Timeline: For small things such as cards and badges I work on a minimum 24-hour turnover policy. When there's nothing in my queue I will start on a commissioned work as soon as I confirm receipt of money and references. I will not stop working until the piece is done, scanned, and in your inbox. For larger pieces I prefer to get customer input on each phase of the work: concept, sketch, inks, colors, final finishing. I still work on the basis that your art is my job so I work on each phase as soon as I get confirmation that you approve of the previous one and work only on it until it is finished. A larger piece such as a multiple character drawing can take as short a period of time as just one week if you remain easy to contact. Paintings have drying times to consider. They can take months of work instead of just hours. I'm available for instant contact almost every evening.
Updates: Large drawn works will update at every complete stage: concept, sketch, ink, color, and final finishing. Painted works will update at every complete stage: concept sketch, background, foreground, fine detail, and final finishing. For small works I will not automatically send progress updates, but will do so if requested. I do not use public webcasting services such as UStream or LiveStream because I share my workspace and do not wish to intrude on my family's privacy. I will happily snap a quick photo or screenshot of all progress any time it is requested.
Revisions: Because I often work in traditional media, I can not make any major changes to a commission at any time except the sketch phase. Be sure to inform me at that time if there is anything in the work that you are unhappy with in the drawing. It is the responsibility of the commissioner to tell me about any particular details they absolutely want included before work begins. (Examples: character has stripes, character wears eyepatch, character must have exactly six fingers on the left hand.) After you have approved the sketch, I will not be making any changes to the composition or line art.
Content: Cards are exclusively G rated. I make them as a charity project for the New Orleans Children's Hospital, and am not comfortable with adult content in this work. I will draw fanart if there are significant changes to the character. Example: My own character as a Team Fortress 2 medic or my own character in the throwable shape of an Angry Bird is okay, but Mickey Mouse is not okay. Anything else follows my one rule of content; it can't be on my no list. The no list is three items long:
- No sex or violence involving children.
- No sex involving animals.
- No excrement.
Image rights: I retain the right to keep a copy of the original work and display it for promotional purposes. In the case of traditional media works, the commissioner always gets the original if desired, and the highest resolution scan. In the case of digital works, the commissioner always gets the highest resolution version but not the working CSP files. I will not post full resolution versions of commissioned digital art online. Reproduction rights to commissioned work can be negotiated for an additional charge. The commissioner may repost the art wherever they like with the signature visible, but may not take credit for the piece and ought to post it with a link back to my page somewhere. The piece may not be used for commercial purposes without first negotiating the right to do so.
Shipping: It depends on how the piece can be shipped. Within the US/Canada single cards ship in a plain envelope. All that costs is a stamp, which I don't charge you for. Shipping anything larger than a card is by flat-rate priority mail. If it all fits into a flat envelope that is usually just under $5. Paintings are the exception, but everything else fits in the flat rate packaging. I cannot give an estimate on how much shipping a painting would cost without first knowing the size and destination. I do not ship outside the US/Canada.
Quote time limit: Quotes for commissions are only valid for one month. After I have responded to your request for a commission, you have one calendar month from the date I give the quote to start the commission. After a month has passed without starting the commission a new quote will be required before the commission can begin. I will cancel your commission if a month passes after I approve the slot without payment on Artists & Clients.
Holds: If you do not want your traditional media piece shipped, I will happily send a high resolution scan of the completed work and hold onto the original in case you want it in the future. I will not keep it for longer than five years, after which time I will put the completed piece up for auction with the starting bid at the cost of shipping.
Refunds: A full refund will only be given for a commission that has been paid for but not yet started. Once I start working on a commission there will be no refund of anything at all unless for some reason I am the one to cancel it. If I cancel a commission in progress for reasons relating to customer behavior I will refund the commissioner an amount which is the total minus the percent of the work which I have already completed. I will scan and send the completed portion of the work without charging shipping. If I need to cancel a commission for personal health or family reasons I will first offer the progress so far to the commissioner at a discount and then refund their payment minus any they are willing to pay for the partially completed work with my greatest apologies. Refunds for bartered goods will be made in the cash value of the item plus any shipping required to get it to me.