Equiverse Crediting Guide

Please also see the Help Section on Art: located here

Equiverse Crediting Guide

It can be difficult knowing what needs to be done when you want to use someone else’s artwork to create your own. This is a comprehensive guide on exactly how to properly credit images, common stock rules, and places to find stock.
*Please Note* Failure to follow this guide will result in your images being removed. If you persist to post copyrighted images, or images without proper credit you will receive warnings, fines and eventually a ban from the game. 

Why can’t I just use a picture off Google?
All images on the internet are protected under Copyright law. This means that you can't just take any image from the internet and use it. You wouldn't be happy if you took a photograph of your horse, or lines you had created, and someone else took it and used it without your permission, would you? This is the same principle.
Even most stock providers don't allow you to just take the image and use it - they all have rules they expect you to follow and they expect to be credited for the work they’ve done. If you can’t find clearly stated rules on a stock provider’s page then your safest bet is to find a different image to use.


Proper Crediting
There are three questions to keep in mind when crediting an item
-Is it Easily Visible?
-Is it Clear?
-Is it Correct?

Visibility is very important with credits! Credits must be easy to read, which means they must be large enough, in a good color, not super faded and in an uncluttered area. There are all sorts of tricky ways people hide credits in images, but for the purposes of this game it is always best to have them clearly visible. You may think it messes up the image however it’s better to have proper credits than be forced to remove the image!
-The best places for credits to go are usually in the corners or directly at the top or bottom of the image. Although if the corners are really busy, for example there’s a tree branch with a lot of different colored leaves in the corner, it may be best to find a relatively calm space somewhere else.  
-Use a darker font color on lighter areas and a lighter font color on darker areas. Avoid using bright or vibrant colors as they can be harder on the eyes. If you have a problem finding a decent color, white font with a black outline works on most backgrounds.
-Use a readable font, something very simple like Arial or Verdana or Times New Roman is very handy for credits, and almost all computers have them.
Mods can help you get things correct, but we have to be able to read what you have first.

Clarity is also important when using credits. Be sure to specify what portion of the image came from which artists.
For example in a manipulation include credits like “horse from suchandsuch at Deviantart.com” and “background by soandso at Deviantart.com” instead of just putting “stock from soandso and suchandsuch”
Linearts are the same, be sure to specify who did the lines, and who did the base and who did the coloring, if it is all by you then you can use your own signature.
We understand that tags are small but this DOES NOT mean you can just have no credits! It just means that you can have smaller signatures, such as a player number or name abbreviation. Usually tag artists like to make their own unique signature to use on lines. IF you are using Free Lines you still must credit on image unless the artist implicitly states you do not have to in their rules or you have proof from them that you do not have to put credits on the image. For Extra clarity it is helpful to put a link to the lines or base used also within your post.

Correctness is probably the most important of the three things. Always use full names of the artist and full website names. Check and double check that you have the correct spelling.
If you misspell the artist’s name or use improper crediting Mods may ask you for clarification of your sources. It can be handy to keep a notepad or word document with urls to pieces you use and screenshots of your proof to be able to use images if it has restrictions in order to offer the proper names and proof to the mods checking your art.

Important Notes
-You must credit yourself! Even if you did or own every part of the image you still have to credit yourself on the image. It can just be your game name and number, or your Deviantart, or a signature, but it still needs to have credit in order to avoid confusion about your sources.
-Still need to credit for Public Domain images! There is a type of copyright called Public Domain, in which images are free to use without credit to the original photographer. However this is still not your image so please include where you got the image in your credits.
-Never remove or edit out a copyright.

Finding Stock Images & Stock Rules
Stock images can be found in many places. You need to make sure that you abide by the rules of that particular stock resource before you use any of their images.

Popular Stock Sites
deviantArt - only items in Resources and Stock Images
stock.xchng
morgueFile
Flickr - Only full Creative Commons Licensed pictures
Unsplash

Common Stock Rules
"Do not steal the images and claim them as your own."
This means that the owner doesn't want you to save the image to your hard drive and simply upload to a different place, and claim the image as something that you took.

"Don't use for commercial purposes."
Commercial Use means to sell for real money, i.e. you are making a profit from somebody else's work. This CAN include credits or virtual money! Be sure to ask the provider before trying to sell anything, and ask what you can sell it for. ALWAYS clarify whether or not you can sell for credits, as they can be considered Real currency because that they are bought with real money. Take a screenshot of permission as proof that you can.

"If you're using outside of *stock website* (yes, you are) please place credits on the image itself."
As you are using the image off the stock site, make sure that the owner of the image is actually okay with this. Some aren't, and will get annoyed.
Please note that if the image you want to use doesn't have stock rules, that does NOT automatically mean it is for free use - search for that user's rules, and don't assume! Also, if the rules don't explicitly say that the image can be used off-site then assume not. Seek the owner's permission before you go any further with using the image.

Last edited on 2020-04-05 at 09:20:58 by Sabriel