Art Commission Terms of Service:
By commissioning me, you agree to my T.O.S.
This T.O.S may be updated or changed at any time. The T.O.S that applies to you and your commission specifically is the T.O.S you agreed to at the time of payment.
You may print this page to save it for your records.
This is the current Art T.O.S (T.O.S.A.2) for doomy (@chuunicoded) / Zazz (@zigzagzazz) / @zigzagcoded).
I am referred to as the "artist" and the commissioner is the "client". “Commission” and “Project” are used interchangeably.
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The artist will not tolerate any harassment of any kind, including but not limited to abuse, toxicity, and defamation. Doing so will result in the client being blocked, blacklisted, and the artist may make a PSA.
If this is violated and there is already a commission in progress, the artist will immediately cancel without any refund.
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REFUNDS AND CANCELLATIONS:
Before the commission begins:
-The artist reserves the right to deny a commission for any reason, either with or without an explanation. If the client has paid via KoFi without prior discussion, the artist will refund the client and cancel the commission.
-The client may cancel before payment is made. If a payment to start the commission is not made within 3 days of original discussion, the commission will be canceled and the slot will be offered to another client.
If the commission has already begun:
-The artist reserves the right to cancel a commission in progress and refund either fully, partially, or no refund at all, at any time, for any reason, to the artist's discretion.
-If the artist cannot finish the commission for any reason, a refund will be given based on how much work was already done, up to the artist's discretion.
-Clients may request to cancel a commission and a refund may be issued depending on the amount of progress that has been finished. In the events the client has violated any other terms listed, there will be no refund.
Doodles: there is no refund for this type and this commission cannot be canceled.
All other commissions, after Rough Draft stage: a partial refund of the total cost paid may be given depending on how much has been done, and the client will receive the commission as-is. Once shading has begun, there will be no refunds, but the client may still cancel for any reason.
- Commissions that paid the “Do Not Use for Merch” fee, or had "Artist Right to Use" disclaimer: the artist reserves the right to reuse any work done for any other project that is not the project itself.
- Commissions that had the "Private" fee paid: the artist reserves the right to reuse work done before lineart stage.
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REPOSTING, USAGE, AND EDITS:
- Clients may post and share the commissioned art on any platform of choice, including websites, social media, galleries, etc. Credit / tagging the artist is not required when posting art, but is appreciated.
- Under no circumstances may clients or non-clients claim ownership of any art done by the artist. The client retains the rights to any characters or designs, but not the artwork itself.
- Under no circumstances may clients edit / erase the artist’s watermarks or any signatures, especially with the intent to steal or erase ownership. Signatures that get cropped out as a result of making the image a profile picture is fine.
- Commissions that did not have the "Private Fee" paid: The artist may share the commissioned art on any platform of choice, including websites, social media, galleries, etc, without claiming ownership of the character(s). The client retains the right to any characters or designs that belong to them.
- Commissions that had the "Private" fee paid: the artist will not post any artwork publicly, on any platform. The client may still post and share the commission if they choose.
- The artist is not responsible for any edits, especially those that include offensive imagery or offensive content, that were done to the art after the art has been finished.
- Minor changes that are acceptable and do not need the artist’s permission: Putting the character on a different background, tweaking colors, etc.
- Edits to the art may be made in the case of memey purposes provided they are not passed off as the original and made clear it is an edit of the original.
- Any other changes such as using filters on the image are generally frowned upon but allowed as long as the client does not try to pass it off as the original. Frames/Borders are also fine so long as they are not offensive/targeting groups of people maliciously, and those are also not passed off as the original.
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ARTIST RIGHT TO USE:
- Unless the “Do Not Use for Merch” fee is paid, the artist retains all copyright of any art made and reserves the right to use any of the art made for commercial purposes in any capacity. This can include changing the artwork or using the artwork as-is. Any super personalized aspects, such as names or personalized references, will be removed for commercial use.
- The client retains ownership of any characters or designs that belong to them, but not for the artwork itself. There is no guarantee the artist will turn the commission used into merchandise, but Clients that have had their commission made into merchandise are entitled to receive said merchandise, such as but not limited to, a sticker or print, for free if going to attend the same in-person event the artist is vending at. The merchandise can also be shipped to the client, provided the client pays for shipping, but the actual cost of the merchandise will be free.
