How to Make a Terms of Service the RIGHT Way! Most people don’t…
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- This is YOUR guide to art terms of service! You will learn how to make a terms of service for freelance art, and we'll examine mistakes most people make in their terms of service mistakes so that you won't make them. Make your clients feel informed and secure in hiring you for their project with your TOS in place so that you both are protected. This is awesome beginner art commission advice, as this topic is really frequently overlooked. Furthermore, this is an important document to have when posting in response to client work, or advertising your services, so that you appear more professional. Try out these tips and let me know how it works!
Do you have any questions? Anything you need clarified? Ask me in the comments! I ALWAYS answer your comments. No lame hearts and ignoring comments from this guy.
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00:00 All about the TOS
0:32 What is a TOS?
0:54 Is that also a contract?
1:42 Don't cram it
2:28 Nobody will read this
3:04 Take this out immediately
4:34 This isn't necessary
5:16 Don't offer this
6:07 Talk this through instead
6:44 What to do if...
7:30 Make your own!
7:46 Attractive Layout
8:16 These are ALL necessary
Thank you for talking about this, there aren't enough videos about this subject even though it's something so important that needs to be talked about more!
Yeah isn’t that weird?? It seems like such an important topic. On the opposite end, have you ever seen bad advice on these?
Thank you for making this video! ❤
You’re welcome! Are you currently making one of your own right now?
Awesome video! Tbh I was kinda scared of making ToS before and was procrastinating because I was overwhelmed by the examples with tons upon tons of details. But now I know what to do very clearly and will do my ToS very soon. Tysm!
Can’t wait to see it! Feel free to share it with me when you’re done. So what was so scary about making a TOS before watching this video?
@@TheArtMentor What scared me most was just how much I thought had to be covered, like what I will and won't draw, details on communication (basically explaining the full process that the client and I would go through), and seeing all the 15-page long ToS's on websites didn't help lol
Ty this is just what I wanted
Glad to hear! Are you setting up you’re now for commissions?
thank you so much for this! i was panicking like crazy to try and make one
My pleasure! How does this tutorial fair against other resources you’ve found on this topic, or on the examples I critiques in this video?
Once again what great idea, I’m going to update mine!
Thanks for watching again! What did you learn needs updating after this?
Hey I've gotta say, This couldn't have come at a better time! I'm reworking my TOS because of ambiguity issues, so this is a pretty handy guide to have! Thanks for making this video!
I’m happy to hear about this fortuitous timing! What did you learn about how you’ll rework your TOS after watching this?
I’m happy to hear about this fortuitous timing! What did you learn about how you’ll rework your TOS after watching this?
@@TheArtMentor A lot of the stuff you've covered I was pretty much doing already, I don't specify turn around times, never offer up the base files, and I'm working on condensing my terms and keeping the legal jargon out of it to make it an easy read.
Though I didn’t think to add a bio and values section to my terms. It seems like a really neat way to engage potential clients and get them interested.
I'm also going to be specifying the difference between commercial and personal use. Originally I had a very hands off, "do what you want with my artwork" policy. But I had a bit of a wake up call since I recently had someone approach me for commercial use on personal use prices, which is what prompted me to change my TOS in the first place.
There's one minor issue I'd argue though, I think the do's and don't section might be necessary to keep people from asking for things that would be unnerving, if not impossible. This happens to me more often than I'd like. I design fantasy style monsters and props (equipment, Role play swords and staves and what not). and yet I get a ton of requests for Sci-fi blasters and rocket launchers... I mean, in the end I'll do them, it's not that big of a deal. But that's not the core of what I do, and the designs in my profile didn't deter people from asking.
Thanks for the love on this! Here's a link to download my TOS template 😁
drive.google.com/file/d/1_jxLpXlFCtRRhPftPelPOvWpq7HmUAjO/view?usp=sharing
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen on a Terms of Service?
