We here at Tomopop hate it when talented artists get their artwork ripped off by lazy people opting to make a quick buck, and it sadly seems that our friend Shawn, creator of Shawnimals, is the latest artist to see his work being used without his consent.

A women's shirt company by the name of Newbreed Girl have appeared to have stolen the design for Moustachio, and are selling it as their own original product. The shirt, which was available for sale through stores such as Hot Topic, wasn't even altered in the least before it was slapped up for sale, because apparently Newbreed Girl didn't know the internet is made of super sleuths.

We contacted Shawn, and here's what he had to say about it:

I can tell we're not happy about it, and are definitely dealing with it. It's hard enough out there striving for some level of originality – a moustache character with a moustache is pretty specific at least – so to have our Moustachio character ripped off so blatantly is really frustrating and annoying. Independent artists and designers like us are constantly striving for and succeeding in coming up with interesting, compelling concepts and visuals, and while most celebrate and enjoy them, some opportunistic, unoriginal hacks can't help but try to cash in.

This isn't the first time that Newbreed Girl have stolen artwork from another artist. Earlier this year they stole a Threadless design by an artist named Jess Fink, altering the original design slightly but retaining the same concept. We here at Tomopop hope that everything is resolved peacefully, and that Shawn is able to protect his work.

In the meantime, stop shopping at Hot Topic kiddos, they support theft...and possibly terrorism.

[Via Vinyl Abuse]