Pepper-Head

Thank you so much, @Leef !!!

Thank you so much @Elm !!! <3 Your work is fantastic as well (I drool over your botanical items, gosh!) It's been such a fun process developing branding for myself. I appreciate the comment on it!

Bump! I've edited the thread to reflect a more ongoing commissions que. I've also updated with some fresh examples!

Thank you so much for reading and even dropping off some of your own advice @Syntax ! It's so important to remain fair while protecting yourself and your assets. Perhaps one can gradually get a little more strict on some terms as their experience, skillset, and demand increases, but it's generally best to keep it professional and work around standards, within reason, for a client and project of its type. I've also heard of a non-compete clause like that! It's bewildering to think how someone could include that in their contract without fully thinking of what they're asking from someone! Do you mind if I ask if you were able to negotiate the clause?

Making your own contract to outline expectations for both parties, as well as protect yourself and your assets. DISCLAIMER: I'm not a lawyer and this isn't an exhaustive how-to. However, it's based off of information I've learned from someone who has made freelance illustrating their livelihood for decades. As such, this information is probably geared more towards artists, but you should be able to tweak it to fit your needs as a programmer, game owner, etc! Anyone who is serious about freelancing or running a game and working with artists/programmers. Contracts can be part of a NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement), or separate documents. The goal is to try to cover all of your bases and eliminate possible gray areas. Be very specific with what art and rights you are granting so there aren't any questions down the line, and your work doesn't get used in an additional way that you didn't intend for it to be used (and didn't get paid for!) --------- ▸The first thing to distinguish as artists/game owners is if this is a work for hire job. If it is, you give up all rights for the illustration(s) you do (except your right to show it for portfolio or personal promotion, unless stated otherwise.) The best example is if you did something for Disney - they'd want EVERYTHING. It could also complicate things if you later decide to copyright the work. ▸Decide what rights you want to give. Commercial, global, web, print, promotional, etc etc etc. Specifcy and make sure, if possible, you keep rights to original work for portfolio and self promotion! Specify if you need credit and how that should be displayed. ▸Most professional illustrators charged based upon the artwork, and then additional fees for the usage. So if you draw an icon that becomes a logo and is printed on merchandise, you'll want to consider charging more than the flat rate for the item. ▸Want to protect yourself from the possibility of a client requesting a lot of edits? You can offer a few free changes to bring your art up to the project standards, but it helps for clients to be clear and precise in the original project description. You lose money and time by constantly editing. Consider charging an hourly rate for edits past #x of changes. ▸If you're working on a larger project, consider including a kill fee. If working on a map/script, and halfway through the client decides to cancel or completely change the direction of the image/script, you should be compensated up to the stage that you're at (from sketch to final! It's even possible to have a smaller percentage kill fee once the project is first initiated, as that still took up your time to discuss the project and finalize the contract) ▸ This may also be a good place to confirm payments, deadlines, assignment descriptions, and other related details for easy record keeping. (It's easier than sifting through emails or private messages if you need to check something a few months later!) --------- The Graphic Artist's Guild is a fantastic resource for more information! I have modified their "All Purpose Illustrators Letter of Agreement" for myself. https://graphicartistsguild.org/dpegs-contract-downloads You can find a lot more resources as well as advice on their website. They also publish an ethics and pricing handbook yearly that every artist should own. (Unless there are huge changes, the last year's edition should be really affordable on Amazon) Whenever you are buying or selling services, from friends to a new or continuing client. Artists/Programmers can have their own contracts even if a game sends their own. All contracts are negotiable. Be sure you communicate with your client/artist/programmer before locking into an agreement to negotiate fair terms if you have questions or something doesn't work for you! A professional contract is typically sent as a PDF. If you can get fancy with Word, go ahead and then export as PDF! Photoshop, InDesign, and Acrobat are also good tools to create and modify documents. You can also make a signature and save it separately, so you always have a file to easily apply to contracts. Contracts can be as clear cut as you need them to be, but having a little bit of visual hierarchy will help all parties involved in reviewing the important areas (assignment description, cost, rights, etc). Typically you don't want a contract to be too long, 1-2 pages is a good length for an artist's. But a game owner's contract may look differently since it may need to cover more details. Google around and see what looks fit you best! A possible outline could be: Your Info Clients Info Assignment Description Rights Granted Terms of Service Signatures This is an area you may also want to cover in your contract, depending on the project. Did you only grant web usage, and found out that your art was printed in a zine? Did you program something and found that credit was removed, against your terms? Specify in the contract what should happen (usually compensation). Depending on the situation and willingness of the violating party, you may have to seek legal action. Artists: As far as I'm aware, if you're a US based artist, there are usually state based art guilds that have a small yearly fee of ~$30-50, but provide a couple hundred dollars of free legal advice. It's worth looking into if you're in a pinch, or even want help making/refining a contract! Keep tidy records of everything. Paypal invoices, contracts, PSD files, emails .... try to keep everything saved somewhere reliable if you ever need to look back on something for proof or reference later on down the line! Keep financial records. This is especially important for when tax time rolls around for income taxes and deductions. Also keep up to date on laws, since internet sales taxes can change, and if you make under a certain amount for a certain time, the government may view your work as a hobby. Pre-Contract Checklist -------- And that's it for your quick(ish) lesson! Feel free to drop any questions, but I hope this served as a good intro and helped you get some ideas rolling to create or even update your own contract.

