Software licensing explained

A software licence is the contract that says how you may use a program: whether you own a copy or rent it, who may use it, and whether the work you make with it can be sold. For an environment artist the main question is: can I use what I make with this tool in a portfolio, and can I get paid for it?

This page explains the main licence types with examples from the tool pages. For prices, see the tables on choosing tools: an overview and the category pages such as game engines and texturing and material software.

#Overview of the six licence types

#Open source

Open-source software publishes its source code under a licence that lets anyone use, study and share it. Two families matter in practice.

Copyleft licences such as the GPL require that modified versions of the program stay under the same licence. That rule applies to the software, not to your art. Blender is released under the GNU GPL, and the Blender FAQ says the work you create with it is yours to use for any purpose (blender.org: Blender FAQ). TrenchBroom (GPLv3+) (trenchbroom.github.io: TrenchBroom) works the same way.

Permissive licences such as MIT, Apache 2.0 and BSD let you do almost anything with the code, including using it in closed, commercial products. Godot's MIT licence lets you use, modify and redistribute the engine for any purpose, and its terms do not apply to the games you create (godotengine.org: License). Bevy is dual-licensed MIT or Apache 2.0 (bevy.org: Bevy Engine), and COLMAP uses the new BSD licence (colmap.github.io: COLMAP license).

Not every free engine is open source in the usual sense. Defold is free and royalty-free, but its custom licence forbids commercialising the editor or engine itself (defold.com: The Defold License).

#Perpetual licences

With a perpetual licence you pay once and may keep using that version forever. Updates are usually included for a limited time.

• World Machine sells perpetual licences with one year of updates; renewing adds another 12 months, and "The software stays yours either way" (world-machine.com: World Machine: Purchase).
• The Grove sells "a lifetime license" to The Grove Core 2.3; version upgrades cost 30% of the current price (thegrove3d.com: Buy The Grove).
• Agisoft says its Metashape licence "is NOT time-limited" and includes free updates up to version 2.x (agisoft.com: Metashape licensing options).
• Marmoset Toolbag's perpetual licence includes only version 5.x updates (marmoset.co: Marmoset shop).
• Plasticity's Indie and Studio licences are perpetual with 12 months of upgrades (plasticity.xyz: Plasticity FAQ).

#Subscriptions

A subscription rents the software. You get updates continuously, but access ends when you stop paying. Monthly billing gives flexibility; annual billing is usually cheaper. Anchorpoint, for example, labels its annual Team plan "save 20%" compared with monthly billing (anchorpoint.app: Anchorpoint pricing).

Some vendors offer both models side by side. World Creator sells yearly rental, perpetual and lifetime licences for each revenue tier (world-creator.com: World Creator: Buy). Marmoset sells Toolbag as a monthly subscription or a perpetual licence (marmoset.co: Marmoset shop).

#Revenue-capped and indie licences

Many vendors make tools free or cheap for small earners and charge more once you earn more. Read three things on any such licence: what counts as revenue, over what period, and what happens when you cross the line.

Royalty and seat models differ. A royalty takes a percentage of what your product earns, so you pay only if it sells. A seat licence charges per person using the tool, whatever the product earns. Unreal uses royalties for games but seats for non-game commercial work (unrealengine.com: Unreal Engine licensing options).

#Education and student licences

Education licences give eligible students and teachers professional tools for free or very little. Autodesk offers one-year access to products including Maya and 3ds Max, renewable while you stay eligible (Autodesk: Education software: All products). Adobe gives higher-education students a free 12-month Substance 3D licence (substance3d.adobe.com: Substance 3D for education). Unity's Student plan and RealityScan are free for students (unity.com: Unity Student plan; realityscan.com: RealityScan licensing).

The main restriction is on commercial use. Agisoft says educational licences "strictly prohibit any commercial use of the software" (agisoft.com: Metashape licensing options). KeyShot's EDU edition is for learning only, and its files will not open in any other KeyShot version (keyshot.com: KeyShot Studio pricing).

#Non-commercial and learning editions

These are free versions for learning, usually with limits that stop them being used for paid work:

• Houdini Apprentice is for non-commercial projects, caps renders at 1920 × 1080, uses its own file format, and "cannot be used in the same pipeline as commercial versions of Houdini" (SideFX: Apprentice FAQs).
• GameMaker Free is free to use under a non-commercial licence; commercial projects need a paid tier (gamemaker.io: Get GameMaker).
• Postshot Free is for non-commercial use, and its saved files can only be used on the free plan (jawset.com: Postshot pricing).
• Anchorpoint Personal is free for non-commercial use (anchorpoint.app: Anchorpoint pricing).
• 3DF Zephyr Free is described as free for personal use and limited to 50 photos (3dflow.net: 3DF Zephyr Free).

#What this means for portfolio and commercial work

#Further reading and watching