Arcworks’ terms and conditions are listed in full below. In order to contract services from Arcworks, you must agree to these terms, so please read them carefully.
The Client has communicated with Arcworks, either using a quote request form or by personal communication, to engage services toward the creation of an illustrated work, graphic design, or other artistic piece (the Commission). The Client agrees to these Terms by submitting the quote request form and/or by paying the invoice for the Commission.
Effective Date of Terms
These Terms have been drafted on November 8th of 2023. Commissions contracted on or after this date and before such time as these Terms are modified will be held to this revision of these Terms exclusively; future drafts of these Terms will not apply retroactively to jobs contracted under these Terms.
Arcworks Representatives
Arcworks is primarily represented by its proprietor, Robert Cain Jr. (the Artist). Arcworks may contract with individuals for business purposes; these contracted individuals have limited, authorized access to and responsibility for some aspects of the business. In these terms, a Representative shall be either the Artist or any such contracted individual, and references to the responsibilities of Arcworks under the Terms apply to Representatives as well. Arcworks assumes all responsibility for the actions of any Representative acting in their capacity as a Representative.
Usage Rights
Arcworks reserves all rights to the distribution, display, print, and commercial use and further sales of the Commission, including the specific depictions of characters or materials that may be the intellectual property of the Client, unless a privacy fee, licensing agreement, or other documented arrangement that would restrict these rights has been agreed upon and its terms upheld; this reservation shall not prevent the non-commercial use of the Commission by the Client unless the Client is found to be in breach of these Terms.
The Client will be provided with a version of the Commission featuring a banner displaying the Arcworks logo and a marketing blurb; the Client is given an interminable license to display only this version of the Commission in any public space, unless a licensing agreement has been reached that would preclude the requirement for accreditation.
Privacy Policy
The Client's personal information, including e-mail and other contact information, will be kept strictly confidential unless either required by law to provide it or, through communication with the Client, a Representative believes there is a clearly evident likelihood of impending harm to self or others, in which case that Representative will, if possible, notify the appropriate authorities.
Communications between Arcworks and the Client will be kept confidential only so far as required to protect the Client's personal information. It may be used to defend Arcworks in the event of a dispute.
Unless a privacy agreement has been reached, and any fee for said agreement has been paid in full, Arcworks will, at its discretion, display the Commission on online galleries, social media, and any other public space. Arcworks will, at the Client's request, refrain from identifying them as the Client on those galleries, so long as these wishes are made known before the Commission is made public, after which the removal of such identifying marks will be at Arcworks’ discretion. The Client understands that Arcworks cannot prevent their identification if characters or other contents that are known to belong to the Client would connect them with the Commission. Arcworks will also post the going market rate for the Commission, but policy is not to post the actual amount paid for the commission after fees and discounts have been applied.
Creation Procedure
Upon receipt of an illustration quote request, the Client will be contacted by a Representative to acquire further information as is needed to complete the Commission, and to provide the Client with a quote for the cost of the services. The Client understands that the rates upon which this quote is based are not guaranteed and any quote provided is at the discretion of the Representative. Upon confirmation of this quote as acceptable to the Client, the Client will be sent an invoice for the full amount of the quote, using the payment processor Square, payable upon receipt. At the discretion of the Representative, alternative payment options may be arranged.
After the invoice for the Commission has been paid in full, the Client will be contacted using the email address provided in their quote request when work on the Commission has begun. After this contact, the Artist will produce a sketch which attempts to adequately represent the intent of the final finished Commission and would satisfy the Client, and it will be presented to the Client for alterations or confirmation that the sketch is acceptable and ready to continue to completion; if the Client does not object to the sketch, it will be used as the basis for the final piece. Once the sketch has been completed, no further guarantee of communication regarding the Commission is provided except to inquire about information needed to complete the Commission, and “work in progress” images will be provided only at the discretion of the Artist.
Alterations
Any and all alterations to the requested Commission will be made before the sketch has been confirmed by the Client providing the alterations do not fundamentally alter the nature of the commission; changes of this nature will require an additional fee to be negotiated per situation as necessary. If the Client requests alterations at any time after the completion of the sketch, they will be made for an additional fee rated at $20 per hour, with a minimum fee of $20, to be charged or waived at the Artist’s discretion. Alterations that require a fee constitute a new commission, and will be considered and arranged at Arcworks' next availability; they are not guaranteed at the time of delivery. Requests for alterations that would cause the Commission to contain content that the Artist would not have agreed to create, or would cause the Commission to be in breach of these Terms, will not be provided. At any point after the sketch has been confirmed, alterations will be made to fix glaring errors at no charge.
