Bungie's fan artist has been waiting for compensation since last year, even though the studio is 'working on expediting the process right now'

Bungie, the developer of Destiny 2, was in hot water last week for allowing fanart from a 2015 commission to be used on official media and merchandise. This time, it was a nerf pistol that featured Tofu_Rabbit’s designs.

Another colleague, however, mentioned that Julian Faylona, (ELEMENTJ21 Designs) was also still waiting for compensation. But wait a minute, hold on. I know this person. I spoke with them a little over a year before, on June 22, to be precise.

Faylona wrote: "I am the artist whose artwork has been used in the Witness cutscene last year." "It's now been a full year since you promised to pay me the compensation I was expecting. "I haven't heard anything since."

When I spoke to Faylona last, I was relieved to hear that Bungie would be paying them their dues. I'm going express that relief, again, but with caution. The studio's principal Community Manager immediately reached out to Faylona in order to speed up the process. I was told this by the artist via email.

Faylona says that the company apologized for the long delay and is working to speed up the process. Faylona was gracious back then. She said that they were happy to see a piece of work in a cutscene of one of their favorite games. Faylona says that her feelings have not changed since I asked if the goodwill has soured. Although I was somewhat disappointed at the lackluster follow-through.

It's a fascinating thing that keeps happening in these high-profile cases. Bungie's Faylona is not an isolated incident. In 2021, a fan-art piece was accidentally placed in a trailer. This kind of quality control is a constant problem in the gaming industry.

Faylona's response when I asked for their opinion on the matter was: "I think it is very common in creative industries." Copyright and fair usage are often treated lightly, as they are perceived to be a complex, obscure topic with many gray areas. It also stems from a lack of diligence and awareness about the potential repercussions if creatives are caught, and the effects on their integrity and reputation as professionals.

"As an artist myself, I know that generating ideas can be a difficult task. It is the most difficult part of the creative journey and takes the most time and energy. It's tempting to cut corners, especially when you are under pressure to meet deadlines or to satisfy the demands of higher-ups. These acts often go unnoticed, especially when the works in question have a limited or low public visibility. "But for a big IP like Destiny 2, which has a global reach and visibility, the risk of being caught is high."

I've contacted Bungie to ask for comment on this article, but I haven't heard back yet. I'm willing, however, to take Faylona at her word that some sort of compensation is being sorted, and hopefully, I won't write this same article again in a year, as if it were some grim annual tradition.