Creating an image similar to another artist's work
NotAnArtist
Posts: 408
My sister has been urging me to create images for her booklet of writers' prompts. She uses ideas from Pinternet as examples of what she needs. It's been a good stimulus for me to learn to use DS after several years of stop & go.
Regarding those images, I have seen similar ones in the Daz Gallery. Artists do, I assume, occasionally use the work of others for their inspiration, similar to the purpose of the writers' prompts.
I recently saw an old image in the Daz Gallery which was very close to a scene I made recently. I probably saw the original before, forgot it, and then remembered the idea for a joke that it gave me.
*I do mostly humor because it irritates my Facebook enemies.
In the future, what if a gallery image gives me an idea and I choose to try it with different characters and props, (and maybe a speech bubble for the joke), but clearly the same basic theme? I would attribute the original artist, of course, but is this frowned upon?
Basically: What are the standards, legal, moral, towards posting images derived from other artists' work? What are the lines we're not supposed to cross?
Sorry about the ignorance. I've never pretended to be an artist before...
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Comments
you can remake any art that you want as long as you do not claim that it's the original artist who made it.
you cannot take someone else's art and use it as your own. even if you lightly modify it.... it's still theirs.
somethings/ideas are copyrighted and cannot be sold without permission... disney princesses, marvel, dc, games, etc.
it's pretty freewheeling out there with what you can do... go have fun!!
That's cool, Lyoness. I would never claim someone else's ideas, even remotely - not intentionally, at least. My first concern was about unknowingly posting an idea that turned out to be from someone else's work... My memory has crashed in the last few years!
My second concern was whether or not it's OK to intentionally take a scene and recreate it in a humorous way. I thought maybe if I acknowledged the artist and stated that his/her work gave me the idea, it'd be showing my appreciation for the inspiration.
The obvious danger is that, if I'm not careful, it could be taken as a challenge to their work, as if I were a competing artist... which would be wrong, I'm not even an artist. Daz Studio is my toy and I'm living my second childhood.
OK, I'm having doubts that I should go forward with this. Thanks for your input, Lyoness. I wish my super-artist Mom were still here. She'd have thrapped my hand and said, "Don't you dare!"
BTW: Here's proof that I'm not an artist:
My sister hasn't accepted ANY of my own ideas. She loves the ideas I get from the Pinternet artists. I think mine are just as clever, or funny at least!... But that's my brain thinking that.
But yes, I will go have fun! You do same!
Cheers!
Even an adaptation of an original concept by another artist can be considered as a Derivative Work which comes under copyright law. If you are using your art for commercial purposes you need to be aware of it.
Derivative works are not imitations of anothers work. A derivative work is one that includes the original artists work. For instance if you use a Monet painting as a book cover, even though you have added text or other additional material, that is a derivative work and the copyright holder can sue (of course Monet has been dead for a long time and his works are in the public domain but the concept is the same).
A Disney princess is not copyrightesd, although specific images of it are. Disney princesses, and their distinctive likenesses, are trademarked. The owner of a trademark can control all uses of the trademark. That's why no matter how you use an image of Mickey Mouse if Disney finds out, and they always find out, they drop enough lawyers to sue you and everyone you've ever met on you.
But back to using an idea based on anothers image. That's 100% ok. If I use all my own assets but base a scen eon something I've seen, for instance I straight ripped off a Todd McFarlane Spider Man cover for a splash in one of my VN's, that is ok and no one can sue and win. You might run into some jackhole who could try but then people can sue even if the image is nothing like one they own the copyright to.
Hmm. I'm feisty enough in my old age to test Kenshaw's theory!
Like I said (wrote), I'm just playing with Studio. And I will never even remotely (knowingly) copy another person's work. But I'm re-enthused now, thank you Kenshaw. There's no way I will earn a penny from this. And I'm being VERY careful that what I produce for my sister cannot be associated with any professional work anywhere.
Many of the images on Pinterest (got the name right this time) are same same similars, so I don't think there's any danger from those, and my 'technique' is far from those, anyway. They're drawings. I use props. I can't even draw a stick figure. Yay! I'm safe!
Thanks, folks, for your input. Now... back to prepping my order for a new machine!!!
Stay healthy! I need you all for ideas ;-)
You just can't have "almost" the same image visually, "almost" the same text, or "almost" the same sound but to do satire, editorials, inspiration, knock-offs, and so on are legal in the US. Cosplay and similar things is not commercially allowed as cosplay is explicitly using another's IP.
To many successful mass media examples to name but two very well known ones are the sitcoms "Bewitched" & "I Dream of Jeannie"
I just finished a satire based on a beautiful image in the Daz3D gallery. It's almost the almost that nonesuch00 describes. The original was a woman holding a lantern, with her back to us overlooking an ocean. The artist, (I don't know if should name her/him here) is far beyond me in talent and abilities with the software.
My image uses different props, plus a couple of significant new items added beside the woman. Below, I wrote a short (ridiculous) story explaining everything. I probably won't post it anywhere - I'm waiting to see if my sister wants it for her booklet.