@Corleone - You know, I haven't even thought of that! That'd be a pretty sweet bonus to the festivals. It sounds like the coli is more capable in general. I wonder if they have any other extras boons up their sleeve!

@Corleone That's fair I feel like they at least laid some groundwork for a future plot, or just helped to develop the world some for those who are really into their dragons and homeland. I haven't had enough free time to really play FR, but I think it's awesome that they've introduced EXP boosts in the Coli. I hope that can become somewhat of a semi-regular event!

@Corleone I feel like most of the big hype has died down too, and the (monthly?) welcome weeks helped to gradually let more people in. Hopefully things go relatively smooth from here Did you read any of the new lore in the encyclopedia?

I recently did a set of 14 icons for @Makazu. The directions were clear, communication was fast, and the payment was prompt! I would gladly recommend and work with Makazu again.

http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/2388528 The time is approaching! Flight Rising's open registration event, Bounty of the Elements, is set to kick off on Friday, March 16th. Tell your friends, family, coworkers: from March 16th on, the site will be open for registration all day, every day! Click here to read more about the celebration! Open RegistrationFlight Rising has been under constant construction and refactoring to make sure that its code infrastructure and server hardware can handle a steady influx of players and account registrations. What started as an uphill climb has become a tremendous learning and growth opportunity for our team, and we are proud to say that the day has finally come where we feel comfortable swinging wide the gates. Account registration will soon be permanently open! Come one, come all, and join us in the world of Sornieth! As part of the celebration, we're running a small event called Bounty of the Elements, which will start on Friday, March 16th at 06:00 Server Time. While some of the portions of this event will be temporary (ending 06:00 Server Time on Monday, March 19th), registration will remain fully open!LoreThe elemental dragonflights of Sornieth have long rivaled for control of their realm. Their warring spirits have put them at odds with their neighboring brethren as well as the tenacious beastclans. But...something is changing.The pull of the elements has increased, sowing prosperous bounties for each flight and their thousands of clans. Riptides have become stronger, wind currents howl with incredible force, the nights have become darker, and the days have become brighter. Blizzards are formidably crusting the very edges of the lands in the south, as intense thunderstorms wreak havoc on those in the east, the excess energy ripe for harvest. Industrious, ground-breaking clans like Fire and Earth are discovering extremely valuable minerals and artifacts never before seen, leading to breakthroughs in ancient history and metallurgy. The creep of the plague is harder and harder to repress as new strains threaten to infect areas once protected. The natural world is also flourishing, roots taking hold to find moisture wherever they can. From the sanctity of their floating islands, the Arcane dragons watch this burgeoning new world, wondering what gifts...or what curses...it might bestow.To take advantage of this, dragonflight populations are poised to climb dramatically. --- Each day, starting from Tuesday, March 6th, a new short story will be added to the Encylopedia. You can check back on this post to see which story has been added, and we will be sharing them across social media like Twitter and Facebook.The books below will unlock once a day up until the event begins, so check back often! Temporary BountiesAs part of the celebration, we will be running two temporary promotional bounties from the start of the event to Monday, March 19th. Bonus Coliseum Experience The roil of the elements has supercharged battle-ready dragons. For the duration of the bounty, all players will receive 50% more experience when completing battles in the Coliseum. Bonus Gems A motherlode of precious gemstones in Dragonhome has been unearthed. For the duration of the bounty, all players will receive 10% bonus gems when purchasing a gem package. Welcome Home!With this event, we would love to welcome long-time Flight Rising players that may have left us for awhile come back and enjoy all of the things they may have missed while away. We know, however, that returning to game can be challenging when all of your dragons have lost their energy and you only have so many gathering turns to spend in order to feed them.From Bounty of the Elements and onward, if you have not logged into Flight Rising for over 45 days, all of your dragons' energy levels will be set to full, allowing you a much better jumping off point towards returning to the fun. You need not do anything but log in!If you have a friend or two that's taken a break and are unsure about returning, let them know about this special boon! The Which WaystoneIn an effort to help to help both new and returning players alike, we'll be adding the Which Waystone, a helpful guidestone that can point you towards activities you can partake in on Flight Rising. Using your player data, the Which Waystone will attempt to curate a tailored list of things you can do right away, so it's great to check back on if you're unsure where to go next! In addition to dynamic activities, it can also suggest some activities to do that are available all day. The Which Waystone will naturally hang out on the bottom right corner of the website and can be clicked to visit the suggested activities page. For seasoned players, you can toggle the Which Waystone off .NOTE: For mobile users and players using devices with low screen resolution, the Which Waystone will be hidden by default. You'll still be able to click a link in our left-hand navigation menu under Library to reach it, though! New Premium Item: Swiftbrood Boon As the dragonflights rush to take advantage of the uptick in elemental activity, their clans grow stronger every day. The Swiftbrood Boon is a new premium item that will reduce the breeding cooldown of a single eligible dragon by half of its maximum. It achieves this by borrowing time from their next breeding cooldown.Eligibility: A dragon must have gone through one cooldown cycle since hatching. A dragon cannot already be on a Swiftbrood Boon cooldown. To avoid rampant hatchlings, after a Swiftbrood Boon has been used, in order to breed a consecutive time, the affected dragon will have to then complete their breed's normal cooldown cycle plus the days originally removed by the boon. Think of it like this: the dragon is simply paying back a "cooldown loan" before returning to normal. Example: An imperial dragon has a thirty (30) day cooldown. Using the Swiftbrood Boon will cut its cooldown to fifteen (15) days. Once the dragon has been bred, its cooldown resets; however, unlike the normal cooldown length, the imperial dragon's breeding cooldown will be forty-five (45) days.That's the normal cooldown of 30 days plus the 15 removed by the boon previously.NOTE: This debuff only impacts the breeding cooldown that immediately follows a Swiftbrood Boon use. If a Swiftbrood Boon is used on a dragon that has a remaining number of days on its breeding cooldown that is less than the amount the item will deduct, the dragon will be ready to breed immediately!The Swiftbrood Boon will be available in the Gem Marketplace. Celebratory Event FamiliarAs a thanks for joining us for the Bounty of the Elements, all registered accounts will receive a gift! A celebratory event familiar will be deposited to each account's Hoard. Forum Report FeatureWith open registration comes an increase in new players, but also a possible increase in inappropriate forum behavior and rule-breaking. To help protect the warm and inviting culture we are proud to boast about, we have completely revamped the way you submit reports about the following: Harassing or Abusive Posts Spamming Multi-Accounting & Botting Inappropriate Player Names Rather than submit your reports via Contact Us as you have in the past, reports can be submitted by clicking the yellow triangular icon above an offending post. A window will appear asking you what type of report it is, and ask you to include any details you feel are relevant to the report. Once submitted, the report will go immediately to the Flight Rising support teamfor review. This new system has been redesigned from the bottom up along with our efforts of improving our support team's internal tools, and will allow us to address issues much faster and more thoroughly.NOTE: Please do not falsify your report by selecting a different report type, and please do not send multiple reports on the same player. It is not necessary and could impact our ability to respond to a situation.Doing this could also be considered abuse of the Flight Rising support system. If we determine a player has intentionally falsified their report or has organized their friends to spam report a single player, account penalties may be applied. We feel like 2018 is going to be a great year for Flight Rising, and we have a ton of fun stuff planned. We'd like to take the time to thank each and every one of you who has played with us. Whether you started at the beginning or are just planning to create a new clan during the Bounty of the Elements, we appreciate you.

