribution plays a part. I think you would be less likely to get flamed if you used marketing material from companies than if you used personal artwork. Also, if you misrepresented it as something you created then obviously you're more likely to get flamed. It is technically illegal to use or redistribute others' artwork without their consent, at least in the US.
If it was posted on planet renders then i would say it is not really your fault, it is impossible to know every single render and where it came from. Anyway half the renders on this site are from other peoples creations made for game companies so what makes it so ok to use them all of a sudden? Slightly hypocritical of a lot of people in that regards.
Wow! After being a member for 10 years you finally made your first post! Congrats! If you ever read this, could you please tell me how that is possible?