Fan Art Policy

Introduction – The Basics

NON-COMMERCIAL USE

I love that the stories and art from my books and associated official artwork (“Dragonsteel IP”) have inspired Fan Art and Fan Fiction. I have no objection to Fan Art and Fan Fiction created solely for non-commercial personal use. These include things like posting your Fan Art to Reddit, Instagram, Tumblr, etc., and applies to all forms of Fan Art, so long as you are not making any money from them directly or indirectly. (For questions about fan films, please read this). Please note that because Dragonsteel does not own The Wheel of Time® (books, artwork, etc.), this Fan Art Policy does not apply for The Wheel of Time.

COMMERCIAL USE

That said, I have established guidelines in connection with commercial use of Fan Art related to my work—without these guidelines, the integrity of my works (including my copyrights and trademarks) would be compromised. I’ll first give the guidelines in what I hope is a clear and concise way, followed by a more legalized version of saying the same things, because my lawyer says I have to include it.

Fan Art/Fiction Policy – Layman’s Terms

***For the sake of clarity, “Commercial” means anything sold for monetary compensation, or used to collect monetary compensation in any way. If you have a question about whether something falls under “commercial” uses, ask yourself this: “Am I selling it? Or gaining a monetary profit from it in any way?” if you are, then the below applies to you. If you aren’t selling your work, see the above “NON-COMMERCIAL USE.”***

  • ALLOWED COMMERCIAL FAN ART USES: 

    • You may sell physical art prints, stickers, and playmats—including originals—of visual FanAart (paintings, digital creations, images printed on paper of sculptures you’ve made physically or digitally) only if the visual Fan Art is not (and does not include) a copy (or substantial copy, e.g., a manual/hand reproduction of distinctive artistic elements) of any of my copyrighted artwork. 

      • In other words, you can sell physical prints, stickers, and playmats of your original visual depictions of characters and scenes based on the text of my books, but you can’t copy visual artwork from my books such as book covers, interior art, symbols, and maps. Symbols and glyphs may be incorporated into Fan Art only when used as an integral part of a character or scene (i.e., Kaladin’s brands, the Bridge Four patch on a Bridge Four member’s uniform, etc.)—but never out-of-context or standalone.

    • One-off Fan Art commissions for a private client are allowed.

    • Tattoos are considered one-off commission. For the sake of clarity, you may use any of my art or text for tattoos, regardless of whether the tattoo artist is paid.

  • NOT ALLOWED COMMERCIAL FAN ART USES: 

    • Anything other than art prints, stickers, and playmats is not allowed. No Fan Art may be sold commercially on anything other than art prints, stickers, or playmats (so no t-shirts, other apparel, mugs, miniatures, 3D prints or printable files of any of my characters or creatures or symbols or maps or settings, fan made book jackets, art prints that are intended to be book jackets, plushies, pins, jewelry, figures, phone accessories, replicas, NFTs, etc.)

    • Copies of any of the covers, interior art, maps, etc., in any of my books are not allowed (though not strictly considered a copy, this includes maps of places for which we have not yet created maps). Use of symbols and glyphs is allowed only when used as an integral part of a character or scene. Our symbols, maps, settings, etc., are copyrighted, and Dragonsteel reserves the right to sell them in any form.

    • This also means you are not allowed to sell any out-of-context or standalone copies (complete, substantial, or recognizable) of any glyph or symbol from my works or worlds. With the exception of one such symbol being used as part of a character design (i.e., Kaladin’s brands), no Fan Art that includes any such symbols may be sold commercially without violating copyrights.

    • Any use of distinctive text from any of my books associated with art, fiction, products, or other materials for sale (e.g., “Life Before Death, Strength Before Weakness, Journey Before Destination”) is a violation of my copyrights and is not allowed in commercial Fan Art. 

    • Modified editions of books are not allowed. “Modified edition” includes rebinding (e.g., leather binding), book covers, sprayed edges, stenciled edges, hand-painted edges, any other decorated edges, and anything that may be characterized as a deluxe or enhanced edition. 

    • Book titles, character names, trademarks, and/or other distinctive Dragonsteel terms may appear in the description of your commercial Fan Art, but should not appear in the title or header text of your commercial Fan Art or in the name of the domain, website, or storefront where such Fan Art appears. 

    • E-commerce storefronts (e.g., Etsy shop) selling or otherwise commercially benefitting from Fan Art must comply with the following:

      • Only one artist/creator per storefront.

      • The storefront may not be centered and/or named around Dragonsteel IP. This means a storefront selling Dragonsteel Fan Art should additionally feature other artwork. This also means that storefront names should not use words that are distinctive or unique to Dragonsteel IP. For example, the storefront names “Cosmere Art” or “Shallan’s Showcase” or “Mistborn Illustrations” are not allowed. But “Jan’s Fantasy Paintings” would be an acceptable storefront name.

    • Use of crowdfunding to finance Fan Art, Fan Fiction, fan books, Fan Art books, fanzines, and any other fan projects is not allowed. This includes using platforms like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and Patreon to fund Fan Art and fan projects.

