Regarding graphics assets

I’d like to take a moment to review and clarify Rule 1.

“Plagiarized content” includes both uncredited assets, as well as assets (credited or not) that the creator has not given permission to use or edit. Giving credit does not grant a free pass to use something the artist has made clear is not to be used.

The FEGBA Asset Repository (thread) was created for the explicit purpose of providing a huge range of portraits, animations, map sprites, and tons of other graphics, that are all 100% free to use as you please. There are over 2,000 portraits and 500 battle animations already in, and it is updated regularly.

We understand there are some cultural differences in how asset use is perceived across regional communities, as well as that new users may not be familiar with the practices of “F2U” and “F2E” vs private works. An honest mistake isn’t grounds for user punishment. So here’s our process:

In the event that a plagiarized asset is found in a project:

  • The original owner of the asset, or someone familiar with their work, notifies @staff.
  • Staff will remove the download link and message the poster privately about the asset(s) in question. This is not a warning or punishment in itself. We can help suggest replacements from the repository that are OK to use.
  • Once the creator removes the plagiarized content, we will unlock the post and the creator is free to host their project here from there on out.

This should be sufficient to address the vast majority of cases and avoid undue harshness toward honest mistakes.

However, refusal to remove an asset, insulting the staff when asked to remove an asset, reuploading a project without removing plagiarized content, and/or repeat offenses, will be met with administrative action up to and including:

  • Permanent removal of project topic with a formal warning (one strike against account).
  • In the case of extreme verbal abuse of staff, or multiple repeat offenses, suspension and/or termination of account.

Please don’t be “that guy”. Have a look around the graphics repo linked above, and if you see something you like that isn’t in the repo, contact the artist and ask for permission. It is better for both you and the artist to get a clear answer so you can find a replacement if needed, than for someone to have to report your topic and get staff involved.

(P.S. - A similar repository exists for music (thread). As for ASM/eventing, the FEU SkillSystem github, ASM topics on this forum, and the patches that have been included with FEBuilder are fair game.)

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Addendum/Glossary:

This and other English-language FE communities generally have four levels of asset restrictions for using them in your projects. These consist of:

Permission Not Granted : Some artists don’t want anyone using their work. Maybe they have had a lot of bad run-ins with sprite thieves in the past, maybe they’re holding onto it for a specific project, maybe they simply made it to be viewed only, or any other number of reasons. Either way, don’t use their work.

Ask before using : Most artwork falls under this umbrella. Many artists will be fine with you using their portraits, animations, or whatever so long as you ask them for permission. If you’re not sure about someone’s positions on their creative works, just ask. It can’t hurt to double-check.

F2U (Free To Use) : This means you are free to use someone’s work in a project without asking them for permission. All works inside the Graphics Repository, at a minimum, fall under this umbrella. That means you can use anything inside the repo without asking permission, but you must give credit to the original authors. (Note: You may typically recolor portraits or add frames if a portrait is missing frames, even if it is ‘only’ F2U. Significant graphical edits are discouraged, but you can always ask the original author for permission to edit their work if you’re unsure.)

F2E (Free to Edit) : This is the final level of permissions. This work can be altered or edited as you please, and even re-released with those edits for others to use. However, you must still give credit to anyone whose work you edit. (Note: All animations in the repo are considered F2E. This means you can release additions or edits to any animation, provided you always credit the original creators.)

To reiterate: You must always give credit to artists if you use their work. If you aren’t sure which of the four levels someone’s work falls into, perform the following four steps:

  1. Portraits and other assets in the Repo are always F2U. Some are marked F2E, but many F2E portraits haven’t been updated to list their F2E nature. Also, as stated above, animations in the Repo are F2E by default, with very rare exceptions.
  2. Check the ATTN Artists topic. Many FEU creators have listed which of the four positions their work falls under there.
  3. Check the creator’s art or resource topics. This can also be off-site, such as on Deviantart, Pixiv, or other such places. Often, they will list their positions on the artwork itself, or on a main page somewhere.
  4. Still don’t know? DM them directly. It never hurts to ask.
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