Why isn’t Lucasfilm snapping these freelancers up? After the whole Lori Jareo brouhaha, I’ve realized that maybe I shouldn’t be quite so nonchalant about this kind of thing, but… These shirts are awesome, far better than anything I’ve actually seen come out officially. (Yes, they’re trying, but I’m not really feeling the graphics at all.) The Urban Outfitter tees are close, but it seems like they’re trying too hard. You don’t need miles of text, or even a brief snappy caption. Just… simplicity.
It’s not like there’s not precedent – how many fan artists has LFL picked up over the years? Honestly, I don’t know. I’m sure there are contracts and exclusivity deals along the line somewhere. I just hate seeing awesome SW tees hovering in limbo.
You know, this brings up an interesting point. Why am I amused at the t-shirts and would even consider buying one, but the Lori Jareo thing infuriated me? What makes one kind of copyright infringement for sale okay but another kind not?
I know, right? Even if the Jareo book had been excellent, I still would have been all ‘take it down!’
It seems fan art has always had more freedom when it comes to this sort of thing – unliscensed artists can sell sketches, paintings, commissions, etc while fanfic writers avoid that thing like the plague (and rip anyone who does to shreds.) Maybe because art is more of a one of a kind thing than writing? Has a fanartist ever done a litho run? That strikes me as roughly equivalent to the shirt situation.