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.
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