Commission ToS

Art Commission Terms of Service
IcePhoenix.Com – Faeore

Preface:

This might look like a lot to digest and parts may be very “legal-speak”-like, but this is to cover everyone’s ass should something bad happen. I do not expect such things to happen, but I HAVE been scammed before by clients and would like to avoid any more of that foolishness.

0a. What I Will/Won’t or Can/Can’t Draw

Now, before wasting anyone’s time, let’s get to the grit of things and set expectations.
PLEASE ensure you have looked over my galleries and are aware of my style.
DeviantArt * Instagram

What I’m comfortable drawing:

  • Fantasy Humanoids; including elves, tieflings, dwarves, tabaxi, and pretty much any other D&D race.
  • Furries, but I’m slightly out of practice in this area and may reject certain animals if I feel I’m unable to provide a quality work of art for that animal type.
  • Frilly dresses, leather armour, simple plate, mage robes, etc
  • NSFW nudes/couples. This is a bit of a gray area, contact me for requests.

I am not highly skilled at but may attempt to do:

  • Heavily plate-armoured characters. Plated shoulders/bracers/leg plates are okay, but I may not be able to replicate the overall appearance expectations without several quality references.

I am not skilled at and probably won’t do:

  • Mechas/Motor/Gear-centric things such as Gundam-like mechs, spaceships, personal mech-suits, and generally techy-looking stuff. (If it’s just a “simple” gun on an otherwise fantasy-esque character, that is probably fine. Eg: Artificers)
  • Hyper-muscled characters, unclothed. Given time I could probably do this, but I do not enjoy drawing intense musculature and time is money, friend.

I will not draw:

  • Your son’s pet. Looking at you, Instagram.
  • Hate Crimes/Racist themes unless it’s specifically backed with a readable story arc for a character.
  • NSFW: extreme fetishes. If it’s something many see as “gross” like bathroom fetishes, necro, blood, etc, then it’s probably off the table.

0b. What I will require from you

To make things as smooth as possible, I require references to the character(s) you wish to have drawn. This can include art from previous commissions, your own art, and any reference sheets you may have. 

If you’re coming to me with something that has never been drawn before, images of characters that include features of what you want the character(s) to have may be substituted and stitched together to create the new character.
I will not draw someone else’s character exactly to have you claim it as your own.
There must be distinct differences between the final appearance goal and the references used.

Regardless of the graphical references, I also require a written/graphical summary of your vision for the commission. I’m not asking for a novel or anything crazy, but I need to be able to understand your vision. An image giving me an idea of the pose you want is a very strong starter, but not required.

Remember, it is likely I do not know anything about your characters and telling me about them will help me understand their motives in the image. If your character is sullen or outgoing, I won’t know until I’m told.

Suggestions for things to include if they are important to you:

  • Expressions: Sad, Happy, Determined, Silly, or more detailed such as “Eyebrows drawn together, yelling.” Etc.
  • Jewelry/trinkets that may not be clearly shown in reference materials
  • Scars/Tattoos/Markings, I will need images or very detailed comments for these due to the broad nature of how they can be described. “A scar on his forehead” could range from Harry Potter’s small lightning bolt to a slash across the head looking like he’d been scalped. Eg; “A scar that goes from the center of his hairline, down his forehead, and ends at the bridge of his nose”
  • Important pieces of clothing/weapons/items that MUST be drawn to specifications.
  • Body Type: lanky/thicc/hourglass/muscled/broad chested/etc.

For Images with backgrounds:

  • Setting: time of day(sunrise, sunset, midday)/location(inside a building, outside in the forest, beach, etc). This will affect the colouring process.

1. Introduction

These terms of service (“Terms”) govern the relationship between the artist (the “Artist”) and the client (the “Client”) for the creation and delivery of an art commission. By commissioning the Artist, the Client agrees to be bound by these Terms.

2. Scope of Work

The Artist will create an original work of art according to the specifications provided by the Client. The Artist will use their best efforts to create a work of art that meets the Client’s expectations, but the Artist does not guarantee that the final product will be exactly as the Client envisions.

3. Payment

Pricing is available here: Commission Pricing

Upfront payment for the entire piece is preferred. Preference in order of completion and/or acceptance may be given to fully paid commissions over partially paid commissions should two commissioners approach the artist at the same time.
Partial payments may be done in the form of 50/50 where as

  • 50% of the total amount of the commission is required for the artist to begin work.
  • The remaining 50% must be received once a final sketch is confirmed before the work is lined and coloured.

Additional work outside the scope of the original commission such as additional tweaks and corrections that go above and beyond may be charged and require payment before the work begins.
This may include such things as another round of sketches for drastic changes, a sudden realization of another character being added to the piece, a change of background on an otherwise completed piece.

4. Ownership and Copyright

The Artist retains ownership and copyright of the commissioned work. The Client is granted a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the work of art for personal, non-commercial purposes. The Client may not reproduce, distribute, or sell the work of art without the Artist’s express written permission.
If you desire to use this work for commercial purposes, additional fees and contractual obligations will be required. Contact the artist for more details.

5. Creation Progress

Once payment has been negotiated and received, a (rough) sketch will be provided to ensure the commission is fully understood. This first phase may undergo several iterations to ensure the pose and feel of the piece is to the satisfaction of the client, however, there will be no more than one (1) major revision to the work once it has reached the final sketch stage unless otherwise agreed by the artist. Minor revisions are not subject to the same one (1) major revision limitation. However, there are still limitations to these minor revisions, and the artist is permitted to end any further refinements should they become outside the scope of reasonable adjustments.

At this point, the image will be lined and final payment will be requested to complete the colouring process.

If the client is unsatisfied with the sketch, they may request a partial refund (if they have paid in full). No further work will be continued on the commission at this point.

The artist will begin with colouring the flat colours of the image to ensure the proper colours have been placed with the characters in the image. Once approved, colours are subject to only minor revisions from here in. The artist will not recolour an entire piece.

6. Cancelation:

Either party may terminate these Terms for any reason by providing written notice to the other party. If the Client terminates these Terms before the completion of the work of art, the Artist is entitled to payment for the work completed to date.

7. Gifts/Freebies/Rewards:

This covers things drawn free of charges. These may be given at random, through raffles, or as a perk.

These may come fully completed or go through phases similar to paid commissions. Regardless, they are still subject to the same Ownership and Copyright (See section 4) as a paid commission unless otherwise stated by the artist.