reselling commissioned work and advice on an unusual commission

[wingsofjudas.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've seen this come up before but if I'm mistaken I do apologize!

I offered to do art in return for donations to pay for emergency vet care a few months ago. I've been working through my queue in chronological order and noticed that one of the people who donated a large amount ($100 towards the roughly $250 bill) has listed many Furbuy auctions of art they've commissioned during this time. I feel a little uneasy and am wondering if this is justified? The artwork is listed/reserved/sells for more than I charge and I know I would be bothered to see that if they decided to sell my work and someone paid more than I can make selling my own art. ;P Plus there's the issue of someone else profiting from my work.

I'm also uneasy with the content of the commissions (rape, pregnancy, copyrighted characters) and confounded by the commission procedure, as instead of being told to draw such-and-such and going through the usual approval/discussion, I was linked to a database of PDFs, each containing the information for desired commissions. I've spent considerable time going through these PDFs and trying to make sense of what I'm suppose to draw and figure out if any of them are even things I do draw.

Thanks in advance, I've really enjoyed the wealth of information this community consistently provides!

EDIT: I wanted to amend this to say I decided to issue a refunds if for no other reason than that I have very limited time with a baby/farm. I'm still interested in feedback though, for knowledge's sake, especially about reselling commissioned work. Thanks!

Comments

[fenrirs-child.livejournal.com]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but unless you specifically gave them the right to resell your artwork they are not allowed to by law. The copyright/reproduction right/etc is still yours.

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

If it is physical artwork, yes, they can resell the physical item. Digital art is another beast altogether, since one can 'sell' it without actually losing your copy.

[fenrirs-child.livejournal.com]

Right, that's what I meant ^^; Thanks for clarifying!

[wingsofjudas.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I was unsure of that.

[theblackdragon.livejournal.com]

(a) Charge what you feel is fair for your time and effort put into a piece. If you think you're worth more than that, charge more. Potential resale value shouldn't be an issue; as long as they're only selling the original that you sold them (and not making prints from it; i'm assuming you're talking about traditional artwork?), they're entitled to charge whatever they feel it's worth if they resell it. And hey, if you notice your art is in fact being resold for more than you sold it for in the first place, it's probably time to rethink your value and raise your prices. :3

(b) If you're confused, have you attempted to contact this person to ask specifically what they want you to do? Your TOS states that you'll draw things from ratings G through X, but that specific content is to be discussed via e-mail only -- it's rather vague, so if you were just linked to a bunch of random PDF files with no further guidance, perhaps reaching out to that person for clarification is in order?

[wingsofjudas.livejournal.com]

Where are you seeing my TOS, out of curiosity? I don't think I have it linked anywhere right now... I have been in the process of revising it since I took on the last commissions. Not to change policies so much as make it more concise and get people to read the whole thing. Originally, I stated explicitly what I don't draw (rape, scat, underage characters, copyrighted characters, bestiality) and something about how pretty much everything else is fine with some examples of more popular fetishes I've had requests for. I had my website linked in a RL circle I wasn't terribly keen on and hurriedly edited with the "email for details" part to avoid potential blowback from employers. So at the time the commission was accepted it was more clear than it is now.

I'll think about my prices, that's a good point.

Thank you very much!

[theblackdragon.livejournal.com]

in your DA page, you've got a link in your Deviant ID that says 'Commission Information', it takes you to this page (http://www.wingsofjudas.com/commissions.html) on your website. I'd already tried to check out your website before to see if you had a TOS up, but it said it was under revision, so that's why I checked your DA to see if you had a TOS listed there or anything. :3

[wingsofjudas.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. I forget I had that link floating around and was just curios. =P Yeah, the page is always there, so if anyone has it bookmarked they can still see it.

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

Rather than try to sort through a mass of picture descriptions, I would suggest listing what you will/will not draw, and request the donator/commissioner to narrow down their list of possible images.

I'm not sure if you do digital or traditional art, but if the latter, the buyer can legally resell it for whatever price they can get. However, if it's digital, you must specify what a person is allowed to do with the image. You're essentially licensing your services to produce an image, but the image remains yours to use/resell/alter as you please. You retain the rights to dictate where it is posted, and the buyer does not automatically have the right to resell it.

[wingsofjudas.livejournal.com]

That makes sense.

I do traditional but that's good to know about digital. Thanks for your input!

