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9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off
A veteran illustrator imparts practical advice for the working creative with candid humor
New York Times and New Yorker illustrator Raymond Biesenger has over twenty years of experience as a self-employed creative. You might say he’s been through it from chasing down a concert promoter for payment on a fifty-dollar Megadeth poster design, to a regular stint at Monocle, to confronting a government agency for stylistic theft. Biesinger’s ingenuity for solving the most unexpected issues extends far beyond his primary task of filling the page.
Sure, everything an aspiring creative needs to know might be at their fingertips. But the question of what to do when their work has been exploited remains. In 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off, Biesenger undertakes the challenge of answering that ever-present question by revisiting some of the most unforgettable—and at times—irrationally absurd moments in his career with a wink and an encouraging nudge. 9 Times… proves time and time again that creative problems will more often than not require creative solutions.
This portable, and elegantly illustrated guide to navigating and maneuvering the least glamorous aspects of the creative industry is a future classic suitable for everybody from the earnest novice to the seasoned professional.
New York Times and New Yorker illustrator Raymond Biesenger has over twenty years of experience as a self-employed creative. You might say he’s been through it from chasing down a concert promoter for payment on a fifty-dollar Megadeth poster design, to a regular stint at Monocle, to confronting a government agency for stylistic theft. Biesinger’s ingenuity for solving the most unexpected issues extends far beyond his primary task of filling the page.
Sure, everything an aspiring creative needs to know might be at their fingertips. But the question of what to do when their work has been exploited remains. In 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off, Biesenger undertakes the challenge of answering that ever-present question by revisiting some of the most unforgettable—and at times—irrationally absurd moments in his career with a wink and an encouraging nudge. 9 Times… proves time and time again that creative problems will more often than not require creative solutions.
This portable, and elegantly illustrated guide to navigating and maneuvering the least glamorous aspects of the creative industry is a future classic suitable for everybody from the earnest novice to the seasoned professional.
- GenresNonfictionDesign
212 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 29, 2025
This gem of a book is required reading for aspiring and practising illustrators and other creative types that consider themselves to be under or adjacent to the umbrella of graphic design.
As someone who has worked with copyright issues for more than a decade, it’s exceedingly rare for me to read a book written by a non-lawyer that gets into the copyright weeds without wanting to throw that book across the room at least once. This book didn’t get thrown. Biesinger provides a rare mix of common sense, real world practice, and careful analysis of legal basics related to copyright law and its application in the (commercial) visual arts.
As someone who has worked with copyright issues for more than a decade, it’s exceedingly rare for me to read a book written by a non-lawyer that gets into the copyright weeds without wanting to throw that book across the room at least once. This book didn’t get thrown. Biesinger provides a rare mix of common sense, real world practice, and careful analysis of legal basics related to copyright law and its application in the (commercial) visual arts.
February 5, 2026
by Raymond Biesinger (no photo)Finish date: 05.02.2026
Genre: NF
Rating: B+
#2026GreatCanadianReadingChallenge
Good News: Relatively short book but an interesting POV of a Montreal based Canadian illustrator and his informal guide how to prevent being exploited "ripped off" artistically. Great illustrations BTW....in the book!
Good News: Drawing talent is one thing, takes time to build your "style" as an illustrator. R. Biesinger gives us a look at what he has to do to NOT be ripped off. If this happened to me it would keep me up at night! Practical tips are good to know and how he has tried to regain control of his style.
Personal: As R. Biesinger says on pg 202: "...AI has graduated from a theoretical to an actual menace when it comes to ripping off creatives".
The conclusion of the book hit a very small nerve in me. Book bloggers see AI scraping their reviews to educate the AI models. That feels and is unfair....(author mentions 261 of his images have been feed to AI models). A small book review usually just my opinion is peanuts in comparison to the beautiful art that Raymond Biesinger creates.
#InterestingRead
November 17, 2025
AI is discussed very briefly at the end, but its wild how easy it is to rip off creatives using stuff like Mid journey. Even I've experimented with replicating some of the classic poster advertisements using AI for my own ads.
I really enjoyed this guide/memoir. Some of his advice can be applied to any situation where you're wronged by a stronger party. I really wish Biesinger had spilled the tea and named names... but he takes the high road here. Also, I assume most of the ad agencies that ripped him off have closed their doors or spun up under new corps. Ultimately I think there's a disconnect between creatives that actually care about their work and sycophantic corporations who just want to make money. The law unfortunately doesn't help the creatives in a meaningful way.
I really enjoyed this guide/memoir. Some of his advice can be applied to any situation where you're wronged by a stronger party. I really wish Biesinger had spilled the tea and named names... but he takes the high road here. Also, I assume most of the ad agencies that ripped him off have closed their doors or spun up under new corps. Ultimately I think there's a disconnect between creatives that actually care about their work and sycophantic corporations who just want to make money. The law unfortunately doesn't help the creatives in a meaningful way.
February 8, 2026
If stress is fueled by uncertainty, there's a lot more to working in the creative field other than generating fun, visual ideas. I'm lucky that I have a full-time, stable job in the field. When I've freelanced, I see now that project managing on an informal basis can be naive. The stories about what Raymond wanted to say and what he wished he hadn't said were entertaining. His illustration style is popular and is mimicked or outright stolen which lead to some interesting detective work.
December 28, 2025
It's a weird spot to be in, pursuing a lasting career in the tail end of a dying industry.This book might not be relevant in 5 years, but I enjoyed sharing in the collective irritation of being ripped off and a hatred for AI.
January 3, 2026
This isn't my usual reading fare, and I have no idea how it came to be on my holds list at the library, but here we are. I'd say this was a 3.5 star, but I'll round up. It was funny, it was clever, and it was interesting.
January 20, 2026
Who knew a book about protecting your work and dealing with copyright infringement could be so entertaining. Love the pure cheekiness of some of the responses Biesinger sent out.
January 22, 2026
The grumpiness is amusing
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews