Q: Would creating a 3D model using another as a guide, and not including the guide, be called a copyright infringement?
The guide models are based on real world objects, for example firearms. The guide model was not modified to create a new model. A new model was created from scratch, but while looking like the guide. The new model combined spheres, cubes, cylinders, and other primitive 3D shapes to look like the guide, but the result looks more cartoony. Also rather than using the guides' textures, plain colors were used.
A: First, this would depend on if the original 3D model was copyrighted. Mostly likely it was, so we can assume that. Then it comes down to if this is copying, or more transformative. If you were basically just copying, and it sounds like you did, yes, that would be copyright infringement.
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