Do I Need Permission to Publish My Animation?

Dear Rich: I have worked in animation for 30 years (as an animator, visual development artist and storyboard artist) and I decided to put together a compilation book of my own artwork (from games, TV shows, and animated Feature films) to sell. It would be self published, probably in a print run of 500 copies, and I would primarily sell it directly at comic book shows and my own website (and perhaps at some specialty shops). I am wrestling with whether to go ahead and print it, without seeking permissions. But, after much deliberation, I began the request process with a few clients that I have recently been working with and so far so good; I have been getting permission with only one firm "NO" so far. But there’s another issue. I used to work at an animation studio that did everything from commercials to TV shows, games, and even effects for feature films. I did TONS of design work for them, on properties they were trying to develop themselves and for clients coming to them for development. The tricky part is that this particular studio has been out of business since 1996 and so I have no way of knowing who actually owns the rights to some of the artwork. So, here are my questions: (1) Do I need to get permissions at all? (2) What is the worst case scenario for not getting permission? (3) Is it legal to just say that I tried to locate the rights holder and could not? And (4) What happens to the intellectual properties of a company that has been out of business for 15 years? Can we answer your questions in reverse order? For some reason we find that more fun. (And speaking of permission, thanks for letting us use one of your images.)
(4) What happens to the intellectual properties of a company that has been out of business for 15 years? The successor to the business owns it. If there is no successor it becomes an orphaned work and a minor annoyance for those who must get permission. For example, if an author has assured her publisher that she will get permissions for her book, she'll have a problem with an orphaned work, and the publisher may make her take the work out. We don't think you need to worry much about that issue, as we explain below.
(3) Is it legal to just say that I tried to locate the rights holder and could not? It's still infringement but it's not a bad idea to put a statement like that on the copyright page and to disclaim copyright in those works. That doesn't mean you may not have to eventually pay for their use but if you can document your attempts to find the owner, that will go a long way to mediating any damages you might be assessed (in the way outside chance you end up in court).
(2) What is the worst case scenario for not getting permission? The worst case is that you run into one of these types and you can't seem to remove their teeth from your pants leg. They will drag you into court and not let go until you get out your checkbook. In your case, this worst case is not a very likely outcome. You have several factors buffeting your position.
First, you have an excellent fair use argument, similar to the argument raised in this case involving the artist Basil Gogos. Gogos created covers for monster movie magazines and the copyright owner of the monster movie magazines sued over the use of the covers in a Gogos biography. A court determined that the use was transformative and permitted it as a fair use. One of the factors in the artist's favor  was that the magazines were no longer in print. Another was that the artwork was part of a biography/retrospective of the artist. Another reason that you may not have to worry is the limited publication. It would be difficult for a copyright owner to claim much in the way of damages if only 500 copies were distributed (and money is the main motivator for lawsuits).
1) Do I need to get permissions at all? See above. By the way, did you know it's easy, fast and kind of fun to search copyright office records? We're working on a video to explain the process but until then, check out the Copyright Office search engine.