Forgery

Blathers commenting on the forgery in New Leaf.

A forgery is an article of Art that is fake, that may be obtained from Crazy Redd's or, starting in New Leaf, from a villager. Compared to authentic pieces of art, forgeries are close to worthless: they may not be donated to Blathers at the Museum and are worth zero Happy Room Academy (Happy Home Academy in New Leaf) points. Prior to New Leaf, there is no way to determine whether a piece of art is fake or not prior to purchasing it.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Prior to Animal Crossing: Wild World

In Animal Crossing and related titles, all paintings sold in Tom Nook's store, the catalog, or at Crazy Redd's are authentic, although Redd charges the player four times than how much they would actually cost when purchased from the catalog.^[4]

In Animal Crossing: Wild World

Tom Nook still sells paintings, although they are spotlight items and only the Famous Painting and Fine Painting are available for purchase. Outside the catalog, the primary method of acquiring new paintings is from Crazy Redd's, for double the regular price. Contrary to popular belief, there is no way to determine whether a painting is authentic or not prior to purchasing it, and Redd does not give any hints either.^[1]

The painting may be identified as fake by donating it to Blathers or selling it to either Tom Nook or Timmy and Tommy, where they will comment on it. Upon doing so, the item's name changes to "forged painting". The item's name also changes after one day from purchase, even if it was not inspected. Forgeries may be sold to Tom Nook for 10 Bells.

If damage insurance is bought from Lyle, and a forged painting is given to him, the player will be mailed 100 Bells.^[1]

In Animal Crossing: City Folk

File:Forgery.jpg

Blathers commenting on the forgery in City Folk.

Out of all paintings, only the Basic Painting and the Common Painting are spotlight items, leaving the rest of the paintings obtainable only from Crazy Redd's. In addition, artwork can no longer be purchased from the catalog, which means paintings that were obtained before can only be bought again from Redd.^[5]

Similar to Wild World, it is not possible to determine whether a painting is authentic or not prior to purchasing from Redd; however, Feng shui plays a role in increasing the probability of a painting bought being authentic.^[3]

Similar to Wild World, forgeries may be sold to Tom Nook or Timmy and Tommy for 10 Bells.^[5]

In Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Inside Crazy Redd's in New Leaf. Notice the forged Wistful Painting (left) and Famous Painting (right).

Articles of art (that is, paintings and statues) are no longer sold at Timmy and Tommy's store, leaving the player with Crazy Redd's as the primary means of acquiring art. Compared to older versions, however, Redd offers four articles of art every time he sets up his tent, and determining an artwork's authenticity just by looking at it (that is, before purchasing) is now possible. In addition, some paintings, such as the Calm Painting, are guaranteed to be authentic.

It is possible that Redd offers two authentic pieces of art^[6] (although only one may be purchased). It is also possible that he will offer none.^[7] Feng shui appears to affect the probability of more (or less) genuine pieces of art appearing.^[8]

Villagers may also offer the player to buy paintings (but not sculptures) from them. They will offer a slightly lower price, although they do not know whether their painting is authentic or not, thus making the purchase a gamble. Feng shui also appears to affect the probability of paintings sold by villagers being genuine.^[8] Obviously, some paintings sold by villagers are guaranteed to be authentic (such as the aforementioned Calm Painting).

Blathers, Timmy and Tommy, and Reese will identify that an artwork is fake—the former will refuse to accept the forgery, whereas the latter two will charge the player a disposal fee of 100 Bells.

Spotting a Fake

Name	Genuine	Forgery	Description
Paintings
Amazing Painting			If the man in white is on the left and the man in black is on the right, it is fake. If the man in white is on the right and the man in black is on the left, it is genuine.
Basic Painting			If both of his arms are bent at his sides, it is fake. If only one of his arms is bent, it is genuine.
Calm Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Common Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Dynamic Painting			In the fake, Mt. Fuji is very large and takes up most of the space under the wave. If Mt. Fuji is small, it is genuine.
Famous Painting			If her fingers are pointing to the bottom left corner of the picture, it is fake. If her fingers are pointing to the bottom right corner of the picture, it is genuine.
Fine Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Flowery Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Graceful Painting			If she is looking to the left, it is fake. If she is looking to the right, it is genuine.
Jolly Painting			If the nose is made of a carrot and has green leaves hanging down, it is fake. If the nose is made of a green vegetable, it's genuine.
Moody Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Moving Painting	150x150px	150x150px	The fake has an upside-down shell.
Neutral Painting			If the big green leaf on the top left has a hole in it from being eaten by insects, it is fake. If there is no hole made by insects in the big green leaf, it is genuine.
Nice Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Perfect Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Proper Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Quaint Painting			If she is not wearing a hat, it is fake. If she is wearing a white hat, it is genuine.
Scary Painting			If he is only pointing one finger of each hand, it is fake. If he has all fingers sticking out, it is genuine.
Scenic Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Serene Painting			If she is holding a fluffy white cat, it is fake. If she is holding a skinny white ermine, it is genuine.
Solemn Painting			If the blonde girl is twice as tall as the girl to the left, it is fake. If the blonde girl is close to the same height as the girl to the left, it is genuine.
Warm Painting			This painting is always genuine.
Wild Painting			If the dark one is on the left and the light one is on the right, it is fake. If the light one is on the left and the dark one is on the right, it is genuine.
Wistful Painting			If her hat is red, it is fake. If her hat is blue, it is genuine.
Worthy Painting	150x150px		This painting is always genuine.
Statues
Ancient Statue			If its eyes are open, it is fake. If its eyes are closed, it is genuine.
Beautiful Statue			If she has long hair down to her shoulders, it is fake. If her hair goes down to cover only her ears, it is genuine.
Gallant Statue	150x150px		If there is cloth hanging down his right shoulder, it is fake. If his right shoulder is bare, it is genuine.
Great Statue	150x150px		If his hand is level with his shoulder, it is fake. If it is higher, it is genuine.
Motherly Statue	150x150px		If there is only one child below the wolf, it is fake. If there are two children, it is genuine.
Mystic Statue	150x150px		If her hat is spherical, it is fake. If her hat is cylindrical, it is genuine.
Robust Statue			If it's holding a UFO, it is fake. If he is holding a smooth disc, it is genuine.
Valiant Statue	150x150px		If it has bat wings, it is fake. If it has feathery angel wings, it is genuine.