General Terms and Conditions (GTC) Valid from: 1 January 2026

For Isaac Ebeling – Kritzelpixel.de
Illustration, Coverdesign, Emotes, Merch-Design & Animationen

1. Scope of the Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions apply to all contracts between myself, Isaac Ebeling, and the client(s), regardless of whether the order is placed verbally, in writing or digitally. They apply to all services in the following areas:

• Illustration & cover design

• Emotes for Twitch/streaming platforms

• Merchandise designs (e.g. T-shirts, posters, stickers)

• Animations (e.g. GIFs, short videos)

• Other graphic design services

This also applies even if the client uses their own terms and conditions which contain provisions or a scope of services that conflict with or deviate from the terms and conditions set out by me. These Terms and Conditions shall also apply even if I am aware of any differing or conflicting terms and conditions on the part of the client.

2. Conclusion of Contract

• An offer made by me becomes a contract upon written acceptance (e.g. by email, letter or digital signature).

• Verbal agreements are only binding if they are confirmed in writing.

3) Scope of Work

• A deadline must be set for the fulfilment of a commission. Bringing forward deadlines may incur additional costs.

• Should I be unable to fulfil the commission, I must notify the client one month before the deadline and shall only be entitled to partial payment if my sketches, drafts and ideas are to be reused.

• I work on weekdays only, from 10 am to 7 pm. A reply to emails can be expected within 2–3 days. Should I fail to contact the client for a period of 5 days regarding an important enquiry or a deadline, and there is no valid reason such as illness on my part or that of a family member, or another stressful event, I shall no longer be entitled to have the commission continued with me.

4. Scope of Services and Licences

4 a) Illustration & Cover Design

I will provide drafts (sketches, digital preliminary versions) for approval. Each stage will be sent to the client via email and will only be further developed once specific approval has been given, clearly using the word ‘approval’.

1. Upon receipt of the brief and final agreement with approval for the initial drafts, I will provide two (or more) sketches with a round of revisions, which may result in a sketch that has been completely reworked.

2. Once the client has approved that sketch, I will develop it further, with a round of revisions that may involve minor to more extensive changes (new elements, significant adjustments to the pose).

3. Once the client has approved that sketch, I will develop the outlines and flat colours. Afterwards, minor adjustments can be made to the outlines and the general colour scheme.

4. Once the client has approved that draft, I will work on the detailed rendering, light and shadow. Here, too, there is a revision cycle for minor adjustments.

5. Once the client has approved the image, the final detailing stage begins: finalisation. At the same time, I will prepare print-ready files.

6. Licence and handover of the image.

4 a.a) Licences are issued on a case-by-case basis as required.

• Licences are always valid only for the person placing the order and their current project scope, even within a company, and apply in particular to books.

  • If a book is resold or transferred to another licence partner for translation, that person or company must request a new licence from me – it may be that the costs for this have already been included in the licence.

  • There is generally a discount on the redesign of covers, the adaptation of the design to other requirements, and also on the licences.

• My artworks and other work may not be resold to other companies, sold as assets, sold as stock material or used for similar purposes without specific agreement and a special licence. However, I also create assets for resale on request.

• I am happy to tailor licences to individual circumstances and needs. Clear communication of expectations is particularly important in this regard. Authors who do not wish to, or are unable to, make a specific profit from their self-publishing, but hope to break even, will receive better terms than profit-oriented publishers. A rough outline of the terms can be found in the licence calculator on my website: https://www.kritzelpixel.de/lizenzkalkulator-eng

4 a.b) Licence Terms

• Personal Use and Commercial Use

  Private use is intended solely for your own non-commercial purposes. If an image supports advertising, generates income, or is used for business or publishing, choose a commercial usage context. If you are unsure, please ask before using it.

• Online-Postings

  This option covers commercial online publications, such as social media posts. The free option requires crediting kritzelpixel.de; an additional fee applies if no credit is given. “Not needed” means no commercial online posts.

• Project print run and allocation

  The project print run is the total number of units in which the illustration is used within the selected project. An approved print run may be split across several parts of that project. Merchandise is separate and requires the appropriate merchandise option.

• Merch

  Merchandise means products intended to promote sales, often useful everyday items featuring a brand identity. Book-related bookmarks and character cards are part of the book project and do not count as merchandise; association badges or pens do. Media and merchandise licenses are treated separately: a book illustration may have a low license fee, while using the same image in publisher advertising requires an extended license that may cost more.

• Multiple parties

  If the use is part of a larger license package involving multiple parties, an estimated additional €50 is included to account for potential legal work. The specific rights of each party must be set out in the offer or agreement.

