so i am making a webcomic...

Halo299 · Post by **Halo299** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:34 pm

this isn't spam or anything i just need some help.

I am all set to make a web comic that i think will be quite good. i won't go into plot or anything like that because i think it is really dumb when people go around talking about thier own stuff to ppl who arn't intrested. but if you WANT to know anything, just ask.

but what i need to know is...

in one strip a character meets and gets a crush on an asian girl at his school. now, this is a poorly drawn comic made useing MS Paint of all things. but what i want for the meeting is to show a Photo of an asian girl to show how hot she is and make it seem more dramatic. Now, my first instinct is to do a google image serch for 'asian girls', find one i like and pop it in the comic. but is that legal? can i just pull pictures of random people off the internet and use them in what ever i want. What if the person in the photo happens to see her picture in my comic and isn't very happy about it?

I know the chances of even being noticed are slim, and the chances of getting in trouble are even less, but still, i'd rather not do something that could get me in trouble later on.

any advice is good advice, thanks you guys.

-halo

Queenhank · Post by **Queenhank** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:44 pm

Well, as long as you don't, like, make the character into something disparaging, I don't think any action could be taken. It wouldn't be libel, and it wouldn't be defamation, and given that the photo is already in the public domain, I don't see any trouble.

Aeridus · Post by **Aeridus** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:53 pm

To be on the safe side, you could just grab a well-drawn asian gal that's not real...

Halo299 · Post by **Halo299** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:07 pm

aeridus wrote:To be on the safe side, you could just grab a well-drawn asian gal that's not real...

yeah, i thought about that to, but then i would have the same problem of the artist, not wanting me to use thier work and so one and so on.

queenhank wrote: Well, as long as you don't, like, make the character into something disparaging, I don't think any action could be taken. It wouldn't be libel, and it wouldn't be defamation, and given that the photo is already in the public domain, I don't see any trouble.

yeah i think i'll just use the picture idea. just my luck i'm going to get like a Pop star from Japan or something and not know it.

on a related note. once My girlfriend was looking for pics of Type O Negative (its a band) and found a picture of herself where she had dressed up like a vampire for halloween. the caption for the picture said something like "(band's lead singer) with groupie" but nothing else. she was more amused then upset, but even that only lasted for a day or 2.

-halo

ManaUser · Post by **ManaUser** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:25 pm

Just a random thought, but what if you started with a real picture of a hot asian girl and drew over it? It would still require some skill to make it look good, but at least you wouldn't need to worry that anyone would recognize her.

This plan might be a little hard in MS paint, since there are no layers though.

Honor · Post by **Honor** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:35 am

Finding a random picture (photograph) of a hot asian girl would be illegal, but probably not prosecuted unless you became popular enough that said random asian girl found out and figured she had something to gain.

Finding a random picture (drawing/painting/rendering) of a hot asian girl would be illegal, but probably not prosecuted unless you became popular enough that the artist found out. They may not need to think they have anything to gain, in that case, since you're directly stealing their work for your own benefit, and a failure to fight you on it tends to dilute their position.

The best thing for you to do, obviously, is to find an image in a stock collection that you can actually purchase rights to, or is royalty free & public domain. At istockphoto.com, you can get the kind of image you need, legally, for a dollar.

Another option would be to prowl LJ or some other pictures community, find a suitable picture, then privately explain your needs to the girl herself and ask for permission to use the photo. Get at least a rudimentary release in that case.

Honor · Post by **Honor** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:46 am

queenhank wrote:Well, as long as you don't, like, make the character into something disparaging, I don't think any action could be taken. It wouldn't be libel, and it wouldn't be defamation, and given that the photo is already in the public domain, I don't see any trouble.

The legal precedent is through the roof on this one. People own their image / likeness, vis-a-vis any profit making endeavor. You can show a person's face on the news, or in a reporting story w/o their permission, but in any other capacity where you would or might turn a profit, you need a release.

Also, something being on the internet is hell and gone from that something being in the public domain. "Copyright protected" is the default state of all creative work, including photographs, and they remain protected until the copyright expires or the original creator expressly grants rights to another or releases the work into the public domain.

aeridus wrote:To be on the safe side, you could just grab a well-drawn asian gal that's not real...

That particular crime is called "copyright infringement" and, being a professional artist, I take a dim view of it. My position on that is: "Don't do it. Ever." Not that that will stop it.

ManaUser wrote:...if you started with a real picture of a hot asian girl and drew over it?

Safer sailing, but there still could be shoals. As long as she's not recognizable, though, this way is safe. There have been court cases, though, where a painting of a recognizable photograph or even a sculpture have been found to be infringement.

Queenhank · Post by **Queenhank** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:57 am

But how would that be prosecuted? He's not making any money off her likeness (I assume this is a free webcomic), and he's also not using the picture in any disparaging way.

Halo299 · Post by **Halo299** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:14 am

Honor you just said every thing i was afraid of.

No i don't plan on making momey off this. (it would be super sweet if I did, but it would also be super sweet if i won the lottary. and about as likely)

And IMHO i'm not saying anything bad about this girl, whom is being used to represent a character in my comic. but that is just my opinion. She (the girl in the picture) might feel diffrent about it and i can completely see her point of view.

but still, i've found a picture that i like and i'm considering just going a head and doing it.

if the asian girl pictured ever finds out there is always the chance that she'll think it is super cool of her picture being in my strip, and want to hang out and stuff.

oh well

-halo

Honor · Post by **Honor** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:15 am

queenhank wrote:But how would that be prosecuted? He's not making any money off her likeness (I assume this is a free webcomic), and he's also not using the picture in any disparaging way.

