Note for artists producing for Yellow Optic
Yellow Optic requires something out of every commission work that a lot of artists might find odd or peculiar. To hopefully address these concerns before disputes arise, this document is sent to you to hopefully allow you an insight into key argumentative territories that you may encounter while producing for Optic.
You are expected to understand all the terms presented here before you enter into an agreement with Optic. This will not affect your statutory rights.
Payments
General
Optic will request a quote before the commission effort begins in an attempt for both parties to reach an agreement to prevent any disputes. All requirements that may require more specialization in certain fields will also be mentioned in the preemptive descriptor sheet to allow the price to be presented accurately.
Please state whether you need a full payment to be made before any work begins, known as a “full down” in Optic lexicon, if need be. If you do not make such a request, Optic is not responsible for a payment arrangement that is not to your liking that very well could lead to the dissolution of such a collaborative effort.
While we do understand that expectation might sometimes subvert reality and cause an artist to realize there is more work down the line that requires an extra payment, Optic wishes a full and unwavering figure— that includes but are not limited to proof fees, coloring fees, and other specialization fees-- be clearly communicated before any work begins. Mid-work price adjustments may affect your ability to be paid as Optic operates in accordance with your initial figure, and henceforth hikes require a redrawing of internal Optic itinerary.
Optic may offer tips in accordance the quality and visionary accuracy of the product - You are advised to follow the vision and setting delegated to you through the representative.
Tips aren’t strictly excluded from pieces where an artist may want to utilize their own take, but you are advised to communicate said ideas to Optic for internal processing to see if it benefits the final product in Optic’s subjective terms.
The detailed information that the tip portion are thusly judged are regrettably not publicly available.
The tip amount will always be an addition to your initial agreed-upon quotation.
You must need at least an active PayPal account to be commissioned for effort in service of Yellow Optic.
Pre-raises and Zero-commitment Downs
Artists working with us for a period of six months or more are eligible for pre-raises and zero-commitment downs as Yellow Optic deems your talent and devotion indispensable and wishes to maintain a high level of satisfaction within the working relationship. Yellow Optic wishes to continue its pursuit of ultra-high level production and the involvement of long-time collaborators is therefore paramount. Thus it could be deemed necessary to disseminate monetary benefits for such a loyal contributor.
A pre-raise in Optic lexicon is where a tip is automatically applied to the commission price regardless of the finished piece’s circumstance after it has been agreed-upon on the basis that the artist can maintain the same high quality in the metrics that include, but are not limited to, pixel density, color gamut, art style, and continuous congruency of composition. Pre-raises are at least a 25% increase on top of the commission price, respecting Optic’s rules in its dealings with tips. As with tips, the exact determining factors will regrettably not be disclosed under normal circumstances.
If the commission price is $100, then the pre-raise-included price will be at least $125 total as the pre-raise is at least 25%.
A zero-commitment down is Optic lexicon for when the representative pays out the artist before any prompt or instruction is given, much to the same reason of a pre-raise. Such a payment will only be offered when a pre-raise is also present, and it must cover at least the amount of the pre-raise.
Therefore a zero-commitment down is at least $25 following the above example.
Please note that zero-commitment downs are not full downs, which is when an artist requests full payment before any effort begins. For full downs, any artist can make such a request.
Neither pre-raises nor zero-commitment downs are reliable and thus subject to change. We advise collaborators to ignore such prospects in bonuses before they are brought up to you.
How you will receive a payment
Payments from Optic will be sent from either a check or from a PayPal or digital transaction. Optic will handle certain transactional fees that may be associated with the project.
All payment modes on installments and dates should be communicated before the effort commences.
Seek the correct location for your current residence for the special payment options you are afforded. All options below the section that suits you best are also available to you.
Domestic United States
If you live within the State of California
As Yellow Optic operates in the state of California itself, physical checks as a form of payment will be offered.