      • The only exception is an occasional one-off commission made through Patreon. But consistent or regular compensation for Fan Art using these platforms is not allowed. 

    • Instrumental music inspired by my books is allowed, so long as it is not labeled with any Dragonsteel, LLC, trademarks and/or implied in any way to be endorsed by Dragonsteel, LLC. Any music using lyrics that directly quote any of my books can’t be used for commercial purposes. 

    • Commercial cosplay (designing, making, selling, or other financial benefit) is not allowed. Non-commercial cosplay is allowed as long as there is no mass production of cosplay. Selling (or other commercial uses) of cosplay patterns/designs is not allowed. Paid one-off commissions for designing and/or making cosplay are allowed. Cosplay patterns/designs may be disseminated for free but not for commercial gain.

    • Any use of text or art from my books to suggest that a business, blog, social media account, etc. is “official” or endorsed by me is not allowed. For example, the Twitter handles @KaladinOfficial and @TheRealKelsier are not allowed.

      • To avoid this, the context, presentation, title, and/or written description for any Fan Art must make it clear that that the Fan Art is unofficial. One way to do this is to mark it as “fan-created, inspired by Brandon Sanderson.”

    • Fan Art (visual, text, music, or otherwise) created by or with the aid of AI (Artificial Intelligence) software (e.g., ChatGPT, Midjourney, Suno, etc.) is not permissible for any commercial uses.

    • Anything that does not fit the above allowed commercial Fan Art uses should be assumed to not be allowed for commercial use.

  • PROMOTIONAL USE OF FAN ART: 

    • We ask that no Fan Art is given away for free en masse for promotional purposes—for the sake of clarity, please don’t make and/or distribute more than one hundred (100) prints or stickers per work of visual Fan Art that is intended to be given away for promotional purposes. This is to avoid the mass production of anything related to my IP being used to promote other creators/those who do not hold my copyrights or trademarks. 

  • NOTES ON FAN FICTION/COMICS

    • Written fan fiction referencing my characters, universes, environments, and/or stories is allowed as long as it is not commercialized in any way. By that, I mean your fan fiction shouldn’t be making any money—no Webtoons, no Tapas, no online writing community that allows you to charge and/or offers compensation for views of your fan fiction, etc. Written Fan Art (including comics) should not generate revenue of any kind. 

    • Please do not send us fan fiction. We will not read it.

Please Note:

Fans sometimes pitch ideas to Brandon at conventions or signings. Having him say, “Yeah, that sounds cool,” is not permission to move forward. In every case, you must go through the proper channels and have signed permission in writing in order to license the use of any Dragonsteel works. (Please see Licensing Inquiries.)

Fan Art Policy – Legal

For legal purposes, below we’ve included the legal jargon for the above policy.

Default Fan Art/Fiction Policy:

Dragonsteel and Brandon Sanderson (hereinafter “Dragonsteel”) retain all copyrights in their Creative Works. This means that, except as described below, copies, derivative works, distributions, and public displays are not allowed. A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more of the Dragonsteel Works. Additionally, and to further clarify, this means that Dragonsteel DOES NOT permit public displays of any text or art from any of the Dragonsteel Works. Any license or permission to use any intellectual property from the Dragonsteel Works, or permission to claim that Fan Art/Fiction/product is “official,” MUST BE IN WRITING and is otherwise invalid. This is the default policy on Fan Art/Fiction. Some exceptions, i.e., permitted Fan Art, are described below.

* Please note that because Dragonsteel does not own The Wheel of Time® (books, artwork, etc.), this Fan Art Policy does not apply for The Wheel of Time.

Permitted Fan Art/Fiction:

Visual Art:

Some non-commercial and commercial uses of visual Fan Art are allowed. However, regardless of whether a use is commercial or non-commercial, visual Fan Art (e.g., images, digital, 3D, sculpture, etc.) is limited to original works depicting characters, scenes, geographies, and/or other elements from Dragonsteel Works, and must not include or incorporate a whole, partial, or substantial copy of any visual art from any Dragonsteel Works. Copying by hand or other non-automated means is still copying. Symbols, glyphs, and/or Aons may not be used out-of-context or in a standalone fashion, but may be used in visual Fan Art (if generated by hand or other non-automated means) as integral element(s) of a character, scene, or object. Allowed non-commercial uses of visual Fan Art (no direct or indirect compensation, financial or otherwise) include (i) electronic distribution and (ii) making and/or distributing less than one hundred (100) prints or stickers per work of visual Fan Art. Allowed commercial uses of visual Fan Art include (i) making and selling a commissioned physical original or one-off of visual Fan Art; and (ii) making, distributing, selling, and publicly displaying stickers, playmats, and/or physical prints—including originals—of visual Fan Art. Sales or distribution of any other items, e.g., t-shirts, apparel, mugs, plushies, pins, jewelry, figures, phone accessories, replicas, 3-D printable files, NFTs, etc., ARE NOT permitted. Art or text from Dragonsteel Works (including symbols, glyphs, and Aons) may be used for tattoos, regardless of whether the tattoo artist is paid.

