Hey all. So, I’m making a Baiken themed piece of stick art to use just for myself and to put on my stick, not to distribute for others. I found a piece of art for Revelator II style Baiken and fell in love with it, and just as an experiment started building the rest of the art around it. However, I don’t feel right using someone’s art, even if it’s just for my stick. I’ve contacted the artist for permission through various means, and he/she still has not responded.
What should I do? Has anybody else used art for a stick you didn’t ask permission for, even if it was just for you?
Ethically it’s wrong to use someone elses work as is without their permission
It has been heavily modified, but I do see a lot of people using official art or fanart they’ve grabbed and modified and then used for their sticks. When does fair use end and douchebaggery begin?
Hard to say
There also a legal aspect too. It can be illegal to use someone else art or even IP without permission.
Its your call though
I think for personal use it is cool. Not for “commission” like a lot of people tend to do.
I mean you are not making money out of it. It’s for your own pleasure lol kind of like reposting something on IG and crediting the original poster or artist.
But that is just my humble opinion. Just if you show it off credit the artist.
As long as it’s for personal use and not for personal or commercial gain (i.e. making money or using it in your portfolio to sell yourself) you should be fine. Here is a quick list for fair use, etc. http://lifehacker.com/follow-this-chart-to-know-if-you-can-use-an-image-from-1615584870 It usually only becomes a problem once you start selling someone else’s work. Even fan art is considered infringement but it’s something IPOs tolerate as it’s a fan based thing, so a few 100 prints to cover their time gets over looked. However if they try to license their art or make 1000’s of copies to sell the IPO will come looking for their cut. It’s also tricky for the artist to sue you if the design is fan art as they don’t technically own the IP either. They just created a derivative based on that IP of which they don’t own, so it’s harder for them to prove in a court how they should be paid for a print on a stick of which they don’t own the original IP. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen as I’ve had a friend sued for using Godzilla in a collage on his album cover without permission and he ended up settling for $4000, but the guy sold them and made a lot of them. It happens but it’s rare and usually requires someone to have money they can go after otherwise there is no point in suing.
To be honest I think the artist would be flattered that you liked their version of the character enough to put it on your stick. I’ve rarely seen artists get pissed for people using their stuff for personal things like tattoos, which happens a lot. I think you’re only real issue is getting an image that is of a high enough quality as online images are only 72 ppi.
Honestly I feel like you’re pretty free and clear here.
You’re only using it for personal and non-commercial means, you’ve made a solid attempt to contact the artist for their permission, you’ve questioned the ethicicy of using it, so you’re certainly trying to show respect on all sides to the artist.
Ethically it may conceivably be a bit murky, but I feel like no one would fault you if you want to use the art.
telling anyone about it was your first mistake.
jokes aside, it’s cool that you told the original artist first. even if it’s not for profit, it’s a good gesture or respect and appreciation.
As others have said, it’s legal to use his art without permission for personal use.
As far as ethics go, my opinion is that he gave the green light by putting it on the internet. Anybody who expects otherwise is naive. I mean, I don’t know who drew my avatar, and I honestly don’t care. Maybe Capcom made it, or maybe some big Star Gladiator fan made it. I’m not claiming to have made it, which is when I think the douchebaggery begins.
With that said, if you’re going to be going to locals with the stick, it might be pretty awkward if you run into the guy who made the art.
pretty sure they’d be flattered more than anything.
You’ve covered the ethical side of the art use. But have you thought about the ethnical origins part of the art, can you explain who or what a Baiken is and what he/she/it wants from us?
Not necessarily so.
Thanks for the advice, everyone!
However, the artist finally did contact me with a simple “sure! :)”
So no more worries.