- Any and all art the artist makes of a character, concept, designs, etc, from a commercial IP (this is considered "fanart") will automatically be enrolled in the "Artist Right to Use" due to the client not actually owning said characters/concepts/designs/etc. In the case of a project containing both commercial IP and original characters/content, the artist retains the "Artist Right to Use" over the commercial IP fanart only, and not the original character(s)/designs.
There are currently two types of ways the Artist can use the art for merch:
1. The artist can use the commission in any capacity for merchandise use, either with changes or as-is.
2. The artist can use the commission for merchandise provided it has changes to make it differ from the original art. Art used for merch in this way will not be 1:1 to the original art, but still largely the same. For example. it will be more akin to an alt, with changes such as different colors, background, outfits, etc,.
- The “Do Not Use for Merch” fee varies from project to project, but generally will be around 20% of the cost of the commission.
- Some Commissions may not have a “Do Not Use for Merch” Fee available. See below for the usage in which the commissions will or will not be used for commercial applications:
- Character Badges: The artist may re-use some already drawn assets for future projects, including other badges (in particular, this refers to commercial IP assets or non-unique concepts, like an item or symbol from a popular IP.)
- Blind Comms: The Client may pay the “Do Not Use for Merch” Fee after the commission is completed, and the artist will no longer use the art for Commercial Use.
- Reference sheets: The artist will not use any reference sheets created of Original Characters for Commercial Use. The artist may reuse minor, generic, non-specific details on the reference sheet (example: lineart of Color Bar, lineart of Paw Prints, fonts, etc) Similar to a base.
- YCHs: The artist may use the same pose or concept for personal (non-commissioned) art made for commercial purposes.
- Doodles & Emotes/Stickers: If pose/ concept is generic, the artist may use the same pose or concept for other commissions and art, both personal and commercial.
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COMMERCIAL USE (Artist and Client):
Client:
- Commercial Use is defined as selling or distributing the art in any form for profit. All art made for the client is considered "Personal Use" unless otherwise discussed and paid for.
- The Client may claim ownership of any characters that are yours but cannot claim you made the art itself.
- Monetized streams and channels are considered Personal Use and do not require Commercial Use purchase unless you are selling and distributing the original art itself for profit in any form. Subscriber-only emote reward unlocks with the art are not considered Commercial Use.
- Personal Use such as stickers , posters, etc for yourself is allowed. Printing stickers to share and give FREE to people is also allowed.
Artist:
- Commissions that did not have the “Do Not Use for Merch” fee paid, or had "Artist Right to Use" disclaimer: the artist reserves the right to use the artwork to make merchandise, including but not limited to, prints, stickers, or any other merch to be sold for commercial use.
- Commissions that paid the “Do Not Use for Merch” fee or had the "Private Fee" paid: The artist will not use the art commission for commercial use in any capacity.
COMMUNICATION:
- The client may request updates at any time, within reason. Please allow 1-3 days for a response from the artist. If the client is consistently bothering the artist for updates to the point it can be seen as annoyance or abuse, the client will receive a warning before the artist cancels the commission. (example: every hour)
- If the client does not respond in a timely matter (up to artist’s discretion) to any updates or WIPs, the commission will be canceled with no refund.
- Likewise, if the artist does not respond within 4 weeks of the client initially reaching out, the client is entitled to a refund without argument based on how much work was done already.
PROCESS, UPDATES AND REVISIONS:
The general workflow is as follows, but may change based on commission type or project. Stages contained in an [ ] will be shown to the client.
Doodles: no WIPs
Sketch (pencil): [Rough Draft] -> Lines
Sketch (Simple and Full Color): [Rough Draft] -> [Lines] -> Color
Other Commissions (Generally): [Rough Draft / Loose Sketch] -> [Lineart] -> [Flat Colors] -> [Standard Shading] -> [Full Rendering] -> [Details/Extras]
Blind Comms: Same stages as above but No WIPS will be sent to client.
- The artist will send any updates/WIPs of every stage in [ ], typically in the order listed above, and updates/WIPs of small changes in between the major stages. The artist will not continue until approval has been made by the client.
- There is generally no set amount of minor revisions, with the exception of doodles or Blind Comms, which have no revisions or edits. Sketches, YCH’s, and other similar commissions are meant to be faster projects, so changes may be more limited. However, any major revisions, such as changing lineart past the lineart stage, will be met with a fee (up to the artist’s discretion based on how big the revision is and how much work needs to be backtracked.) If the artist misses any details that were in the reference or mentioned before, the artist assumes full responsibility to correct it.
