Terms of Use and Service

Posted 4 years, 3 months ago by StormyStarlight

Here can be found a complete list of terms I (StormyStarlight) expect people using my artwork and character designs and/or commissioning me to adhere to. They're mostly very simple and laid back; however, I have outlined them in detail to prevent misunderstandings. While some of these terms may not be legally binding due to the nature of copyright law, I still expect people to respect them, and those who do not will be blocked and refused future service.

Notes

  1. StormyStarlight is referred to as both StormyStarlight and the Artist. She is referred to in the third person and uses she/her pronouns for the purpose of this document.
  2. A person commissioning, trading for, or otherwise receiving artwork or characters from the Artist is referred to as the Client. They are referred to in the third person and with singular they/them pronouns (as opposed to "he or she"/"his or her"/etc.) for the purpose of this document.
  3. If multiple sets of terms apply to a piece of artwork or a character (e.g. a character was created by the Artist but is part of a closed species), the strictest rules from each should be favored.
  4. Posting artwork is defined as creating a post/blog/image/etc. with the primary intention of showing off said artwork, regardless of how many total pieces of artwork may be present in said post (e.g. Toyhou.se images, Instagram posts, deviantART deviations).
  5. Displaying artwork is defined as showing off said artwork as a part of something larger such as a user or character profile where the primary intent is not to show off the artwork but to communicate other information (e.g. on a Toyhou.se character profile: pagedolls, reference images, decorative graphics). The artwork is not edited from its original form (besides cropping and resizing).
  6. Modifying artwork is defined as changing any visual aspects of said artwork besides cropping and resizing (e.g. editing colors, adding or removing details, filling in a base). Other minor changes may be exempt from this term's definition on a case-by-case basis.

These terms were last updated on 2 Oct 2023.

Artwork Terms of Use


This section contains terms that apply to the usage of all artwork created by StormyStarlight.

Usage

  1. The Artist reserves the rights to all artwork she makes. The owners of any characters, species, concepts, etc. featured in the art that do not belong to the Artist maintain their rights to those intellectual properties.
    1. The Artist is always allowed to post, display, and/or modify her own artwork. She will not do so in an attempt to lay claim to intellectual properties within said artwork that do not belong to her. If requested by the Client, the Artist will keep her artwork for the Client private (see Commisison Terms of Service: General: 6).
  2. All of the Artist's artwork, regardless of the subject matter and who it was made for, is for personal use only by people other than the Artist. The Artist's artwork is not for commercial use by anyone other than herself.
    1. The Artist's artwork may be used to advertise/demonstrate an intellectual property within it that is for sale (i.e. when selling a character that has been drawn by the Artist or that was created using a base drawn by the Artist, it is acceptable to advertise the sale of said character using this artwork). Please note that since the Artist reserves the rights to her artwork, these rights are never transfered along with the rights of any intellectual property it depicts; however, any new owners of this intellectual property automatically receive permission to post and display it, as outlined below.
    2. See Character Terms of Use: Usage: 2 for information regarding the commercial usage of characters created by the Artist.
  3. Artwork created by the Artist may only be posted, displayed, and/or modified by people other than the Artist under the following cirumstances. Under all of them, unless explicitly otherwise stated, proper credit is required (see Artwork Terms of Use: Crediting). These circumstances and their respective guidelines are as follows:
    1. The person doing so currently owns one or more of the intellectual properties depicted in the artwork.
      1. They are allowed to post and display it but may not modify it.
      2. If they want something in the artwork modified, they may ask the Artist to do so for them. So long as it is doable and not excessively time-consuming, she will be willing to modify it for them free of charge.
    2. The artwork is solely a fanwork for a TV series, movie, video game, or other form of media (no fan-characters or other fan-made elements are depicted—only canon material). This does not apply to fan-art/gift art for other independent creators unless their permission is granted.
      1. The person doing so is allowed to post and display it but may not modify it.
    3. The artwork is a free-to-use or pay-to-use (that has been paid for) premade resource (e.g. pagedoll, graphic).
      1. The person doing so is allowed to display it but may not post or modify it.
    4. The artwork is a free-to-use or pay-to-use (that has been paid for) template resource (e.g. base).
      1. The person doing so is allowed to modify it but may not post or display it in its original, unmodified form. They may, however, post and display the modified version.
  4. Artwork created by the Artist may only be posted by people other than herself (with the correct permission to do so) to the following sites:
    1. Toyhou.se
    2. Instagram
    3. Other sites may be allowed on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Artist directly to ask for permission.