I would LOVE the reverse some day, to create an image that other people play with, lampoon even. My Mom painted a watercolor of skiers on a snowy mountainside. I Photoshopped it with an avalanche pummeling one of the skiers. She held onto that copy the rest of her life, showing it to other people. Great artists like her aren't snooty about their work. Weak artists are nervous and proprietary about their art. "Theft is one thing, but respectful imitation is flattery"... (something like that. I'm too lazy to Google it).
Images in popular culture are endlessly copied. A "superhero" in a "superhero" bodysuit with a cape, is punching some criminal in the face. Some superhero is flying through the air. Some princess is sitting by a brook weeping. On the page of a fashion magazine a 16 year old anorexic model is weareing a fortune in luxury goods and is jumping through the air with her hair blowing around. An "idea" cannot be copyrighted. But ideas can be trademarked. Like a superhero in a bat costume. "Styles" cannot be copyrighted. Most (if not all) artists copy aspects of other artists style. Most Impressionist paintings look like Impressionist paintings because the artists literally copied each other's style. If you copy another artists picture closely enough that the artist, or someone viewing the picture, can tell you copied it, then you've violated the copyright law. So ask yourself, "does my picture look so much like the picture I copied it from that someone could tell?" Every country has different copyright laws. In the USA there is an exception to the copyright law which allows you to copy another artists work if it is a parody of the art. Whatever country you're in, go to the government copyright website and read what is allowable.
There is a difference between copying, and immitating. If you take a Frank Sinatra CD and burn a copy of it - it's a copy. If you take a Sinatra CD, and hire an orchestra and sing all the songs on the CD in the style of Frank Sinatra, that is an immitation. You sort of copied it, but you didn't make an exact duplicate of it.
Talking about copyright law is like tap dancing in a quagmire.
....#1: example of a piece in a certain artist's "style" but not copying a specific known work by that or another artist The character and setting was mine (one of the four pieces I have ion the gallery here).
...#2 an imitation of an existing work.
If you are based in the UK, there is some complicated copyright legislation that I referred to in a post on another forum: https://www.crossstitchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1060&start=66
To summarize, in the UK you can make one copy of any copyright material (excepting only computer programs) yourself for your own use with no future monetary gain. This applies based on your location being in the UK, not the copyright holder's location. The post includes links to the primary and secondary legislation enacting the copyright law so you can check for yourself that I have not misquoted UK law.
Another nice example is the new product Orc Village which would fit in nicely into the style of the game World of Warcraft, while being just far away from the original game assets to just be "inspired" by them, not copying them...
Or the thousands of painting art students, sitting in museums all over the world getting inspired by the work of the artists shown there... granted, those works rarely fall under any copyright laws, being often too old... so doing your own painting of the Mona Lisa and selling it probably should be okay, as long as you don't claim it to be da Vincy's work...
In music there has been the statement that there hasn't been anything new since Mozart and everything else made later was just new interpretations of old stuff...
So all this copying and the legal stuff around it is dependend on way too many things as anything written here in this forum could give a clarification for each instance of copying in every part of the world...
Wouldn't that depend on timing? An image of a woman holding a lantern looking out over the sea is cliche. We've all seen it before. If I were to post something similar the next day, then I'd be guilty because I'm not that senile yet. Someday, though, I'm liable to think of the theme and go, "Wow, I've got a great idea!"
Point is, there is no copyright on the concept of woman/sea/lantern. So I am not going to worry about using ideas I get from other artists. My hobby only involves making images to represent my own perspectives, which will always be hugely different.
I will avoid, though, posting friendly 'takes' on other artists' work. This is not an appropriate place for that. Too bad, it's fun. I miss the camaraderie.
This has been a very informative conversation. I really appreciate the contributions!
Why is she holding a lantern looking out to sea? Does she expect the lantern to illuminate the ocean?
Well, I'll just reveal my image's re-telling of the story.
In my re-take, she has a baby carriage beside her and she's holding a small tenticle just appearing outside of it... The story goes:
"This time, the young woman has waited until almost dawn for her strange friend to appear. It's the longest it has ever taken for him to return from his nightly journeys.
She eagerly anticipates the amazing gifts he brings back from unknown lands.
Aside from the gifts, the money is amazing. Golden coins with strange markings. She takes them to the city where they convert to more dollars than most of her fellow townsfolk earn in a month.
But this new life of hers is difficult. And on this particular night, she is more cold, tired and bruised than ever before. Why did no one ever bother to tell her? Babysitting for a widowed octopus is hard work!"
----
...OK, it's more fun with my silly image, especially after seeing the original artist's beautiful work. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to crawl back into my cave now and wait for the embarrassment to pass.
When I think of a woman holding a lantern looking out at the sea I think of the Eurythmics video "Here Comes the Rain Again." A completely original video but writing a similar song and filming a similar video wouldn't be a copyright violation. You'd have to use the original video or the original song or splice parts of those in or perform the original song and claim it's yours to get into copyright trouble.