They're two seperate issues, really... The one of ownership of her own likeness, and the other, of defamation.

In the first case, like I said, the civil suit would probably not happen until she thought there was money to be made. If I was her attorney (and evil) I would suggest we sue Keenspace, since there are ads on their load pages and they are making money off of it. Either way... Whether or not someone made money by stealing something doesn't alter that they stole. And that's what using her picture without her permission is... Stealing.

The damages awarded would likely be very small, if the comic artist isn't making any serious money, but they could still be huge orders of magnitude greater than what he made.

Disparaging, though, is all in the eye of the beholder. The question isn't whether we find the use to be unseemly, but whether she can make a jury agree that she, and people who's opinion she cares about do.

Honor · Post by **Honor** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:22 am

Halo299 wrote:...but still, i've found a picture that i like and i'm considering just going a head and doing it.

Well... I wasn't answering the question "do you think I can get away with it?"... I was answering the question "is this illegal?"

The question of whether or not you can get away with it... Well, the answer to that question is obvious enough that I don't need to compromised my ethics by advocating illegal activity. And, as has been pointed out... While illegal = illegal, this is closer to a parking violation than crimes against humanity.

One interesting thing, I think, is that the risk you take is directly and inversely proportionate to the degree of success you enjoy, but on a curve... The more successful the comic became, the more likely you'd be to face action... But also, within a certain unidentifyable curve, some success will imbue the thing with coolitude, and thus, presumably, reduce the liklihood of action slightly. Interesting indeed.

Tha_Pig · Post by **Tha_Pig** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:51 pm

I have seen some examples of comics made by people who don't have a lot of drawing skills, but they knew how to use their resources in a smart way.

I recommend you to get another graphic program with a little more posibilities. There are a lot of freeware programs that can help you make a better loking comic.

One of the thinks that look horrendous in MS Pain is the lettering.

I still use my old Paint Shop Pro 3.1 for a lot of editing stuff. I can give you the link. It's easy to use and not very complicated.

As for a picture of an asian girl who is not copyrighted, you could check japanese pron sites, I'm sure there are a lot of pretty faces there. Don't worry about someone recognizing her... nobody looks at the faces.

Halo299 · Post by **Halo299** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:01 pm

Tha_Pig wrote:I have seen some examples of comics made by people who don't have a lot of drawing skills, but they knew how to use their resources in a smart way.

I recommend you to get another graphic program with a little more posibilities. There are a lot of freeware programs that can help you make a better loking comic.

One of the thinks that look horrendous in MS Pain is the lettering.

I still use my old Paint Shop Pro 3.1 for a lot of editing stuff. I can give you the link. It's easy to use and not very complicated.

As for a picture of an asian girl who is not copyrighted, you could check japanese pron sites, I'm sure there are a lot of pretty faces there. Don't worry about someone recognizing her... nobody looks at the faces.

those are all very good ideas.

the porn site idea sounds like a winner to me, and if you would be so kind as to provide the links you mentioned that would be great too.

the first couple of strips have looked ok IMHO but the program does make for some intresting... complications.

I plan to have my strip up in a day or two if anyone is intrested.

-halo

Tha_Pig · Post by **Tha_Pig** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:09 pm

One great FREE graphic pogram with a lot of features is GIMP. (do not confuse with Gimpgirl)

http://www.gimp.org/

The one I mention before Paint Shop Pro (Opld version) is here:

http://www.siedler-welt.de/downloads/files/psp311.exe

Also, a nice place to search for sexy Japanese girls:

http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/jap ... ese_girls/

AkaneJones · Post by **AkaneJones** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:00 am

Two words "Photo Collage"

Gible · Post by **Gible** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:46 am

Another place to find lots of good stock photos(and plenty of completed stuff): http://www.deviantart.com

I get most of my backgrounds from there

Moo Cow · Post by **Moo Cow** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:54 am

Well, your question's been answered... but i wanted to wish you the best with your comic! I'm definitely going to read it. *bookmarks link*

~Sara

Aeridus · Post by **Aeridus** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:51 am

I love the humor in your webcomic! And the art's better than what some webcomics start with...

Azurecharade · Post by **Azurecharade** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:53 am

Ahh, good ol' mspaint comic. I remember my mspaint comic. oneisgonnasuck.keenspace.com Yours looks funnier though.

When i had to make someone who looked particularly good(See Nakato) I asked a friend to make a hand drawn picture for me, seeing as i have no actually artistic skill outside the computer. I think the effect came off rather well.

ManaUser · Post by **ManaUser** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:02 am

But why, oh why are the pictures BMP format? Using that on the internet is a major no-no because the files are bleedin' huge. You should convert it to GIF or PNG. Assuming you're using Windows XP Paint can save in either of those formats. Otherwise there are plenty of free programs you could use.

For example, the first strip was 26.1 KB after I converted it to GIF. It's currently 1.29 MB(!), 50 times larger than it needs to be.