Is doing USD art commissions allowed on FFXIV?

[Bright-Flower]

There are many artists online you can approach that will happily do FF XIV commissions.

Just don't use the game or official forums to facilitate it if you want to be safe. I have several commissions of my characters and haven't had any issue because I didn't communicate the artists in game, I found them through their own sites/tumblr/deviant arts etc.

[AmemeAmeklin]

As an actual professional artist, let me just weigh my experience and thoughts on this.

Selling fan art that has been made solely by yourself isn't considered RMT, however, there are many grey areas and lines that you can cross and ones where you shouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. I would be careful about advertising such things on the official forums themselves through a new topic/thread simply because it is a reportable thing and could be considered advertising or spam if someone was really petty enough. However, that being said, there's nothing against the rules as far as I am aware of that you can't advertise your tumblr or DeviantART page through your own signature. So, that is probably going to be the best way you could advertise your freelancing without someone's jimmies getting rustled over it (so long as your link doesn't contain a virus or unsavory images like pornography).

Now, usually creating fan art grants you the Creative Commons License in which you have sole ownership and trademark over what you yourself has created. Still, license or not, that won't stop art thieves or copycats from stealing your hard work. Depending on what country the thief originated from and depending on their....personality....usually once something is stolen there's very little you can do about it besides asking them politely to NOT do it. I mean, you could try to sue them, but the costs of legal action is probably not worth it. That's one of the sadder parts of freelancing your art and posting it on the internet since a lot of people think anything on Google is fair game to copy and steal as their own (it's not, don't do it).

Regarding the trademark and infringement topics, in order for someone to claim that what they make is truly fan art and no where near the capacity of the original, it has to CLEARLY look like your own self-made style with various tweaks, etc. Tracing original art is NOT fan art, it's stealing. I don't care how much time and effort it took you to trace over that trademarked and already existing character, it's not your own art. If it looks anywhere exact or close enough towards the original. You stole it, plain and simple. I don't care if you changed the hair color or eye color, or whatever, it's still stolen work and it's rude.

Companies that I have learned over the years to stay away from because they do not take kindly towards anything and will jump at you the first chance they get are Marvel and Disney. Other companies like Nike, Apple, etc don't really take kindly towards you using their logos without permission either, but that's an entirely different part of the field and subject matter away from fanart.

The bottom line is to just be smart about it. You know when you've done something wrong or stole something. You know when you've made something too close towards someone else's work. It's fine to use other artists as inspiration and role models, but those artists don't want you to copy their styles exactly either. And it's good to know that not everything you find on tumblr, Google, Instagram, pinterest, and other social media are fair game to use without someone's permission. References are okay, but that's all they should stay as, as references...and your final product should not look perfectly too close towards the reference pieces.

^^^^

As another artist and having also worked for a professional printing company that had to deal with internet copyrights and stolen images, this post is correct and you should take it all to heart.

[JackHatchet]

Tracing original art is NOT fan art, it's stealing.

Now you've piqued my curiosity. I was under the impression that 'fan art' can't be sold commercially, because fan art is already infringing on copy-right protection. So why does it even matter if it's traced or not?

[JackHatchet]

Now, usually creating fan art grants you the Creative Commons License in which you have sole ownership and trademark over what you yourself has created. Still, license or not, that won't stop art thieves or copycats from stealing your hard work.

You can't legally sell fan art--even if you created it yourself. So you wouldn't be able to legally profit from it regardless. Creative Commons basically says "I made this, but you can use it, and also the original creator of the copy-righted material can't sue you (or me) for it. So why does it even matter if someone 'steals' it. What the heck are they going to do with it? You can't legally sell it. They can't legally sell it. Why does ownership even really matter at that point? Fan art should be about fun and doing something you enjoy because you have a passion for it or the character you want to pay tribute to.

Art is always so weird. I'm an artist too, and I've never felt offended when people steal or use my work. I do (non-fan) art because making art is fun. Whatever happens to it after I'm done with it--I could care less. But It always comes off as super hypocritical when people cry bloody murder about stolen art, and yet half their portfolio is fan-art of copy-righted characters.

Ah, you got me all ranty. ^.^ I still love art, but the art community just pisses me off sometimes. It's like somewhere along the lines people stop doing art as a passion, and it becomes an ego-trip. Such a buzz-kill. I never copy/trace/fan-art, because those things are boring to me. But if another artist wants to--why hate on them? Art is about fun. And once you get into copy-right/fan-art territory--no one should have the right to talk down to those folks, because y'all stealing at that point. Live and let live.

[HyoMinPark]

I'm an artist too, and I've never felt offended when people steal or use my work. I do (non-fan) art because making art is fun.

