Q: Can I use your artwork for ______?

A: I have come to the realization that I've been a bit selfish with my artwork in the past. Though I actually did the work that went into these drawings, I realized that since God gave me this talent, the drawings are really more His than mine. Therefore, I've whittled down my art usage rules to the following few, and I ask that anyone wanting to use my images for anything follow these simple, common-sense rules.

    1. Artwork can only be used for non-profit purposes that do not promote hatred, pornography, racism, etc. Any adult areas of webpages and the like must be separate and clearly marked as such.

    2. The only modifications I allow are cropping and resizing (example: cropping and resizing an image to use it as a messageboard avatar). Please note that cropping an image so as to purposefully remove copyright claims or warnings and confuse or replace he who owns the original copyright is illegal.

    3. Artwork that may never be used under any circumstances includes

        a) Images of characters copyright to other people (without their permission).
        b) Images copyright to other people (without their permission).
        c) Images of the black dragon Eventide (examples: here, here, here, here, etc.). I rarely draw other black dragons, so these should be fairly easy to figure out. Using these images would be like using photos of myself, as this creature is a draconic personification of myself. Please respect it.

    4. When using one of my images, please copy it to one's harddrive and re-upload it; do not steal bandwidth, please!

    5. Do not claim the images as your own. As you can see, I don't require that people credit me with the images anymore. (It's the polite thing to do, but I don't insist on it.) Despite the fact that I give credit to God for my artwork, legally, I still own the artwork. I just give permission for people to repost it. Claiming someone else's work to be one's own--no matter what that work may be, not just artwork--is lying, cheating, and stealing. And I hope I don't have to explain the immorality of those.

If any of these rules seem unclear or if you have any further questions or concerns, don't hesitate to e-mail me (r.eventide [at] gmail [dot] com). I'm completely approachable, and I won't bite your head off. When it comes to copyright rules, there really are no stupid questions. :-] We artists aren't trying to be anal or overly selfish. We just want to protect our artwork, which is nothing if not an extension of ourselves. Please be aware that each artist has his own rules, and you should not assume that the same rules apply to every artist. If you want to use someone's artwork, the best thing to do is ask for permission (if they don't have artwork usage rules posted on their websites).

Want more information? Check out the U.S. Copyright Office.

Q: What about use of your photos?

A: I have the same rules for photos as my artwork (see above) except that I don't allow the use of photos with people in them unless you have permission from the people in the photos. This includes photos of myself (i.e. please ask if you want to use a photo that has yours truly in it).

Q: Do you do requests/trades/commissions?

A: Sure do! Just ask! :-] Previous requests/trades/commissions can be found on my artwork pages.

Q: Can you show me how to draw like that?

A: Questions like this always make me blush, as there are tons of much better artists out there. But I'm afraid I can't sit down and explain how to draw everything the way I do. Artists must learn their own style. However, if you're interested in a certain technique of mine, such as the tribal designs or detailed pen and ink work, send me and e-mail, and I'll see what I can do. :-] My best advice, though, is to study real objects/animals and see how they look, how the light hits them, how shadows tend to fall, etc. If you find that boring (as I do), I also suggest looking at other people's artwork to see how they do shadows, lighting, etc. I've learned a great deal by studying other artists' works.

Q: Can you tell me how you made _____ costume?

A: I'm currently working on pages that detail how I make my costumes. In the meantime, feel free to e-mail me about it. :-]

Q: Can I use your stories/poems/narratives for _____?

A: I'm sorry, but I do not allow my stories, poems, narratives, or other written works to be copied, reused, reposted, etc. for any reason whatsoever. If, for some reason, you think that there might be an instance where I may not object to this, just ask. The worst I could say is no.