I think it was so strange that my mind considered it traumatic and erased it from my memory XD
Very informative video. I liked how you said that terms of service should be concise and how you explained the difference between contracts and TOS. I thought it was good you mentioned artwork can't be used for NFTS and that you listed what your values are. Good that you mentioned if an artist can't complete a project they should offer a refund. There are a few things I have mixed feelings on. I feel that a list of "what I'll draw" and "what I won't draw" is important. I tried to commission an artist once who had amazing fan art in their gallery and I assumed it would be okay to ask for a fan art commission. It turns out the artist only draws fan art for fun and is uncomfortable selling commissions of copyrighted characters. I don't think artists should mention deadlines in their TOS, but they should link to their queue on a site like trello so the customers can see how long their wait lists are and when their art is going to be worked on. I do disagree with what you said about not providing the high res unless it is a commercial commission. I always ask for the PSD file for personal use and commercial use comms. Why? Because I print alot of my commissions for personal enjoyment around my house and jpeg files are horrible! I also commission reference sheets and with reference sheets it is helpful to be able to move things around in Photoshop, add text, point out important features.
Wow your comment is so detailed there’s so much to respond to lol. First off, thanks for watching!
Let’s start with concern #1: do’s and don’ts are not a term of service. There’s nothing that has to be agreed upon there. As stated in the rest of the video, clients would know what an artist does and doesn’t do from a conversation rather than a sheet. It’s something that I always recommend for commissions. It does sound like you arrived at the conclusion with the artist you cited through a discussion, correct?
@@TheArtMentor I read their terms of service, everything sounded good. I said I was interested in a commission, they told me to email them info. I did, they said sounds good, they would add me to their commission list, and give me their paypal info. Then a few hours later they came back and said, "I am sorry, I am not really comfortable drawing copyrighted characters for commissions. Sorry. I should have put that in my commission journal."
Thanks for the info there. It’s strange that an artist would have that work in a commission sheet or journal when they don’t offer it to clients. Kind of absent minded huh?
Regarding concern 2: this is kind of where we lie on different sides of the same coin. For a client queue, I see where that’s helpful for a client, but as an artist We don’t really need clients knowing that kind of information. Also, if an artist is attracting more clients, they have the right to charge more as more come in because they then have to split their time and energies. That’s what myself and other artists I’ve talked to do as they go from having 1-2 clients to 3-5, we’ll charge the last few more money bc we now have to juggle our efforts and communications. Does that make sense? It’s not like it’s about greed, but it’s just about supply and demand
Worth noting is that arbitration of the clauses defined by a TOS and compensation for violations thereof is determined by the damage presented in the form of financial losses. The offending party must be proven to have caused harm to warrant legal action against them. A "disadvantaged position" may be used to describe a reason for deeming TOS unenforceable (as it is a legally binding agreement) if either party is determined to have their rights violated. This definition may change based on the complexity of the service or relationship.
One general example would be updating a TOS, which will definitely happen at some point; the author is responsible for informing all involved parties and reaching an agreement, again. This responsibility falls to the party rendering services every time. Failing to do so would be considered unenforceable. Services that see continued usage are able to surmount this due to the legality determined by Click-on Terms of Service and client correspondence, which keep the TOS valid.
Over-generalization may also result in the waiving of a TOS as unenforceable and, more often than not, the reason we legal peons often don't get away with writing whatever we want on a document labeled TOS. I would say here that there are better reasons to deny usage for NFTs that could have been listed, having a clause against commercial or for-profit use is the right direction to go as the illustration is the intellectual property of its creator.
As someone who has also created freelance work, any possible violation worth pursuing should be in a no-holds-barred contract. A TOS will not get you very far in an actual disagreement simply because contracts are far more respected and a TOS is easier to waive. Both parties confer, assemble the contract, agree upon the contract, it is notarized, and continue to use it throughout the deal. I think a TOS really boils down to what you said about refusal, it's for the client to know what you're willing to tolerate and when you are going to say "no."
You have a lot of insight on this topic, can I assume you've been working commercially? In those cases, there's a lot more laid out than freelancing with private clients. Companies and agencies lay out the legality more than artists
@@TheArtMentor I spent a lot of time researching commercial relationships before deciding freelance was better for my schedule. I have a lot of respect for the skilled artists who want to do business for the one-time clients, there are many one-off renders that are quite beautiful to look at.
I get a sour taste in my mouth though when I hear about the kinds of things they order their clients to do at threat of legal pursuit. I would be sad if my client posted compressed and artifacted versions of my work! :(
Love your content, been sharing it around and we all noticed improvement in our business and we're less stressed as well!! 💪 💪
Thanks so much for your support! What kind of art business are you involved in? What are you making?
