Use watermarks in your artwork..

[takyoji]

So imagine it like this: One day you work very hard on a work of art and post it on your deviantART account (or whatever you use). Then later on a friend tells you about them finding it in an ad in a magazine which promotes a company that you aren't even remotely related with, nor have no idea of it even happening in the first place?
Well, that's what happened to this guy: http://alexiuss.deviantart.com/journal/16335369/
Another company also stole one of his pieces of artwork and used it in their web design.

Remember folks, put watermarks in your work. Whether it's photography, digital art, or something else. I have a bad habit of not watermarking (even though I should) thus I probably even have people stealing my own stuff and I don't even know of it. If you don't know how to watermark your own work, then we'd be glad to explain to you on how to do it. Also feel free to reply with your reactions to the user's journal.

[Shadow Wulf]

Yeah I want to try to learn how to do that myself. The best way to do it is make it real small and transparent and put it all over your artwork that way when someones steal your images you can easily prove its yours by just zooming in on it.

Heres a good example:
http://cypherxero.deviantart.com/art/An ... m-16560903

[RedEye]

While there is really no way that you can stop theft, using a watermark or an integral marking (your initials in red on one layer, covered by another layer of almost the same color -use your colorwheel-) works too.
You can also do a "Disney" mark, wherein your specific logo is applied to the bottom right of the Image (look at Disney stuff...).
And save your money to register that marking as a copyrighted trademark with the government (library of Congress). It costs about $45.00-not too expensive, and lasts 17 years. It's accepted as definive proof of ownership by the courts, as it sets a date when that marking was accepted as legally yours.
Sometimes, the system works!