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Using someone else's shader

So say you download a shader someone made from a place like highend 3d, and on there they have "license type: Freeware." Can that be used in professional work? Are you required to say "shader created by so and so"?
thanks

Replies

  • Ephesians 2:8-9
    lol, my freind,. create your own or look up how to create your own.
  • The_Kozmonaut
    thanks. Doesn't answer the question. anyone know the answer to this?

    and even though I didnt want to have to defend the question I will on the account of smartasses. I was wondering what the all the shaders on highend3d are for. strictly personal project use?
  • sonic
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    sonic polycounter lvl 18
    Unless they specify otherwise Freeware entitles you to be able to do anything with it you want. If they had released it under some other kind of license there may have been restrictions. I would shoot the author an email just in case but plan on it being ok to use in any environment.
  • Rob Galanakis
    Freeware isn't a license. Email him and find out if it is being used in a commercial product (probably not worth the trouble if it isn't being used commercially, just credit him).
  • The_Kozmonaut
    Thanks guys. Yea I dont have any real plans of using any I was just wondering what the rules are on things like that. I don't really have any use for a shader other than a blinn right now anyway

    btw professor very cool tutorials. Not sure if you get a lot of people thanking you, but its really great to be able to watch quality free tutorials. so thanks! smile.gif
  • Pseudo
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    Pseudo polycounter lvl 18
    Like Sonic said, freeware means you can use it for anything.

    If the creator doesn't want you to use it for commercial work they will put "Personal Only" or "Non-Commercial".
  • Ephesians 2:8-9
    And i do not normaly respond twice in a thread to clarify a point that was made but, yes it does answer the question. In other words, DON"T USE SOMEONE ELSES STUFF REGARDLESS. Regardless if it is wrong. You save your own hide legally if you just do it your self. wink.gif
  • JordanW
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    JordanW polycounter lvl 19
    Ephesians, I guess we could take that one step further and say take all your own source pictures for textures, or make all of your own zbrush brushes or photoshop brushes...or make all of your own scripts in max...

    my point is it's silly sometimes to reinvent the wheel and if you do find something that IS useful to you and you can legally use it...why not?
  • Rob Galanakis
    [ QUOTE ]
    Like Sonic said, freeware means you can use it for anything.

    If the creator doesn't want you to use it for commercial work they will put "Personal Only" or "Non-Commercial".

    [/ QUOTE ]

    No. Freeware simply means, it can be used without paying indefinitely... there is no 'legal' definition of freeware, and it most certainly does not imply commercial use unless noted.

    That said, I would just go ahead and use it, with some credit if possible.

    Kozmo: thanks!
  • Slum
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    Slum polycounter lvl 18
    Ephesians: Did you take that photo of the cross in your avatar?
  • Ruz
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    Ruz polycount lvl 666
    Ephesians 2:8-9 - I think that you area bit over zealous here.
    The author obviously wanted to let other folks use the shader, but you should always credit and prolly email the guy also.
    As timman indicated lots of stuff gets shared im the games industry, using other peoples meashes/textures etc. its just a way to save time.
    somethings are meant to be shared, underpants is not one of them:) beer is another.
  • Rob Galanakis
    [ QUOTE ]
    Ephesians: Did you take that photo of the cross in your avatar?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    In fairness, he did write his own web browser which he uses, just don't ask him for a copy.
  • sonic
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    sonic polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    And i do not normaly respond twice in a thread to clarify a point that was made but, yes it does answer the question. In other words, DON"T USE SOMEONE ELSES STUFF REGARDLESS. Regardless if it is wrong. You save your own hide legally if you just do it your self. wink.gif

    [/ QUOTE ]

    If he claims it is freeware and has no other licenses on it he has no legal grounds to sue you.
  • Slum
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    Slum polycounter lvl 18
    One day we'll all finally grasp that Captain Jesus here is a troll.
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    Guys, seriously. When someone bakes you a cake, say "NO". Make your own cake and eat it. Jesus wouldn't agree with the act of giving.
  • Joshua Stubbles
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    Joshua Stubbles polycounter lvl 19
  • KeyserSoze
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    KeyserSoze polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    And i do not normaly respond twice in a thread to clarify a point that was made but, yes it does answer the question. In other words, DON"T USE SOMEONE ELSES STUFF REGARDLESS. Regardless if it is wrong. You save your own hide legally if you just do it your self. wink.gif

    [/ QUOTE ]

    If he claims it is freeware and has no other licenses on it he has no legal grounds to sue you.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Technically he does (although there's virtually zero chance of him actually doing anything about it). Freeware doesn't mean public domain. Freeware means it's free to you (i.e. you don't have to pay to download it), not necessarily free for you to redistribute or make derivative works of. If you're going to use it in a commercial capacity, I would suggest you contact the author and make sure it's cool with him/her.

