Let's say I took a bunch of different characters from various media; a head, 2 arms, 2 legs and a torso, glued them together and then traced over to create a more homogenized image... Is that a new thing? A remix? Or ripping other's work off?
I've just had this idea for a while (wanna try making my fursona from photos of a dog for the head and my own body for the body) and got curious if this proposed technique was done using others' material would be a violation or if it would be more like a remix.
It's transformative. You are creating something new that did not exist before. At the very least this will fall under fair use, but your intent will dictate what it ends up being.
Ie: is I take Bugs Bunny's head and out it on Daffy Duck's body - I may be doing it as a commentary on WB cartoons, or pop culture in general. That's ok.
If I try to launch my own Looney Toons cartoon with this new hybrid character - that's stealing and WB lawyers will be all over any money I may make.