File Delivery

Once the final design has been approved, I will deliver the finished file in the agreed resolution, colour profile and file format (e.g. PNG, JPEG, PDF, PSD, SVG, MP4 for animations). Upon agreement, a partially editable PSD file may also be provided, with permission to use characters and backgrounds individually.

• Changes after approval are only possible at an additional cost (see point 8).).

4 b) Emotes for Twitch/streaming platforms, Discord and similar services

• The emotes are optimised for uploading to Twitch and other platforms.

• You will receive the emotes as separate files.

• It is possible, subject to agreement and with or without an additional charge, to receive the emotes in a higher resolution.

• It is possible, subject to agreement and with or without an additional charge, to receive the emotes – including animated ones – in sticker format for Discord and similar platforms for community use.

• It is possible, subject to agreement and for an additional charge, to use the emotes as stickers for platforms such as Giphy and similar services.

4 c) Cover designs, print and merchandise designs as part of my artistic work

• I create designs for merchandise (e.g. T-shirts, hoodies, posters, stickers).

  I create cover designs for books, magazines and comics. However, these are designs only. For typesetting and direct communication with the printers, I work with a colleague whose services I can arrange for you, if required.

• The designs are supplied in print-optimised or printable formats (e.g. PDF, AI, EPS).

  • On request, I can also produce print-ready files that simply need to be uploaded. To do this, however, I will need the print shop’s specific requirements.

• Please note: I accept no responsibility for print quality or choice of materials, nor for colour reproduction. Blue appears completely different on screens in RGB than it does in CMYK on printed, unlit products, etc.

  • For print jobs, I recommend agreeing the designs with the print shop in advance.

4 d) Animations

• I create animations in the agreed format (e.g. GIF, MP4).

• The animations are optimised for their intended use (e.g. social media, website). This requires precise details regarding file sizes, number of frames, etc.

• Once the final animation has been approved, no further changes will be made free of charge.

5. Anti-AI Clause

• Prohibition on the use of AI: The works created must not be altered or supplemented by AI tools, nor used for the training of AI systems.

• Prohibition on feeding AI: It is not permitted to feed the works, or parts thereof, into AI systems (e.g. Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL·E) or to use them for training AI.

• Breach: In the event of a breach of this clause, I reserve the right to terminate the contract with immediate effect and to claim damages amounting to the value of my professional experience of over 20 years, calculated at up to 10 hours’ work per day, and to set my hourly rate as a lump sum calculated over the years.

• Exclusion: It is not the client’s fault if a third party, firm, company or platform misuses the data; however, it is their duty to investigate such a breach and enforce their copyright, also in my interest.

  • I do, however, expect ordinary private individuals, for example, to take legal action against Meta if Instagram has once again ‘accidentally’ appropriated data because it ‘accidentally’ reset the AI training settings on the account …

6. Further information regarding copyright and usage rights

• As the copyright holder, I retain all rights to the works created and may only grant licences for their use. This is German law.

• You will not be granted exclusive usage rights unless this is agreed in writing in a separate contract. But most commissions are under exclusive licence by default.

• You may only use the works for the agreed purposes (e.g. as a cover, on Twitch, on social media, on merchandise). These must therefore be clearly set out in writing within the terms of the commission and licence.

• To reiterate: any transfer to or use by third parties outside the specified scope requires my written consent.

7. Signature & Copyright Notice

• I reserve the right to sign my works with my name. This signature is discreet, incorporated in a concealed manner, and must not be cropped, obscured or removed; however, in the case of promotional graphics designed to advertise the end product, it may be covered (for example, by a banner) or cropped. My signature must not prevent the client from using the artwork for its intended purpose. After all, even books are often covered by a price banner during promotional campaigns.

• As I work as an artist and not as a commercial illustrator on a purely product-based basis, I do not offer purely commercial works, and my prices and, in some cases, very affordable licences reflect this. That is why my signature is always part of my artistic work.

8. Changes & Revisions

• Free changes: Included several times depending on the commission; see point 4.

• Revisions: Any further changes or revisions beyond what was agreed, or outside the agreed scope, will be charged on a time-and-materials basis:

  • €55 per hour (minimum charge: 15 minutes).

• The processing time will be estimated in advance and agreed with you.

• Once the final design/animation has been approved, no further free changes will be permitted.

9. Payment & Cancellation, End of Contract

9 a) Payment

• A deposit of 50% is due upon confirmation of the order.

  • I will issue a corresponding invoice with two payment terms.

  • The remaining 50% is payable before delivery of the final files.

  • Payments are to be made via PayPal or as otherwise agreed.

§ The relevant licences apply from the moment the first payment for the sketch is made.

§ On request, a licence may be amended or issued – with or without additional costs – to permit the transfer of the sketch to another person. I have previously collaborated with other artists in this way, where their colouring style was required but my drawing style was preferred.

