Do you use Pinterest?

davidhohn

@mrsdion It is a very good idea to get a clear understanding about copyright. Both for your own work and when you use the work of others. Please post the images in question and I'm happy to offer my understanding about copyright and how to use images you don't have a license to (i.e. images found on pinterest)

Christine Dion

@davidhohn I’ve been trying to figure out how to do that!!! Exactly as you were posting! I couldn’t do it on my phone...but I might figure it out here (iPad)...give me a minute...or two....or three! LOL It’s been a year since I posted in here!

davidhohn

@mrsdion No pressure. I know how frustrating it can be to figure this stuff out.

Christine Dion

@mrsdion

Christine Dion

@mrsdion REFERENCES......

Christine Dion

@mrsdion ART.....sorry but I had to wait 2 minutes in between before I could post again!

BichonBistro

@mrsdion Christine, I honestly don’t understand why this is considered copyright violation. Your lion and lamb are not copies of the references—are you supposed to go to a zoo and take your own closeup photo of a lion to get a reference???

I follow a miniatures artist on IG @lorraineloots and her minis are often exact replicas of photos. She sometimes, but not always, provides a photo credit. She has international gallery shows and has been featured in the new york times. Her paintings are better than the source photos, but I always thought it was a violation to directly copy a photo unless you have written permission from the photographer or are paying a license fee. There is another mini artist who does the same thing, but is not as famous nor selling her work for anything close to Lorraine Loots’s prices. This is very confusing.

But I do not find your painting in any way too similar to the references, except it’s a lion & a lamb!

davidhohn

@mrsdion In my experience and understanding of copyright law you are fine.

It appears that you are simply using photos to better understand what a lion looks like and are not specifically copying any one photograph. Your reference for the lion is comprised of 5 different photos.

The only area that brings in a bit of a question is the specificity of the lamb's legs as they hang over the lion's leg. I would encourage getting 3-4 more photos, again to encourage an understanding of the forms and anatomy and avoiding reliance on a specific photo. But honestly that's because I tend to be over cautious when using photo reference I don't have a license for. I wouldn't have any real worry from a copyright standpoint here, especially when you factor in "transformative use".

Christine Dion

@davidhohn Thanks for your insights David. I was listening to the “Should You Do Fanart?” Podcast this morning and Lee mentioned how you are quite well versed in copyright information. Your expertise is much appreciative.

Lion: that is exactly what I was doing...looking at all of the images to create my own version and understand the layout of the fur and facial structure.

Lamb: totally used it for composing how the arms would hang on the lion’s arm. Not many other photos out there to show that.

I generally use all my own photos...as my main work revolves around animal portraiture. However I’m building up my illustration portfolio and going forward, this incident will help me keep things in check! Thanks again!

Miriam

This post is deleted!