A physical check will be mailed in an envelope, either completely unmarked with only both Optic's own and your address included with proper posting, or one that includes all of the above with a thematic envelope marked "Yellow Optic California". Please check if the envelope is marked with an Optic seal and if it originates from San Francisco or from the San Mateo satellite office. If it does not, contact us via email. Checks will be delivered at the start of every payment cycle, and you should reserve around one to two weeks after each payment has been sent through the postal service to anticipate receiving such payment. Cash will not be delivered through mail per USPS regulations.
If you live within the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii
Payment wiring through bank accounts are negotiable. Venmo, PayPal, and various banks do offer transfers with its own unique rates. Payments will be affected by the rates itself, and the time it will take to transfer to you. Please consult your Optic representative for more details.
Under no circumstances will physical cash be transferred.
International
Currently, only payments through PayPal will be furnished for artists outside the United States.
Style and Process
An expected date of completion, aka a deadline, should be reported to the representative before the project begins. Steady progress updates are expected and should be provided.
If you require extra time, all requests should be made at least a week in advance. Extensions may be declined if the piece is for a seasonal affair, such as delaying a piece for a character eating turkey into the new year.
Artists need not strictly follow those that come before them - There is no strict need to emulate a past artist’s work unless explicitly required in the descriptor sheet.
The character and story information are for your reference. Points with clear emphasis when describing the actual project are needed accordance points to ensure a unitary Optic vision. The Optic representative will notify you of the mood, setting, and character role in the sheet to ensure accuracy of your work to Optic standards and guidelines. This may not be brought up in repeat portrayals in the future, but you are still expected to follow the instructions and guidelines provided to you.
Any updates to the nature of the character and scene in any new piece will be clearly communicated.
Optic requires the artistic process be archived - In layman’s terms, your drafts, initial sketches, and coloring processes will need to be sent to Optic for internal storage and recording purposes. These items might be shown publicly for future advertising and/or exhibition purposes.
If this requires an extra fee, please include it in your initial quotation.
The representative may give further instructions if sent in-progress items deviates from the Optic vision.
You are expected to perform the obligations listed above in this section to the best of your ability at all times. Optic reserves the right to reject “completion” status of a work if it deems that the work is not up to the standard of the Optic brand.
Optic requires two versions of the finished work - One with your artist signature, and one without. This is to facilitate press material creation that may stand in the way of the guidelines and design ideals. Please also be prepared to be directed to sign over one specific area of the “blank slate” variant you sent over.
Publishing and Rights
By commissioning your own work, you surrender all rights to direct the final way it will be presented as an item under the Yellow Optic banner. This means however the logos and text in the marketing efforts will be applied is not up to you.
Exactly half of the rights will be irrevocably sold through your requested commission price to Optic, as the work stands 50-50 in its ownership between Optic and yourself. This is to facilitate all future endeavors that will require your piece to be presented publicly, as a product under the Yellow Optic brand.
This will stand for every commission piece produced for Optic unless a special deal is reached.
This also means you will allow it to be also termed a “Yellow Optic product”, though you are free to claim co-producer credit in cases where the effort’s talent identification becomes relevant.
Since you retain partial copyright authority, you are free to include any of your commission efforts into your own portfolio as your own work to be presented to a future client outside of the operation.
We might respectfully ask you to hold off on exhibiting pieces in your portfolio that pertains a top-secret, yet-to-be-revealed project to maintain Optic audience suspense. If you have any qualms when the representative approaches you on this, Optic is always free to discuss.
Credit to the artist may not be provided at all times to preserve brand unity.
If you have any concerns, please raise your queries to the representative.
We hope that your time working with Yellow Optic will be an utmost pleasant one. We value the relationship between different creators, and we strive to better the conditions for everyone in our ceaseless quest to make everyone have a memorable time experiencing every facet of the Eye of the Optic.
Thank you for your time. Let’s go make something great.
This document is last updated on January 8, 2019.