6 replies to this topic

[BaneTrapper]

Hello.
I am making a 2d rpg game. I am no artist but i can reedit images to make them look nicer and fit my game style.

What i am concerned about is that if i download a image from "Google image search" how do i know i can use it? or is it just my own risk to take.

I am making it uncommercial, and probably just for my portfolio. Also would it be safe to give it to someone as "open source"?
What are your opinions on this?

[BitMaster]

You need to check the page where the image is actually on and see how it is actually licensed there. You might not be allowed to use it, you might have to attribute the image to its creator or you might be able to freely use it (among many other possibilities). Stealing a John Doe's image from their blog or whatever website you are pilfering might never be noticed but unless you are complying with whatever license is outlined there (and if there is no explicit mention of a license I would assume you are not allowed to use them), you are still doing something wrong. And although the likelihood to get caught is small in such a situation, sometimes it happens and then your reputation will take a hit it does not need to take.

If it is some commercial endeavor from which you try to steal images then it is pretty safe to assume they will find out unless it never leaves your local hard disk. Any free samples you see will probably contain an invisible watermark which will not be easy to get rid off and some webcrawler somewhere will detect it.

[BMO]

Hello.
I am making a 2d rpg game. I am no artist but i can reedit images to make them look nicer and fit my game style.

What i am concerned about is that if i download a image from "Google image search" how do i know i can use it? or is it just my own risk to take.

I am making it uncommercial, and probably just for my portfolio. Also would it be safe to give it to someone as "open source"?
What are your opinions on this?

Don't use anything you don't have permission to use. Ask yourself this "How good would it look on my portfolio if a potential employer notices I used stolen art?" There are places you can acquire game art and things listed in the public domain are OK. Everything else is copywrited. Better yet, how about contacting an artist and collaborating? That would look much better in your portfolio anyways.

[BaneTrapper]

You need to check the page where the image is actually on and see how it is actually licensed there. You might not be allowed to use it, you might have to attribute the image to its creator or you might be able to freely use it (among many other possibilities). Stealing a John Doe's image from their blog or whatever website you are pilfering might never be noticed but unless you are complying with whatever license is outlined there (and if there is no explicit mention of a license I would assume you are not allowed to use them), you are still doing something wrong. And although the likelihood to get caught is small in such a situation, sometimes it happens and then your reputation will take a hit it does not need to take.
If it is some commercial endeavor from which you try to steal images then it is pretty safe to assume they will find out unless it never leaves your local hard disk. Any free samples you see will probably contain an invisible watermark which will not be easy to get rid off and some webcrawler somewhere will detect it.

That's helpful.
Tho i edit every image i download am safe from watermark. But still i don't want to steal someones image without giving credit at least...
That's good info on what should i do next time i look for images. Thanks.

Don't use anything you don't have permission to use. Ask yourself this "How good would it look on my portfolio if a potential employer notices I used stolen art?" There are places you can acquire game art and things listed in the public domain are OK. Everything else is copywrited. Better yet, how about contacting an artist and collaborating? That would look much better in your portfolio anyways.

I have looked on Forums>>Visual and galery not found much of userfull images for 2d game. Tho i cant hire a artist, i am low at cast atm... its rought where i am from now + its winter.

[BitMaster]

When I say "watermark" I don't refer to an obvious human visible watermark. There are ways to embed a watermark in an image that is not only completely invisible to the human eye but will also survive a lot of image modifications. Unless you are applying something like a really aggressive cartoon shader to an image the assumption that a digital watermark will still be found in your image is a rather safe one.

[BMO]

I have looked on Forums>>Visual and galery not found much of userfull images for 2d game. Tho i cant hire a artist, i am low at cast atm... its rought where i am from now + its winter.

You don't have to hire. There are plenty of artists looking for portfolio work as well that I'm sure would do it for free. Ask around on places like Deviant Art. Also, a simple Google search will turn up places for game art. Like: http://opengameart.org/

[BaneTrapper]

When I say "watermark" I don't refer to an obvious human visible watermark. There are ways to embed a watermark in an image that is not only completely invisible to the human eye but will also survive a lot of image modifications. Unless you are applying something like a really aggressive cartoon shader to an image the assumption that a digital watermark will still be found in your image is a rather safe one.

I went on a search a bit on how watermarks work, and i am using them as base images now... i will make them from scratch.
Tho i use only one image as background. One is enough to get in trouble...

You don't have to hire. There are plenty of artists looking for portfolio work as well that I'm sure would do it for free. Ask around on places like Deviant Art. Also, a simple Google search will turn up places for game art. Like: http://opengameart.org/

That is one good idea. I will try that.