Would this belong to the person's?

Question

my friend and I were talkin about art and messing around with photoshop. Then he says "If you get pictures from the internet and change it in photoshop till the point where it looks nothing like the original picture. The picture would belong to you and you could sell and do what ever you what even claim it as your own."

But I don't think so. Is he right?

Answer 1

You are correct and your friend is wrong.

Though it may look different, you have taken work that is not yours and tried to pass it off as something it's not.

Here's a weird analogy: Bob took Frank's cake at a bake competition. Bob iced the cake and made it beautiful, it was gorgeous. But when the judges bit into it, they were eating Frank's underlying cake with the little bit that Bob added on.

Just because you made it better does not make it yours. Particularly if taken without permission.  

: ) Happy trails.