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Hi All,

I'm not sure about this and I can't find the direct answer. I am wondering about photo uses and copyrights.

I'm an artist and I love to draw, especially animals. Now, I'm just a kid but I can do decent work. But, anyway, here's my question. In order to draw a decent animal (lets say an eagle or a zebra..ect), I need to look at a picture. Is it illegal to use a Copyrighted photo for reference? Is it illegal to draw that picture? I don't sell my drawings. What can I use?

Thanks!!!

2007-12-05 19:26:20 · 5 answers · asked by bluefront_amazon 2 in Arts & Humanities Visual Arts Drawing & Illustration

No, they're for my own enjoyment basically. But, sometimes I will give one to a friend. And , sometimes I draw the actual picture. I don't sell them.

2007-12-05 19:51:38 · update #1

5 answers

It depends, but since you're not selling your drawing and I don't think you're putting it up on display like at a gallery or anything like that, I'm pretty sure it should be ok to draw using the photo for a reference under the idea of fair use.

2007-12-05 19:40:56 · answer #1 · answered by Tina 4 · 0 0

No problem.

I use photographic references all the time. The only difference between the way I use them and you is that I don't ever intend to, simply copy the image as it appears in the photo.

If I need to do an image of an eagle in it's aerie, I will use several photos for reference. I will study many to see how a nest is made, like materials and how they are assembled. I may study how an eagle's eyes are located on the head. The head and neck may be borrowed, or influenced by one photo, the body from another, and the wings may be the result of my studying one or two other photos. Legs and talons may come from another.

By studying all of these photos, I can observe how the feathers gather and flow all over the bird's body. By all of this observation, if I need a particular pose, I can combine my observations and create my own, original illustration.

The way you use your photos, there is, absolutely, no copyright infringement problems.

2007-12-06 19:27:10 · answer #2 · answered by Vince M 7 · 0 0

If it's purely for yourself or a simple gift to a friend you wont get in any trouble. However if you present the drawing as your own piece of artwork to the public, you can get in trouble.

A simple solution is to visit some free stock photo websites. These sites will allow you to use their images "royalty free" (no fee). sxc.hu is a great resource and also deviantart.com under their resources category. Using a stock photo will let you freely show your work and if someone were to take a fancy to it, it would also allow you to sell it.

2007-12-06 12:08:49 · answer #3 · answered by GirlAnachronism 3 · 0 0

If you are simply using these photos as a guide to better your drawing skills, and are not exhibiting them or offering them for sale, you are probably not going to be slammed with a copyright violation lawsuit.

Quite frankly, in Drawing 101, we all used a photo reference or something torn out of a magazine, and the instructor never said anything, although he/she probably should. If someone called me to ask me if it was okay to use one of my photographs as a guide for a drawing, I would give permission.

However, when in doubt, here is a link to information from the U.S. Copyright Office regarding photographs:

http://usasearch.gov/search?v%3Aproject=firstgov-web&query=Photo+Copyrights

2007-12-06 10:21:56 · answer #4 · answered by Ruth Boaz 6 · 0 0

its not illegal if they are not mass produces, even if you sell one its not illegal, i draw to and the best way to get around a copyright is to change one or two things in the picture, like i do face and i can change the angle of the hair or placement of the hands, so plainly, no, if ur not selling them its perfectly legal.

2007-12-06 12:45:09 · answer #5 · answered by andre t 1 · 0 1

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