Question about 'copyright infringement'

I'm considering becoming a graphics designer by practicing & learning making artwork on my own. I was wondering what the copyright rules are for creating graphics?

Lets say I create a graphics design using photoshop. Within that design, I used a background from some random google images source and I use an image of superman from another random google image. I mix the two onto the design, do some graphics editing to make the two mix&match well. I also create my own logo to throw onto the image.

Now, what do I cite? I wouldn't have a name to cite or company or anything. Do I cite the website I got each image from? I wouldn't even know if they own the rights to that specific image. It could be some random image off a messageboard or imgur/facebook/etc. Would I get in legal trouble for not citing it and putting it up on my personal website? I'm clearly not making money off it or selling it.

Would I be even able to put it up on my website under portfolio of something I created for potential employers to look at? Any ideas??

I think you should pay more attention to where you get your images. It might be completely random and unimportant to you, but it might mean something to the person(s) who created it. So before you decide to copy it, look for a copyright notice on the Website it is found on.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up863eQKGUI[/url]

Quick answer is you can't use anything you don't create unless you have permission.

If it's something you are making for a portfolio purely with the idea of finding a job, you can probably get away with it. For other uses, it's better to recreate the thing you want to borrow than actually borrow it.

However a character like Superman is well known and well protected so stay away.

If your not using it to make money I wouldn't worry about anything, no one is going to sue you. A thousand artists have recreated Superman.

If you are using other people's art in your portfolio then you should make sure you cite your sources for sure. (*Superman image found at [url]www.blahblahblah[/url])

If you are serious about getting hired though you should probably purchase your own stock images to work around, or just create the image yourself. You wouldn't be able to yank images off random websites while working for a company.

Always ask for permission before using any created images.