Giving Credit Question
unknownmystery445
Posts: 414
I would just like to ask if you should always put the name of the products and the published artists who sell them whenever you post an art composition that you made in social media sites like twitter, facebook, and/or instagram? Also in like deviant art and other sites for personal use? I mean I'm confused about this because here in the Daz gallery, I've seen artists who only gave credit on some of the products used and I've also seen artists who didn't give credit at all. I'm asking because when posting on twitter and instagram and basically other social media sites wouldn't it be a hassle to post every single products used and also the name of the sellers?
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Products you buy in the Daz store have no requirements for 'giving credit', most items purchased in other stores don't either. Some freebie items do require it, so carefully read any documentation/ReadMe/terms/licenses that come with the items.
That said, it's up to you whether you want to give credit on items that don't require it.
Nope. I don't. I pay to not have to credit PA's which is part of the perks of owning the content.
If someone asks, I will tell them though. And If I have the time I ususally add the items in my DAZ gallery because it is easy.
Giving credit could also mean pointing the end-user to the 'raw materials' of your merchandise which could negatively impact your negotiating power in a competitive market.
I don't see it this way. People's talents are different. I have seen 2 people use the same content and get 2 different results. When you market yourself, you are selling your talent, not a raw product.
Also, while listing items used in an image is a form of marketing, I also see it as sharing. I try to list things most of the time on my images because it does help other find a piece I used. I am not worried that I just gave some vendor a boost. I do it to give the users a boost and enabled them to easily find something they may like to have for themselves. So, while we do not "have" to credit in mose cases, I chose to do so in order to help other artists and users.
Esentially, unless the product (usually freebies) requires it, it is totally up to you whether you want to list items used or not. It all depends on your perspective.
I don't use any content which requires citation. It saves me time and energy but unfortunately means most freebies are out especially if their terms of use are unclear. I've been burned before by having to quote and give credit and clients are wary of that so I absolutely will not use any content that requires it.
One of the reasons I pay for things is so I don't have to give credit. If I should ever get to the point where I might actually make money at it,I don't want to have to track down who I got it from and then figure out if I have to give credit for it. Also, if I have 150 items in a scene, its completely impossible for me to a. remember what each item is and where it came from, and b. Its far too time consuming to track down where 50 items came from, figure out if they need to be credited and then write it all down. If someone want to know I am happy to share. I frequently promote people whose items I am happy with. If its something that requires crediting, I pass on it. I know on deviant art many people require credit (which is fine, there choice) but if you are offering a set of grunge brushes for free, there is no way I am going to be able to credit when I am done with a piece. I might use 30 or 40 different brushes in a project and it would seriously interupt my work flow if I had to figure out which artists brush i am using at any given second. Especially if its titled brush 01. Which many of them are.
I very rarely use anything where I "have" to credit. Maybe once every few years. I credit for the user's benefit, and then usually only the prominent items in a scene. I do it as a courtesy for those viewing who may be interested.
I also mostly avoid items that require credit, or that do not allow commercial use. When credit is required, it can often be pretty vague regarding how you are supposed to do it. Sometimes they say you need to link their website, but if the render appears in a game, that is clearly not possible.
This is precisely why, when I started making freebies, I decided it wasn't worth the hassle of requiring anything, other than requesting that the downloader not redistribute my items...it's not like you need a secret code to enter some obscure club to get them, they are available in one of two publically accessible locations...because I knew how much time/effort was involved in keeping track of everything when building a render.
Giving something away and expecting the person I've given it to to gladly use it for everything...except this...or you can't do that with it...and above all...I WANT CREDIT for it...no, that just doesn't float. Why bother allowing someone else to use it?
Of course, there are different rules for 'fan art' items...but then, I seldom make any of those.
What if for example I posted it on Instagram for personal use but then my Instagram got "famous" and it attracted companies to market their products on my account. Does my account become for commercial use already? And do I have to give credit to the sellers of the daz, renderosity or other 3D products used or will be used?
You don't need to credit items you buy at daz or most legit stores that you pay for.
Make sure you familiarize yourself with the terms of use though at minor stores because not all store TOS are the same. there are several stores with odd terms of use.
