Deadlance Illustration: Commission Terms of Service & Consent Agreement

By submitting a commission request and providing payment, the Client agrees to the following terms and conditions set forth by the Artist, John LeVan (operating as Deadlance).

1. Content Restrictions & Right of Refusal The Artist reserves the right to decline any commission request for any reason without explanation.

  • Prohibited Content: The Artist will absolutely not, under any circumstances, illustrate illegal activities, hate speech, or any explicit/suggestive content involving minors.
  • If a project is found to violate these boundaries after work has commenced, the Artist reserves the right to terminate the project immediately without a refund.

2. Payment, Fraud Protection, & Cancellations To protect against chargebacks and fraudulent requests, the following payment terms are strictly enforced:

  • Invoicing: All payments must be made via the Artist’s approved invoicing system.
  • Deposits: A non-refundable 50% deposit is required before any preliminary sketching begins. The remaining 50% is due upon completion, prior to the delivery of the final digital scan or physical shipment.
  • Cancellations: If the Client cancels the commission after the sketch phase has been approved, the initial deposit is forfeited to cover the Artist’s time and materials.
  • Chargebacks: Initiating a fraudulent chargeback after the delivery of the artwork will result in the immediate revocation of all usage rights, and the Client will be permanently blacklisted.

3. The Process & Revisions Because the Artist works in traditional physical media (India ink, acrylics, markers, and Bristol board), the revision process is structured to prevent unfixable errors:

  • Sketch Phase: The Client will receive a preliminary graphite sketch for review. Major compositional or character changes must be requested at this stage. The Client is entitled to two (2) rounds of minor revisions during this phase.
  • Inking/Painting Phase: Once the sketch is approved and traditional inking/coloring begins, no further structural changes can be made. Any requests for major alterations after this point will require a new commission contract and additional payment.

4. Copyright, Ownership, & Usage Rights

  • Artist Rights & Reproduction: John LeVan retains full copyright and ownership of the commissioned artwork. The Artist explicitly retains the right to reproduce the commissioned image for profit, including but not limited to selling art prints, merchandise, custom tokens, and compiling the artwork into future publications. The Artist may also use the image freely for portfolio display, social media content, and promotional materials.
  • Client Rights (Personal Use): The Client is granted a perpetual, non-exclusive license for personal use only (e.g., displaying the physical piece, using it as a tabletop token, or personal social media avatars with credit).
  • Commercial Prohibition: The Client may not reproduce, merchandise, or profit from the artwork without negotiating a separate Commercial License.
  • Strict AI & NFT Prohibition: The Client is strictly prohibited from minting the commissioned artwork as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) or feeding the artwork into any generative Artificial Intelligence dataset, model, or tool.

5. Privacy & Non-Disclosure (The Privacy Fee) As a working illustrator, the Artist relies on sharing completed commissions and process videos to market their business and relies on merchandise sales to sustain their shop.

  • Default Public Display: Unless otherwise agreed upon in writing prior to payment, the Artist will post the artwork to their public galleries, social media channels, and may record or stream the creation process.
  • The Privacy Fee: If the Client wishes to keep the commissioned artwork entirely private—meaning the Artist agrees not to post the image online, stream the process, or reproduce it for merchandise, prints, or tokens—an additional 100% Privacy Fee will be added to the total base cost of the commission.
  • Requesting Privacy: The Client must explicitly request this privacy buyout before the final invoice is generated. Once the contract is signed and the deposit is paid under the default public terms, the Artist retains the right to share and monetize the image.

6. Shipping & Physical Delivery

  • Original physical artwork will be shipped to the address provided by the Client.
  • The Artist is not liable for damages or loss that occur once the package has been handed over to the postal carrier. All original artwork will be shipped with tracking and base insurance. Additional shipping insurance can be purchased at the Client’s request and expense.