@@TheArtMentor I am a 3D Character Artist for Animation! :)
Do you have any tips on what website to put the TOS?
That’s so cool! I want to learn more 3D some day.
Regarding your TOS question, are you asking what websites you can use to make your TOS, or if you need to put a website into your TOS?
@@TheArtMentor Both to be honest, I think there are advantages of customizing your website so it can include Categoric Commission infos and TOS
I just don't know what website would work, maybe Deviantart has such thing but I do not know it as much
You could always make your own website, use a text or image hosting platform of some sort, or on DA they have journals. Whatever platform you use, I recommend keeping it really simple. Have you seen my video on commission sheets?
Let's just say my TOS went from 3 pages to half a page >>;;;; Thank you for the tips! I'm way more confident on it now :D
Oh wow that’s a huge transformation! 🤩 what did you learn to cut out after watching this? Sounds like you did some serious editing hahaha
@@TheArtMentor Oh god... So many things!! I had an entire paragraph describing the timeframe for updates, had the classic 'will do/won't do' (that's the entry that surprised me the most in the video!), refund policies, 'i will refuse x type of work'... And a lot of stuff I forget now. I always thought you "had to" add all of this because I kept seeing these around, so this video was a huge relief ^^;
Sounds like you got a lot out of this! Love to hear that 🔥 it’s actually because I keep seeing those that I made this video. All of that jargon and extensive over explanation is really off putting for clients when you think about it, isn’t it? 😅
@@TheArtMentor It really is TT It reached a point I'd look at my own TOS and think "...i'm not reading this" LOL Thanks again for the video ^^
Yeah I’ve seen those too! That’s a good sign it’s too long when you don’t even want to read it lol 😂
I've been watching a lot of terms of service videos all over UA-cam as I want to start commissions, and this one has been the most helpful to me, as it's really easy to understand and gets the point across! so I want to say thank you for making this video! I've also been watching a couple of other videos from you, and I want to improve the portfolio that I have. so I was wondering if there is a way I can send you my portfolio for advice purposes.
Thanks I’m glad to hear it was helpful! There isn’t a lot of good direction out there on this, am I right? And those examples I critique in this video are full of so many flaws, and that’s very very common.
I’d be happy to take a look at what you want. Just reach out to me on my Insta, which is the same name as my channel
@@TheArtMentor thank you for answering! ill definitely reach out to you through Instagram!
I just realized I did a commission I know was going to be commercial 🤦♂️for only 200 dollars. Thanks for this information!
Ah no! Same here man, I’ve been there buddy haha. But now you know better moving forward huh?
So were you making your TOS or just looking into tweaking it before watching this?
@@TheArtMentoryeah I have learned from my mistakes, I had a work in progress TOS before watching this video, I watched it to get some idea of what to put in it. I just finished up my TOS thanks to this video. Thanks again !
You’re welcome and I’m glad it helped so much! How much did you end up changing it after watching this?
@@TheArtMentor I ended up charging a percentage of the original cost. If I am working with an indie game developer it will be 500% and if I am working with a company or other large entity, %1000 with royalties.
Those rates sound great! Did you put those on your TOS or just somewhere for yourself?
awesome video, thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping other artists.I still have a couple of questions and doubts: 1) what should I do when a client doesn't follow a term? (example i found out that the client is claming the work as his) 2) should i make them sign the tos? or do i do that in the contract? do i need a contract for small commissions?
Thanks so much for watching as well! For your questions: 1) of a client is stealing your work, you should warn them, and if they are profiting from it, sue them. If they’re just being a jerk, there is unfortunately not much that can be done if they are simply displaying it as their own.
2) no, a TOS is confirmed once payment is received. All terms are agreed upon once beginning your working relation. If they violate a term, you retain all assets, rights, and payment collected
3) watch my video next week on how to make a contract for commissions 😁
How does all that sound? Any questions?