Crediting

  1. Artwork created by the Artist must always, unless explicitly otherwise stated, be properly credited if the person posting or displaying the artwork is not the Artist. Proper credit is defined as:
    1. Toyhou.se
      1. Posts: Onsite artist credit to the account StormyStarlight. (This applies to images, literatures, characters, and all other areas in which onsite credit is possible.)
      2. Displays: A functioning mention of the account StormyStarlight or link to the original work. (Profile pictures do not need to be credited if the full image is within the character's gallery and is credited properly.)
    2. Instagram
      1. Posts: A tag of the account stormy.starlight in the photo/video itself and a functioning mention of the account in the description.
      2. Displays: A functioning mention of the account stormy.starlight.
    3. deviantART (displays only): A functioning mention of the account StormyStarlight or link to the original work.
    4. Amino (displays only): A functioning link to the Wings of Fire Amino account »—stormystarlight—➢ or link to the original work.
    5. Art Fight (displays only): If the image is uploaded to a character profile: A link to the account StormyStarlight in the credit field tied to the image being displayed. If the image is displayed within the text area of a user or character profile: A functioning mention of the account StormyStarlight or link to the original work.
    6. Elsewhere (displays only): A functioning link to the Artist's Carrd, a relevant account of hers, or the original work.

Character Terms of Use


This section contains terms that apply to the usage of all characters created by StormyStarlight.

Usage

  1. All characters created by the Artist belong fully to their respective owners from the moment all payment (if any) agreed upon is sent/completed. The Artist does not retain any rights to the character after this time but must still be credited appropriately (see Character Terms of Use: Crediting).
    1. The Artist still reserves the rights to all artwork she makes. The Artist is always allowed to post, display, and/or modify her own artwork. She will not do so in an attempt to lay claim to intellectual properties within said artwork that do not belong to her. If requested by the Client, the Artist will keep her artwork for the Client private (see Commisison Terms of Service: General: 6).
  2. All characters created by the Artist, but that are not owned by her, are for personal use only by default. The Artist is open to allowing commercial usage if and only if it's discussed beforehand.
    1. An aditional payment may or may not be requested for a commercial license. Please note that this has not yet happened and the Artist does not have much knowledge of this area of copyright law (please be patient).
    2. See Artwork Terms of Use: Usage: 2 for information regarding the commercial usage of artwork created by the Artist.
  3. Characters created by the Artist may be sold or traded in any way regardless of how the people doing so obtained them.
    1. However: The Artist reserves the right to block and refuse future service to anyone should she feel they are repeatedly inflating prices/upselling characters she has created specifically to turn a profit. She will not do so without first giving a warning. Generally, she asks that prices don't increase without new tangible content.
  4. Characters created by the Artist may be redesigned/have their designs modified to any extent.
    1. However: The Artist asks that should a character she created be redesigned so drastically their design is no longer recognizable, their owner is to separate the old and new designs into two different characters. They may transfer all the character's information (e.g. name, personality, story, writing) to the new design and do what they wish with the old one (e.g. retire it as a separate character, use it for something else, sell or trade it). Should this be done, the Artist does not need to be credited in any manner for the new design.
    2. Credit is still required for characters initially created by the Artist whose redesigns are within the recognizable range and are regarded as the same character as their previous design. See Character Terms of Use: Crediting for more information on this.
    3. The owner's own discretion may be used to determine which category the redesign falls under. Within a certain margin of recognizability, the Artist does not care which option is chosen. If there is any doubt, the Artist may be asked for her input on the recognizability of a redesign.

Crediting

  1. Credit for the designs of characters created by the Artist must always be present on any character profiles made for them (e.g. Toyhou.se character profiles, Art Fight character profiles, Amino Wiki Entries) and in the credits of large projects (e.g. long-form video series or comics). Credit for the designs of characters created by the Artist does not need to be elsewhere (e.g. drawings of the character) unless specifically asked for by the Artist. Proper credit is defined as:
    1. Toyhou.se
      1. Character Profiles: Onsite creator credit to the account StormyStarlight. If the Artist did not create the character but redesigned them: Onsite designer credit to the account StormyStarlight.
      2. Other: A functioning mention of the account StormyStarlight.
    2. Instagram: A functioning mention of the account stormy.starlight.
    3. deviantART: A functioning mention of the account StormyStarlight.
    4. Amino: A functioning link to the Wings of Fire Amino account »—stormystarlight—➢.
    5. Art Fight: A functioning link to the account StormyStarlight in the design credit field. If the Artist did not create the character but redesigned them: A functioning link to the account StormyStarlight in the additional credits field.
    6. Elsewhere: A functioning link to the Artist's Carrd or relevant account of hers.
  2. If a character created by the Artist has been redesigned and is still regarded as the same character as its previous design, the Artist is still required to be credited as the initial creator. People who have redesigned the character should also be credited alongside her for the redesigns specifically (e.g. "initially created by StormyStarlight; redesigned by @username"). On Toyhou.se, the onsite account StormyStarlight should be credited as the creator of the character and any people who have redesigned the characters as designers.