    And what's the deal with everyone taking jabs at Ephesians (not you sonic)? Yes, it's a bit silly to suggest that you should ALWAYS do EVERYTHING yourself from scratch, but he's right about making sure that you absolutely know what kind of restrictions are on a piece of work before you use it in any sort of commercial capacity. If you're just going to use it for a portfolio piece, then I wouldn't sweat it as much, but obviously you better give credit (which should go without saying).
  • AstroZombie
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    AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
    Hey, Bobby / Tubboy / Anonymous Artist / Ephesians 2:8-9, sometimes you just need to learn to STFU. I know you tried to make yet another quiet re-entry to these boards hoping that no one would pick up on who you are but it's always fairly obvious. Either decide to embrace the troll that you are and stop trying to hide behind various nics or just decide to have a little will-power and never visit the site again. Personally I would prefer the former as opposed to the latter; I have always felt that Polycount is a far more interesting place with you than without you. Thanks for deciding to grace us with your witticisms yet again smile.gif
  • Ephesians 2:8-9
    hey The_Kozmonaut, i was harsh in my comment. Sorry dude. I feel my point was this:

    It leaves you with a since of originality. You feel good knowing that you created what you wanted to use and also you can take what you learned and reapply it to you own work. I think it's always good to learn. smile.gif
    As far as what everyone else said about the legalities, either way works ya know. But i guess my ultimate point, as i just stated, is to just avoid it all together. Learn there methods and try it your self. smile.gif
  • Ryno
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    Ryno polycounter lvl 18
    Also consider that just because someone puts something out there on the internet for "free", it does not necessarily mean that they really had the rights to do so. Maybe this artist made the shader on his company computer. If so, even if the artist says it's cool to use, do you want some big game publisher later coming after you, claiming that the property is actually theirs? I understand that this is a bit of a stretch, but it is technically possible.
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    the simple fact is that using pre-existing material is clearly cheating. Particularly when developing games, everything that an artist does should be, first and foremost, for self-improvement and self-fulfilment - the actual development process and end product are largely irrelevant. What do you think you're being paid for? To make an active contribution towards a large picture and plan towards a cracking game? Of course not. You're paid to sit and learn and enjoy your time watching others tear their hair out around you.
  • John Warner
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    John Warner polycounter lvl 18
    while we're at it, lets look into the benefits of creating your own mythos.
  • Rob Galanakis
    [ QUOTE ]
    the simple fact is that using pre-existing material is clearly cheating. Particularly when developing games, everything that an artist does should be, first and foremost, for self-improvement and self-fulfilment - the actual development process and end product are largely irrelevant. What do you think you're being paid for? To make an active contribution towards a large picture and plan towards a cracking game? Of course not. You're paid to sit and learn and enjoy your time watching others tear their hair out around you.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    What bollocks. Did it occur to you that, perhaps, the OP is in fact using existing material so that he can better self-improve where he needs to? I hate to break it to you, but everything you do in CG is 'cheating' by your definition- but maybe this doesn't apply do you, since you wrote your own 3D software, didn't you? Or, at least, if using an existing one, you went into the SDK and programmed all your own modeling tools, didn't you? Please tell me you wrote your own renderer, and aren't using 'mental ray'. If you are, you programmed all your own shaders, and didn't use any 'pre-existing' shaders, right? If not, then you should probably think a bit more about your definition of pre-existing- if the OP had what he was looking for already built into the program, and he used that, would you say 'you should learn how to do it yourself'? No, there probably wouldn't be a discussion. So next time you boot up Max, or record a macro, or render a scene, or bake out an AO, think about how much existing material you are in fact using, and the only thing that differentiates it is that it is included by default in your program of choice. A distinction, mind you, that is very arbitrary, as any 'cheater' who uses other's scripts/tools can tell you, default doesn't mean better.

    In fact, it is these people that know how to find and use the scripts of others who have a much easier time working. Using pre-existing material isn't 'cheating,' it is smart. The artists who best know how to use and manipulate existing material to their own ends who will learn the best, while the others will either be behind the curve or 'tearing their hair out' trying to learn a load of topics they have no reason to know.
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    i think someone's sarcasm detector isn't working...
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
  • TomDunne
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    TomDunne polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Hey, Bobby / Tubboy / Anonymous Artist / Ephesians 2:8-9, sometimes you just need to learn to STFU. I know you tried to make yet another quiet re-entry to these boards hoping that no one would pick up on who you are but it's always fairly obvious. Either decide to embrace the troll that you are and stop trying to hide behind various nics or just decide to have a little will-power and never visit the site again. Personally I would prefer the former as opposed to the latter; I have always felt that Polycount is a far more interesting place with you than without you. Thanks for deciding to grace us with your witticisms yet again smile.gif

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Ahh, good call AZ. I wondered what was up with this guy's posts. They do have that Tubboy flava, don't they?
  • AstroZombie
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    AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
    Yea, pretty obvious once you think about it, eh?
  • John Warner
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    John Warner polycounter lvl 18
    You're all homos!
  • pliang
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    pliang polycounter lvl 17
    Make credits where its due...as mentioned making your own is always better.
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