UPDATE: An open letter to Bethesda Games and call out to fans

Dear Bethesda,

I have made attempts to contact you and even emailed your marketing head directly. I want it understood in an open and public place where the world is my witness. I am doing something positive and good for a community I care about. The response of the community has been overwhelmingly positive and while I've done all these hours of work for free (you know full well what artwork costs, just ask your budget department) the fans of the work asked for a compilation of those works in book form, IE coloring book.

I am of course talking about the Fallout Community Coloring Project (FCCP) where I take player submitted photos of Fallout 76 and draw them into highly detailed high resolution coloring pages. I currently have over 400 submissions by a total of 107 players. I have completed over 70 of said images and I release new ones every Saturday. I do not ask for any payment for that work but I do offer 7 other coloring books on Amazon as well as novels and compilations.

So what am I asking you for. Essentially your blessing to give your fans what they want of this project and nothing more. I am not asking you to pay me for my artwork, sales in coloring books have no chance of hurting you in any fashion nor could they compete with your bottom line. And finally, the public relations could only serve to help you and boost you by giving said blessing to put out these books. Yes, there are enough submissions to make two or three at this point.

Being that this is 100% community supported with players sending their personal experiences to the project and that they get image credit listed on every image used; it seems to me there is a niche to fair use that might cover this. But who wants to argue over that?  I'm asking for your support because it can only make you look good. You will give players a whole new reason to play. You will show new players what they are missing in a market you scarcely exist in. And best of all, you have zero financial risk in the matter. If I put out coloring books that I make a total of a dollar fifty a book on and only 20 books ever sell, that loss is 100% mine. Furthermore, people who video their game play arguably make way more than that on monetized accounts, and since that is allowed I would  think me getting a buck a book would pale in comparison.

I hope you can see that this is not just "fan art", it is a collection of actual player experiences put to use for all of them to enjoy. I'm asking you to support that. I'm also asking those same fans to tell you as well I'm doing right now. I'm asking all the fans of this project to share it with you directly to show you how the unique interest in this works.

Since I have your emailed permission to at least continue drawing... that  exactly what I will do. If 70 pictures doesn't move you, I'll aim for 700. Why? Because there is another side to this. An outlet allowing me to use what is left of my artistic ability as Multiple sclerosis slowly destroys my nervous system. So I'm doing something big and this is where I chose to do it. So please, can we have your blessing?  You can email me at Galaxyzento@gmail.com anytime to talk.

Yours truly
A real fan
DJ Wilde

UPDATE FCCP: Bethesda says NO to a coloring book..sort of.

I am writing today's post in response to multiple requests that I compile actual coloring books for the Fallout Community Coloring Project. As I answered before, I could only do what would be a commercially sold book with support and agreement from Bethesda. I wouldn't serve to go through all that work to make a book and put it up on Amazon if I wound up head to head with Bethesda's legal department.

So I wrote to them. I explained how the project is 100% community supported and how much interest it is gathering. I gave them every positive point I could think of and they responded pretty quickly. They listed it as an "incident" with an identification number and said the following:

Greetings!

Thank you for contacting Bethesda Customer Support. 

Bethesda Softworks appreciates our fans and generally does not discourage posting of non-commercial fan created tributes.  Any use of our intellectual property for commercial purposes, however, including The Elder Scrolls® or Skyrim® names, logos, branding elements, artwork, etc., is strictly forbidden without a written license agreement.  We regret that we are unable to grant licenses for the commercialization of fan fiction.

 

We also cannot accept unsolicited manuscripts or other material.  Please do not send us any submissions.

 

Please be advised that any commercial use or exploitation of our intellectual property rights is not permitted.  Bethesda Softworks will strictly enforce its rights.

 

 I hope this information helps! Thank you for your interest in Bethesda Softworks.

Kind Regards,
Bethesda Softworks

So, as I understand this, so long as I keep doing the project more or less as I'm doing it, which is not for profit, I can keep on drawing the coloring pages for the community. If I try to put out an actually coloring book... that will be responded to in a negative fashion. 

Let me be clear, I want to keep drawing your pictures. This project has been a source of great positivity for me and I love that I'm doing something so many are enjoying. So I am going to continue giving you guys and my coloring book page this source for something positive and different.  This of what I do, shall remain as free. Should anyone wish to support me as an artist, there are several ways to accomplish that and you need only ask. I have a patreon and other books as well.  You can share me in all sorts of ways. All things that help out wonderfully. 

In further news, this Saturday's release of new images will be my biggest one yet. Thank you all for being part of this project and it shall go on!