Commission Terms of Service


This section contains terms that apply specifically when commissioning artwork and character designs from StormyStarlight oneself.

Subject Matter

  1. The Artist is willing to draw any of the following:
    1. Characters the Client owns or gifts for others (in good taste)
    2. Original characters, pets, fan-characters, and fan-art
    3. Feral, anthro, and simple-shaped characters
    4. Avians, dragons, reptiles, felines, canines, bugs, and most other animals
    5. Humans and humanoids, though the Artist asks that the Client recognizes they are not her strong suit
    6. Most gore, body horror, and other sensitive content
    7. Lined, lineless, and pixel art
    8. Simple scenery/backgrounds
  2. The Artist will not draw any of the following:
    1. Very complex characters or backgrounds
    2. Real people
    3. NSFW art, suggestive/sexual art, nudity, or fetish
    4. Glorification of pedophilia, zoophilia, incest, abuse, etc.
    5. Hate symbols or offensive imagery/language
    6. Fan-art of or characters belonging to media or individuals the Artist is morally opposed to or uncomfortable with
    7. Anyhow the owner of an intellectual property would not consent to it being depicted
  3. The Artist has the right to refuse any commission request for any reason, with or without explanation.

General

  1. The Artist does not work with strict deadlines and does not necessarily complete commissions in the order they are received—simpler commissions that would take less time may be completed before commissions ordered before them. However, it is encouraged for the Client to inquire about the commission if they have any concerns or would like a status update.
  2. The prices listed in the Artist's commission information are base prices and are subject to increase if the Client's request would be especially complex, time-consuming, or difficult to complete.
  3. The Artist is willing to make minor changes to commissioned artwork at any stage of the process (including after completion) free of charge. More involved modifications may be subject to extra charge, depending on reasoning:
    1. Errors made by the Artist (e.g. accidental omission of a part of a character's design or misplaced color) will not cost extra to be fixed.
    2. Changes based on the Client's personal preference (e.g. different composition or color scheme) are subject to extra charge if they are not requested during the sketch stage and would be especially complex, time-consuming, or difficult to implement.
  4. Commissioned artwork, unless otherwise specified, is completed and delivered digitally. Artwork created with physical mediums may be mailed upon request if such was not already agreed upon. Unless otherwise specified or agreed upon, digital artwork files are sent in .PNG format (layered files such as .PSDs or .SAI2s will not be provided).
  5. Commissioned artwork, like all other artwork the Artist creates, will be overlayed with a subtle watermark containing the Artist's username, platforms, and the year the artwork was completed. Unwatermarked files are not provided.
  6. By default, the Artist may post and display any commissioned artwork she makes. Should the Client ask for their commissioned artwork to remain private, the artwork will not be posted or displayed by the Artist.

Payment

  1. Payment, unless otherwise agreed upon, is to be sent in full after the sketch/first draft of the commissioned artwork is completed. The Artist will not continue work on the commissioned artwork until all payment agreed upon is received.
  2. Payment is to be made via PayPal or deviantART Points only. The Client may choose which method they would like to pay with if the payment type has not already been specified by the Artist.
  3. Payment made via PayPal is only accepted in USD (United States dollar) through the "Goods and Services" option. The Artist will supply her PayPal email for the Client to send the payment to. The Client is not expected to pay any extra to cover PayPal fees.
  4. Payment made via deviantART points is to be sent to the Artist through the "Give Points" option unless otherwise specified.

Cancellations & Refunds

  1. The Client has the right to cancel their commission for any reason, with or without explanation.
    1. If the Client cancels, they will receive a refund equivalent to the value of what has not yet been completed of the commission (e.g. a commission that is 25% complete will refund for 75% of the original price) and the .PNG file of what has been completed.
    2. The Artist does not provide refunds for commissions that have already been completed.
  2. The Artist has the right to cancel the Client's commission for any reason, with or without explanation.
    1. If the Artist cancels, the Client will receive a full refund of the original price and the .PNG file of what has been completed.

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