copyrights?!? how do i tell if i can make something like it?

ummmmm ok i have no idea if its even legal to create "free" content baced on the mechwarrior world any one know how i can find out what is and isnt ok? im a newby to this sorry

Non-commercial use is often fair use. &nbsp;Violations often occur when the use is motivated primarily by a desire for commercial gain. The fact that a work is published primarily for private commercial gain weighs against a finding of fair use. For example, using the Bob Dylan line "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" in a poem published in a small literary journal would probably be a fair use; using the same line in an advertisement for raincoats probably would not be. from&nbsp; <a href="http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/fair-use-rule-copyright-material-30100.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/fair-use-rule-copyright-material-30100.html</a> talking about&nbsp; <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html</a> ?_? im still confused

Rule 1: Are You Creating Something New or Just Copying? The purpose and character of your intended use of the material involved is the single most important factor in determining whether a use is a fair use. The question to ask here is whether you are merely copying someone else's work verbatim or instead using it to help create something new. sounds like creating tokens from mech pictures is fine so long as its not exsact or for profit....any one have exsprence with somthing like this?

You should be able to create tokens FOR PERSONAL USE from just about anything you can find on the internet. Re-packaging those tokens and/or re-distributing them is a totally different story.

k......still dont know if its ok XD exsample&nbsp; <a href="http://www.sarna.net/wiki/images/1/10/3055U_Firefly.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.sarna.net/wiki/images/1/10/3055U_Firefly.jpg</a> &nbsp;normal firefly mech <a href="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/535407_10151553218384388_604382566_n.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/535407_10151553218384388_604382566_n.jpg</a> &nbsp;my firefly token ?_? is this to alike it to be given away in a free pack?

nm looking likes its a no for mech art in the market.

I suppose you can't call it a mech in the first place, since that will absolutely draw searches, and reveal a copyright violation. Your mech looks more like a ship from the top down, as the feet aren't very visible. Were you told specifically you could not make them...&nbsp; The design of that firefly implies that the 2 "harrier" jet engines in the back, along with recognizable plane fins, gives it the ability to use it's "jump jets"... So in effect a firefly can be anything that also does this through some other means. So the design of a generic one, could NOT have the same elements to begin with, and instead have to solve the problem of... What does a giant single occupant robot with 2 legs, multiple weapons and the capability to not fly but jump... LOOK LIKE? If you approached your new firefly, (calling it something else of course) with this kind of thinking... then the design is yours to put up, with no relation to the original, except as a giant robot. Currently even from the top down view, your's is too much of a copy.

Look at this tutorial for instance, Simple Mecha Tutorial and I believe there is a book called how to draw mecha, which breaks down creating YOUR OWN variations of how they are made... well after a lot of practice. The trick is to learn where the parts go, and NOT COPYING the designs of what you know to be out there, that is licensed of course.

ahhh thank you bobby that helps alot!

Always happy to help Nathaniel, I used to be an art teacher...

*thumbs up*

Disclaimer; I am not a lawyer. &nbsp;but I've had this issue come up a number of times with things I've made. Copyright is mind blowingly complicated issue. &nbsp;The answer to almost every question seems to be "it depends", and the final say is the courts on a case-by-case basis. Short answer is this - unless you have specific permission or are working under a specific Open Game License or something like it, do not play around with copywritten work, &nbsp;It's likely nothing would come of it, but if you're not positive don't risk it. &nbsp; Bobby's solution seems the best.