So, I’ve seen a bunch of people make crochet patterns off of characters that are copyrighted. I was thinking about making a pattern based off a video game character. But, I wouldn’t sell the pattern for money because I don’t own the character and shouldn’t profit off the character. Is doing this still illegal, or do you guys think it’s okay?? I just want to know before actually doing this.
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“Illegal” is a bit of an oversimplification when it comes to fan art, which is what you’re describing.
Fan art generally falls into a more nuanced area of copyright law called derivative work, meaning it’s based on an existing IP that someone else owns. Technically, the copyright holder often has the right to control how their characters or worlds are used.
However, in practice, fan art is also a long standing and widely tolerated part of creative culture. It’s how many artists learn, build skills, engage with media they love, grow communities, and get eyes on their work. That’s why fan art communities have existed openly for decades across nearly every fandom.
The important distinction is that fan art is not the same thing as theft or directly stealing someone’s work. Theft would be things like reposting someone else’s art as your own, copying and reselling someone else’s pattern, tracing another artist’s work, or reproducing a specific design very closely.
Copyright generally protects specific creative expression, not broad ideas or concepts. That’s why crafting communities can have thousands of different bees, frogs, cats, dragons, whales, etc. The idea itself isn’t owned, but each artist’s specific pattern, design choices, and execution are their own creative expression.
Using references or existing works as inspiration is also a normal part of the creative process. Art and design don’t happen in a vacuum artists constantly learn from, study, and build off of things that came before them. The issue is usually whether someone is creating their own interpretation versus closely copying a specific work.
Where fan art becomes riskier is usually when people build an entire business model around someone else’s IP, especially at a larger commercial scale. Many artists sell some fan art without issue, but relying exclusively on copyrighted franchises for income can create more exposure and make enforcement more likely. I also don’t recommend selling that at all as you are ebbing more on the illegal side of things. I also don’t recommend making your content solely fan art, even if it is going to all be for free. That creates a singular point of failure which leads to entire fan pages being shut down.
This is also why people sometimes hear stories about shops being shut down. That shop was focused entirely on fan art, and more often fan art of a specific franchise. Usually, that does not mean “all fan art is illegal.” Most often, what happens is:
- A company sends a takedown notice to a platform like Etsy, Redbubble, or Ribblr
- The platform removes the listing to protect itself legally
- In more serious cases, repeat infringement can lead to account suspensions or shop closures.
Platforms generally cannot independently decide that copyrighted content is “allowed” if the rights holder objects. Their safest legal option is often to comply with takedown requests. Take down requests also aren’t the end of the world either, if that ever happens the best recourse is to just remove the pattern.
At the same time, companies also cannot simply take all your money, force you to give them money (without contract, agreement between both parties, or without court order) or automatically sue every person who draws fan art. Lawsuits are expensive and relatively rare for ordinary small scale fan creators. Most enforcement happens through takedowns, demonetization, delistings, warnings, or requests to stop selling specific items.
Different companies also enforce their IP very differently. Some are extremely strict, while others openly tolerate or even encourage fan creations within certain boundaries. That’s why you’ll see inconsistent experiences online and why misinformation spreads so easily.
Platforms like Ribblr also usually have broad Terms & Conditions stating that users should only post content they own or have rights to use. Those rules are often intentionally broad because platforms need to reduce legal risk and cannot realistically evaluate every nuanced copyright situation individually. That doesn’t necessarily mean every instance of fan art is treated the same way in practice, but it does mean platforms reserve the right to remove content if needed.
So the most accurate answer is: fan art is not automatically “illegal and bad,” but it also isn’t a completely unrestricted free-for-all either. It exists in a more nuanced space shaped by copyright law, community norms, transformation, scale of use, and how rights holders choose to enforce their IP.
Much of my professional career was spent in the legal field, and I’ve done additional research and spoken with colleagues about copyright law, so I have a solid general understanding of how it functions. That said, I am not a specialist in copyright law, and none of this should be taken as legal advice.
I do think this topic can become confusing quite quickly in community discussions, especially when broad or absolute statements are made about copyright, trademark, or fair use. In several conversations I’ve seen here, there appears to be a mix of accurate information and some common misconceptions being repeated as fact.
Because of that, I’m tagging @ribblr just so the team is aware of the discussion and can keep an eye on the thread where needed, in case any clarification or moderation support is helpful in preventing misinformation from spreading further.
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Thanks for the clarification!
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I love how informative your comments are, I was wondering about this topic too.
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