Forgery

A forgery is the outcome of buying a fake painting or statue from Crazy Redd. A forged painting may appear as a regular painting until sold to Tom Nook or donated to Blathers at the Museum, where both may identify the picture. In, players can tell forgeries apart from genuine paintings or statues by noticing the differences. For instance, the genuine Graceful Painting has the woman facing to the right while the forged version has the woman facing the other way.

When the player is speaking to Redd about a painting he has for sale, his emotions will often signal if it is a fake. If he displays a glint in his eye or the "mischievous" emotion, the painting is probably a fake. In fact, showing any emotion while he describes it is an indicator. Despite this, the only way to truly tell if it is real or fake is to buy it or notice the differences in New Leaf.

After the player purchases a painting from Redd in or, there are two ways to verify it: trying to sell it to Tom Nook or donating it to the museum. Both Blathers and Tom Nook are able to identify it a fake and will refuse to accept it. The item then changes in name from the bought painting's name to "forged painting". Players can also verify the painting via Tom Nook's catalog. If the painting that was bought is genuine, it will be listed in the catalog. If it is fake, it is absent from the list. Also the name of the painting automatically changes to "forged painting" after a day after it has been bought, even if the player hasn't verified it with Tom Nook or Blathers.

In, the player can only attempt to sell it to Reese or get Blathers to look at it. Timmy and Tommy do not buy any paintings or statues. However, unlike in and, the name of the forgery does not change after being verified by Reese or Blathers. For example, if the player showed either of them a forgery of a dynamic painting or a robust statue, the name of the item remains as "dynamic painting" or "robust statue".

Although they are rejected for the museum and store, the painting may still be displayed as furniture in the house and the image will be that of the original paintings. However, its points for the Happy Room Academy is lower than that of an original painting. In, players may exchange a forged painting for 100 bells upon signing up for insurance from Lyle. Players can also give the forged painting to a villager as a gift, or they can sell it to another player. Finally, they can sell the painting to Tom Nook for 10 bells. In, the only way to remove the forged painting is to pay a disposal fee after attempting to sell the painting. Players can also remove forged paintings by disposing them in the trash bin.

Here is a list of ways to tell the forgery from the genuine.