I have a question about the commercial term, how do we regulate it, if you sell an art commission for a person about their OC for example, I think this person can do whatever he/she wants lior using it for a UA-cam Channel or else, and also could use it for merch, and I won't be seeing what to they use the art everytime to say, they should pay for commercial use if want to use the art for merchandise or else, personally I think I would only have the credit for the art and style but not for the entire idea, if it's something like an OC that's the commissioner's. I can say I would not allow to use it for commercial purposes or something similar for pieces that are my own creation or something original from me, like my own OC's or even fanart or fan comics, which have a character original author already.
So copyright laws actually totally protect artists on this. All artwork belongs as the intellectual property of the artist. Even if the idea was the client’s, all aspects of the artwork belong to the artist unless you sign an NDA. Did you see that part in this video?
If you were commissioned, and the client made money off of the image through any means, you have the right to sue them for intellectual property theft. Unless you have an agreement or License in place, you would be awarded monetary compensation for this illegal act.
Does that make sense?
Thank you. Just made my terms of service.
Great to hear! Any questions on any terms you included or what I didn’t include?
@@TheArtMentor it's all good I think. Keep up with these videos!
Thanks so much! I sure will 😁 any suggestions on future content?
@@TheArtMentor maybe a video where you make critiques of some of your subscribers' portfolios is a good idea.
That’s funny, you’re the second person to request that. Keep a watch on my community tab for when I look for submissions 😁
Great video! I'm totally going to keep these in mind when I finally draft my TOS. But, question: in regards to getting paid in a non-disclosure agreement, is there a specific value range you would recommend an artist be paid?
I looked online and came across on site that the pricing can be between 1500-3000 dollars I think. How would I go about pricing in this regard?
GREAT question! That varies significantly depending on the client. For example, a private author looking to release an ebook on Amazon won’t get the same rate a publisher, which that amount would reflect instead. I would say for smaller clients, prove until you know enough, research who backs them, and you’ll get a sense for how deep their pockets are. How does that sound?
@@TheArtMentor Yeah I that makes sense. Thank you for responding. I'll totally keep this in mind 👌
My pleasure! Any other questions?
Hey Sean. Could i use exactly these terms you have displayed in this video or they should be worked throught?
Absolutely! These are my best practices, so feel free to just copy them 👍
At what point between the qualification process and the initial payment should I send the tos?
when they ask for it, if they do. IT's not that important, but you can send it along w/ payment requests if you really want to
Really useful info! This makes it less intimidating to start commissions lol😂 btw, do I have to upgrade my paypal to business and send invoices to get paid? Or is having a personal paypal fine?(Like I just send to the client my paypal email, both for the initial down payment and after)
Happy to hear this helped! For PayPal, no, you can keep it standard. No need to invoice, just send a client your PayPal.me link (it’s in the app under request money) and tell them the amount
@@TheArtMentor ohh i see, thank you soo much!! Some of the other small art channels I saw use invoices, but I guess it really depends
You’re very welcome! Any other questions?
I've heard that some "clients" try back out after the artist has already done some or most of the work, and request a refund. Should there also be a point about cancellation policy?
Absolutely, but not in a POS. Next week I’ll go over contracts as well, and that’s a more appropriate place to state that policy
@@TheArtMentor thanks for confirming!
My pleasure, as always! Any other questions?
9:28 What if they create an NFT regardless of what is written in your TOS?
Then you have reason to contact the block chain site it’s posted on to have it removed. You could also sue bc you have legal grounds to
Hey Art Mentor, In another video, someone commented on a scenario where a client goes against an artist's terms of service by posting artwork without credit, claiming it as their own, rude interaction that results in chargebacks, etc. I understand that without a proper legal course (a contract), artists are vulnerable to unpleasant situations. However, you followed up by saying when you work with high-value individuals, you’re less likely to deal with these situations. You also referred them to your video on where to find these people. I’m curious which one it is. I’ve been binging all of your content since I plan on opening commissions soon. Sadly, this is a primary concern of mine that bothers me. I’ve heard commission horror stories and dealt with funky artists myself (as a client), and it’s not the most enjoyable experience lol…Hopefully, you respond. I notice your activity regardless of the date of the video!
