I want to create fan art of suikoden 3 for study of creating stylized characters. It is not for sharing the 3d models or using them in anything shared or sold. But I would like to make renderings of them and get critiques on it. What is legal about it in US?

    The last two times I've looked into such things you're usually good if there's no monetary profit involved. The US is also one of those magical places where people follow the rules without being made.

    newmodels As long as it's entirely non-profit you should be fine with just fan stuff, however, it depends entirely on the company and their attitude, rockstar studios and nintendo for example are famous for the way they go after their fans over any unauthorised use of their intellectual property. The main thing would be to simply ask them if you can get a response, the problem is, if what you make suddenly becomes really successful, even moreso than their own 'official' creations they can get blatantly jealous and try to shut people down.

      Technically it is illegal in the US, yes. You can't use any copyrighted work, even non-commercial (this is a common mistake). However, it's unlikely that you will be sued for drawing a comic book character, or making a reimagining of a game. For example, many artists draw anime characters in their style, or you have things like the Tomb Raider Unreal Engine 5 demo, or mods with famous characters. Only a few companies really care that much, like Nintendo. For the most part, it is not a problem if you are just sharing for free.

        In this particular case there is an answer available.
        Suikoden 3 was developed by Konami.

        Konami's website has the following in their FAQ:

        Can I use KONAMI copyrighted materials for non-commercial purposes?
        Generally, Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. does not object to fans using copyrighted materials for non-commercial purposes, and in a manner which does not intentionally spoil the plot of a game for other players.
        By "non-commercial" we mean that you cannot use our copyrighted material to promote a product you are selling or making any profit from, like wallpapers, t-shirts, skins for electronic devices, etc. nor can you use it to monetise a website or a media channel.
        Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. does reserve the right to have its copyrighted material taken down at any time, and to remove any content we find objectionable on a case by case basis.

        https://eu-support.konami.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115012083508-Can-I-use-KONAMI-copyrighted-materials-for-non-commercial-purposes-

        cybereality
        Also Disney, they are famous for suing people.

        In the early modding days it was 20th Century Fox that was the danger. They owned both Alien and Predator franchises and they sent cease and desist threats to game mods using those. It used to be known as getting Foxed.
        3D Realms was also active to stop people using Duke Nukem in mods (despite how much of Duke Nuken was taken from movies and games).

        In the Ogre3D engine community there was a dev making a My Little Pony kart game (pretty sure it was free). Not my thing (ponies or karts), but it was really well done. But Hasbro shut him down.

          Yes, I've received cease and desists from both Microsoft and Paramount Pictures. So I don't play around with copyright stuff anymore. I either buy royalty free assets or I will make them myself. It's also not difficult to make your own style that is inspired by other artists. That is totally legal and more worthwhile in my opinion.

            Konami made a great game suikoden 3. And it's great seeing they will allow me to make fan art. I am hoping I can make my own model of Chris Lightfellow, and some others.

            It's for studying these models to learn stylized characters. I would like to study models from more modern games, but I don't have them. I will try to get a copy of suikoden 4. Never played that one. I hope it also is owned by konami.

            newmodels What is legal about it in US?

            Copyright is a very murky and swampy thing. And in the U.S. especially, since there is an army of lawyers there.

            cybereality It's also not difficult to make your own style that is inspired by other artists.

            This is probably the most sensible way to go about it. Although even in this case, they can pull the copying and imitation.

                I didn't know about suikoden 5. And I had forgotten there was a tactics. If things go well with my study I will try and get those too. I know they have dated models though. As is playstation 2.

                don't look like I will be getting suikoden 5 because of the current prices for it. not english version anyway. but I might be able to get #4 and tactics.

                cybereality This is what I've been doing with my own project by the gods, it will be interesting to see if I get any angry letters lol, I would not be surprised if someone tries to sue me at some point if it goes viral.