TERMS OF SERVICE
By commissioning me you understand and agree to my Terms of Service. Read carefully before placing your commission as failing to acknowledge or abide by these guidelines will lead to a void transaction and cancellation of your commission. You also risk a permanent blacklist ban from future commission opportunities.
Introduction
You have to be 18+ to place a commission with me.
I the artist reserve the right to turn down any work for any reason.
I may cancel the commission and issue a full refund if I decide to no longer work with a client.
There is no deadlines unless specified otherwise, only rough estimates.
Payment is expected in full, in advance. PayPal in USD only.
When you place a commission, please be clear and precise in what you’re looking for to avoid additional charges later. It’s your responsibility to keep an up to date reference sheet.
My queue is public and can be found here on trello.
Clients may request anonymity and/or an alias on the queue (i.e. gifts)
2. Commission Process
(Queue times may vary, standard wait time is ~3 months. So keep that in mind while placing your commission.)
You commission me by contacting me directly and filling out a form through Patreon (if open) or an official public opening.
Keep your references and PayPal information at hand when commissioning me, I can go by description(usually covered by a +$250 custom design fee), refs or multiple images as long as you’re clear and precise. If you don’t have a clear front and back view there is a design fee of +$30.
If I accept your commission, I will contact you with a PayPal invoice. If I don't receive a response or payment in a timely manner I will consider the slot abandoned and remove you from the queue.
Prices are a general estimate and can change based on character or concept complexity.
Work will not begin until after payment is made in full.
If you change your mind before the commission has been sketched, you can still ask for changes, but you might have to resubmit a form.
You may ask for updates or WIPS at any time, but be respectful about it, keep an eye on trello!
Unless specified otherwise you will be sent a sketch for approval, giving you a chance to change things. You get two passes before getting charged for additional changes. (the exception is fixing mistakes on the artists side)
After you accept the sketch the commission is finished and there will be no room for major changes without additional charges, the only exception is if I the artist has misinterpreted the design or missed anything that was clearly stated in the commission form.
If you want to make changes or add detail to a finished commission, you can pay an additional $50 USD per hour to reach a desired result. (i.e. experimental pay what you want commissions you want to take a bit further, adding a background and changing shading to fit a piece that didn’t initially come with a background, changing features or assets on a completed reference sheet etc.) This also applies if you have a older commission that you want me to fix up for you.
You will be given a high resolution PNG file as well as a smaller upload friendly PNG file once the commission is finished. It’s your own responsibility to download and archive these for your own use.
3. Copyright and licensing
I maintain right to all work I create in any digital, traditional or print form under the name Catlawn or Nekoshiba. This includes but is not limited to using commissioned work in portfolios, prints, merchandise, etc.
If you wish to purchase the rights to your commission or character for commercial purposes (for profit) you need to pay a fee in addition of the original price, and depending on licensing intent you may be subject to royalty fees.
If you do not want your piece to be included in any resale or promotional material you can request to be excepted from this when placing your commission.
You have the right to use your commissioned piece for any personal/private use. i.e. sharing your commission on social media, uploading it to Toyhouse, and everything from icons, banners, uploads, prints or phone screens for yourself and loved ones. If you are unsure if something qualifies for private and personal use; contact me.
I reserve the right to make changes to any work I create for my own personal and commercial use. This may include but is not limited to re-purposing a background for my business or personal use, or putting some clothes on a undressed character for print. I will not re-distribute or sell any assets created for your piece without asking for permission.
The client may upload and share their commission anywhere as long credit is given to the artist.
The client may modify or color their commission, as long as it’s respectful to the original piece and credit is given.
4. Refunds and payment plans
The client is responsible for their own financial situation. I do not issue refunds for the client's failure to manage personal finances or obligations.
I am willing to work with clients if they are unhappy with their service or product. Please do not open a PayPal dispute without contacting me beforehand as I will need to take legal action and you will be blacklisted.
If you terminate your commission you are subject to fees, such as an inconvenience fee and consultation fee. This will be deducted from your refund.
4.a Commission Termination after work has begun:
If your commission is terminated and refunded all rights to the supplied artwork returns to me as the artist to use as I please.
If work has begun, the client is subject to a partial (50%) refund up to the lining and coloring stage.
Past this stage refunds are no longer eligible, but can be negotiated on an individual basis for exceptions.
When the artwork is paid off and completed refunds are no longer negotiable.
You can purchase the rights to cancelled work to avoid it being recycled, just contact me for details.
4.b Payment plans
Payment plans can be issued on a case to case basis on orders $500+
Payment plans require additional contractual agreements suiting the nature of the artwork in question.
+$500-1000 payment plans can be paid in 50/50 or 30/30/30 installments over a month
+$1000 pieces can be considered for longer payment plans (no longer than 6 months).
Payment plans may be subject to penalties for late payments.
5. “Your Character Here” (YCH) & Adoptables
5.a General
YCHs and Adoptables will be announced through Patreon and social media, and availability will be subject to the individual posts guidelines.
Payment is expected in full 24 hours after claiming or winning a bid, if client fails to provide information / payment in a timely manner the slot will be revoked and re-listed.
Failure to pay or cancel in a timely manner can result in a future blacklisting.
In the case of auctions where the winner fails to claim their piece in one way or another, the second highest bidder may be contacted for an opportunity to claim if it isn’t re-listed right away.
