Quote Originally Posted by smaeda View Post
That is a grey area, and pretty complicated since there is so much fan art out there. I've been following Jed Henry's Ukiyo-e Heroes project and he says it's legally permissible if the form is approached from an original angle, and makes a comment on the original work's nature.
As a fellow artist who has sold work, I see no infringement in these. Most are flattered by fan art, it's good publicity for them too.