Can you draw a picture of a famous person and sell it?

You can sell a fine art painting of a celebrity as long as it is a transformative work of art. This means it needs to be artistic in nature, not just a faithful likeness. The painting cannot copy an existing work of art (including a photo), and cannot interfere with a celebrity's “right of publicity”.
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Can I make art of a famous person and sell it?

Fine art paintings of celebrities can be sold as long as they are transformative works of art, which means that they need to be artistic in nature, not just true images. Artwork copied from an existing work of art (including a photograph) is not allowed, nor is it allowed to infringe a celebrity's "right of publicity".
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Can you sell a drawing of someone?

The rule in California is that a painter MAY sell a painting of a person [to someone other than that person] if the painting “contains significant transformative elements or that the value of the work does not derive primarily from the celebrity's fame.
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Can I draw a picture of a character and sell it?

Legally, you cannot sell paintings of characters that other artists have invented. Due to trademark, copyright, and art plagiarism issues, selling paintings of characters is stealing the work of others and selling it as your own, even if you created the painting yourself and put a unique spin on it.
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Can I sell a drawing of a photograph?

But the primary rule is strict—you have to actually join the community to use the photos. Even if permission is given, attribution is polite. And it can cover you legally if the status of that original sketch changes.
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Can You Draw a Celebrity and Sell It?



Can I sell a drawing of a celebrity?

You can sell a fine art painting of a celebrity as long as it is a transformative work of art. This means it needs to be artistic in nature, not just a faithful likeness. The painting cannot copy an existing work of art (including a photo), and cannot interfere with a celebrity's “right of publicity”.
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Is it illegal to draw a picture of someone?

Photographs can be copyrighted. A drawing made from a copyrighted photograph is a derivative work; such a drawing can be published only if the copyright owner of the underlying photograph has given his express consent. The artist of the drawing also has a copyright on all aspects original to his or her drawing.
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Can you get copyrighted for drawing a character?

For characters, the character only becomes protected under copyright law once it becomes a unique expression, i.e. drawing your own rendition of something or adding certain attributes.
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Is it illegal to sell drawings of characters?

Technically speaking, there's nothing illegal in the US about making and selling fan art because copyright isn't enforced criminally. Rather, copyright owners enforce their rights by suing infringers in federal civil court. If they win, they could get money from you.
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Can I draw a picture of Mickey Mouse and sell it?

No you cannot paint, offer for sale, sell, or otherwise tinker with a Disney character, at least it is illegal without an express license from the Walt Disney company. Disney does not want credit, they are a for profit...
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Can I copy a drawing and sell it?

It is illegal to sell, publicize and publish a copy of an artwork unless you have prior permission from the copyright owner. It is also illegal to publish and sell an artwork that's substantially similar to another original work of art.
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Are celebrity faces copyrighted?

Celebrity's faces, in and of themselves, are not a work of authorship and therefore not entitled to copyright protection.
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Are drawings copyrighted?

Creative works like drawings, sketches, paintings and other works of fine art are forms of intellectual property that are protected by U.S. copyright laws.
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How do I get permission to use a celebrity photo?

So, how to be able to use celebrity photos commercially? You need to find and contact the celebrity's manager and negotiate with said celebrity a fee for your intended use of their photos. This is commonly a much higher price than Editorial and that most commercial RF photos.
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How can I legally sell fan art?

It is legal to sell fan art if you get permission from the original copyright owner. Fanart does not meet the requirements of the fair use act, and you may get into legal trouble for making and selling fan art without permission from theowner of the intellectual property in question.
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Is it legal to recreate famous paintings?

Copying pre-existing works is legal, so long as the original work is in the public domain (meaning that the copyright on that work has expired).
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Is fan art illegal?

The answer is, if you are creating fan art whether for profit or not, any copyrighted character or use of trademark in a description or title without prior written consent from the copyright owner, then selling fan art is illegal but making fan art is not illegal.
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How much do you have to change artwork to avoid copyright?

How much do you have to change artwork to avoid copyright? There is actually no percentage by which you must change an image to avoid copyright infringement. While some say that you have to change 10-30% of a copyrighted work to avoid infringement, that has been proven to be a myth.
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Is drawing someone without permission illegal?

“An artist may make a work of art that includes a recognizable likeness of a person without her or his written consent and sell at least a limited number of copies thereof without violating” his or her right of publicity, the court found.
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Can I draw Batman and sell it?

The basic law is that whoever holds the copyright to a certain thing has the sole right to make and sell “derivative works” , including sequels, based on the original concept. Even characters in a book or plot elements can have copyright protection. Fan fiction can definitely be considered a “derivative work”.
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Can I sell Harry Potter art?

Can You Legally Make and Sell Harry Potter Related Products? No, absolutely not. Everything Harry Potter is well protected with multiple trademarks that are owned by Warner Brothers Entertainment. In fact, it's difficult to find something related to Harry Potter that isn't trademarked.
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Can I draw Bart Simpson and sell it?

It would be illegal for you to accept compensation for violating copyright law (and trademark law) by creating drawings of copyrighted characters. If you do so, you are engaging in direct, willful, illegal copyright infringement.
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Is tracing a photo copyright?

In a way, you are tracing someone else's work, which you do not own the copyright to, and then passing it off as your own original work. So in effect, yes, that is a form of plagiarism.
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Are pictures of art copyrighted?

This means that although someone can always take a photo of the artwork, the artist (you) must give permission for them to receive income from that photo—also called a “commercial use.” Even so-called “illegal” or unauthorized art—graffiti or street art—is copyrighted from the moment of its creation and the artist must ...
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Can I sell a painting of someone else's photo?

Second, if you are a portrait artist, or figure artist, and you plan on selling works of art using somebody else's likeness, you will need a model release in order to sell the work, and in many cases you will need a model release in order to enter juried art shows.
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