Open Art Question

illaciaerik

There are user generated sites for art sharing. Places where everyone can upload and download art for free or pay.

My question is simple. Is the art truly free to use or does the artist need to credited or are there some legal issues with Apple's(for example) licenses.

I know that this is a from case-to-case issue but I'm sure many on this forum is more educated than me. Also, reading legal documents is a jungle especially if english is not your native language....(Swede here:)

This question comes from the easy fact that I have a lot of ideas for games but I'm not an artist and I just want to be as educated as possible regarding legal stuff if I in the future choose to use somebody else's art.

allc1865

You can use any free art as long as the owner of the art says it's for commercial use, and if they don't say anything such as, please give me credit, or something like that, then it's fine to use.
You just have to read what the owner of the free art says.

illaciaerik

@allc1865 said:
You can use any free art as long as the owner of the art says it's for commercial use, and if they don't say anything such as, please give me credit, or something like that, then it's fine to use.
You just have to read what the owner of the free art says.

Yeah okay. It's as easy as that ey...Are there any trap doors to watch out for?

Like some stuff is free for open use "licensed under CC-BY-SA" or whatever.

jamie_c

Are there any trap doors

There can be lots of trap doors if you are not dealing with a reputable site. I've seen lots that say basically. "We think the art on our site is free for use but check with the original author just in case". Which usually ends up being next to impossible since you have no idea who to check with.

So I'd stick with sites that I know are reputable and read all license agreements in details so you know what you are getting. Reputable sites often offer support so you can always contact them for complete details.

Hopscotch

@illaciaerik said:
Are there any trap doors to watch out for?

Lots.

As you said

@illaciaerik said:
... where everyone can upload ...

You do not know if the person who uploaded the file actually had the right to do so. The free sites are riddled with un-rightfully uploaded images.

The same goes for music. E.g. AudioPad on Youtube is a popular source of CC0 music, yet there is constantly trouble with copyright.

Another thing to consider, if you do find GOOD, free art, it is bound to have been used by numerous other developers.

Also, be carefull when buying images from stock sites like Getty. The licence usually has a distribution limit. So, if you app does well, your costs may skyrocket.

Good gameplay is more important than graphics. Anyway, if you have a specific look in mind, you probably won't find something fitting on free sites. Especially not a uniform style from characters, to objects to backgrounds.

Best is to either go with programmer art, or team up with an artist. Or try fiverr.com, there are many artists who offer their services at very low rates, just to gain exposure.

Chunkypixels

@Hopscotch gonna poke you in the eye for suggesting people find their artists on Fiverr... grrr..

Why is it people assume they should be able to find/employ artists for next to nothing or for free, but the same is not assumed of coders... yet, the biggest initial contributing seller of a game is good graphics....

Instead of trying to get a cheap artist, people should be concentrating on getting a good artist.

...poke... eye.... "ouch!"....

Hopscotch

@Chunkypixels, biff back!

@Chunkypixels said:
Why is it people assume they should be able to find/employ artists for next to nothing or for free, but the same is not assumed of coders... yet, the biggest initial contributing seller of a game is good graphics....

Instead of trying to get a cheap artist, people should be concentrating on getting a good artist.

I am with you on every point. However, Fiverr, is not a source of cheap labor. It is a platform where artists, who struggle just as much to get recognized as developers, can attract customers, which may lead to healthy, long-term, well paying relationships.

Finding an artist whose style and work ethics fits to you is hard. So it is the customer who has to realize the value of treating and paying a good find well.