Hi all...I am wondering about some free PS brushes I downloaded a few days ago. It was a set of cloud brushes and they were listed by the donator as 'Freeware'. {Not here...at another site] There is no 'Read Me' file, so I don't know if it's OK to use them to create free backgrounds and I won't until I get some advice. {I know, I know, I should know the answer, but I thought I your input would help greatly] Thanks so much!

Did the site say who created them? If so, email them and ask, otherwise I'd say err on the side of caution and assume you can't.

If you don't have permission in writing (e.g. a readme file), it's not o.k.

That's a good question, and you'll surely get many different answers. I would actually think that you could use free items to make other free items, as long as the items that you make (in this case, the backgrounds) are for non-commercial use only. But like Mateo says, any readme or information that pertains to the free item will set the rules for it's use. SnowS

I don't see why you can't use the brushes to make things. Case in point... All graphic programs come with a selection of brushes, shapes and tubes, and you can use them to make things. So I don't see why you can't use brushes that you have bought or obtained for free to do the same. That's the entire point of a brush.. to make things. No point in having them if you can't use them.

Hmmm...Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll see if I can look in my history file to find the site I got them from...then email to ask. If I can't find that site, I'll just err on the side of caution [as martian_manhunter put it] and stay clear of doing anything 'illegal'. Thanks everyone so much for your thoughts!! Best Regards...

If you got them at the site I'm thinking about -- Adobe Studio Exchange -- there never is a read-me. Any & all notes by the creator are usually on the page describing the item. Read carefully before hitting the download button; I found some nice patterns there to make textures with but was leery of taking them until I saw they were made from photographs the contributer took herself while on vacation & at the zoo. Also check for FAQs & Terms on the site itself, sometimes the info/usage restrictions gets tucked away there.

Attached Link: http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

It doesn't matter if you intend to charge for your item or not... using something and REDISTRIBUTING without permission is a violation of the original creator's copyright. Money or intention makes no difference. Some artists don't mind or even encourage the modification and reuse of such things as textures... and they have explicitly said so. But, unless you have it in writing, don't just assume that it is ok. Carolly

Webmaster isn't going to "redistribute" the brushes. He/she only wants to use them to make backgrounds for distribution. A brush is a graphic tool, made with the intention of it being used. If the person didn't want their brushes used to make things, then why bother to make them in the first place?

You might get a better answer over in the copyright forum. Acadia seems to have the common-sense view, but the law isn't always about common-sense. Stuff like copyright can lead to a lot of legal hair-splitting, and I'd be wary of distribution of what might be a derivative work without some clear statement of permission.

It is OK. You aren't redistributing the brushes by making your backgrounds available. The absence or presence of a readme file is irrelevant to the issue.

You all have added a lot of differing thoughts [and I thank you very much for them all!] and because of this, I think I'm going to spend today creating my own cloud brushes...that way, I won't have to worry about doing anything wrong. And then look out! :-D I'm going to create some more free backgrounds, [I just posted my first set yesterday! Yahoo!], and make them even nicer than the first set!! [Don't worry, the first set of backgrounds were NOT created using the free cloud brushes we have been discussing.] THANK YOU all for your input! Best Regards...

The paranoia around here is often astounding!!!! were not talking redistribution or "derivative works." we are talking digital output from a bitmap painting tool one wonders how much poser content has been "distributed" with unregistered copies of "winzip" for crying out load, make a good faith effort to determine if your copy of the tool is legal and create some art instead of spending time trying to be an officer in the planetary copyright enforcement gestapo. I see "Alexa" from 3D commune has been recalled due mesh theft from vickies neck and "vertice arrangement plagiarism" via posted wire frame screenshots of the Damnable "goosens girl, at Cgtalk.. Must we now purge all galleries of renders of the "illegal" alexa made by artists who bought her in good faith?? shall we build a bonfire to burn any hard copy prints of the ill gotten model??

"for crying out load, make a good faith effort to determine if your copy of the tool is legal and create some art instead of spending time trying to be an officer in the planetary copyright enforcement gestapo." OMG! Thanks so much for saying that. I wanted to post something similar, but didn't know how it would be perceived seeing that while I've been a member her for more than 2 years, never really posted until lately ... just lurked. Now that I've gotten into Poser 5 I decided to read the boards more and hope to pick up some tips and help along the way. I think way too much emphasis is being put into copyright. Yes, it's important, but it shouldn't be to the point of paranoia where all of the fun is taken out of being creative.

