To be clear, ideally I'd still like to pay him for doing the work (he's very good and familiar with the project), though having his permission to use his design would also let me move forward myself or with another graphic designer.
If I hear nothing then I'm still in the same situation I am now and wondering about my options.
I hope that makes sense, apologies for confusing things.
3 hours ago, Rancorb said:If I hear nothing then I'm still in the same situation I am now and wondering about my options.
Your options should be obvious:
1. Proceed (use his concept art) but know you're taking a risk.
2. Don't proceed with his concept art.
In general, what you're looking at is a question about whether a particular use counts as "fair use" under copyright in your jurisdiction. (The US?) Perhaps you're also wondering whether there is an implied contract from the original teamwork. (If there is, it's probably one that the original artist would expect an equal share of profits, so it's unlikely you'd want to rely on that, even if there was one, which there probably isn't.)
In copyright, "fair use" is totally a thing, as is "transformative work." You might want to read up on those, and talk to a copyright lawyer in your jurisdiction how those terms have actually been applied in cases that matter.
In brief, here is how I think about it, for my own cases:
I can go to a museum, and be inspired by the art, and make my own thing that looks like the museum art.
But, I cannot "clone" the art in a museum (unless the artist is dead for long enough that copyright has expired.)
If I'm using the concept art as inspiration, but my own creation is reasonably clearly my own, then being inspired by the original concept art is totally fine. Artists get inspired by other artists all the time.
If my in-game art is an almost pixel-perfect replica of the original art, except I re-drew it painstakingly in Photoshop because I didn't have the source files, then that's probably less fair use, and I'd probably be taking a real risk. (One possible defense might be "transformative use" where a live game is different from a static concept sketch -- no idea how that would fly if someone actually went to court. Again, ask a professional in your area!)
To avoid that risk, get the guy's OK, or make sure that the actual art used in the game is somewhat obviously something you created, just inspired by the other art, rather than a clone of it.
Thanks hplus0603, I'll read up on those (UK based but hopefully similar). If I create graphics 'inspired' by his work it definitely won't look the same, that's part of the problem...
Thanks everyone, appreciate the feedback. You've definitely helped me decide what approach to take.
