“Do you see ANY difference?” artist calls out The Elder Scrolls Online for stealing their art 

The Elder Scrolls Online community ran into a bit of controversy recently when an artist who goes by the handle of Relan Daevath asserted that one of the premium skins in the game was based on an artwork made by them. In a Twitter post, Daevath shows off their work from 2020, along with the new skin which made its way into the MMORPG in 2023.

Daevath went on to explain that the original artwork was posted on their Tumblr account back in July 2020, which was aimed at showcasing the three members of The Tribunal.

For those unaware, the Tribunal is made up of the ruling gods of Morrowind who oversee citizens in The Elder Scrolls. The skin in question is called "Mercymother's Body Art" which is surprisingly named after one of the nicknames of Almalexia, a member of the group.

The 2020 art and the 2023 skin dies look very similar, which is why Relan Daevath took to social media to spread awareness about it and bring the developer’s notice to the issue.

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The Elder Scrolls Online developers are addressing the issue

While calling out The Elder Scrolls Online for stealing their art, Daevath stated the following:

“19 July 2020 I posted this #tesonline fanart on Tumblr. Now in 2023 I see my art… in ESO crown skin called MERCYMOTHER'S BODY ART (why Almalexia? It's Sotha Sil here). Do you see ANY difference? ...well I know that all rights to the characters belong to Zenimax etc. But using someone's fanart through copy-paste without notifying the author is also not very nice. I would be flattered by such an assessment of my work if I were asked. But I wasn't…”

Fortunately, it would seem that the developers are aware of the issue and have reached out to Daevath. In another follow-up tweet, the artist shared the following:

“Oh thank you all for your support. It means a lot for a little artist. Elder Scrolls has a brilliant community. So updates.. TESO team wrote to me saying they are "currently looking into this and hope to have an update for you as quickly as possible". OK, let's wait.”

Hopefully, there will be a resolution to the matter soon, and many in the community hope that if the Elder Scrolls Online skin concept is stolen from the artist then they be fairly compensated.