Terms of Service

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMISSIONING!


Commissioning is a legal agreement to which both parties are held responsible. With that in mind, I have written these terms as a safeguard for both parties, to keep out misunderstandings on either side.Please read these BEFORE you send a request for a commission. By contacting me about a commission, you are acknowledging that you have read and agree to these terms.

On the subject of the colors of your character
I am red/green colorblind! This means that if your character has a lot of red and green (or orange and green) PLEASE tell me! Sometimes I cannot tell the difference and I would hate to mistake your markings or even leave them out! This is only a mild inconvenience and I generally have someone around while I work that I can ask if I am not sure about a color, but I would rather play it safe than risk messing up your commission. All other colors I can see fine; my only problem is with red/green combinations.

Commission Content/Themes
I have the right to refuse to do any commission on the basis of the content requested.  I will always refuse commissions involving characters to which you do not own the rights (ie Sonic or Pokemon characters).  I will not take a mature themed commission from someone under the age of 18. I'm sorry if this is any inconvenience, but I must follow the laws for selling adult material in the United States. Work with mature themes will only be posted publicly at my discretion.  However, I do not take on pornographic commissions under any circumstances. ("Mature" in this context means any art that contains artistic nudity, such as you would see in an art museum or in classic/retro pin-ups.)

Copyright
I retain the copyright to the images I produce. This means that I have the rights to use your commission in my portfolio, my gallery, or as an advertisement for my services. Your character(s) remain copyright to you. I will not make prints of your commission to sell without your prior written consent.  You do not have the rights to reproduce, alter, or use the image I created in another piece of artwork without my prior written consent.

Re-posting and Private Commissions
I will post your commission to any of the art websites on which I currently have an account. If you do not want your commission posted for any reason, you must specify in the commission form that this is a “private  commission.” If you do not want your commission made public before a specific date, you must also specify in the commission form. You have the right to post your commission on your own website or gallery (such as Furaffinity), as long as you give me credit for creating the art and provide a link back to me.

Payment
All prices are in US dollars. I prefer to receive payment in the form of Paypal, but I am open to discussion. I expect payment before I begin a commission, unless other provisions have been made prior to commissioning (For example, any commission for pick up at a convention). Please do NOT send payment until I accept your commission. I will contact you if I am ready to begin working on your commission and have not received payment.

Commission Turnaround Time
Depending on how complex of a commission and how many commissions are before you in line, turnaround is anywhere from two weeks to a couple of months. I will keep you updated on you commission status as best I can, but if you are concerned, feel free to contact me at dragonmelde[at]gmail[dot]com. Please keep in mind that I am a full-time university student and therefore must put school work first. This should not be an  issue, but in extreme cases, your commission might have to be put on hold for a short period of time if something come up in my school career.  Please contact me if this becomes an issue so we can work something out.

Alternative Methods of Contacting Me
You can always email me at dragonmelde[at]gmail[dot]com or reach me through one of my instant messenger services (listed under the "Contact" header).

Deadlines
If you need a commission completed and in your hands (or paws!) by a specific date, please give me at least a month’s notice when you send your commission form. Because I work mostly in traditional mediums, the speed of USPS must be taken into account for commissions with strict deadlines.  If you are located outside of the US, please take into account that your work will have to pass through customs, which can delay the date you receive it.

Cancellations and Refunds
Once I have begun your commission, I cannot refund you the full amount. If you cancel at specific stage (ie sketch or ink stages for a full color commission), I will deduct the price for the amount of progress made and  refund the rest. If I complete the commission and you are not happy, I'm sure we can work something out. I may not be able to give a full refund because of materials used, but I do want a happy customer!

Customer Approval and Revisions
I will always send you the sketch stage for inks and full colored works for approval. For sketch commissions, I do not generally show a sketch stage because of the nature of the commissions. After the sketch is approved by you, I will move on to finish the piece unless you specifically request to see another stage for approval.

Originals and Shipping
I include the cost of mailing in the commission prices, unless you live outside of the US. We will discuss the extra costs of shipping internationally if necessary (usually only $3 more). I use USPS to mail commissions, and will package your commission so it should not bend in transit. Once your commission is completed, I will contact you for an address to which I can send your original. After I hand the package over to the postal service, I am no longer held accountable for it. If something happens to your commission in transit, there is not much I can do about it beyond sending a complaint to the postal service. I will feel terrible about it, but the fault lies with the mailing services, and not the artist. If you wish to discuss an alternate mode of shipping (ie UPS or Fedex), please contact me so we can discuss additional shipping prices.