9 b) Cancellation

• I offer the option of cancelling free of charge within 24 hours of order confirmation and the conclusion of the contract.

• Once the final files have been delivered, cancellation is no longer possible.

  • However, licence fees may be waived or refunded following consultation with me and subject to written confirmation from the client that the files will not be used. This is, however, only possible in exceptional cases.

• The following applies: German Civil Code (BGB) Section 648 – Right of termination by the client.

• In the event of cancellation or termination of the contract at short notice:

  • In the event of cancellation after the first two sketches have been produced in the initial design phase: 50 per cent of the deposit will be retained. (This primarily covers the organisational effort involved and the blocking or cancellation of other commissions.)

  • In the event of cancellation after the final sketch has been completed but before the outlines have been produced: 100 per cent of the deposit will be retained.

9 c) Termination of the Contract

• Should the contract be terminated by the parties prior to acceptance of the work/product and prior to full payment of the agreed remuneration, I shall be entitled to utilise the drafts produced in other ways, subject to the following additions and exceptions:

  • Without acquiring a licence, the client has no rights to the use of sketches, concepts, works, images and ideas. Only that which was commissioned by the client themselves as part of the original commission does not belong to me.

  • Accordingly: character designs, clothing concepts, the appearance of characters, scenes from books, etc., which originate from the client, may not be reused by me. The rights to characters and specific content apply to both parties.

§ Furthermore, I am obliged to keep confidential any information regarding manuscripts, publication dates and any other information that may not be disclosed, if I have been made aware of such information. However, it may be necessary to discuss designs and graphics with third parties for the purposes of consultation or assistance. In such cases, I will seek approval from the client regarding the scope of such discussions.

10. Delivery & File Formats

• Delivery is made digitally via email or a cloud service (Dropbox, public link or, on request, via invitation).

• Standard file formats:

  • Illustration/cover design: PNG, JPEG, PDF, PSD, EPS.

  • Twitch emotes: PNG (112x112 pixels, transparent background).

  • Merch designs: PDF, EPS (print-optimised).

  • Animations: GIF, MP4.

• Special formats or additional editing will be charged separately.

• I do not use Adobe products and cannot edit InDesign files or create AI files.

11. Prices & Services

• The exact prices for my services can be found on an external price list.

  (On my website or on request).

• Prices are exclusive of statutory VAT.

• For individual enquiries, I will provide a non-binding quotation.

12. Liability & Warranty

• I accept no liability for technical issues arising from the use of the files (e.g. printing errors, compatibility issues, platform-specific limitations).

• I guarantee that the works produced are free from third-party rights (e.g. no copyright-protected templates, no AI-generated content).

• In the event of any complaints, the client must notify me in writing within 14 days of delivery.

13. Data Protection

• Personal data (e.g. email addresses) is collected solely for the purpose of processing the order and will not be passed on to third parties, unless required by law.

• It cannot be ruled out that third parties may gain unauthorised access to texts transmitted via social media.

• The client agrees that I may store their contact details for invoicing and communication purposes.

14. Collecting Societies/Artists’ Social Security Fund / Sales and Taxes

For German clients only: The client is aware that, when awarding contracts in the fields of art, design and advertising consultancy to a non-legal entity, an artists’ social security contribution must be paid to the Artists’ Social Security Fund. This contribution must not be deducted from the agreed remuneration. The client is personally responsible for complying with the registration and payment obligations.

Rest of the world:

All prices are exclusive of any applicable taxes. As a German artist, I am subject to German tax laws.

• For business customers (B2B) within the EU: Value Added Tax (VAT) will not be charged, provided that a valid EU VAT identification number is supplied. The place of taxation is the customer’s country, and VAT must be accounted for under the reverse-charge mechanism.

• For private customers (B2C) within the EU: If the annual turnover from cross-border digital services and commissions to private customers within the EU exceeds €10,000, VAT will be charged according to the rates applicable in the customer’s country of residence, in accordance with the EU VAT One-Stop-Shop (OSS) scheme.

• For customers outside the EU: No German VAT will be charged. Any local taxes or import duties applicable in the customer’s country are the sole responsibility of the customer.

I reserve the right to adjust prices if tax laws or rates change.

15. Severability clause

Should any individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.

16. Applicable law & place of jurisdiction

• The language of the contract is German. This is just an translation and errors based on this translation aren’t legally binding.

• The parties agree that, in the event that the client does not have a general place of jurisdiction, a registered office or a habitual residence in the Federal Republic of Germany at the time the contract is concluded, or relocates these abroad after the contract has been concluded, the exclusive place of jurisdiction shall be at the illustrator’s registered office.

• The parties agree that the law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.