Starting today, all of my free brush sets will migrate from Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) to a Creative Common, No Rights Reserved License (CC0). The sets themselves are using icons, signs, and symbols taken from maps that are hundreds of years old and largely in the public domain, the sets should be as well, and using my work shouldn’t require attribution.

I’m a big supporter of Creative Commons and the work they do, and as a professional designer for nearly twenty years, I’m a firm believer that artists should get credit. Licensing is an integral part of the design process but trying to credit someone can be tricky, in particular with CC BY 4.0 licenses and especially when using it on client work.

The CC BY 4.0 was a solid starting point, but I think I can do better. I want to see more writers, game masters, and game designers use my sets carte blanche—and while it’s neat to see my name in credits, I’m not making these sets for an ego boost. I should get out of the way and let the work you make shine through. It’ll be easier to use these without the attribution requirement and moving to a CC0 license will help facilitate that.

It’ll take a while for me to roll out an update to all my sets, as I need to update the README files and PNGs then reupload the new versions to my site. That’ll happen over the next few weeks. These versions won’t have any different content, they’ll just have updates to the license. So if you’re happy with the set, there will be no need to re-download the files. Going forward, don’t worry about crediting me.

So, the tl;dr version:

• All my sets are now CC0. Including previously released sets.
• Updates are coming soon.
• Use these brushes for whatever.
• You don’t have to credit me. Attribution isn’t required.

Good luck with all your projects. I look forward to seeing the amazing things you create.

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💸 Supporting This Work

If you like my brush sets and want to support my work, instead of a donation, consider buying one of my pulpy weird-fiction novels. The first book—The Stars Were Right—is only $2.99 on eBook. Murder! Mystery! Monsters! You can find all my books in stores and online. Learn more about the series by visiting bellforgingcycle.com and tell your friends!

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