Licensing for student models

[Anonymous]

Hi there

I was just wondering, I'm a student who invests a ton of time and effort into all my work with the hope that one day I can take some of my projects forward when i leave uni and start up my own studio. I understand that I can't use models made with the student version as I haven't paid for the privilege of making them. This makes perfect sense and I have no issue with it. However, seeing as how remaking hundreds of hours of work isn't really likely to be an option, and I desperately want to see these projects work out, I was wondering if there was a possibility of buying the rights to my models directly from Autodesk. So for example, say I make a rifle to use in a game, could I purchase the rights to use that rifle as an .fbx or .obj file, with no further Maya use on said model? Alternatively, could I retroactively pay for the duration I owned the student version for, then acquire a full license for future projects. 

Finally, if I release a work for free, without the use of ads or any other means of making money off of the work, is that ok? Even if I can't make money I just want to share my work with the world. 

Thanks

[dgorsman]

Short version - no.  EDU licenses are for education only.  "Free" sites derive revenue from their content (ads, visits, clicks, etc.) so there is still income being earned.  About the only grey area would be using it for a portfolio.  Put another way: if you've already demonstrated that you won't abide by basic licensing terms, why should a client trust you not to violate their IP and privacy agreements?

Unless you already have industry experience, especially on the management and accounting side, get some actual industry work experience first.  There is far, far more to starting up and running a studio than the technical stuff taught in class (most schools don't even touch the management side).