Question: What are the copyright limitations and considerations towards Frankenedits used in non-commercial games?
Context: Hello, I am new to the community. You guys seem really cool and knowledgeable about stuff. I have a strange question, one that I never thought I would run into game making. This could be a common problem and nothing to worry about, but this could be a big problem, too. Maybe I'm a worry-wart. Let me explain.
I ran into a problem on another forum, which forum is not important. I was asking for graphics editing help. I like the Japanese site tkool for making some really neat looking portraits. I had made a school boy and school girl for my game from there, with various expressions that were available. I wanted them to be able to use a cell phone in the game, and I wanted a portrait cutscene to reflect this. So I asked for help there, but I also worked on the problem myself. So, I Frankenedited a passable forearm and hand from other images and went down to the pixel to incorporate it uniquely. I added a simple black box in the hand for the phone. It looked good, I thought. As I made progress, I posted the edits in the same thread that I had asked the question in. I had answered my own question. Pretty proud of myself. The tread was closed abruptly by an admin, telling me I had violated and broke copyright laws by posting Frankenedits.
This concerns me. I don't want to break the law with a hobby, no one does. I have seen many Frankenedits around the 'net, Deviantart and Google Images. The copyright notice, from what I could glean from Google Translate, was that tkool's images could be edited, but I couldn't be sure. And to be sure, any game I make will be 100% Free to download and play. I have a nice list built up for credits to go along with the game when it's done. I will not share any more resources after this incident, on any site. I guess the biggest question for me is this: Is it legal to use Frankenedits in games? I don't wish to infringe on anyone's copyright, but if I can't edit the images to suit my tastes for the game, what's the point? It restricts my artistic liberties. This would extend from portraits and busts, backgrounds, tilesets, charasets, to even OGGs I've edited through Audacity (to make them louder/shorter/loopable).
I've felt really bad about this over the last several days. I can see it from the other side, somewhat. I'd appreciate any input you could provide and thanks for reading! Oh, and if I've broken a rule by discussing taboo, I sincerely apologize!!