How to know if an email is valid ?

[owen]

Hi everyone!

I've been approached for a potential collaboration and they've asked me to email examples of my illustrations. However, I'm a bit hesitant because I've had my artwork stolen before. This time, I want to be extra cautious. I'm thinking of first verifying the validity and authenticity of the person's email address to ensure they're serious and trustworthy. Does anyone have advice on how to know if an email is valid or any tips on protecting my work in situations like this? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[SimplSam]

An email address / domain / company registration can be perfectly valid but that doesn't mean the user / organisation behind it are not scammers.

You could send low resolution samples of previous work, but I would be looking to see evidence of their prior work and possibly a written agreement before handing over any kind of commissioned or source material.

I would also say that nowadays - most creatives publish their portfolio / works anyway on social media like Instagram/YouTube/Twitter or dedicated creative sites like ArtStation/Behance/DeviantArt - so that that they and their work gets exposure. So you should probably be doing the same / similar - and then can just refer persons to that.

[slowtiger]

What I do: on my own website there are some examples. Then there's an additional portfolio PDF which I send if asked for. Finished films are mostly online somewhere so I could link to them.

Many people don't really understand copyright at all. Any © watermark on your images doesn't prevent you from being ripped off, and absence of any © sign doesn't mean the image is free. However, a big watermark with your name and email all over the images makes it a bit more difficult to edit and scrap.

[Steve Matthew]

Hi everyone!

I've been approached for a potential collaboration and they've asked me to email examples of my illustrations. However, I'm a bit hesitant because I've had my artwork stolen before. This time, I want to be extra cautious. I'm thinking of first verifying the validity and authenticity of the person's email address to ensure they're serious and trustworthy. Does anyone have advice on how to know if an email is valid or any tips on protecting my work in situations like this? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Trust your instincts and consider asking for more details about the collaboration before sharing your work. You can also use email verification tools to ensure the legitimacy of the sender.