Chapter 4 – Legal likeness credit considerations

Chapter 4: Legal / Likeness / Credit Considerations

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Legal, Likeness & Credit Considerations for Costume Concept Artists

Scans, Wardrobe & Photogrammetry – Capture & Integration

Quick note: This article is for general awareness, not legal advice. Always defer to your studio’s legal, production, or HR departments for decisions.

When people talk about scans and photogrammetry, they usually focus on tech: cameras, markers, shaders, and topology. But there’s another dimension that matters just as much: legal rights, likeness, and credit.

As a costume concept artist—whether you’re on the concepting side or working closer to production—you’re contributing to assets that may involve:

Real people’s faces and bodies.
Real‑world garments and brands.
External vendors and scan houses.
Teams of people who deserve proper credit for their work.

If these elements aren’t handled carefully, they can cause problems long after the costumes ship: disputes over likeness, questions about who owns the scan data, or missed credit for the artists who made it happen.

This article focuses on capture & integration through the lens of:

Likeness & talent rights – using real people’s faces, bodies, and performances.
Wardrobe & IP – how real clothing, brands, and references intersect with copyright and trademarks.
Scan data ownership & reuse – who owns the scans and how they may be used in future projects.
Credit & attribution – making sure creative and technical contributors are recognized appropriately.

We’ll keep things practical and grounded in the day‑to‑day reality of costume concept art.

1. Why Legal & Likeness Matters to Costume Artists

It can be tempting to think, “Legal will deal with it.” But costume decisions often have legal implications baked in:

You design a character whose face is clearly inspired by a famous actor.
You create a costume heavily based on a specific real‑world fashion designer’s signature look.
You contribute to an outfit that will be worn by a performer during a scan and then reused on multiple characters for years.

None of these choices are “just art.” They can raise questions like:

Does the studio have the right to use this person’s likeness?
Does this garment infringe on someone else’s design?
Can this scan be reused in future games or by other teams?

You don’t need to become a lawyer, but you do need enough awareness to spot red flags and communicate clearly with production and legal teams. That’s part of being a professional in a collaborative pipeline.

2. Likeness Rights: Real People in Digital Costumes

Whenever you scan a real human—actor, stunt performer, model, or even an in‑house teammate—you’re dealing with likeness rights. A likeness isn’t just the exact face; it can include:

Facial features and proportions.
Distinctive hairstyle or facial hair.
Body shape, scars, tattoos, and other recognizable traits.

2.1 Talent Agreements & Boundaries

Studios typically secure rights through contracts or talent releases that say:

How the likeness can be used (specific project vs studio‑wide use).
For how long (single release, multi‑season, perpetual).
In what contexts (game only, marketing, merchandise, cinematic spin‑offs, etc.).

As a costume concept artist, you may not see these contracts—but your work should respect their spirit.

Practical habits:

Avoid designing characters that obviously mimic a real actor or celebrity unless you know there is a specific license.
If a performer’s likeness is contractually limited to one character, don’t reuse their face shape or distinct features for NPCs, background characters, or other projects without explicit approval.
If your art director flags a character as “talent-locked,” treat that likeness as non‑modular, even if the underlying base body is generic.

2.2 Scans, Mix‑and‑Match & “Frankenstein” Characters

It’s common for studios to mix and match:

A scanned body from one person.
A different face, or a stylized sculpt.
Custom costumes and digital modifications.

From a legal and ethical standpoint, be careful with:

Recognizable combinations: if the body shape + scars + hairline essentially recreates a performer’s likeness, changing the nose might not be enough.
Reuse: a scan originally captured for a background NPC might not be legally suitable for a hero character whose likeness will be heavily marketed.

When in doubt, ask your producer or lead: “Is this scan cleared for this kind of use?” and let them pull in legal if needed.

2.3 Stylization & “Inspired By” Faces

Stylized games often use real people as reference but exaggerate features. It’s easy to slip from “inspired by” into “recognizable imitation,” especially with famous faces.

As a costume concept artist:

Use broad traits (age range, vibe, energy) rather than replicating specific people.
Mix references: build composite characters from multiple sources so no single person dominates.
Be cautious with characters that resemble real public figures in both face and wardrobe—legal may need to clear that combination.

Your safest path is to treat real faces as starting points, not final targets.

