Making Something New from Others' Work: A Collage with Credit

01Remember

Think back to DB-RK-21: before using someone else’s work, check its creator and terms. Think first, then reveal the answers.

02Story

An imaginary workshop is preparing a collage called “A City of Shapes”. On the table are circles, steps, waves and a triangle mark. Each drawing has a title, a creator studio and a tag. The team wants to combine the shapes, but first leaves room for a list of credits.

“If we name the creators, we can change anything we like,” one participant suggests. Another points to the triangle: “This says BY-ND. We need to give credit, but the mark must stay unchanged. Let’s neither cut it nor rotate it.” They leave it whole in a separate space.

The steps say BY-SA. “If we adapt this part, we keep the same or a compatible licence,” they read. The waves say BY-NC: sharing and remixing that part is for noncommercial purposes only. They do not replace these conditions with one blanket “anything goes”.

They rotate the circles and rearrange the pieces. Then they return to the list: every drawing they used needs a line. “The arrangement is our new creation; the pieces still have their own creators,” they decide. On the back, they also describe their changes. The story and studios are fictional; the conditions practise S1.

03Worked example

A licence tells you in advance how a creator allows their work to be used. All CC licences require credit. Example: I want to rotate “Steps”, tagged BY-SA.

• Read BY-SA: sharing and adaptation are allowed with credit; adaptations use the same or a compatible licence.
• Rotate the piece and describe the change.
• Write: Steps - Step Studio - BY-SA. For real work, also include a link to the source.
• If I choose BY-ND instead, I do not adapt the piece. Credit alone does not permit a change.

04Try it now

These are four original abstract drawings with fictional creator studios and practice tags in the style of CC. The tags practise the conditions from S1; they are not separate actual licences for these samples. The whole lesson is CC BY-SA 4.0. Type only the fictional details on the cards. The simulation works offline and neither sends nor saves what you type. There are no points, timer or rankings.

05No screen: paper collage

• Use your own drawings, old magazine pages with an adult’s permission, glue and scissors. Use scissors carefully.
• Arrange and glue a paper collage to look at at home. On the back, list each part’s title, creator and stated rights; if the creator or rights are missing, write “unknown”.
• This paper activity does not grant permission to make digital copies or publish them. For a collage you will share, choose your own drawings or pieces with checked, suitable terms.

06Make your own

Make a credit list for your collage: Title - author - licence. Give every used piece its own line. Example: “Waves - Wave Studio - BY-NC”. Separately describe what you changed. Compare the list with your collage: did you miss a piece? For a real source, add its link and check the full terms with an adult.

07What I learned

• I combine other people’s pieces only when their terms allow it.
• I credit every creator and follow SA and NC where marked.
• I do not adapt a piece marked ND.

08I have a question

Do you still have a question? Write it here. It goes to your parent, not to strangers. Your parent confirms their e-mail first.

·Sources

• Title: Making Something New from Others' Work: A Collage with Credit (DB-RK-23) · Author: Children’s Library, East Accelerator Foundation · Source: original text, drawings and simulation, 2026 · Rights: CC BY-SA 4.0.
• S1 · Creative Commons · About CC Licenses · licence facts paraphrased from the supplied verified source record, checked 2026-10-22; no source text or images reproduced.
• Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation, 2026. You may share and adapt this lesson if you credit the author and keep the same licence. Learning is free forever.