Short Answer: No, if you don't have permission, you're violating their copyright and it might get costly.
Long Answer: Hey, webshaman, fill this in please, you're the guy to do it.
Ahh...one of my favorite (or, I should say, least favorite...hehe) topics. Ripping. Why am I (and dare I say, the law) against it? Quite simply, actually. Because it is wrong. Plain and simple (not to mention illegal).
Stealing someone elses work, either due to the fact that one cannot himself (or herself, as the case may be) come up with something 'cool' and original, or because someone is just to plain lazy to do the work themselves, is not only 'cheap', but damages the original artist. One must consider, that the artist in question has poured many hours, days, weeks, months, even years into improving his (or her) skills, only to have it 'ripped' by some idiot. This is not the reason that the artist in question has 'posted' his work on the Net...rather, he (or she) is showing his (or her) work to the world. Yes, it's ok to be inspired by such work...and, as the case may be, even desirable from the original artist...'imitation is flattery', yes...but to a point; The original artist surely did not mean for someone to actually take his (or her) art, and use it...unless the originator has given express permission to do so.
And think of it another way...you surely wouldn't want it to happen to you now, would you? Imagine it...all the hard labor, of developing your skills, the long, tedius hours of actually creating something, and lo and behold! Some ass comes along, and just steals it, puts it up on his (or her) website, and calls the thing their own! How do you think you would react? Not even a mention of the fact that you had created it...
Or, consider this scenario...someone comes along, likes what you've done, takes your work and changes it! Into something totally different from what you intended it to mean...outrageous? Yes, of course...but it happens everyday, it's happening now, as we speak.
The worst case scenario? Well, consider the artist who has an actual contract, with someone, to produce something for actual pay. So he (or she) does...and what happens? Some jerk of a fool comes along, steals it, and then posts it somewhere...and the original artist gets sued by the company in question that contracted him for the graphic...for breach of contract! The poor artist in question has no idea of what's going on...and will probably have some amount of court costs involved just to 'prove' that he (or she) wasn't invovled in the 'ripped' version at all...but what if he can't prove it? Well, he's (she's) in a pickle now, isn't he (she)? All that hard work, just to earn some money, and one ends up getting the shaft (and paying probably more than one received for the contract in court costs, let alone the possibility of actually being convicted...) just because someon else decided that it would be 'cool' to have that graphic one his/her website, etc...
So, next time, think about it. Really like the graphic? Then ask, before you right click...and save as...
However, there are those out there, that somehow think it is their god-given right to 'rip' someone elses work...to those (and hope to God, that you, reader, are not one of them...), I can only say this...I am watching...waiting...I may not get them the first time...or the second. But eventually...and I will have no mercy on them. Because they deserve none.
