Advice Needed

[been2hellnback.livejournal.com]

First time posting here, if I do anything wrong please let me know.

I was approached on DA by someone who said this;

"I'm part of a fan community for the Justifiers-adventure game/RPG and we are trying to bring out a free .pdf bimonthly to keep the game and the world alive. In one of the next issues we are planning a Lion-Beta (beta for "beta humanoid" so basically an anthro) and we didn't get a picture for it yet. So we are searching for someone to provide one for us.
Could we maybe use your picture for this?
Of course a name you choose would appear in the about and with the picture. If you like we could also recommend you to players searching for someone to draw their character.
If you like you can see what we are doing - and did so far - on www.justifiers-rpg.de (the site is not yet as we'd like it to have but you can see previous issues in the download section and peek into the forum - although we are a german community so without knowing the language it will probably not be of much use ...)

Thanks and best regards"

Now the thing is, that particular image is commissioned piece, I do have in my TOS that I still own the rights to said image, but selling it to this person to use on their site still feels wrong-is that legally okay? Should I try and get them to order a similar piece from me instead? Do I let them use the picture they're requesting-but for free?
And regardless, what are the "rules" and limitations on situations such as this?


Thanks in advance for all your help!

Comments

[purpule.livejournal.com]

Truth be told, I don;t think you're actually in an ethical dilemma about SELLING the piece twice - I think they want to use it free of charge

[hellebore.livejournal.com]

Yup. Sounds like they want to use it for free.

[hellebore.livejournal.com]

If they don't want to use it for free and will pay you - Idk, I wouldn't do it. I had someone sell the rights to an image they did for me with my characters in it... it felt bad. I think that's the one line I won't cross over anymore... selling an image with someone else's character in it.

[westly-roanoke.livejournal.com]

Hi there!

This image was made specifically for someone else, however, if you'd like something similar, here are my rates and my terms of service. I hope we can work something out!

Thanks for your interest!

Me.

That being said, I wouldn't offer someone else use of someone else's character. While you own the rights, it may taint how others see you. "Oh, that's so and so, they sold art of someone else's character to some website, they might do it again with yours, I wouldn't commission them..." I'd be a little put out if I found a website using my personal character as their spokesperson.

Good luck!

[gaturguts.livejournal.com]

I agree with the above, it really sounds like they want it for free.
Even though you do own the rights to the image, the character still isn't really yours to make a profit off of without permission. You should really ask the person who commissioned you for the piece if they'd be okay with a transaction like this.
I know i'd be very upset if anyone sold an image I had commissioned without even asking me first, regardless if it's in their ToS or not.

[rys-khyrsal.livejournal.com]

This.

Even if you did draw the picture and own rights to the picture itself, the character is someone else's. I know if an artist I commissioned used my character as a stand-in without asking me first, I'd be pretty irked.
On the other hand, if I was asked to let my character be a representative sample for something, I'd be flattered, so just ask and see what they say. A little communication goes a long way!

[houndofloki.livejournal.com]

This seems a little morally "sticky" to me - because in this situation it's not JUST your art they want to use, it's the character itself as a representative of something, and while the art is yours the character isn't.

I agree with those saying just offer a commission piece, if in fact they're looking to pay you anyway (kind of sounds like they're not, TBH).

[kontonakuma.livejournal.com]

Even if they're looking to use it for free, I wouldn't allow it due to it being a commission for someone else even if it's in my rights to do so. I'd just feel icky about it. Offer to make a new piece for them if they're willing to pay.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

You can legally resell the art, or give it away for that matter, but I wouldn't. A happy customer is worth more than making the other people happy, they don't even intend to pay from the look of it.

Give them your rates and watch them move on to the next artist.

[zrcalo.livejournal.com]

If I were you, I'd contact the person who commissioned the piece and ask them if they would like it featured on the other site.

They may actually like that, or they may not. Doesnt hurt to ask.