Arcworks reserves the right to use any and all versions of the Commission before alterations have been made as described in Usage Rights above.
Delivery Date
At their request, the Client will be provided with a quoted approximate delivery date for the Commission. The Client understands that unforeseeable and extraordinary circumstances may demand my time and attention or otherwise unavoidably detain the completion of the Commission—including (but not limited to) family emergencies, medical emergencies and complications, or equipment failure—and that these circumstances constitute an acceptable delay beyond the quoted delivery date; in these circumstances, the Client will be given a new delivery date once the cause of the delay has been addressed.
Should the Commission not be delivered within a reasonable window of one or two days past the quoted delivery date, the Client may choose to pursue a refund as detailed in Return Policy below.
Communications
The Client asserts that the email address they have provided for the purpose of communications regarding the Commission—including (but not limited to) progress, production confirmation, sales, and payment—is a working, regularly checked address. The client acknowledges that any conversations between Arcworks and the Client outside of the email will not be considered binding by these Terms unless a transcript of those conversations are included in email correspondence, and that it is the Client's responsibility to ensure that these transcripts are made and are accurate. All email communications to Arcworks must be addressed to arcane@arcworksdraws.com (the Official Email Address).
The Client agrees to communicate promptly within 48 hours of any communication sent to them, barring extraordinary circumstances such as are listed in Delivery Date above. If communication is not received within this 48-hour window, Arcworks reserves the right to seek and initiate new work, and to prioritize and complete such new work before resuming the Commission if the new work is accepted before the Client responds to communications. If communication requiring confirmation is not received within this 48-hour window, Arcworks will regard the communication as being without objection and will treat the communication as confirmed. The Client understands that this failure to communicate voids any provided delivery date and the ability of the Client to pursue a refund based on the initially provided delivery date, and that a new delivery date will be provided when communication allows the Commission to be resumed.
The Client agrees that any failure to communicate with Arcworks for longer than a period of 30 days, either from date of payment or from the last recorded communication, will constitute a breach of these Terms.
Conduct
The Client agrees to conduct themselves with reasonable and professional deportment, and acknowledges that their communications with Arcworks will be kept on record for future reference and may be used in defense of actions taken pursuant to these Terms. The Client understands that Arcworks takes the well-being and safety of its Representatives with utmost seriousness and that any poor conduct towards a Representative shall be dealt with strictly.
Refund Policy
If the Artist cannot produce a sketch which satisfies the Client, the Client will be offered a refund, minus a fee rated at $20 per hour for time spent on the sketch with a minimum of $20. If the total amount paid for the work was to be less than this fee, no refund will be offered. After the sketch has been confirmed as acceptable by the Client, the Artist will make all reasonable effort in good faith to produce a completed Commission which pleases the Client; the Client understands and agrees that no art is without flaw and agrees not to pursue a refund directly from Arcworks or any other means unless the Commission fails to be delivered according to the Delivery section above, or is of markedly poor quality and demonstrably shows lack of effort or value when compared against the whole of Arcworks’ other artwork.
If the Client has paid a fee for the Application Holding Service, they may request a refund within a period of one week from the date of payment; after this period, the payment will not be eligible for refunds.
Due to a history of problems with PayPal, including the disappearance of funds from accounts and theft by PayPal itself, if PayPal must be used to pay commission fees, no refunds are guaranteed for any funds tranferred using the service.
If the Client pursues a refund through third-party channels, such as a chargeback through their financial institution, and Arcworks determines that their refund request is in violation of these Terms, Arcworks will contest the refund, and may at its discretion choose to take further action as laid out in Legal Disclaimer below.
Potentially Disturbing Content
Potentially disturbing content is defined as themes or images that could be interpreted by the viewer as hurtful or damaging. If a Representative determines through communication that the work is potentially disturbing, they will provide the Client with instructions via email with requirements for reposting or otherwise using the Commission, which may include but is not limited to disclaimers, “thumbnail” requirements, and reposting restrictions. These instructions must be followed in their entirety and in perpetuity until such time as a Representative explicitly rescinds them via official communication.
Legal Disclaimer
The Client agrees that they are not a minor and that they are legally able to enter into and uphold this agreement. Breach by the Client of any portion of these Terms will result, at Arcworks’ discretion, in a termination of service, forfeiture of all payment, and action on its part—including (but not limited to) reporting of accounts, DMCA takedowns, and legal action.