What are "Stock and Resources" and can I use them in my submissions?

Stock images or program resources are materials created with the express intent that they may be used by other artists in their own artwork. Use of these materials are subject to the artist's license, which may or may not require the payment of fees and the documentation of sources used.

The use of such materials at deviantART is only permissible if you document your source material (attribution) and can provide a link, along with proof that you have satisfied the terms set in the artist's license. We strongly recommend that you credit your resource provider(s).

All artwork submitted to deviantART that uses third party source material must follow the license set by the provider. As the creator of the source material, the provider is able to set specific licenses for different materials and so you must check that you are following the license for each used material.

Failure to comply with the Terms and Conditions or License requirements attached to the stock may result in administrative action being taken against your account.

Only the legal owner of an image or resource has the ability to offer the work for reuse and images taken from print or film, images of celebrities, models or manipulated "renders" are not considered valid stock or resources. Any website offering these materials is not regarded as a valid stock and resources site.

The lack of obvious copyright information does not imply that the imagery is free for use. Images that you have found via internet search engines or in books are not considered as valid resources in your submissions.

We urge all artists who rely upon stock or other resources to provide a link to the source in their description even if the owner's terms do not require it. This is in order to prevent any confusion or misunderstandings when using third party material. When linking please be certain to link to the specific URL (web address) of the source material and not to the website in general. This is so that a staff member or other interested user can easily locate the stock item and verify its validity.