Here are the general terms of service for commissions, adopts, and other services I may provide. By commissioning me, buying my designs, otherwise requesting my services, or engaging with communities created by me, you are subject to these terms.

These terms are subject to change at any time. 

Terms

• Any usage of "I" or other personal pronouns refers to me, Auspice. 

• Any usage of "you" or related pronouns refers to you as the commissioner/client. 

• The "work" refers to the artwork, design, adopt, etc. purchased from me. 

• The "order" or "request" refers to your instructions/your request for the work. 

General

• I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. I may or may not provide and explanation and you can request one if you wish, but I am not obligated to give it. 

• You must have permission to use a character you commission me to draw, i.e. you must own the character, have permission from the owner, it is a character from public commercial media, etc. You are accountable for having the permissions to use the character and how the character is portrayed. 

• You pay me for the time spent and the service rendered, including the time spent discussing details and ironing out the details of your request. 

  • The more concise your request, the better. Note that this does not mean precise or detailed, I am happy to take a significant amount of artistic freedom with general but succinct requests.

• You may see here for the typical process of painting commissions and here for the typical process of character design commissions.

• I retain the rights to use the work for advertising, presenting, and redistributing my work, such as for commission listings/examples, in portfolios, posting on social media, etc. 

• For character designs and adopts, you must follow my adoptable terms and conditions. 

Permissions

In all cases, you are not allowed to use my work for NFTs (non-fungible tokens). 

The permissions outlined below may not cover all situations, but the intention is to give a broad outline of what is allowed. 

I may individually give specific permissions for certain works beyond what would typically be allowed for personal use. You may also request certain permissions.

Personal Use

Generally, "personal use" is the use of the work for personal enjoyment and not for profit, and sharing the work with credit. Under personal use, you may:

• Post the commissioned work to reference websites such as Toyhou.se, and use the work as reference material (i.e. sharing a character reference to an artist for a different commission/request/etc.)

• Use the work as profile pictures, banners, character profile artwork, etc.

  • When using a work in this context, you may make minor edits such as cropping, applying a filter that changes hue/saturation/brightness/etc. If there are minor errors in the piece, you can try to fix it yourself. For any major edits, please ask me before doing it.

  • Note that even if you make minor edits, do not repost the edited work on public social media. 

• Share the work privately, such as to friends or in Discord servers

• Reblog/retweet my original posts of your commission on social media websites that I am active on (DeviantArt, Tumblr, and Twitter). 

  • Do not repost without permission, but you can request to do so on websites where I am not active, so long as there is no paywall. 

  • You may "repost" with credit for things such as raffles, request threads, that sort of thing where someone asks for references. Still, reblogging/retweeting when possible would be appreciated. 

  • If you do repost, please credit with a link to this website or credit one of my social media handles. 

You may not use the work for monetary gain, including any of the commercial uses outlined below.

Commercial Use

Generally, "commercial use" is the use of the work for profit, including sales, marketing, branding, merchandise, etc. Under commercial use, you may: 

• Use the work for merchandise (prints, using a character design for a figurine/plushie intended for public sales, etc.)

• Use the work for branding and advertisement (such as using a logo for a profitable entity, using a character design as the mascot of a commercial/profitable entity including companies and closed species, using artwork for packaging merchandise and such, using the artwork to advertise or present something intended for profit, etc.)

• Limit access to the work behind a paywall / require payment to access the work. 

I request that I be credited for the work somewhere visible to the public, but it does not need to be overt.

Commercial transactions should be discussed individually. Exact terms of use can be negotiated and discussed with the client. Commercial transactions will have an increased price and will be calculated on a case-by-case basis. Unless explicitly stated, all transactions will only be for personal use. 

Lore Inspiration and Plagiarism

Lore is a significant part of my creative process, and includes original character details (personality, story, etc.), original stories, species lore, and more. 

Inspiration, as discussed here, entails one or both of the following: 

• Seeing a concept that sparks creative motivation, leading to original ideas.

• Adapting a concept into your own work in a transformative way.

Plagiarism is the latter done without permission or meaningful transformation. Plagiarism of my lore, including direct usage of characters, world-building, or unique concepts, is not permitted. 

While taking inspiration cannot realistically be stopped, it does make me uncomfortable if elements of my lore are taken directly. In the case of original characters, many of them are deeply personal to me and I would be uncomfortable with others appropriating them. In the case of world lore (such as lore for closed species), if people want to use my lore, I'd want them to join the world I put in the effort to make it for. I spend a considerable amount of time contemplating and organizing my lore for the sake of allowing others to participate in it, so I ask that you do so on my terms.

If plagiarism is confirmed—either personally or by reasonable suspicion of me and my moderators—I may contact the individual for adjustments. If the issue persists, consequences such as graylisting may apply. In cases of suspected but unconfirmed plagiarism, I may decline to personally engage with the individual or provide my services at my discretion.

If you wish, you can reach out to me to discuss how you can use elements inspired by their lore in a creative/transformative way. 

• If your idea is significantly distinct or transformative, you can mention inspiration from my lore as a nod of appreciation if you wish, but it will not be demanded. Checking with me would still be appreciated as well. 

• If you intend to use direct elements from my lore, discussion is required. Depending on the uniqueness and complexity of the element, I may approve, request modifications, or decline usage. Acknowledgment of the source will be required in such cases.

• Direct replication of complex or uniquely executed elements—including effects on characters, world-building, or societal structures—may be firmly refused.

Inspiration is generally more permissible for personal work. However, for commercial projects (e.g., closed species, published/serialized works, video games, or online persona lore for branding), explicit permission is required. Unauthorized use for profit will not be permitted, and I reserve the right to request adjustments or take other necessary measures.

Regarding Fanfiction 

I sometimes create complex alternate universes (AUs) for my fanfiction that include distinct lore elements not present in the original canon.

• Fanfiction of my fanfiction is always permitted and does not require permission. This includes works set within my AUs, explorations of alternative story outcomes (canon divergence, missing scenes, etc.), or extensions of my narratives. However, linking my work as the source is required.

• If you wish to use my AU lore in a different fanfiction setting—such as incorporating it into another fandom—please ask first and provide proper credit. I will generally be fine with it as long as clear attribution is given.

• If you wish to use my AU lore for original work, please discuss it with me. I may or may not be fine with it, depending on the scope and nature of your project, and how much of my lore you wish to use.