Terms of Service | Toon Raccoon

The following Terms of Service apply to all commissions and badges done by Walden. Please read carefully, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you!

Content

Rating: Most commissions and badges should fall within the G to PG-13 to soft R rating.

Badges, being meant for public display, should fall within a G to PG-13 rating. Subject matter may be humorously or playfully suggestive, but not explicit, and no nudity.
For all other commissions, subject matter may include romantic, playful, or suggestive scenes and poses. Tasteful nudity or sexually explicit situations may be considered solely at the artist’s discretion.
Artist does not generally work with extremely violent or highly graphic sexual content. Absolutely no underage characters. Absolutely no hate speech.

Authorized characters: Generally, you should request artwork of your own characters. If you are requesting artwork with other people’s characters, please obtain their permission first and have them get in touch with the artist to signal their approval.

Requests for surprise or birthday gift artwork or badges will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Requests for copyrighted or trademarked characters will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Refusal: The artist reserves the right to refuse or cancel any commission or badge for any reason, including—but not limited to—schedule, subject matter, or personal preference.

Rights & Copyrights

Rights transferred: The following rights are included with the price of most commissions:

Ownership: You are purchasing the right to own one or more of the following:

A physical piece of original artwork, in the case of sketches or other real media;
A physical printed or otherwise manufactured copy of the artwork, in the case of badges or prints;
An electronic image file in the form of either a scan of physical media, or an exported copy of artwork that has been produced digitally.

Storage and display: You have the right to store and view digital copies of the artwork on your computer(s) and electronic device(s), to archive them for safekeeping, to print copies of the artwork, and to display the artwork in your home or workplace, as long as each instance is done for your personal use.
Posting: You have the right to post unaltered copies of your artwork to your personal web site, gallery, or social media platforms, as long as the artist’s name and copyright information are included on the artwork. If possible, attribution to the artist or a link should be made in the post as well.
Sharing: You have the right to share unaltered copies of the artwork with your friends and associates, so long as they understand that the artwork is shared only for personal use and is not to be altered in any way nor to distributed further.
Resizing and cropping:

You have the right to resize or non-destructively crop digital copies of the artwork for the purposes of posting or sharing online, as long as the artist’s name and copyright information are included and remain legible, and the overall composition remains intact.
You may also crop a section of the image to create one (1) icon or avatar for use in online forums or communities.

Rights not transferred: The following rights are not included with the price of commissions, although some rights may be purchased or negotiated if necessary:

Generative A.I., blockchain, crypto, NFTs, et.al.: You do not have the right to use the artwork in connection with any blockchain or cryptocurrency-related technologies, including NFTs. You do not have the right to use artwork for artificial intelligence training. No artwork made by this artist may be used with these or any similar future technologies.
Editing or alterations: You do not have the right to edit or alter the artwork in any way, mechanically or digitally, without the express permission of the artist, except as specified in point (2.1.e.) above.
Distribution for profit: You do not have the right to publish the artwork in any printed or electronic publication, or to post the artwork to any web site or services whose sole purpose is to either make money directly (as through subscription, advertising, or sales) or to promote a commercial business or service.
Prints and merchandise: You do not have the right to sell prints or copies of the artwork, or to print the artwork on any kind of for-sale merchandise, such as clothing, mugs, or mousepads.
Uploading to services: Use caution when uploading the artwork to any web site or service, and make sure their terms of service do not grant them any unrestricted or unlimited rights to use the artwork for their own purposes, including reselling or generative A.I. training.

Rights reserved: The artist retains the following rights for himself, unless otherwise negotiated:

Archiving: The artist reserves the right to archive and store copies of completed artwork for his own records.
Posting: The artist reserves the right to post a copy of artwork to his web site and/or to online communities to share with fans.
Self-promotion: The artist reserves the right to use artwork as a component of convention signage or displays or printed materials, for the purpose of self-promotion.

Payment & Delivery

Payment methods

Payment upon pickup: Badges or other artwork being physically picked up in person at a convention or other event may be paid for using cash, credit card, or debit card. Contactless payments are accepted.
Payment for digital or shipped artwork: Badges or other artwork shipped through the mail, or digital artwork transmitted over the internet, maybe paid for using debit or credit card (via Square Invoice), Paypal Invoice, Cash App, ApplePay Cash, Venmo, or Zelle. This list is accurate as of December 2025; note that payment methods may be added or removed as services come and go or change their rules.
Currency: All prices are in USD and all payments are to be made in US currency. Artist does not accept Bitcoin or any other type of cryptocurrency.
Do not send unsolicited payments for artwork. Be sure to confirm the work first and wait for instructions on payment from the artist.

Payment schedules

Mail-order badges: Payment for a mail-order badge is due when the initial rough sketch is sent for approval. Badge will not be completed or shipped until payment is received.
Pick-up badges: Payment for a badge picked up at a convention or other event may be made when the badge is physically collected at the event.
Sketch commissions: Payment for a sketch commission is due when the initial thumbnail sketch is sent for approval, before the sketch is completed.
Color commissions: Payment for a color commission is due when the refined pencil sketch is sent for approval, before ink and color will be completed.
Sequences, comics, and larger commissions: Payment for larger projects may be broken into multiple payments due at various milestones during production, as arranged between the artist and the client on a case-by-case basis.

