Homemade card where to draw the line when it comes to copyrights.?

This IS an excellent question, because you have touched upon one of those areas where the legality of what you suggest is NOT crystal clear.

Certainly, it would not be legal to take other, copyrighted artwork and present it as your own. It is also clear that the copyright laws allow for some "fair use" of these images, such as in parodies, research citations, critiques and, of course, for personal use copies.

I have seen other creative uses of multiple and probably copyrighted images presented as collages, which seemed to be accepted as original works of art in their own right. There are some rules that involve a calculation of what percentage of the original work must be retained before it can be considered copyright infringement. (think about how some musicians "sample" bits of other's music in their performances) There may be similar rules about how much of YOUR work has to be original, but, I won't say for sure.

I do suggest you take the time to study the copyright regulations for a better understanding. It's a bit of reading, but nothing that will take you all day. Check out the site for yourself.

http://copyright.gov/

IF you are using others work, you need their permission to use the work. If you dont, you could be sued, and lose not only what you made, but more in penaltys.

If you dont get the necessary permission, you need to make something that is totally your own. Copyright is infeerred upon creation of a work, though you can register a piece with the copyright office.

See http://www.copyright.gov/ for more info.

You might want to take your work to a dealer, or retail manager, and see if there is a market for your work. Sometimes friends, that are trying to be supportive and helpful, arent the best place to get business advice and encouragement from.

if you made it you own the copyright.