Winter becomes spring, and life returns anew. Even when it happens in December.

The mantle has been passed, as our wonderfully talented, yet unfortunately overwhelmed previous admin Shabboth has passed the torch to me, Owari999. All of you who are members of this group, new or old, I welcome you.

Cross-Pollinated is back.

Now then, a few important notices:

1: Having never run a group before, I'm absolutely open to suggestions or comments. Feel free to leave them in the comments on this blog, or note them to me or the group.

2: I noticed upon joining there is a rather strict limitation set on each folder for submissions per week. My vision for this group is something far more active and alive than 1 submission a week! Once I figure out how to edit folders, I will open up the submission numbers so we can get some fresh input in larger quantities.

3: Invite anyone and everyone you wish. New members, kindly read the F.A.Q. and Submission Rules sections before submitting.

4: Do remember to have fun!
First things first. I'd like to welcome everybody to the group. I'm so glad you've decided to give this a shot, and I am positively vibrating with excitement to see what you all create. We've seen the addition of almost thirty new members this week. Huzzah!

I'd really like to make a push to get some content in the Pollinated gallery, but first we need to fill out the Seeking Pollination area. If you haven't yet submitted something of yours to the Seeking Pollination folder, I invite you to do so (1 deviation only, please). Ideally I'd like to have one deviation from each member in that folder. I will be closing submissions to that folder at the end of this weekend. Remember that anything in the Seeking Pollination folder is fair game for other members to 'riff' on, so don't put something in there if you aren't comfortable with other people using it.

Once the Seeking Pollination folder is closed we will start the push to get stuff into the Pollinated folder. I will open it up to unlimited submissions for one or two weeks. Everyone can then pick something out of the Seeking Pollination folder to inspire a new piece (in a different medium) for the Pollinated folder. I'm also thinking about doing a small contest (with point and commission prizes), but would like to get some feedback from you guys first, so what do you think?

:bulletgreen: Is this time frame realistic, or would a month be more suitable?
:bulletgreen: Do you want a contest?
:bulletgreen: Any other ideas to get things rolling here?

Please add your 2¢ in the comments.
I haven't actually received any questions yet, but I can imagine what some of the more common ones will be once people notice us, and there are certainly some things that bear more explanation, so here it is:

1) What's with all this "Pollination" business? What are you talking about?

The metaphor we are trying to draw here is to compare the pollination of a plant with the creation of art. The idea is to allow another piece of art to inspire and inform your own art. Just as one plant pollinates another, giving rise to a new, and unique plant, so too can a piece of art inspire an artist to create a new, and unique work of art.

It is important to draw a distinction here between being inspired and copying or translating. The idea is not to reproduce the same work of art in another medium, but to interpret it or to take certain aspects of it into your own work. This is particularly an issue when going from one visual art form to another. Doing a charcoal rendition of a photograph isn't pollination, it is translation (from one medium to another). Taking a distinctive style of shading from a photograph and attempting to emulate it in a charcoal drawing of something else would be pollination. Taking the message you get from an oil painting and reinterpreting it on your tablet is pollination. The original deviation is the inspiration, but the resulting artwork is all your own.


2) What is a "derivative work"?

A derivative work is simply a work of art that is based to some degree on another work of art. This means that Monty Python's "The Life of Brian" is a derivative work of the Bible, and that The Flintstones were derivative of Laurel and Hardy. Most countries draw a distinction between derivations where copyright is infringed and those where it isn't. It is a very blurry line, but generally speaking if you've kept a significant (that's the fuzzy word) amount of the original material in your derivative work you've infringed on the copyright of the original and (hopefully) have the permission of the copyright holder. My personal guideline (not admissible in court) is that if the derivative piece makes sense without knowledge of the original and is unlikely to be confused with the original you are probably okay.

For works where the copyright has lapsed (in the US that means it has been 110 years since the death of the creator - thank you Mickey Mouse and Mary Bono - elsewhere it is 70 years) public domain rules apply and there are no restrictions on derivative works.

C) My interpretation of someone else's deviation doesn't infringe their copyright. Why do I have to ask permission?

Well, you don't really have to ask, but it is polite to do so. Some people feel very strongly about others using their art in any way, and we should respect their feelings. Also, while you may think your work doesn't infringe their copyright, they may disagree. If they disagree strongly enough they might even sue you (or just complain to the dA admins who will likely just delete your account). It's really better to just ask.

The creators of deviations in the "Seeking Pollination" folder have already given their permission for our members to create derivative works, so you are absolutely safe with those deviations.

4) Why bother?

Well, I've only been on deviantART for only a short time, but I've noticed that it isn't really one community of artists, but rather several communities of artists divided by medium. The photographers don't have much to do with the traditional artists, and the traditional artists don't talk much to the photomanipulators, and they have very little to do with the digital artists, and no one really talks with the writers. That doesn't seem healthy to me, so I wanted to create a place where people from different artistic backgrounds can work together in their own individual way. This is why we have the restriction that you have to create in a medium other than the medium of the deviation that inspired you, and why the group is called #cross-pollinated.

5) Does the group accept fan fiction, cosplay, <insert-name-of-anime/manga/teenaged vampire-here>, or other things based on stuff found outside of deviantART?

The short answer: nope.

The explanation: We won't accept derivative work without permission from the copyright holder. Here on deviant art that's pretty easy to verify, outside of deviant art not so much. I'll make you a deal. If you have written permission from Nintendo Co., Ltd. to write pokemon fan fiction or draw pokemon characters and you can send me a notarized copy of that permission, I will accept your pokemon deviation. Deal? Deal!

The longer answer: still nope.




If you have any questions not covered in this F.A.Q. please don't hesitate to ask. Either leave a comment below or note the group. If a question is common enough I'll add it to the F.A.Q., and either way I'll certainly answer. :dance:
Members may submit to one of two gallery folders. The Pollinated folder, and the External Pollinations folder.

The External Pollinations folder is for work inspired by deviations not in our Seeking Pollination folder. If you create something based off of work found elsewhere, you may submit it to this folder. Please make sure that you have received permission from the creator of the original work to create a derivative work. This means you have to actually ask, and receive permission - giving credit to the original artist is not sufficient. See the F.A.Q. for a more detailed explanation.

The Pollinated folder is for work inspired by deviations in our Seeking Pollination folder.

The Seeking Pollination folder is by invitation only. If you come across something you think might inspire other artists in interesting ways, send a link in a note and we may add it.  All deviations in that folder have been cleared for derivative works with their creators. Please see our F.A.Q. and About Us information for a more detailed explanation of "derivative works".

All submissions must include a link to the deviation that inspired your work in the Artist's Comments. You should also include an explanation of the connection between the two pieces in case it isn't obvious to all of us. :)

In summary:
:bulletblue: submit to the correct folder (there are only two)
:bulletblue: make sure you have permission from the original artist
:bulletblue: include a link to the original work
:bulletblue: explain the connection (not absolutely required, but a good idea)

If you can follow these simple rules, you'll make the Admins' lives much easier and we will certainly appreciate it.

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