5.b Your Character here (YCH)
In the case of YCHs you will not receive a WIP sketch unless specified otherwise, since the sketch has technically already been provided.
Individual guidelines per listing usually applies, but unless specified otherwise there is usually no gender, species or wing restrictions.
For best results I do however recommend a YCH that looks like it would already fit your character.
I reserve the right to turn down a YCH claim for a slot if I do not feel the character(s) would be a good fit.
5.c Adoptables & Custom Designs
I still maintain the rights to all work I create any digital, traditional or print form under the name Catlawn or Nekoshiba. This includes but is not limited to adoptables and custom designs.
Adoptables and custom designs are sold for personal private use and does not come with a commercial license by default. They can therefore not be used for i.e. books, shows, comics or merchandising without a contractual agreement.
When a design changes hands, the terms of service still applies. It is the sellers responsibility to make the new owner aware.
You are free to re-sell, trade or give away any Catlawn designs within the community while following the terms of service, and you’re free to turn a profit.
While in possession of a Catlawn design you are free to; alter the design, this includes but is not limited to cosmetic changes, name, gender, species, orientation, theme and backstory.
You are free to share your design and related artwork on social media. If artwork is not made by me make sure to check the relevant artists individual terms of service for their guidelines.
You can not falsefully claim a designs origin or be deceptive by claiming work as your own, proper credit must be given. Credit does not have to be included in every post, but should be disclosed in a public location and revealed if asked.
If terms and service are not upheld your design rights will be revoked. This means the design returns to me to be archived and you can no longer use the character. You are effectively leasing the design. This is always a last resort and reserved for gross negligence. (i.e. participating in banned content, breaking the licensing agreement by trying to use the design for commercial purposes without a contractual agreement, etc.)
6. Bases & Lineart
6.a General
Do not remove the Catlawn Illustration/Catlawn/Nekoshiba watermark provided with the files, you may alter or move the signature, and you may add your own signature to the work as long as you keep my watermark somewhere in sight. Giving me credit in the description of an upload is appreciated but not required.
Do not distribute the original files to anyone. The packs are exclusively for your own use, one license per purchase.
Do not re-sell the files, the users agreement and license is not transferrable.
You may publish your finished/colored work anywhere online to share with others.
You may alter the lineart and/or draw your own.
You may share any lineart you draw for the bases, as long as you do not share any other original assets from the original works.
You may not spread hateful, harmful or distasteful content using my bases and lineart, even if it’s your character and colors.
You can not include banned content in artwork that features base lines or assets.
6.b Copyright
The artwork is licensed to Catlawn Illustration and you agree to these terms of service upon purchase.
Bases & lineart is for private use only, this includes but is not limited to selling commissions and adoptables using the product for profit, making characters for yourself and friends, using final artwork for world building for roleplaying, using the lines for personal educational purposes and as a recreational coloring book for fun.
You do not own any rights to the lines, backgrounds, assets or layouts featured in our products upon purchase.
Any designs created using lines or assets from a base belongs to you as long as you designed the character yourself.
You may create new designs or color in existing ones using the lines. You need permission from any character owners before using their creations.
Any illustrated backgrounds or assets/items included in a base is reserved for use within that base only, you are not licensed to use these illustrations outside of their intended purpose.
You can purchase items and background rights separately, these come with their own terms of service. (coming soon!)
6.c Use & Sales
You may use bases/lineart for personal use, oc’s, fun etc.
You may edit and/or customize the base however you want, including but not limited to creating your own lines, backgrounds, assets and layouts!
You need to own the rights/royalties to any assets, backgrounds, designs or layout you decide to add to the bases.
You may sell designs using my bases, such as adoptables.
You may do commissions using the bases/lineart.
You may not harshly alter the intended purpose of the base in order to do commissions, reference sheets are for reference sheets etc.
6.d Technical requirements
I am happy to troubleshoot with you if you run into any issues, just contact me! Depending on the extent of the technical difficulties I can provide you with new or alternate files if I have the receipt for your order.
You agree to and understand that upon purchase you will receive a downloadable compressed .rar file containing the .psd and .png files that the base packs consists of. This is intentional and it is your own responsibility to retrieve these files using software such as Winrar(pc) or iZip(ipad).
You need software with the ability to use layers in the form of .psd files to use these bases.
The bases are meant to compatible with iPads and Procreate, but it is not the sellers responsibility if you have old or outdated software/hardware. I can provide alternative file options for those who are having layer limit issues in Procreate upon request if I have the receipt for your order.
7. Content guide
7.a Preferences / Strengths
Anthropomorphic characters, human-like and quadruped
Humans / humanoid characters
Animals
Fantasy
LGBTQ+ content
Nature
Soft mature content
Wings
Candy gore
Clothing, cosplay
7.b Not preferred / Weaknesses
Vehicles, Heavy Weapons, Hard surface objects with lots of detail
Armour
Reptiles
Robots, Mechas
Gore
7.c Banned Content
(extends to all copyrighted Catlawn Illustrated work, including bases and purchased adoptables*)Hate art, ex. nazis, racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia etc
Extreme obvious political art
Babyfur content of any kind
“Hyper” and physically extreme bodies
Sexual content involving minors or “real” animals
Scat, flatulence, or diapers
Extreme gore or death
Style-matching (drawing in a different artists style)
AI ‘art’
*If you are unsure if your intended purposes for Catlawn licensed artwork, base, adoptable or otherwise violates any of these guidelines, you are free to contact me and discuss it!