Now, now, boy & girls, play nice...

Is this really a black and white issue?  Can 
either side really be violently defended with
no agreement on some issues?

Even the greatest artists had to start 
somewhere... and animators learn to draw 
characters by first copying characters and 
studying how the move, look, etc. before they
can accurately imitate the original art and
create their own renditions of the character...

It's a free country where people can paint or
draw whatever they like.

Now, I do wonder where the line can be drawn as 
to painting/drawing a licensed character 
(belonging to the *original* artist) and then
SELLING it.  When does fanart become copyright
infringement?  Once the copy-artist takes the
copied image and tries to sell it as his/her
own?

This issue can be debated, I think, until we all
have numb fingers... but valid points usually
win the wars, not personal attacks.  A cel isn't
treasured (usually) by someone based on its
original ticket price, but by sentimental 
value... whether a collector has spent $10 or
$1000 for a cel is unimportant.  If someone
liked an image I purchased enough to copy it,
then how am I supposed to argue that?  It may
bother me a bit to see my exact cel image 
reproduced elsewhere, but I don't own the 
copyright on it... again, here we go with those
fuzzy gray lines.  O_o  Now once someone copies
my cel and then tries to resell it, ESPECIALLY
if they claim it is the original cel, THAT'S when
I see red... (of course, this is called "fraud,"
and isn't just related to fanart :P)

(And, for what it's worth, whizbang has a nice
collection of cels.)

Lady Zatara