A question about reusing assets

[LukeW]

Hi,

About six months ago I was commissioned to do some artwork on a small indie game. All that's been travelling fine and things are moving to the point where I think it get it published in some form or another.

However, in the process of quickly knocking out some artwork for the game, I grabbed some of the work I've been putting into my book and used that as the basis for some sprites (2D graphics). The style is different (the game is 'pixel-art') but if you were to compare the two images then it's pretty obvious that they're the same.

I was upfront with the designer that the work had come from my book and that I would only be prepared to let him use it if I retained all rights to the material. He was fine with that. However, it's made me stop and wonder if I wasn't being too hasty here.

It was always my intention to get the book published and now I'm thinking that, even though I own any rights to publish, it might be a turnoff for a publisher if some of the work has appeared in a different product.

So far I've only sent a couple of sprites that have come from the book. The designer is pretty understanding so, if I say to him not to use those ones, I can't see him having a problem with it (as long as I draw some replacements for him).

But my question is, am I over thinking things here? Or, am I right in keeping any art from my book separate to the game art that I'm producing?

Cheers

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I don't know the legalities but if it was me I'd keep them separate.

 

[jastius]

You retain copyright. Its good exposure. But are the game sprites representative of the nature and caliber of the book sprites?
If in one form they are supposed to be good guys, and in the other, Axe murdering aliens... There might be a schism of belief that you are lending to.

This is only a real concern if the game becomes wildly successful, however.

If however your sprites are depicted in habos concerning their characters, and moreover imbue a sense of curiosity into the public at large, as it were, developing a desire for their story to continue in the form of your book.. Then that would be publicity as well as buzz and indeed a very good form of it.

 

[tinkerdan]

When I commission artwork I try to do so in a manner that makes it clear that what is produced for me is mine to use for: :
And then I name the list of areas I'd like to use them in.
Book Cover
Advertisement
Web site
Postcards
Business Cards
Promotional Posters
At the same time I let the artist know that the art belongs to them and they should be allowed to use it as they please. My main concern is that I will be free to l use it. Though there is a preference to not have them sell it to someone else doing cover artwork.

So if the agreement with the other party is such you can use it as you please; but you still have an obligation to give him something and the problem that arises now seems to be that you are worried over what impact his use might have on yours, which is more your problem than his so you probably need to work it out in such a way that you don't delay what he's doing. That said; you retain the rights to do what you want with the artwork that you give him; but have some obligation to respect him as a client if he doesn't want these showing up in another game at any time.

How this shows up is equivalent to what I see in self published books where an author hires out for an artwork and the agency claims they won't use the cover on another authors work-but at the same time they get their cover from some universal bank of clips and artwork so that the same initial graphic shows up on half a dozen novels from six different agencies that use the same bank of resources. This is what most people are trying to avoid when hiring someone to do graphic art for them.

If you are doing yours as original art then you have only two places where it shows up (unless someone pirates it) so that limits all possibilities of embarrassment or confusion. Since you are such a great artist you should be able to get past this with a bit of creativity.

 

[LukeW]

A couple of interesting perspectives on it, thanks.

I should point out that the sprites that I created from the book were all static objects (so crates, paintings, knicks and knacks) so can't really have overt personalities attached to them. They're just objects used to make the world seem less sparse.

Bah, I'm not convinced either way. I don't expect the game will ever become a roaring success but at the same time I'm not sure that I want to say that the work in my book is not exclusive.

tinkerdan, what type of contract do you use for the signing of your artwork? Any chance of seeing an example?

Cheers

 

[tinkerdan]

If you do a search you will find a variety of those in use::some can become very complicated::

http://thepracticalartworld.com/2011/11/21/how-to-build-a-contract-for-commissioned-artworks/

http://www.borsheimarts.com/contract.htm

https://graphicartistsguild.org/tools_resources/letter-of-agreement

::here are just a few of the more simplistic type that you'll find; and there are aspects you can modify for different clients depending on your needs and theirs.

If your are going to do it a lot of commissioned work I'd gather some notions and possibly find a lawyer who deals in labor/commission and copyright law to help draft or at least glance over your contract. This will cost a bit but if you are doing a lot of commissioned work it will be worth while to have your ducks in a row.

 

[LukeW]

Thanks, I might get onto that sooner rather than later. Still undecided about the reuse of assets so I might just not use them. Guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[mgilmour]

When I commissioned my artist I paid a premium so that I would own the copyright for the artwork. I didn't want the image cropping up on another book/game/poster/advert somewhere that had nothing to do with my intellectual property. Since I paid the artist fairly, they agreed to these conditions.

I then attributed the artwork to the artist in the credits inside the book and promoted them as heavily as I could....hey, they did a great job! This way they could hopefully get some more work for themselves and officially let other people know that they did the illustration even though they no longer owned the copyright.