As someone who used to draw frequently, I don’t understand this sentence at all.

How can you be okay with putting in the effort to create a piece of work that someone else tries to claim is theirs, or that soemone else uses without asking you for permission to do so?

I once had an individual steal some old Sailor Moon sketches I had done and try to claim they were theirs, and I was furious. It’s never okay to take someone else’s work and claim it as your own, and I don’t understand how someone can be okay with such a practice. It doesn’t matter if the pieces are done as commissions or “for fun”; it’s still stealing.

I don’t draw anymore; I stick to writing. But the same would still apply—if someone took a story I wrote and tried to say they wrote it, I’d be very mad about it. I write for the sake of creative expression (so, “for fun”), and it’s not okay for someone to take my work and say it belongs to them. I don’t really find it “flattering” to have someone steal my work—I find it rude and disrespectful.

[JackHatchet]

How can you be okay with putting in the effort to create a piece of work that someone else tries to claim is theirs, or that soemone else uses without asking you for permission to do so?

How? Because art is its own reward. I enjoyed making it. It's probably similar to cooking food that someone else eats. It's about the journey--not the destination. It's just fun to do. And when people use my art for their avatars or whatever, it's just nice seeing my stuff get around. I never sign my work. I don't do it for recognition.

But what I don't get is how someone can steal a concept and design (like Sailor Moon) and feel totally cool with that, but in the same breath get upset that someone steals their work? Is it because someone is trying to take credit when they don't deserve it? I don't see art as work, or effort deserving of recognition. Art is just fun. It doesn't need a reward or recognition to justify its creation. I could legit draw art, and then throw it away, and still get the same enjoyment out of creating it.

[JackHatchet]

I guess digital art theft doesn't bother me at all unless it actually affects me. But since I don't do art for profit, it doesn't bother me. I see fan-art and fan-fiction writing in the same regard.

It would be one thing if I painted a physical picture, and someone stole that picture depriving me of a physical possession. But if I post a digital picture I drew on my blog and someone stole it--it literally doesn't affect me, so it doesn't bother me. They can copy/paste my picture and throw their sig on it. I couldn't care less, because the real joy is knowing that in my heart of hearts--I knew the truth, and I could just doodle another picture to confirm my skills. I feel like the 'skill' of art itself is worth more than the actual piece. Someone can steal my art all day, but they'll never have my heat, soul, and creative vision. Those aspects are untouchable.

I don't know. I think at the end of the day, it's weird to get angry or hung-up about something so that has such little impact on the process of creating art.

[HyoMinPark]

How? Because art is its own reward. I enjoyed making it. It's probably similar to cooking food that someone else eats. It's about the journey--not the destination. It's just fun to do. And when people use my art for their avatars or whatever, it's just nice seeing my stuff get around. I never sign my work. I don't do it for recognition.

It’s not fun having your art stolen by some random individual on the internet. It’s not fun having them take all the credit for the work you pour your heart and soul into.

But what I don't get is how someone can steal a concept and design (like Sailor Moon) and feel totally cool with that, but in the same breath get upset that someone steals their work? Is it because someone is trying to take credit when they don't deserve it?

“LOL” is literally all I have to say to this nonsense.

I don't see art as work, or effort deserving of recognition. Art is just fun. It doesn't need a reward or recognition to justify its creation. I could legit draw art, and then throw it away, and still get the same enjoyment out of creating it.

I’m sorry that, when I put time and effort and my heart into doing something, that I don’t want some random person saying that it is their work—that they put the time and effort and heart into it when they didn’t.

I guess digital art theft doesn't bother me at all unless it actually affects me. But since I don't do art for profit, it doesn't bother me. I see fan-art and fan-fiction writing in the same regard.

I never drew art for profit either. It still bothered me having someone say that drew the images they stole from me (and it wasn’t just me they stole from—it was from several fan artists).

I don't know. I think at the end of the day, it's weird to get angry or hung-up about something so that has such little impact on the process of creating art.

Except, it can have a huge impact. I know of former artists who were very negatively affected by having their work stolen. One stopped posting their art online entirely thanks to it. So it can negatively affect the process of creating and sharing one’s art.

[Sylvina]

I mean you can get commissions done of your characters by artists you know, but I wouldn't reccomend advertising it here i guess.

[JackHatchet]

Except, it can have a huge impact. I know of former artists who were very negatively affected by having their work stolen. One stopped posting their art online entirely thanks to it. So it can negatively affect the process of creating and sharing one’s art.

It's only a problem if you let it be a problem. It's all about how you let other people affect you. Don't let other people dictate your happiness and enjoyment. Own yourself, or else you're letting them steal more than just your art. ^.^