Terms of Service (1 Oct 2021)

The following describes the terms of commission work for illustrations and other visual art between You (the commissioner) and the artist. Exceptions to these terms are noted in writing during the order agreement.

These terms have been last updated October 1st 2021.

Communication

• Communication must remain mutually respectful even amidst disagreement

General commissions

• All orders start via email to:
• All communication related to ongoing work must happen in writing via email
• Keep conversation as replies to the original email thread, or otherwise ensure that there is no risk of misunderstanding
• Other communication channels may be agreed on a case by case basis

Stream commissions

• Work commissioned during a live stream session may be agreed about using the stream chat
• All relevant details should be described in the initial order message. Amendment requests can be made using the chat, but as the chat may be unreliable change details may be lost.

Payment terms

• The currency of agreed prices and quotes is EUR (€). Ask for a USD equivalent.
• The order must be paid in full prior to the beginning of the work
• You will receive an invoice for the agreed amount via email
• Money voluntarily sent outside of the specific invoice is considered a tip
• Other payment terms may be agreed in writing on a case by case basis

Order of work: General Commissions

The commission process generally consists of the following steps:

1. Agreeing on the scope of work
2. Draft sketch (omitted if YCH)
3. Sketch
4. Lineart (if agreed)
5. Color and shading (if agreed)

Exceptions to this process may be agreed separately in writing.

1. Agreeing on the scope of work

• You must have communicated the general description of the assignment and relevant reference material via the agreed communication channel
  • Where relevant, this must include things such as media size, DPI or other dimensions
  • Unless agreed otherwise, the finished artwork will be delivered as a PNG-file via email
• Visual references will reduce chances of miscommunication
• Any omissions, mistakes or inaccuracies in the description and references are your responsibility
• Long-winded descriptions and too numerous visual references reduce the likelihood of the elements most important to you being included. Keep your description to the point and concise (1000 characters at most).
• Later change requests that significantly diverge from this description must be agreed on separately and may be subject to additional charges
• Certain subject matter may be declined at the artist’s discretion
• You will receive a refined quote and invoice offer based on the information
• Payment of the invoice is considered agreement of these terms and permission to continue to the draft sketch phase

2. Draft sketch

• A rough sketch describing general posing and framing of major elements is made
• You must review this sketch before work continues
• Any changes to general posing and framing of the major elements in the art must be communicated during this review. Later changes to these may not be possible.
• All change requests must be in one single message. Take your time before sending it.
• Once you have reviewed the sketch and communicated change requests or indicated there is no changes to be made via the agreed channel, work will continue to the sketch phase
• If the order is based on a pre-sketched layout illustration which is provided before payment (YCH), then that preview takes the role of the draft sketch phase. In these cases work will begin directly in the Sketch phase after payment.

3. Sketch

• The main elements of the artwork are sketched in more detail
• If the work was agreed to continue past a sketch stage, you must review this sketch before work continues
• Any changes to detail elements, markings and other minor aspects must be communicated during this review. Later changes to these may not be possible.
• All change requests must be in one single message. Take your time before sending it.
• Once you have reviewed the sketch and communicated change requests or indicated there is no changes to be made via the agreed channel, work will continue to the lineart phase

4. Lineart, color and shading

• The sketch is turned into lineart, then colored and shaded according to what was agreed in the order quote
• At each step, you may get a preview of the work as it is completed.
• At these stages, only changes related to the specific steps may be made. Examples of such changes may be thickness of lines or colors used. Changes to details from previous stages may not be possible.

Order of work: Stream commissions

• Due to the condensed nature of work during a live stream there may not be time for a careful review of request descriptions. The artist will work on a best effort basis using the provided material and descriptions.
• During a stream commission, the commissioner must remain available to provide further details as requested.
• Failure to reply in the agreed communication channel within a few minutes is considered the commissioner waiving the right to review input. The artist will continue the work as they best see fit.
• The finished artwork will be delivered as a PNG-file or uploaded to a public space
• Stream commissions may not be cancelled once work has begun.

Rights and licenses

• The artist retains all copyright and related rights to the finished work and works in progress, such as drafts and sketches. The artist may for example display, reproduce and sell the work or derivatives of it.
• You may not copy or distribute previews or works in progress provided for review. Use for any purpose other than review and feedback in the scope of the agreed work is prohibited.
• You have no permission or license to sell, reproduce, modify or create derivative works of the artwork other than as expressly permitted by the artist.
• You have no permission or license to use the work in a commercial setting. Commercial use is considered any use which directly or indirectly contributes to financial gain or compensation.
• Once the work has been paid in full:
  • You have a license for non-commercial display of the finished artwork you commissioned.
  • You may share the image in your social media, for example.
• If the work has been cancelled under the terms of the Cancellations header:
  • You have a license for non-commercial display of the artwork you commissioned as it appears at the time of cancellation, if it features all signatures and markings desired by the artist. If such markings are missing, they will be added by the artist prior to the delivery of the licensed artwork.
• If cancellation terms other than under the Cancellations header are agreed, no licenses or rights are granted to you under these terms.
• Exceptions to these rights and limitations may be agreed in writing on a case-by-case basis

Cancellations

• Cancellations must be communicated in writing using the agreed communication channels
• If the order is cancelled after work has begun, value of the work already started will be deducted from any potential refund
• Reasonable processing fees may be deducted from any cancellation refund requested by you
• For the purposes of the above:
  • the draft sketch phase is valued at minimum 30% of the sketch phase
  • the sketch phase is valued at minimum 50% of the lineart phase
  • the lineart phase is valued at minimum 50% of the color phase
  • For example: if the original order was a lineart illustration quoted at 100€ and you cancel after a draft sketch has been started, 15€ will be deducted from a refund. If cancelled after the full sketch has been started, 50€ is deducted from a refund. This only an example calculation.