Readmes are generally included with a lot of items so you can read them to find what you can and can't do.
I think it all comes down to what you are trying to promote.
For professional work I usually leave the credits out because the artwork is being used to promote something else, so it would not be approproate to include it. For example, could you imagine listing all of the art assets out in jewel case inserts for a music CD, movie DVD/BD, etc?
If I was trying to promote myself I would also have to seriously thin about it. Maybe list some major art assets (e,g, set, character, hair) to help inidcate I do not do modeling. That's a big maybe though.
I am most likely to list assets for pure hobby type stuff, in the spirit of sharing knowledge, promtoing my hobby, and promoting art in general.
Alright thank you :) bottom line is, I don't have to credit stuff that were bought in Daz and other famous stores like renderosity if I post my art compositions in any social media sites and in anyway. Thank you for the replies! :)
Reread your post, this actually already answered my follow up question. Thank you! For the replies! :)
Freebies bought at rendo may require attribution. Thats why I don't use them. Some of the backgrounds I've bought at rendo also have complex terms of use. If in doubt, contact the vendor.
One thing that often happens when looking at other artists' work is that I find myself wanting to add one or more of the items they used to my library. Unfortunately, my requests for information have sometimes been met with silence, or, "I don't remember," leaving me feeling disappointed and frustrated.
I started creating 3D art in 2009. Since day one, I've credited the items I used whenever possible, and been thanked by many other artists several times over for doing so. It helps promote content creators, and alleviates any need other artists might feel to ask me where I got something I used.
I don't plan on using freebies and/or background images bec they're usually not good quality or for background images it just doesn't feel right to use a 2d background in a 3D image for me but yeah I've seen a background image being sold in renderosity that has the terms and I didn't read anything about it needing to be credited for. I'll only use bought products, so yeah I don't have to credit anymore. :) Thanks again for the replies!
Glad I could help!
It always makes me sad to hear that. I am always willing to share what I use if someone wants to know. I just don't have time to list everything I use, I would spend more time listing and typing things up than I do actually making things..Between working, taking care of my family and trying to squeeze in time to do art at all, I just am not willing to give up that big of a chunk of my time if its not necessary. I'm willing to go look it up if someone asks though.
For myself, I try to include credits and insight into my creation process whenever possible. I'm certain this would be different if I was a professional artist where deadlines were involved or where I was promoting some product with the art. In my particular case, the artistic journey is a lot more about learning techniques, practicing, and sharing. I also feel a great deal of gratitude towards the CG artists who create this fantastic content. Yes, I paid for the license to use it freely and I don't need to credit the vendor. But if my mention of their products can help out a fellow artist and drive a little bit of sales towards the asset creator, I'm quite happy to do it.
A word of caution: if you have any intention of ever earning money from your hobby, carefully read any license agreements before you download free content and add it into your runtime. At least half of the freebies I've encountered are not licensed for commercial use. Of those that do, many stipulate that you must provide credit. Once content ends up in your library, it can be very difficult to keep track of that license. My advice would be to only load content which contains a very clear license and permits unrestricted or commercial use without credit.
And for those of you which do credit your content, you may find this trick helpful:
As I build my scene, I now rename each object to easily identify where it originated. Not only does this help when I want to document everything afterwards, but it is also very helpful if I want to go back and change a chracter's makeup, switch a texture, or find the foot pose for a set of shoes after I change a pose. You can also track intangible things like shaders or poses by adding a null object into the scene if you like.
For example, say I use the jewlery from Pretty 3D's Little Secret II outfit set for Genesis 3 female. I would rename the necklace to "Necklace - LittleSecretII (G3F) - P3D". For characters, I use a shorthand to indicate (B)ody and (F)ace morphs as well as (S)kin and (E)ye textures. For example, "ValerieSnow (G3F) B:Brooke,E:Finley, F:Brooke35,Finley35,Kimmy25,S:Finley" would translate to [my name for the character] (base figure) Brooke's body morph at 100%, Eyes from Finley, Face dials for Brooke, Finley, and Kimmy set to the corresponding numbers, and finally Finley's skin texture. It has saved me a ton of time both in workflow and documentation. Even better, I can come back to a saved scene months from now and easily find the associated files if I want to change something.