ZeniMax Online Studios regarding the unauthorized use of artwork by an Elder Scrolls Online fan named Relan Daevath on the Mercymother's Body Art skin in the game's Crown Store, He stated that he is working toward an "appropriate resolution."

"I am a little shocked," Daevath wrote on Tumblr (opens in new tab).

"On July 19, 2020, I posted this fan art (opens in new tab) with Sotha, Vivec, and Almalexia, wearing the ESO crown skin (opens in new tab), which is exactly my version.

"They are ...... Its ...... Should I say something to me?", "Hello" or "I will sell your art as an in-game skin, you are so wonderful Relan Deavath, please come and get your NOTHING AT ALL, you are welcome, kiss".

There seems to be no question that this skin is the work of Daevath. This is their original image of Sota Sil:

And this is how it appears on the TESO skin: [For example, you can see the markings on Sota Sil's headdress and the way his beard curls between his thumb and index finger. Daevath acknowledges that all portrait rights belong to ZeniMax, but states that it is "not very nice" to use them in this way without asking the artist.

"If asked, I would be honored by such recognition of my work. But I was not."

However, ZeniMax effectively confirmed on Twitter that Daevath's art was used for the skins; ZeniMax tweeted on its official TESO account, "We are aware of the ESO fan artists. It is not our intention to use community fan art without proper credit. We are in contact with the artist and will work with them to resolve the matter appropriately."

Daevath similarly confirmed that the development team has been in contact and is currently investigating the situation. 'Thank you all for your support, it means a lot to us. It means a lot to a small artist and Elder Scrolls has a great community," they tweeted (opens in new tab)." The TESO team wrote, "We are currently looking into this and hope to bring you an update as soon as possible. OK, let's wait and see."

Unfortunately, these things happen from time to time. For example, in 2022, Capcom settled a lawsuit (opens in new tab) with a photographer over the use of at least 80 photos as textures for games like "Devil May Cry" and "Resident Evil 4." Of course, BioWare famously thumbed its nose at Getty a decade ago for using its stock images as photos of Tali (opens in new tab). It's not always clear as to how that happens, but it definitely doesn't look good when it comes to light; we've reached out to ZeniMax and Relan Daevath for more details and will update if we hear back.