- If the client keeps asking for excessive revisions, up to the point it would be considered abusing the “no revision limit”, or just generally being uncooperative or nitpicky, there will be a fee (up to the artist’s discretion).
- The client’s failure to pay the fee for a major revision or excessive revision fee will result in a cancellation with no refund.
- WIPs and progress images are for client use only. Other artists and clients are NOT allowed to finish the artist’s WIPs or progress images, unless allowed by the artist, even if the commission is canceled.
REFERENCES:
- The client is responsible for providing the artist with any suitable references that pertain to the commission. This includes but is not limited to, character references, props, clothes, background objects, inspirations, and specific posing ideas. These can be provided in the form of words or visuals such as an image. There may be an additional charge for not having suitable enough references.
- The references sent or discussed will be what the commission is based off of. If the client’s ideas after the commission has started differs wildly from the original details provided, without prior agreement or discussion, there will be a fee (up to artist’s discretion).
- The artist will not be held accountable for any and all artistic liberty that will be taken if not enough references are provided.
TURNAROUND TIMES AND DELIVERY:
- Turnaround time varies based on commission, but the artist generally completes projects within 2 to 12 weeks (3 months). This does not include any shipping times. Emergencies or sudden health issues at any time may cause delays in progress.
- If the artist cannot make the agreed upon turnaround time, the client will be reached out to, and offered a refund or equivalent compensation.
- The artist does not formally take priority commissions. It is never guaranteed the artist will make a specific due date the client has unless discussed beforehand and agreed upon.
- The final artwork will be delivered either via Google Drive, Email, or direct messages through social media or chat platforms. In the case of a physical product, the final artwork will be shipped or the client will pick up in person from the artist.
- If it is a digital delivery, the final delivery will include watermarked and compressed versions of the commission. The artist will use these to post on social media and portfolios, this is NOT required for the client to use when posting.
PAYMENT:
- The main methods of payment are through KoFi or PayPal Invoice.
- Payments made through KoFi are ideal, with the accepted methods of payment being: PayPal or Stripe (Credit/Debit/Card, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Cash App Pay, Google Pay, Link, and “Buy Now, Pay Later”: Affirm, Afterpay/Clearpay, Klarna)
- Payments made through Paypal directly will be through an invoice with the attached commission details.
- Payment plans will be made through a “Buy Now, Pay Later” method as discussed above, periodic payments through PayPal Invoice, or through another method as discussed with the client.
- The commission will not start until full payment is received, or initial payment (for payment plans) is received.
- The artist may accept other methods of payments such as Venmo, only depending on the circumstances and if the commission is under a certain amount (up to artist discretion based on project).
OTHER INFORMATION:
- Any money sent to the artist that was NOT discussed and agreed to as a form of payment for a commission or otherwise, will be considered a donation with no refund.
- The artist does not approve any work to be used alongside any hateful, controversial, phobic, etc edits such as phrases, symbols, or harmful depictions of any demographic, especially in the context of being used to dehumanize a specific group of people.
- Clients and non-clients may not use the artist’s work in any way, shape, or form to train generative Al models, or include the artist’s work alongside anything that uses genAl to perform tasks and activities that intend to replace actual humans.
- Clients and non-clients cannot use commissioned work unless they get permission directly from the client. Clients and non-clients may use any non-commissioned work of characters from a commercial IP (not OCs unless stated otherwise) the artist makes as profile pictures or whatever etc.
- For non-clients: uploading the artist’s work verbatim is okay ONLY if credit is included. This can be in written format (example: Art by @ ___), or a direct link to my account / post. The only exception is if the person is a client that has commissioned the artist, the artwork posted in question is the commission, then credit is not required but appreciated, and they must still abide by the next term:
- Under no circumstances may clients or non-clients edit / erase the artist’s watermarks or any signatures, especially with the intent to steal or erase ownership.
- Do not redistribute any Ko-Fi subscriber-only rewards under any circumstances without permission.
- Do NOT trace, copy, or edit the artist’s work in any way, shape, or form. The only exception is the following term: Parodies and edits are okay ONLY in jest and if they do not violate any of the terms above.