Modified Editions/Bindings:

Modified editions of books are not allowed for commercial use. “Modified edition” includes rebinding (e.g., leather binding), book covers, sprayed edges, stenciled edges, hand-painted edges, any other decorated edges, and anything that may be characterized as a deluxe or enhanced edition.

Fiction:

Non-commercial creation, copying, and/or distribution of text fan fiction based on the Dragonsteel Works is permitted as long as the fan fiction includes a conspicuous notification that it is unofficial fan fiction. Copying of text from Dragonsteel Works is NOT permitted except for short excerpts that appear with and that are closely and reasonably associated with allowable visual Fan Art, e.g., short dialog exchanges in fan comics or short excerpts incorporated into a caption. Selling fan fiction or fan comics (including but not limited to receipt of advertising revenue for posting, displaying, or otherwise making available fan fiction) IS NEVER permitted.

Music:

Non-commercial creation, copying, distribution, and/or performance of music that references characters, plots, scenes, and/or objects from Dragonsteel Works is permitted as long as (i) the text/language/words from the Dragonsteel Works that is quoted in or otherwise incorporated into such music constitutes no more than 25% of such music by time, word count, and character count and (ii) such music is not a mere musical reading of some or all of a Dragonsteel Work. Commercial music IS NOT permitted.

Cosplay:

Non-commercial cosplay based on Dragonsteel Works is permitted with the following restrictions: (i) no mass production; and (ii) no selling (or other commercial use) of patterns/designs, although patterns/designs may be disseminated for free. True one-off commissions (i.e., receiving compensation to make or design a cosplay for another person) are permitted. Other than as explicitly described herein, commercial cosplay is not permitted.

Note re Context: The context, presentation, title, and/or written description for any Fan Art must make it clear that the Fan Art is unofficial.

Non-allowable Fan Art/Fiction:

For the sake of clarity, the following ARE NEVER permitted:

  • copies (complete, substantial, or recognizable) of any glyph or symbol from the Dragonsteel Works—unless used, as described above, in visual Fan Art as an integral part of a character, scene, or object.

  • E-commerce storefronts (e.g., Etsy shop) selling or otherwise commercially benefitting from Fan Art must comply with the following:

    • Only one artist/creator per storefront.

    • The storefront may not be centered and/or named around Dragonsteel IP. This means a storefront selling Dragonsteel Fan Art should additionally feature other artwork. This also means that storefront names should not use words that are distinctive or unique to Dragonsteel IP. For example, the storefront names “Cosmere Art” or “Shallan’s Showcase” or “Mistborn Illustrations” are not allowed. But “Jan’s Fantasy Paintings” would be an acceptable storefront name.

    • use of crowdfunding to finance Fan Art or fiction (with the noted exception of one-off commissions).

    • Licensing your Fan Art to another to reproduce, sell, or distribute.

    • Fan Art (visual, text, music, or otherwise) created by or with the aid of AI (Artificial Intelligence) software (e.g., ChatGPT, Midjourney, Dall-E, etc.) is not permissible for any commercial uses.

If you are unsure about any Fan Art/fiction, please kindly assume it is not permitted. Please direct any questions about this policy to legal@dragonsteel.com. For licensing inquiries, please see here: https://faq.brandonsanderson.com/knowledge-base/can-we-get-authorized-merchandise-of/. 

Licensing Inquiries:

Please reach out to JABberwocky Literary Agency with any inquiries about product licensing.

Please be aware that inquiring about the necessary license(s) before investing significant resources in designing and/or manufacturing a product avoids the unfortunate and unpleasant circumstance of being forced to walk away from your efforts when a license is unavailable.

With that in mind, and allowing for rare exceptions, keep in mind the following when putting together a licensing proposal for Dragonsteel:

  • Dragonsteel usually works with experts who already have significant previous experience in successfully creating, manufacturing, and selling products.

  • Dragonsteel usually works with products that are manufactured rather than handmade.

  • Dragonsteel rarely works with businesses that rely on crowd funding.

  • Dragonsteel currently turns down all NFT proposals.

  • Dragonsteel turns down music and digital gaming inquiries because those rights are always closely tied to film/tv rights.

Examples of Licensed Work:

For reference, here are a few products/companies that have been licensed by Dragonsteel for various products:

  • Badali Jewelry has exclusive rights to make and sell jewelry based on and/or inspired by the Cosmere books.

  • Forged Foam has exclusive rights to make and sell swords based on the Dragonsteel Works, including but not limited to “Shardblades.”

  • Brotherwise Games has the exclusive right to make games based on the Stormlight Archive. Nauvoo Games has the right to make games based on the Reckoners.

Please Note:

Fans sometimes pitch an idea to Brandon at a convention or a signing. Having him say, “Yeah, that sounds cool,” is not permission to move forward. In every case, you must go through the proper channels and have signed permission in writing in order to license the use of any Dragonsteel works.

Fan Films:

I am flattered you want to do this, but at this time I do not allow film or movie adaptations (regardless of length, media, or technology) of any Dragonsteel or Brandon Sanderson novels, literary works, or artwork. This decision is based on several factors, including at least: (i) the history and legacy of my works as written works and (ii) potential future development of my literary works.