Fan art: what you can do with other people's characters

Drawing, publishing and selling: three different uses

Spain's Intellectual Property Law reserves the exploitation rights in a work to its author. What matters for fan art is what you do with the drawing:

• Drawing for yourself. Practising with a character in your notebook, without publishing it, copying it for others or selling it, is not exploiting the work. It is the most common use and the one that raises the fewest problems. This is my own analysis, based on Articles 17 and 21.
• Publishing. Posting the drawing on a social network or a website makes it available to the public. It may require permission from the rights holder.
• Selling. Printing the drawing on stickers, prints or T-shirts, or taking commissions for drawings of other people's characters, is commercial exploitation. This is the case where permission is most clearly needed.

Applicable provisions

The articles of the Intellectual Property Law (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, consolidated text updated on 30 March 2022) that matter here.

Article 14. Recognises seven moral rights of the author, which are inalienable and cannot be waived. They include deciding whether and in what form the work is made public, demanding recognition as its author, and demanding respect for the integrity of the work against any distortion, modification or alteration that harms the author's legitimate interests or reputation.

Article 17. "The exercise of the exploitation rights in a work, in any form and in particular the rights of reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation, belongs exclusively to the author, and may not be carried out without the author's authorisation, except in the cases provided for in this Law."

Article 21.

"1. The transformation of a work comprises its translation, adaptation, and any other modification in its form from which a different work is derived.

2. The intellectual property rights of the work resulting from the transformation shall belong to the author of the latter, without prejudice to the right of the author of the pre-existing work to authorise, throughout the entire term of protection of their rights over it, the exploitation of those results in any form and, in particular, by means of their reproduction, distribution, public communication, or further transformation."

Fan art that reworks someone else's character may be regarded as a transformation in this sense. This is my own interpretation. What paragraph 2 makes subject to authorisation is the exploitation of the result: reproducing it, distributing it or communicating it to the public.

Article 32. It allows the inclusion of fragments of other works, or of isolated works of visual art or photographs that have already been made public, for quotation or for analysis, comment or critical assessment, for teaching or research purposes, to the extent justified and citing the source and author. It is not a general permission to make fan art or to sell it. It is explained in detail in Quotation and illustration for teaching: what Article 32 allows.

Article 39. "The parody of a disclosed work shall not be considered a transformation requiring the author's consent, provided it does not imply a risk of confusion with the original work nor cause damage to the original work or its author."

Article 70 of Royal Decree-Law 24/2021, regarding pastiche. "Authorisation from the author or rights holder shall not be required for the transformation of a disclosed work when it is performed with the purpose of combining elements of the work with elements that differ from it to create a new and independent work, provided that it does not imply a risk of confusion with the original work nor cause damage to the original work or its author."

In the articles reviewed there is no general exception for amateur works or non-profit works.

Parody and pastiche: two conditional exceptions

Parody. The Court of Justice of the European Union, in the ruling Deckmyn and Vrijheidsfonds (C-201/13, 3 September 2014, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2132), declared that parody is an autonomous concept of Union law. Its essential characteristics are to evoke an existing work, with perceptible differences, and to constitute an expression of humour or mockery. It also requires a fair balance between the author's rights and freedom of expression. The ruling addresses parody: it does not discuss fan art.

Pastiche. The European Directive 2019/790 (Article 17.7) requires that users of platforms can rely on the exceptions for "quotation, criticism, review" and for "caricature, parody or pastiche" when uploading content. Spain introduced pastiche through Article 70 of Royal Decree-Law 24/2021, in the text quoted above: combining elements of the work with different elements to create a new, independent work, without risk of confusion or harm.

Neither parody nor pastiche is a catch-all label for fan art. A drawing of the character in a new pose is not automatically a new, independent work, and a funny drawing is not automatically a parody. The law does not say whether a particular piece of fan art qualifies, and I have not found Spanish or European case law on fan art.

In practice

• A rights holder not objecting does not mean they authorise it. Many rights holders do not pursue fan art, but that is tolerance, not a right. Each sets its own conditions and can change them.
• Not being for profit is not an exception. Publishing for free is still communicating the work to the public. The risk is lower, but the articles reviewed do not exempt it.
• Selling is the most delicate use. If you charge for a drawing of someone else's character, you need the rights holder's permission, unless the requirements of a statutory exception are met. If you sell it at a fair, see Selling your fanzine at a fair: requirements, costs and what remains to be confirmed. If you publish with a publisher, you answer to them for the originality of the work: Publishing contract for a comic: mandatory clauses and the author's rights.
• Style is not the work. Learning to draw like an author, with their anatomy, rhythm or framing, is not copying their work. Copyright protects specific works, not styles. It is a general principle that I have not checked against a court ruling in this review.
• Your own characters count. An original character inspired by your references is yours. A tracing with a different name is not.

Rights holders' policies

Some companies publish rules for fan content. The two I found are from video-game companies, not comic publishers, so they are no model for a particular manga. They do show how such rules tend to be framed:

• Epic Games defines fan content as personal and non-commercial, and allows it to be created if its policy is followed. It excludes any commercial purpose, except advertising monetisation of videos.
• Nintendo, in guidelines dated 29 November 2018 and updated on 2 September 2024, covers videos and images containing content from their games and states: "Other forms of monetization of our intellectual property for commercial purposes are not permitted". This is not a general licence to sell fan art.

To find the policy of the holder of your character:

1. Look on their official website for a page of rules on fan content, fan art or doujinshi.
2. Check whether it distinguishes between publishing for free and selling, and whether it allows products.
3. Save a screenshot dated the day you consult it: policies change.
4. If you find none, assume there is no express permission.

Platforms

Platforms add their own rules. WEBTOON CANVAS, in its terms of 6 January 2026, has the creator warrant that they own or have obtained the rights to the content and that it does not include protected material without permission or legal authority. Uploading fan art as an original series is therefore risky. More on those terms in How to publish a webcomic without relying on a platform.

I have not found the policies of Etsy, Redbubble and Pixiv on derivative works. Read them before opening a shop.

Before publishing or selling

• Does the character belong to another person or company?
• Is there an official policy from the rights holder? What does it allow?
• Is it a parody or a pastiche that meets the legal requirements, or just a drawing of the character?
• Am I going to charge for it, as a product, a commission or monthly support?
• Does the platform allow derivative works?
• If you are under 18, ask your parents or guardians to read this with you and see Selling your drawings as a minor: what the law says and what remains unclear.

Points requiring clarification

• Specific Spanish or European case law on fan art.
• The policies of Etsy, Redbubble and Pixiv on derivative works.
• Official policies of comic or manga publishers on fan art or doujinshi.

Itineraries

I am starting my practice

Draw as many characters as you like to learn. When you want to publish, start with your own characters, and leave fan art for platforms and occasions where the rights holder allows it.

I am going to sell or exhibit

To sell, use your own characters or ask for written permission. Written permission is the only way to know what you may do and for how long.

An open conversation

This guide brings together provisions, a ruling and rights holders' policies. The limits of fan art depend on each case and each rights holder. If you work in intellectual property law, at a publisher or on a platform and can contribute a specific policy or ruling, you can write to me.

Sources

• Spain's Intellectual Property Law, consolidated text (BOE), arts. 14, 17, 21, 32 and 39.
• Royal Decree-Law 24/2021 (BOE), art. 70.
• Directive (EU) 2019/790 (EUR-Lex), art. 17.7.
• CJEU, case C-201/13, Deckmyn and Vrijheidsfonds.
• Epic Games, fan content policy.
• Nintendo, guidelines for content on network services.
• WEBTOON CANVAS, terms of use, 6 January 2026.