Commission Terms and Conditions
Last updated: 30 July 2026
These terms apply to digital artwork commissions supplied by Sarah L Gower through sarahlgower.com.
Please read them carefully before submitting a commission request. By accepting a quotation and paying the initial payment, you confirm that you have read and agreed to these terms.
1. Artist details
Artist: Sarah L Gower
Email: sarahlgowercommissions@gmail.com
Commission services are available worldwide. You must be at least 18 years old to request and purchase a commission.
2. Commission requests and acceptance
Submitting a commission request does not guarantee that it will be accepted.
I reserve the right to decline any commission request before it has been formally accepted, including where the request falls outside my availability, experience, artistic style or personal boundaries.
Before accepting a commission, I will confirm the following in writing:
the agreed subject and scope;
the commission type and number of characters;
any backgrounds, accessories or additional requirements;
the final price;
the intended use of the artwork; and
the estimated completion timeframe.
A binding agreement is formed when you accept the quotation and the required 50% initial payment has been received.
3. Prices and quotations
All prices and quotations are provided in pounds sterling unless otherwise agreed.
Quotations are valid for 14 calendar days from the date they are issued. If a quotation is not accepted within this period, a new quotation may be required.
The price will be based on the information provided when the quotation is prepared. Changes to the agreed scope, including additional characters, backgrounds, accessories or significant design changes, may result in an additional charge.
Any additional costs will be discussed and agreed before the relevant work is completed.
Any currency-conversion charges or fees applied by your own bank or payment provider are your responsibility.
4. Initial and final payments
A 50% initial payment is required before work begins. This payment secures your place in my commission schedule and covers the planning and sketch stage.
The initial payment must be made within seven calendar days of the invoice or payment request being issued. Your commission is not booked until payment has been received.
Once the final artwork has been completed, you will receive a watermarked preview for approval. The remaining 50% balance must then be paid within seven calendar days.
The final, unwatermarked files will not be delivered until the full balance has been received.
Payment must be made through the secure electronic invoice or payment link provided unless another method has been agreed in writing.
5. Cancellation rights
Where applicable, customers entering into a contract online may have statutory cancellation rights.
If you ask me to begin work before the end of any applicable 14-day cancellation period, you must expressly request this when confirming your commission.
If you cancel after work has begun, you may be charged a proportionate amount for work completed up to the date of cancellation.
These terms do not limit any statutory rights you may have.
6. Client cancellations and refunds
You may cancel your commission at any time before approving the initial sketch.
If you cancel before work has begun, payments already made will be refunded in full.
If you cancel after work has begun but before the initial sketch has been supplied, I may retain a reasonable amount from the initial payment to cover the planning and work completed up to the date of cancellation. Any remaining balance will be refunded.
Once the initial sketch has been supplied, the initial 50% payment will normally be retained to cover the planning, sketch work completed and time reserved for the commission. You will still have the included opportunity to request one consolidated round of substantial sketch-stage changes.
Once the sketch has been approved, the planning and sketch stage is considered complete and the initial 50% payment will be retained.
Once the completed watermarked preview has been supplied for final approval, the commission is considered substantially complete and the remaining balance will be payable.
No refund will normally be provided after the final unwatermarked files have been delivered, except where required by law or where the files are faulty or do not meet the agreed commission brief.
Any amount retained following cancellation will reflect the stage reached and work completed. Nothing in this section affects your statutory consumer rights.
To cancel a commission, please email sarahlgowercommissions@gmail.com and clearly state that you wish to cancel, including your name and the details of the commission.
7. Cancellation or refusal by the artist
I may refuse any commission request before it has been formally accepted.
Once a commission has been confirmed, I may pause or end the commission where there are reasonable grounds to do so, including:
abusive, threatening or inappropriate behaviour;
non-payment;
unlawful or prohibited content;
repeated attempts to substantially change the agreed scope;
use of the artwork in breach of these terms;
failure to provide required information or feedback; or
prolonged loss of communication.
Where reasonably possible, I will explain the issue and provide an opportunity for it to be resolved before ending the commission.
If I am unable to complete an accepted commission for reasons that are not your fault, payments made will be refunded.
8. Information and reference material
You are responsible for providing accurate and sufficiently detailed information about your character and the requested artwork.
This may include:
physical appearance and distinguishing features;
clothing;
hairstyle;
pose and expression;
personality or mood;
accessories or props;
background requirements;
colour references; and
clear visual references.
Please tell me before work begins if any material is confidential, unpublished or subject to a release date.
Your commission will be created in my established artistic style. References will guide the artwork but do not guarantee an exact reproduction of a photograph, existing illustration or another artist’s style.
9. Turnaround time
The usual estimated turnaround time is two to six weeks, beginning from the later of:
receipt of the initial payment; and
receipt of all information and references needed to begin.
The estimated timeframe does not include periods when I am waiting for your feedback, approval, information or payment.
Delays in responding during the sketch or final-approval stages may result in the estimated completion date being moved and your commission returning to the next available place in my schedule.
Turnaround times are estimates rather than guaranteed deadlines unless a particular completion date has been expressly agreed in writing.
If illness, emergencies or circumstances outside my reasonable control affect the estimated timeframe, I will let you know as soon as reasonably possible.
10. Sketch approval and revisions
You will receive an initial sketch to review before I begin the final line art, colouring and shading.
Your commission includes one consolidated round of substantial sketch-stage changes. Requested changes should be submitted together in one clear response wherever reasonably possible.