I agree with the sentiment that some people are a bit too sensitive about copyright problems. If you use a tool (free or otherwise) to create something, then the creation is yours, it does NOT belong to the owner of the tool. Otherwise everyone would have to pay royalties to (eg) Pentax and Kodak everytime they sold a photograph. Re-distributing the tool is another matter altogether. Cheers Diolma

"If you use a tool (free or otherwise) to create something, then the creation is yours, it does NOT belong to the owner of the tool." Seems there's a "toolmaker" who begs to differ. In the marketplace I just found an item with the strangest restrictions on it. From the read-me: ** At no time may textures created from these images be given away for free...** So if I were to buy So-and-So's photo references, I can legally only use them to produce commercial textures. Now I ask you, is that not totally weird? Needless to say, I won't be buying that item. Or anything else from Merchant So-and-So.

Well...this was an interesting subject to be sure! Lots of differing opinions and thoughts. I guess what I have learned from all this is: 1) I will NEVER use ANYTHING that belongs to ANYBODY to create ANYTHING unless I want to use it for my OWN personal use - just in case...UNLESS they give me express permission. [Actually, I don't do that now, but I for sure won't in the future either!] I don't want/need anyone to get mad at me/sue me/hate my guts/feel like I stole from them! 2) ANYTHING I make as a 'FREEBIE' will be just that - Totally FREE for the user to use for ANYTHING - There's just no point in creating a freebie that has restrictions cuz I can't keep trying to keep an eye on 'my' stuff. Of course this won't/doesn't apply to any artwork I create and put my name on - that stuff is/would be my own. But I know how hard/expensive it is to make all thses renders and constantly need new stuff for fresh content. If you are familiar with any of my work, you'll see that I do keep using a lot of the same stuff over and over because I'm not made of money and can't afford to keep buying stuff...unless I let my kids go shoeless. Hmmmmm - there's a thought! Summer is coming and kids can go barefoot! LOL So what I am trying to say is that I am getting into making FREEBIES so that other poor folk like myself can get new stuff for their renders...AND if I put it in the free stuff, I don't want to put restrictions on how they may use the stuff! OK then...I am going to shut up now! LOL Hope all has a FAB weekend and thanks again for all your wonderful input into this subject!!! Best Regards, Vicki

"...so she gave me all her poser files..." Uh, you don't want to be talking about that sorta thing around here, believe it or not it's a huge no-no to give away or even sell Poser items you no longer want/need. Unless of course your friend actually made all the models & textures she gave you. Now I understand that people/companies wanna protect their copyrights & distribution rights, but I think if I buy something & later on don't need/want it, I should have the right to sell or give away the item I no longer have use for. However, that's just me. ;-)

Acadia, thanks for your post...it's nice to know that there are others who understand what it can mean to be so darned broke when it comes to a hobby. I'd get killed [OK, not REALLY killed!] if I spent a fraction of what I have read others spend on Poser. If I made money on my artwork, then I guess it'd be OK, but right now, my family only sees it as pure fun and therefore to them, it's kind of frivolis..of course to me it's SERIOUS work! But don't get me wrong, I do buy things from time to time, I mean I'd go CRAZY if I didn't!!! LOL LOL

Quote - I would love to be able to make my own textures, clothes and props, to give away no strings attached, but I don't feel comfortable enough in Poser yet.!

You and me both! I started creating backgrounds because it seems I always wanted something new for my renders and'taking' stuff from the web makes me feel bad...you know...cuz it is stealing...Thank goodness for the free backgrounds here and at other sites like this one! I think that you could probably make clothing textures if you have a texture map. If you familiar with PSP enough that you are able to make tubes, then you are talented enough to make textures! :-D That's my next goal...to make nice quality clothing textures. Eventually, I want to be able to sell some stuff to make money for my "hobby" while still offering free stuff too! For now...it'll all be FREE!!!! Best Regards to you Acadia! Now, let's go get creative and try our hands at making new free stuff!!! hehehe Hugz

Currently I'm on disability and don't have much to do other than stay home and watch tv. So I've budgeted myself a certain amount of money each month to spend on poser items. I'd love to be able to get more items, but it's just not possible. Are there tutorials out there that teach you how to make clothing textures? Also, where do you get the layout of the items to texturize?

Layouts, or texture templates as they are commonly known, can be obtained free from Daz and other sites, including here. Just hunt thru the freebies for seam guides. Also check out the tutorials, I found a few good ones for both skin and clothing textures.