It was discovered that Overpowered was selling Neopets merch - and it was confirmed to be official! It currently only contains four species as enamel pins and keychains, but an editorial question has confirmed that virtual prize codes will soon be attached to them. https://overpowered.life/collections/neopets

I can definitely add that @Enivi's friendliness and professionalism is spectacular!

On Twitter I have "Show Best Tweets First", "Quality Filter", and "Personalization and Data" turned off - all features described as showing better content tailored to your interests. Those options are spread throughout settings, not sure if I'm missing another one that's still making it to where I miss so many posts, even when I fully catch up on my feed each day. As far as art on social media is concerned, I respectfully disagree that Instagram isn't useful. I know many who get commissions frequently there (way more than their other social medias), and for the pro illustration world, many employers will find artists from IG rather than making a job listing or searching through agencies. I understand how algorithms can make feeds more clean, appealing, and engaging - but Vero is trying to be a solution for a problem many are having, so I'm willing to give it a shot. If it is truly a failure - perhaps it can tweak things, or put pressure on other social media sites to offer an alternative option to satisfy this demand, or at least the next up and coming social media giant can learn from this and make something better.

I miss so much content (and my own posts are missed by many) thanks to algorithms that favor posts that can get the most attention shortly after it is posted. I think the biggest frustration here is when sites keep tweaking their algorithms to make it harder and harder to get seen. It'll be interesting to see how Vero works at least, and at no cost right now I haven't gotten around to posting much, but I know some friends have had some success getting genuine followers so far.

Added all three of you! @WinterBlues - I think it's more like Facebook, where you can have multiple of the same name existing. It's also incredibly easy to change your name on there.