Delivery

Mail-order badges: Mail-order badges will be shipped via USPS in discrete cardboard packaging. Postage and packaging fees are added to the price of the badge when payment is due. Multiple badges shipped to the same address may generally be combined in the same package to save on postage. International shipping may be subject to political conditions.
Pick-up badges: Badges scheduled for pick-up at a convention or event may be picked up at the Toon Raccoon Publications table in the Dealer’s Hall during regular hours, or at another designated place if necessary.
Replacement badges: Badges which have been lost or damaged may be reprinted and reproduced using the original digital files. A fee for file retrieval, production time and materials will be charged. Replacement badges may be picked up at a convention or shipped by mail; additional postage feels will apply.
Digital commissions: Final flattened files will be delivered via email and/or uploaded to a web server for the client to retrieve. Generally files will be made available as both a quickly-loading screen-resolution JPG and a high-resolution high-quality PNG.
Physical commissions: Physical media commissions may be delivered by mail, in which case additional postage fees will apply; or may be picked up at a convention or other event, if plans are made with the artist in advance.

Approvals & Revisions

Communication: All communications concerning commission details, approvals, and revisions should be conducted by email. No such details should be made by social media or messenger applications, unless questions are specifically initiated by the artist. Any information submitted by channels other than email risk being lost or accidentally disregarded during production.
Badge approval and revision process

Rough sketch: Once the artist begins working on your badge, you will receive an email with a rough sketch including the character, the name, and any other important details included. Review the sketch and the spelling and typography, and reply with an approval if it looks good as-is; or reply with a request for any changes to the character itself, its pose, attitude or expression, or the name or typography, and wait to be sent a revision for approval. Once the initial sketch or any revision is approved, any further changes may result in delays and/or additional cost to the badge before completion and delivery.
Ink and color: Once the badge is complete, you will receive an email with a color proof. Review this image and reply if there are any last-minute changes or corrections involving the colors before printing and delivery. Any extensive revisions that should have been made at the rough sketch stage may result in delays and/or additional cost.

Commission approval and revision process

Thumbnail sketch: For most commissions, you will first receive a very quick thumbnail sketch for approval.

The thumbnail is meant as a quick preliminary concept for the artwork. Review, revision requests and approval should focus on overall elements such as composition and framing; placement, pose, and attitude of characters; basic build and proportion; and relative position and size of characters, objects, and backgrounds in relationship to each other.
More specific details are not the focus at this stage. No need to focus on details like character markings or coloration, facial expressions, clothes and jewelry, etc., as those will be worked on after the thumbnail concept is approved.
If you feel the general concept of the sketch was miscommunicated or misunderstood, this is your chance to make your concept clear!
Approval of the thumbnails sketch is necessary before work continues. Any major changes requested after this approval may cause delays or additional cost.

Pencil sketch: As work continues, you will next receive a pencil sketch, either as the completed artwork requested, or as an intermediary step towards a color commission.

Depending on the complexity of the commission, you may or may not receive an in-progress version of the sketch asking for direction or guidance on some details.
If the sketch is destined for ink and color, pay attention at this stage to details such as expression, character markings, clothing, props and backgrounds, etc., to request any changes or express any clarifications before approval to continue.
After reviewing the pencil sketch, reply whether it is approved as is (as either a final sketch or before continuing to ink and color), or if there are any changes or corrections to be made. Please describe these as clearly and concisely as possible. See point (4.3.d.) below.

Ink and color: Work on color commissions will continue once the pencil sketch is approved.

Depending on the complexity of the commission, you may or may not receive in-progress versions of the artwork asking for direction or guidance on some details.
After reviewing the final color artwork, reply whether it is approved as is, or if there are any final changes or color corrections to be made. Please describe these as clearly and concisely as possible. See point (4.3.d.) below.

Retroactive (bad) revisions: Generally, changes and revisions during the commission process are expected and acceptable. However, in some cases, changes or revisions may cause delays and/or additional cost, including:

Extensive changes made to overall composition, poses, attitudes, etc. which should have been requested at the thumbnail sketch stage, after the thumbnail sketch has been approved.
Changes made to character details, expressions, clothing or props, etc. which should have been requested at the pencil sketch stage, after the pencil sketch has been approved.
If requested changes contradict, differ from, or rely on details that were omitted from the original commission request or thumbnail approval.
If there are a large number of or multiple rounds of changes for which the artist is not at fault.

Sequences or comic pages: Longer commissions follow the same basic approval and revision process as single commissions outlined above in points (4.3.b.), (4.3.c.), and (4.3.d.) above, with the following additional considerations:

At the outset of the project, a set of thumbnail sketches covering the full range of the sequence or comic story will be completed. In addition to reviewing the composition of each individual page or panel, you should also be considering the overall pacing and flow from one panel or page to the next. Any requests to add, remove, or change panels or pages should be discussed and made at this stage. Approval of the full thumbnail sequence or comic is necessary before original work continues.
Once the thumbnails are approved and work begins, any changes to the overall pacing or flow of the sequence or comic, including adding, removing, changing, consolidating, or expanding panels or pages, will result in delays and additional charges.
Otherwise, approvals and revisions on individual pages or panels are handled as usual.

— Last revised: December 2025