Wikipedia:Donated artwork/Artists' welcome page

Welcome to the donated artwork page for artists. You have probably arrived here after receiving an email.

As stated in the email, a number of high-traffic Wikipedia articles on famous individuals lack images. This is often because no image with an appropriate copyright status has yet been found. An original, realistic art work is a welcome alternative.

You are encouraged to create a portrait in the medium of your choice and then upload it to Wikimedia Commons under a compatible license. It will then become available for use in Wikipedia articles and other media.

The benefit to the artist may be significant in terms of exposure as many of these articles receive a large number of visits. Typically, works hosted on Wikimedia Commons are by policy credited to the creator. Works hosted on Wikimedia Commons are available for reuse – including for commercial purposes (such as newspaper articles etc) and to create derivatives from, subject to the terms of the license being met.

If you have any questions, please post at the talk page.

Images needed
The list of frequently viewed articles that have no image is kept at Donated artworks/List of articles needing images.

Image requirements
Portraits are preferred using any medium or technique. Even a simple pencil sketch is acceptable provided that it is a good likeness of the subject. Please ensure that any signature on the work is not excessively large. The image should be realistic and may be based on multiple photos found using search engine results. If you wish to use a portrait you have already created, you must own the rights to it. You cannot have already assigned exclusive license to someone else. If the work is currently used at another website, you will likely be asked to confirm that own the rights to the image.

'''It is extremely important that the piece is original and can not be considered a derivative of any existing work. Therefore, it must not be copied from any other image(s), as that would likely constitute a copyright violation.'''

Image usage
The articles listed at Donated artwork/List of articles needing images have all been lacking an image for a considerable length of time. If your creation is a good likeness of the subject, it will probably be used. It may also be used in other articles at English and other-language Wikipedias or other projects of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Important: If a new image becomes available (especially a photograph) that is preferred by the Wikipedia community, it may be used in place of your creation. However, the community may decide at a later date to restore your image to one or more articles.

Whether an image is used in any articles or not, the image may be retained indefinitely at Wikimedia Commons available for use. An image may be subject to deletion under certain circumstances, such as if it is identified as copyright violation.

Since it is more likely that a new image becomes available when the subject is currently in the news, you may want to consider whether a subject is currently famous or has lasting notability when deciding which picture to create.

Image credits and attribution
The artist's name will be listed in the information box below the image at Wikimedia Commons. Unless you choose otherwise, we will also add your name to the file name, as in "Hassan Nasrallah by Vinoba.jpg".

All images uploaded to Wikimedia Commons must be released under a compatible license. The preferred license to use is Creative Commons 4.0. Please read the license carefully. Essentially, anyone is free to copy, adapt or use your image without copyright restriction as long as the terms of the license are met, which includes crediting you for the creation. Anyone, including you, is permitted to use images licensed under Creative Commons 4.0 for commercial purposes. You may also dual-license your artwork as long as at least one of the licenses is compatible. You can read about the Creative Commons license and get reference links at our article on the subject.

Please note that Wikimedia Commons cannot and does not enforce attribution or other requirements of the license elsewhere. The Creative Commons license is designed to help you enforce that. Many images at Wikimedia Commons are used in various publications and properly credit the author, while other publications use the image and ignore Creative Commons licensing requirements. If your image is used elsewhere without meeting the terms of the license, you will need to contact the re-user directly.

Technical stuff
The preferred format for images is  or. A high quality scan of the work is best, but a photograph is also acceptable. Please create a digital image of the highest possible quality.

Unless you are or want to become a Wikipedia editor, you may prefer to send your artwork to the person who sent you the e-mail, who will be happy to do the uploading. You are of course free to upload the image yourself; the process is described at Donated artwork/Volunteer work.