3. Wardrobe, Brands & IP: Costumes as Intellectual Property

Costumes themselves can be IP. Real‑world fashion houses and brand owners may have protectable designs, logos, and signature elements.

3.1 Logos, Trademarks & Brand Signatures

The most obvious legal risk in wardrobe design is trademark:

Recognizable logos.
Specific color combinations and pattern placements associated with a brand.
Distinctive silhouettes or design signatures that are actively protected.

As a costume concept artist:

Avoid putting real logos on characters unless there is a formal partnership.
Don’t copy iconic “signature” patterns (e.g., instantly recognizable plaids or monogram patterns) exactly. Create your own world‑specific equivalents, with different geometries and color arrangements.
Respect art direction guidelines: many studios have internal “do not imitate” lists for brands and patterns.

3.2 Reference vs Replication

Using real fashion as reference is standard practice. The problem arises when a design becomes a near clone of a real garment.

Healthy reference habits:

Pull from multiple sources and eras. Combine ideas in new ways.
Change more than surface decoration: alter proportions, seam placements, silhouette, closures, and materials.
Embed the design in your world’s logic (factions, tech level, climate, culture) so it feels original, not just “that one designer’s jacket but blue.”

If a costume is meant to clearly reference a real brand (for satire, homage, or narrative reasons), expect legal and art leadership to be involved and to make the final call.

3.3 Scanning Real‑World Garments

Sometimes studios buy off‑the‑rack clothes or rent costumes to scan. Even then, the scan and the garment are separate things:

The physical garment remains the property of its maker or the rental house.
The digital scan is usually owned by the studio (check contracts), but may still reflect a recognizable design.

To avoid problems:

Favor scanning generic basics (trousers, shirts, boots) and then customizing them digitally with world‑specific details.
Be careful scanning extremely distinctive designer pieces unless your studio has explicit clearance.
Use scanned garments as a starting point for stylized or modified costumes rather than 1:1 replicas.

4. Scan Data Ownership & Reuse

Scans are valuable. They capture geometry, materials, and sometimes performances that can be reused across projects. But who owns them, and how can they be used?

4.1 Vendor vs In‑House Scans

If you’re working with an external scan house, contracts typically specify:

Who owns the raw and processed data.
What rights the studio has to modify, reuse, or share that data internally.
Whether the vendor can use the scans in their own marketing or portfolio.

From your perspective as a costume concept artist, it’s helpful to know:

Whether a given scan library is studio‑wide (available for other projects) or project‑locked.
Whether you can reuse a scanned coat or boot as a base for a different character or game.

If reuse is allowed, great—you can design modular libraries. If not, treat those scans as single‑project assets.

4.2 Talent & Garment Reuse Boundaries

Even if the studio owns the scan data, talent and garment agreements may limit reuse:

A performer may grant rights for a specific game but not for sequels or other media.
Wardrobe vendors might restrict scanning of their unique hero pieces.

Respecting these boundaries means:

Don’t assume any scan is free to reuse across the studio just because it exists on a drive.
Ask producers or asset managers how a scan is tagged in the database (e.g., “Talent‑locked: Project A only”).
If you want to build a modular wardrobe library, design and scan purpose‑built generics that are contractually cleared for reuse.

4.3 Derivative Assets: How Different is “Different Enough”?

You might sculpt over a scan, heavily stylize it, or combine pieces from multiple scans. Legally, many of these remain derivative works of the original data.

Best practice:

Treat derivative outfits as still tied to the original scan’s rights and restrictions, unless legal explicitly confirms otherwise.
Document in your notes which base scan(s) or garments were used as starting points. This helps production track dependencies.

5. Credit & Attribution: Recognizing the Work

Scans don’t create themselves, and costumes aren’t only concept art. There are wardrobe teams, 3D artists, scan techs, vendors, producers, and more. Clear credit is both an ethical and sometimes contractual issue.

5.1 Who Gets Credit on a Costume?

Depending on your studio, credits might include:

Costume concept artists.
Character artists and material/texture artists.
Wardrobe/costume designers and fabricators.
Scan team (in‑house or vendor).
Rigging and tech art.

You may not control credits directly, but you can:

Name collaborators clearly when presenting work internally or externally (“Scan by X, base sculpt by Y, materials by Z”).
Share breakdowns or documentation that show who did what, so producers have accurate info when assembling credits.
Avoid presenting scans or heavily scan‑based work as purely “your design” in portfolios—acknowledge the shared contributions.