Substantial sketch-stage changes may include adjustments to:
pose;
composition;
expression;
hairstyle;
clothing;
accessories or props; and
significant character details.
Once you approve the sketch, you confirm that you are satisfied with the overall pose, composition and character design.
11. Final artwork and minor revisions
After the sketch has been approved, I will complete the line art, colour and shading and send you a watermarked preview.
Your commission includes one consolidated round of minor final changes. These may include:
reasonable colour adjustments;
correction of small details; or
minor refinements that do not require substantial redrawing.
Changes to the pose, composition, clothing, accessories or approved character design are not considered minor final changes.
Additional revision rounds or substantial changes requested after sketch approval may incur an additional charge. Any charge will be quoted and agreed before the additional work is undertaken.
Corrections required because the artwork does not reflect an important detail clearly included in the agreed brief will not be treated as an additional paid revision.
12. Client responses and inactive commissions
You should respond to requests for information, sketch approvals and final approvals within 14 calendar days.
If no response is received within this period, the commission may be paused and removed from its current place in my schedule.
If there has been no response for 30 consecutive calendar days, I may treat the commission as inactive and close it.
The cancellation and refund position will depend on the stage reached when communication stopped.
Restarting an inactive or closed commission will be subject to my availability. A revised completion estimate will be provided, and a new quotation may be required if the scope or pricing has changed.
13. Final files and delivery
The finished artwork will be delivered digitally by email as a high-resolution PNG and/or JPG file, as agreed for the commission.
The final files will be supplied without the approval watermark.
No physical product will be supplied unless expressly agreed in writing.
Layered Procreate files, editable working files, sketches and other source files are not included.
You are responsible for downloading and safely storing the delivered files.
Colours may appear slightly different across screens, devices, printers and physical materials.
14. Copyright ownership
Copyright in the completed artwork remains with Sarah L Gower unless a separate written agreement expressly transfers it.
Paying for a commission gives you permission to use the finished artwork in the ways described in these terms. It does not transfer ownership of the copyright, sketches, source files or working process.
15. Included personal and promotional use
The standard commission price includes a non-exclusive and non-transferable licence allowing you to:
use the artwork for personal purposes;
share it on your own social-media accounts;
display it on your personal or professional website;
use it as a profile image or social-media banner; and
use it for unpaid promotion of the character, book or project for which it was commissioned.
Where reasonably possible, credit should be given to Sarah L Gower or the artist account supplied when the final files are delivered.
The artwork must not be resold, relicensed or supplied to another person or organisation for their commercial use.
16. Commercial use
The standard commission price does not include use of the artwork for:
published book covers;
merchandise or other products intended for sale;
paid advertising;
logos or business branding;
product packaging;
resale or redistribution;
publication or commercial use by a third party; or
another income-generating purpose beyond the unpaid promotional use described above.
Commercial use requires a separate written licence and an individual quotation based on the intended use.
Commercial use must be agreed before the artwork is published, reproduced or distributed for that purpose.
A commercial licence does not transfer copyright ownership unless this is expressly agreed in a separate written copyright assignment.
17. Cropping, text and alterations
You may resize or crop the artwork and add text for the uses permitted under these terms, provided this does not materially alter or misrepresent the original artwork.
You must not, without prior written permission:
substantially edit or redraw the artwork;
recolour it or apply filters that materially change it;
trace or reproduce it;
claim that you or another person created it;
give the files to another artist for alteration or completion; or
use the artwork outside the agreed licence.
18. Portfolio and social-media use
Unless otherwise agreed in writing when the commission is confirmed, I may display the completed artwork:
on my website and portfolio;
on my social-media accounts;
as an example of commissioned work; and
in promotional material relating to my art services.
Where the commission relates to an unpublished book, character or project, I will respect any release date or publication embargo agreed before work begins.
You may request that the commission remains private or is not shared until a specified date. This should be discussed when confirming the commission.
19. Fan art and third-party characters
Fan-art commissions and artwork featuring characters owned by third parties are supplied for personal, non-commercial use only unless you can demonstrate that you have the necessary permission from the relevant rights holder.
You are responsible for ensuring that the proposed use does not infringe another person’s copyright, trademark or other intellectual-property rights.
I may decline any request where ownership or permission is unclear.
I cannot grant commercial rights over characters, settings, logos or other material belonging to another person or organisation.
20. Artificial intelligence, NFTs and blockchain use
The artwork must not be:
used to train, test or develop artificial-intelligence systems;
uploaded to an AI training dataset;
used as an AI prompt or style reference;
altered, extended or recreated using generative AI;
minted, sold or distributed as an NFT; or
used in connection with cryptocurrency, blockchain or similar digital-asset projects.
21. Privacy
Personal information submitted in connection with a commission will be handled in accordance with the website’s separate Privacy Notice.
Your information will only be used to review, communicate about, produce and administer your commission, unless another use has been explained and agreed.
22. Problems and complaints
Please contact me promptly at sarahlgowercommissions@gmail.com if you have any concerns about your commission.
I will aim to address reasonable concerns fairly and in accordance with the agreed brief, these terms and your applicable consumer rights.
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits legal rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
23. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
Customers living outside England and Wales may also benefit from mandatory consumer protections that apply in their own country. Nothing in these terms is intended to remove those protections.
24. Changes to these terms
The version of these terms that applies to your commission will be the version supplied or available when the commission is confirmed.
Any changes to the agreed scope, price, licence or terms after confirmation must be agreed by both parties in writing.