From Ruby: I get questions about fan art from time to time so I thought I’d let everyone know how it works (right now) for me! Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, please know that I love it! It’s an honor to see how my worlds and characters come through your creative outlets! But, people typically reach out to know they aren’t crossing a line with fan art, so here are the guidelines – I’ll let you know if these change:
- Fan art that is not sold (or is not behind a paywall) is generally great!
- Fan art that is being sold (or is behind a paywall) is okay as long as it:
- is not a rewrite of any kind (includes but is not limited to: illustrated editions of my writing, comics/graphic novel, etc.)
- does not include the cover of any of my books
- does not indicate anywhere that it’s an official piece of merchandise, or is licensed by me, or any similar wording when I did not commission the art
In short, if it’s based on my writing and you’re not making a profit and just sharing what you created on social media because you’re excited about it, it’s usually just fine! If you’re going to sell something based off my stories, there are a few things to note, but the big one is that I create stories and I don’t allow people to profit off of new versions of my stories. If you’re making candles, sweatshirts, art prints (from your own design), and things like that, it’s usually totally fine – see the notes above for things like cover use because those are under copyright protection and their likeness can’t be sold.
If you create something, I LOVE seeing it! Feel free to tag me or send it my way in my dms! I’m truly honored each time my readers take the time to use their talents in ways that connect to my stories!