5.2 Portfolio Use & NDA Boundaries

At some point, you may want to show your costume work publicly. Legal and production decide what is allowed, but you can prepare by:

Keeping a private record of your contributions: concept sheets, paintovers, wardrobe prep notes, scan cleanup guidelines.
Not sharing internal scans, raw photogrammetry, or proprietary tooling screenshots without explicit written permission.
When showing final in‑game characters that involved scans, being honest about your role: “Costume concept, wardrobe prep notes, scan cleanup paintovers.”

This protects you and respects the work of your teammates.

5.3 Recognizing Vendors & Freelancers

External vendors—scan houses, boutique costume shops, freelance concept artists—may have contractual requirements for credit. Even when not required, it’s good practice to:

Mention them in internal docs and art breakdowns.
Encourage production to include them in appropriate credit sections.
Avoid cropping or editing vendor logos/signatures off process images when showing them internally for documentation.

You’re building a reputation as someone who plays fair and gives credit where it’s due.

6. Practical Habits for Concept‑Side Costume Artists

Here are some day‑to‑day habits that help you navigate legal, likeness, and credit issues without becoming a full‑time lawyer.

6.1 Design in “World‑Original” Space

Whenever possible:

Start with your game’s factions, cultures, and tech levels, and let those dictate silhouettes and materials.
Use real‑world references as scaffolding, not templates.
Build internal design languages—iconography, seam logic, layering rules—so costumes feel unique to your IP.

This automatically reduces the risk of unintentional copying.

6.2 Annotate Likeness & Input Sources

When turning photoreference or scan outputs into design:

Note when a character is based on scanned talent vs purely invented.
Keep a record of major reference sources (public or licensed).
Avoid labeling characters with real celebrities’ names, even informally, in docs (“Brad Pitt‑type”); use descriptive language instead (“chiseled, mid‑40s, relaxed confidence”).

These habits reduce confusion if legal ever needs to review your work.

6.3 Collaborate with Production Early

If you’re planning a costume or character that obviously brushes up against legal questions—celebrity likeness, parody of a known brand, real‑world military uniforms—loop in:

Your art lead or director.
Your producer.
Whoever typically liaises with legal.

Early conversations can save months of rework.

7. Practical Habits for Production‑Side Costume Artists

If you’re closer to scans and in‑engine assets, your habits look slightly different.

7.1 Tag Assets Properly

Work with asset management teams to ensure:

Scans and derived costumes are labeled with project, talent, vendor, and usage rights status.
Modular wardrobe pieces built from cleared scans are easy to discover and reuse within allowed boundaries.
Restricted assets are clearly marked so they don’t accidentally slip into other projects.

Good tagging reduces accidental misuse.

7.2 Document Transformations from Scan to Final

When you heavily modify or stylize a scan:

Keep a brief before/after record: screenshots, paintovers, short notes.
Clarify whether the final asset still meaningfully reflects specific talent or garments.

This makes it easier for legal and production to answer “Is this still that performer’s likeness?” or “Is this still that vendor’s hero garment?”

7.3 Advocate for Fair Credit

As someone close to the asset’s creation, you have visibility others might lack. When credits are being assembled, you can:

Provide lists of who worked on key costumes.
Remind producers about vendor contributions.
Check that concept, wardrobe, scan, and character teams are all represented appropriately.

8. Turning Constraints into Design Strength

Legal, likeness, and credit considerations can feel like friction, but they can also push your designs toward:

More original worlds, less dependent on real brands and faces.
Clearer documentation, which helps everyone in the pipeline.
Stronger collaboration, because you’re thinking about how your work affects—and is supported by—others.

As a costume concept artist, your job isn’t to memorize law. Your job is to:

Stay aware of red flags (recognizable faces, real logos, distinctive designer clones).
Ask questions early when something feels close to a real‑world counterpart.
Credit your collaborators and respect the rights of talent, vendors, and fellow artists.

When you do that, you help ensure that your costumes can move smoothly through capture & integration—from scans, wardrobe, and photogrammetry into final, shippable characters—without legal surprises or credit disputes later.

And you reinforce something important: our work doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It sits at the intersection of creativity, technology, and real people. Handling that intersection responsibly is part of what makes you a professional, not just a practitioner.