[taasla.livejournal.com]

If you're doing traditional art, then the commissioner is legally able to resell the original that you do for them. That is the right of first sale.

As for the content, if you are uncomfortable, then tell the commissioner what you will and won't do. That way they can cut down on the list and see if they've got something that they want done that is comfortable for you.

[wingsofjudas.livejournal.com]

Okay, thanks for setting me straight on that!

Good advice, I opted to refund due to time constraints but I appreciate the feedback and knowing this stuff for future experiences.

[syrusb.livejournal.com]

...confounded by the commission procedure, as instead of being told to draw such-and-such and going through the usual approval/discussion, I was linked to a database of PDFs, each containing the information for desired commissions. I've spent considerable time going through these PDFs...

I experienced similar once and it really turned me off. I don't like having to read a novel to do someone's commission; give me the details and the basic idea, let me do my thing. I guess some people feel that gives the artist more freedom but I keep going back to 'reading a novel...'

[wingsofjudas.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I tend to pair down my commission info and jot it down as the essentials and have a very quick "cheat sheet" so I can work quickly and not miss anything important. I have literally 20 minutes at a time some days to work on art right now so I found this very frustrating.

[ljmydayaway.livejournal.com]

Uhh. Is the art you'd be doing for him physical art, or digital? If it's digital, is he selling digital downloads of the art he commissioned? If it's traditional, is he selling prints of the art he commissioned, or the original?

If he bought traditional pieces and is selling the original, there's nothing wrong with that. A little frustrating, but otherwise first sale rule, he's legally in the right, etc.

If he's selling prints or digital downloads... OH HELL NO. Oh right the hell no. The ARTIST, unless otherwise agreed to, retains the copyrights to the art, not the commissioner. He has no right to be selling prints or digital downloads of art that he commissioned.

[ljmydayaway.livejournal.com]

... Huh, suddenly as I posted this, there's tons of comments saying the same thing. OH WELL. Could you note/PM me with who this commissioner is?

[wingsofjudas.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's traditional.

[fiawol.livejournal.com]

If you're uncomfortable with the subject matter requested, that is a perfectly valid reason to not accept a commission, but unless you expect each person to die with all the original artwork they've collected, you cannot reasonably expect a physical piece of artwork you've done to never be resold. Medical expenses come up, tastes change, and if you see your artwork has gotten more than you initially sold it for, just take that as information that people are willing to pay that much for your art, and you can consider raising your prices. Picasso didn't stop drawing because he saw people reselling older artwork he drew for higher prices, he raised his own prices!

[wolf-goat.livejournal.com]

To start with, I know exactly who this is and...he's kinda not the best person to deal with in the first place, I always turned him down - repeatedly - when I caught onto it.

That aside there is nothing you can do about him selling a physical real media piece, and it's not really protocol to ask permission to do so. Sucks if you were hoping to keep it private (or disassociate yourself from the subject matter - understandably) though.

[marus-puppy.livejournal.com]

So, wait. If I'm reading this right, this guy is commissioning artists and then turning around (immediately?) to sell the artwork at a higher price?

Legally, there's nothing wrong with it, but... it's pretty tacky. :/

[greenreaper.livejournal.com]

From an artists' perspective, I can see where it's an issue. But this is what merchants everywhere do. They buy low and sell high - or higher, anyway.

The artist benefits by having a guaranteed buyer and money now, rather than a potential buyer later; the merchant is taking on risk, and is potentially rewarded for that. They may also add value - for example, not all artists are good at selling the art which they create.

As the furry market develops, I see this kind of role becoming more popular. This is arguably a good thing - as long as they don't have a way to block artists from selling directly - because it makes the market more efficient. After all, if the artists is not willing to take on that risk, they may not make furry art at all, but instead choose to work a menial job for guaranteed pay.

[marus-puppy.livejournal.com]

Oh I can absolutely see what this would be beneficial to the market, I just think the immediate turnaround is pretty scummy, if that is in fact what he's doing. I'm still fuzzy on those details. When I commission an artist, it's because I want to see their work or my characters done in their style. It feels like an insult to commission them just so I can make a quick buck, but that's just my opinion.

[greenreaper.livejournal.com]

I think that if you are not open about what you are doing, it opens the door to criticism. Ideally, parties should go into a transaction knowing all relevant facts.

[marus-puppy.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with this.