Fan art?

[zombie]

I was browsing around and saw quite a few pieces of "fan art". <A HREF="http://www.epilogue.net/support/faqs/art_faq.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.epilogue.net/support/faqs/art_faq.html</A>

The above faq says that is not allowed. Are the editors lax on the policy or is the faq wrong?

ex. do a search for "death dealer", "wolverine", "frodo", "mordor" etc.


I have some "fan art" that could go up, if it is allowed, but i doubt it is allowed...

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[tanuki]

Depends on whether the people in question had permission to display the pictures from what I read of the rules..

Also, I know Elfwood allows LOTR work if it isn't based on the film.. is Epilogue similar in this respect??

[shadowgirl]

Um.. there's a lotr's section in epilogue...

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[Cat]

As Epilogue has a LOTR Gallery I thought these pieces of fan art were allowed, based on the movie or not. About the other stuff- I have been wondering for a while, when does an artwork count as fan art? I mean, lots of people are inspired by books, for example. They draw the characters or scenes from a book they like, it is their own imagination. But kind of fan art also, isn't it?

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[Destinyfall]

hmmm yes i have read where it says NO fan art yet they have a LOTR section and i have seen some Vampire hunter D fan art on here aswell...too bad they don't have a section that would be nice...i have an elfwood fan art section...almost all D pics ;b
<A HREF="http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/fanq/d/e/destinyfall3/destinyfall3.html" TARGET=_blank>http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/fanq/d/e/destinyfall3/destinyfall3.html</A>


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[megaflow]

There is no "fan art" allowed... defined as violating copyright. LOTR art is OK if it is based on the BOOK not previous movies or TV or Hildebrandt calendars, or any other pre-existing visual interpretation... So, no Star Trek, Vampire Hunter D, whatever. On the other hand, a War of the Worlds pic would be just fine, if it didn't look like any previous movie, comic book, etc.

Also, as mentioned, if the artist is doing work for a company that owns the characters or is otherwise given permission to use them, that's fine too. For instance, Steve Ferris has a great Death Dealer pic that was authorized and there are some recent cool X-Men covers that also fit that definition.

If you DO see anything that fits the description of fan art, it's because the editor didn't recognize it as such when it was approved - hey, we don't catch everything! Once found they are subject to removal.


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[This message has been edited by megaflow (edited November 14, 2002).]
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[Epilogue]

what Patrick said.



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[Destinyfall]

What about art based or inspired by Anne rice stuff? not from the movie but, say character from the books? thats ok right?

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[This message has been edited by Destinyfall (edited November 15, 2002).]
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[RS]

Yes. Characters from books are ok. Just look at the LOTR gallery.

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[Kyrn]

Yes elfwood allows it, but I did a LOTR picture and it was turned down because I used a costume from the movie and I had to put it in the fanart section. Same with an Alice in Wonderland picture I did where the costume was close to that of the original illlustrations.

So come up with your own characters I don't think I'll be able to put any lotr art up since the movie characters are now stuck in my head. On the other hand I had Harry Potter characters I was drawing before they were in the movie so they still look somewhat different

There's sometimes a fine line between fanart and illustration. If the "official" artist works very closely from the description of characters and then you do the same you may come up with something close.


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[veinglory]

The reason LOTR is OK (as I understand it) is not that it is a book but that it is out of copyright. Anne Rice is still under copyright, and some fantasy writers are picky about fan art (others aren't). TSR, for example, can get a bit twitchy about drows AS THEY INVENTED THEM being used (i.e. black, white hair, underground, spider queen etc).
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[aprillee]

I think it does come down to a legal issue, but not quite how bill puts it, since LotR is definitely NOT in the public domain.

With fan art based on characters from films, television, anime, etc., those images are the property of someone else. They are copyrighted or trademarked, etc. So there are certain legal issues with a lot of fan art.

Books do not have visuals. The words and names can be trademarked or licensed, though. Tolkien's material has been heavily trademarked, so there are some legal issues there, too, but generally, you're allowed to make visual representations and call them your own if based on a book. You may have problems with the usage of the names and titles when promoting the work, but the visuals are your creation.

Unlike, say, drawing a picture of Mickey Mouse or Legolas from the film, or Buffy, or a DBZ character, etc, which are visuals creations that were created and belong to someone else.

But this is aside from Epilogue's own policy towards fan art--which it can set to be whatever they please.


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[kallen]

Hmmm...billplee I didn't know that TSR was touchy on Drow art. Perhaps if you use a knock off from one of their artists covers. ????! Or depict one of their characters using their name and such.
I started painting Drows because they are such a great visual. Plus I started getting orders for character portraits of them because they are VERY popular for role playing. They certainly know I am doing them too...and no flak. One of their authors Elaine Cunningham who is one of the creators of Drows along with R.A. Salvatore even ordered a Drow character portrait from me.
So I think fan art walks a thin line.
If lets say Anne Rice inspires with her words the image in your mind of a Queen of the Damned Egyptian type Vampire and you don't copy the costume or the face from the movie or the cover of her book...Then it isn't Fan art to do an Egyptian style vampire. She certainly doesn't own the copywrite on all Vampires that have the Egyptian look or child vampires or blond vampires etc.
Books inspire fantasy and SF artists so long as the painting is from your mind and not a knock off of another artists character or the movie actor and costume designers creation. I don't think that it is Fan art to draw your interpretation. Best not to say this is Harry Potter...though.
If you want to do a child like Wizard apprentice type and don't name him Harry then what would be the Hey?

One of the reasons that Fan art is hurtful is the search engines. If you do a painting and name it Harry Potter then you can come up when someone types in that name. That can have a dim view I imagine. But if you paint a child wizard at wizard school and call him Bob...and he doesn't look like the actor in the movie or wear his same costume...or have an owl...then you cross the line from Fan art. At least that is how I believe it works. Hope it works or most fantasy illustration is Fan art...ekkkk.
We are inspired by what we read..see and what has come before Aye?
It is a thin line I suppose and our editors are pretty knowledgeable on what is violation or not. Perhaps though it is better to from the beginning of your work make sure that you aren't depicting it too close to any well known interpretations. Like Alice in Wonderland... I think you can do a painting of her using the name because of copyright expiration but you have to do an original Alice in Wonderland. Her dress is pretty well described in the book but I have seen that same outfit painted in many different styles. So that is what other artists did before you. Their own interpretation. You would have to do the same or it is fan art.
IMHO
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[Rat]

As I understand it, fan art is copying a character that has already been drawn originally. If you take, say, a character from a book and make your own original drawing of that character as you imagine them, it's not technically fan art though it could be called that.

I think the safest bet would probably be to create your own originial characters. Fan art is a very picky subject sometimes...this is fan art...but this picture that's almost identical isn't because the main character is a girl instead of a boy...it's wierd.

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[veinglory]

Hmmm, but Epilogue is full of pictures of named Tolkein characters -- identified as Smaug, Legolas etc.