A Note about Copyright and Crediting

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Cymae's avatar
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Hello lovely people.

I'd just like to give you guys a reminder about three points of copyright that come up quite often and I think people are confused about. I don't want to see any of you get in trouble, so here's some things that you should remember:

Characters Ripped out of Games and Screenshots


Ripping models out of games and using them in your art is absolutely 100% not allowed on DA. This is considered a copyright infringement. Passing these around to others just makes things even worse. Please make sure you don't do this and don't use resources that have been taken from games.

I can't stress this enough, make sure any stock models you use are from people who either made them or have express permission to supply them to you.

Screenshots are a bit more of a grey area. Some game companies let you post them some don't. If you MUST post screenshots, please make sure they are correctly labeled and credited, and put in the Fan Art gallery.

Game screenshots don't belong in 3D Art. If you are taking a screenshot of an engine-render because you worked on the game, that goes in Game Development Art, but please let us know exactly what your contribution was.

Giving Credit where Credit is Due


If you are using any resources which require you to give credit for use, please do so. Additionally, if you have created an image and only part of it is your original work, make sure you clearly explain this.

Do remember some stock models and resources legally require you to give credit in your deviation description. If you're not sure, ask.

I've seen a lot of amazing work which had to be passed over for Daily Deviations because credit was not given where it was due, so don't let this be you!

Fan Art and Game Art


Fan Art is any art you make yourself from scratch based on an existing concept or franchise, and as such belongs in the Fan Art category. This does NOT include ripped game models, screenshots of games or films you've manipulated or anything like that. You must be using 100% your own work or resources which the copyright holder has expressly given permission to be used.

Low poly models made for games belong in Game Development Art, headed up by the lovely WillowXD, please make sure they are categorised properly.

Ask yourself: Is my model made for a game or is it just low poly but not for a game? If it's for a game, it goes to Game Development Art, otherwise it belongs in 3D Art.



Let me know if anybody has questions about this! :)

Comments125
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TenzinX's avatar

Why do these "rules" (Characters Ripped out of Games) exist if they are not enforced?

The MMD Community is the most egregious of offenders.