Sure thing! Watch these two videos:
REAL advice to get art clients and commissions in 2024
ua-cam.com/video/JQMjdHBakno/v-deo.html
WHERE to find art clients and higher paying art commissions
ua-cam.com/video/OAvInGpHrMQ/v-deo.html
I've been looking into what happens with kids buying art from me, and how to protect myself from that ever happening. Should I add this to my TOS or should that only be established only in DMs? I have seen horror stories from people who had huge chargebacks on Paypal that weren't protected and were lied to about their age, and I fear it could happen to me. Are there any tips you have to get the actual age out of a user if they could be a minor?
That’s a touchy subject I suppose. So it’s be inappropriate to ask that to a stranger online, but honestly, I’d say don’t charge cheap for starters. Most kids wouldn’t think about charging larger amounts. Other than that, I would support you taking legal action against the parents since they would be held liable for their child’s fraudulent activities. How does that sound?
@@TheArtMentor sounds good to me! Thanks for the reply, it certainly gives me a bit more confidence about it!
My pleasure! Honestly, I wouldn’t assume it’s a huge concern or that it’s a huge risk. Just proceed forward and if you price yourself well while looking in the right places for commissions, you won’t get any issues with kids 🙃
Did you include any of these do's and don'ts on your Terms of Service?
^
I thought terms and agreement should be freaking long like when you download software or in the manual xD, btw how does licensing work and how to make one? I can't fully understand it, almost every successful artist knows it and knows how to monetize it
That’s a great question for my friend @artbusinesswithness . She dabbles in that field more than I do, but thanks for asking.
So is your TOS crazy long like the example I showed?
@@TheArtMentor Wow thanks for your recommendation, yes I was planning to make one like how companies do it I thought it was the standard. This saves my time and mental health xD
No problem! Think of a TOS as a document clients see before hiring you, and a contract as what they get after settling on your creative services. It’s a reassurance document more than a legal-standing document, which is the point of a contract. Make sense?
@@TheArtMentor sorry it took some time, blank staring, and googling to fully understand it
No need to apologize haha
I have a legal question from a customer perspective. I purchased a lot of Unity & Blender files to use for VRChat. In a nutshell that game is not really friendly to the community so I’m not playing it anymore. Their TOS goes against your advice in this video, has dos/don’ts, gives all the original files for about $50 and says that it’s not for educational purposes but for personal use on VRChat. After this occurred their TOS changed to people are not allowed to use it for a different game. I got into a heated argument with them because at the time I purchased it, it didn’t say I couldn’t use it in another game and it didn’t say she could change TOS Post Purchase Unilaterally. It devolved to me before called selfish & this artist does everything by herself & doesn’t know everything & people like me take advantage. I honestly feel scammed out of hundreds of dollars, DMCA is so outdated and doesn’t have anything regarding my rights in this situation from what I am trying to find.
So am I just out of luck here or did the artist overstep her bounds as a creator? Thanks!
Wow that’s a tricky situation. First off, I’m no lawyer, but I have a couple thoughts here. Two questions first: did you ever sign a contract with that artist? And, do you have a copy of their TOS prior to it being changed?
@@TheArtMentor nothing was signed, I have a copy of the original TOS as a text document, screenshots of all of our communications when this change was made on their discord & Gumroad. I know this isn’t legal advice, I just wanted an idea of what I should do? Obviously I’m no longer going to continue business with this artist because I don’t agree to their new TOS. I know this is extremely murky waters here and I’m tempted to just get a free consultation with a copyright lawyer on this. I don’t think I have the energy to fight this though due to family circumstances.
Does the artist make money from the assets you commissioned them for?
@@TheArtMentor some assets used in the avatars she sells are not 100% hers and she has a commercial license to use them. A ton of it is her own work though, I purchased each avatar 1 time for myself or whoever I wanted to make edits to the avatar I purchased from her. It’s not a monthly payment to use anything she gives customers if purchased directly from her Gumroad, her Patreon and discord nitro has different terms. It’s confusing for me to navigate all this right now because it’s only now that a giant situation arisen when there’s a question on whether or not she has the rights to dictate. She claims that some assets she uses has the same bans from anything other than VRChat but the main reasons she made in her big announcement was that she doesn’t feel comfortable with people making edits to her stuff and get blasted by people claiming it doesn’t work.
Yeah you might want to discuss this with a lawyer if you want to pursue it. If they’re profiting, it is technically their intellectual property as the artist, but you might have some claim to it. It depends on your local law