Yet another thumbnail from the “just bung it together” school of thumbnail design. Do not look too close at the pixels. However, I did decide to credit the picture that I severely edited to make this. It’s something I haven’t always done in the past, I’ll be sure to do it more in the future.
If I recorded a script, I would never forget anything important. I would never say something stupid, like the bit about putting them all on a platter. And I would put a little more variety in my examples. Not just Chibimals. Low Poly Dinos, cute Lovecraft Monsters, or anything that I’ve put out there. Remix it, and the design is yours. Enjoy.
Because if I’m going to criticize LEGO for being too possessive about rights they don’t have, do I have any right to tell others what they can do with my designs? Okay, technically yes, but I’m making a point here. It’s not just about LEGO, though. Many of my early designs were remixes of other peoples work (let alone the IP I was violating). As I said in the video, the old masters remixed. That’s part of the learning process. If I’m going to call myself the professor, then doesn’t that mean I have to promote creativity and learning. I have to make my designs available for everyone. I have to admit to myself, here and now, that everything, including what I do and what follows after me, is a remix.
With this discussion and announcement, there are some points that I’m really worried about. Like, what if Hasbro takes my Chibimals and runs with them without offering me a buck? Well, if they actually called them chimerical, in that case I would claim I still have the brand and hopefully take them to court. I may be choosing to let anyone remix the models, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any recourse in the future. And, of course, that depends on who’s doing the stealing. If an individual takes all the chimibals and makes a punk themed set called punkimals, sells the models and doesn’t give me a buck, well, I’d probably have to consider that like the makers of Doctor Who or Twilight does with their unlicensed merchandise; I’d call it fan works and let it go.
Maybe because of all this I’ll end up being a footnote in history, like KiddCraft or Peter Roberts (who invented the torque wrench before Sears stole it) or Mandy Haberman (who’s Any Way Up cup was stolen by Tippee) or so many others. Chances are small, and I do have considerable public record, but who knows. I worry. But sometimes you just have to put aside worry, throw caution to the wind, and hope for a win.
