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Adoptables, Basics for Adoptables ArtistsTwo Steps to Start

Create a new account
This is not necessary, per se, but if you have in mind to do more than just one or two sheets of adoptables, it might be a good idea to start a new account. This way you won't spam your watchers' inbox, if they're not interested in adoptables, and you can organize your gallery in a better way.

Be a member of Adoptables Groups
dA is a big community and the sheer amount of new deviations every day makes it hard for your art to be seen. Considering that you just made a new account for your adoptables, you have basically no watchers whatsoever so how can you get the exposure you need to sell your characters? The answer is join Adoptables Groups. By doing this you can do two things, the first is submit your adoptables to their gallery and advertise them, the second is observing the trends, what people like to draw and buy more.
Make Adoptables

Adoptables, Customs

What is a Custom Adoptable?
It's an adoptable commission that is created using a pre-set lineart or base and the colours/patterns of the adopter's choice.

How do I start making Customs?
Starting is easy enough, you just have to decide that you have the time to do them and be willing to work with another person to produce something together. A custom is not unlike a collaboration after all, you'll just be doing all the "arm-work".

How do I make it easy for myself?
First: Be prepared!
(Only works with programs that support layers)
The fastest way to "make it easy" is to prepare beforehand. This means having some kind of layered base ready to be coloured. It doesn't matter if it's your own lineart or someone elses, but having to do all the colour outlines *every single time* is just boring and time consuming. And if you want to offer lower prices, you can't spend hours on the outlines.

Adoptables, Buying Adoptables

BUYING AN ADOPTABLE

Have an Adoptable Fund ready
Having some extra cash in your paypal or extra points in your dA helps you a lot in case you wish to purchase a limited hold-time adoptable. To avoid scamming, many adoptables artists ask for payment within a certain time frame (one or two days generally) and having a fund helps you when you see an adoptable you really want. Sometimes artists will let you put an adoptable on hold, but it's still better to ask first if the 'hold' option is available or not before claiming.

Find an Adoptable that you really like
Adoptables often come in sheets or maybe you follow a lot of adoptables artists and no one can deny that there's a lot of choice around dA. Since you finances are not unlimited, you might find yourself in the tight spot of choosing an adoptable over another. The point here is, you need to *choose*. Because asking both and then making one

Adoptables, Writing an Artist's DescriptionA Good Description
Concerning adoption, a good description is always needed. It informs the purchaser about everything they need to know about the character and the adoption itself.
Basics of a Good Description:

Use proper grammar
A lot of deviants are *not* native english speakers and all the english they know is what they have been taught in school so try to use proper grammar. Talking and writing are not the same thing, 'your' and 'you're' do not mean the same thing and should *not* be written in the same way. Some mistakes or 'typos' can always happen, but as long as most of your writing is correct, the odd mistake is forgivable.

Use punctuation
Unless you're a writer working on a stream of consciousness, periods and commas are not optional. (And remember that the first letter after a period is always capitalized)

No walls of text
Writing every sentence after the other without leaving spaces ever so often is

Adoptables, PricingMany people have asked me about this subject and while I did write a small 'Pricing' section in Adoptables, Basics for Adoptables Artists, the requests have not decreased so I decided to do a Journal dedicated to it.
Pricing is a tricky art because you need to balance three things, the Price/Effort ratio, the Price/Design ratio and the General Market Price.

Price/Effort Ratio

This is what you think you deserve to earn and the price that you would put on your adoptable if you didn't take into account the other two aspects. This takes into account mainly two things:

Time spent on the adoptable
Obviously, spending five hours on an adoptable instead of one makes the price rise. Many artists use a hourly wage to do their commission prices, so you should time yourself when you do an adoptable, at

Adoptables, AuctionsWhat is an Adoptable Auction?
An Adoptable Auction it's like a normal auction, with an adoptable on the plate and the highest point/money offer wins. These are not 'first come, first serve' adoptables.
Is it the same thing as a Name-Your-Price Adoptable?
Both can cause a bidding war, but no, they're not the same thing. Auctions are more organized and have more terms to them that the NYP Adopts. NYP Adopts usually have a price range and not a starting bid, they don't have an autobuy, nor a minimum bid raise and end when the Adoptable Creator feels like it.
Terminology
Bid = Money/Point Offer
Starting Bid/Base Bid = The first and lowest bid you can make for the adoptable (usually decided by the Adoptable Creator)
Minimum Raise = The minimum amount of money/points that you need to add to a previous bid to beat it (usually decided by the Adoptable Creator)
Autobuy/Buyout = The price that you need to pay to be sure to get the adoptable (usual

The Purchase Button and P2U DeviationsI'm so trying to avoid thinking about graduation, so I thought to explain this a little better.
What are P2U Deviations?
They're deviations that ask you for a points' price to download their content, hence the 'Purchase' Button. Many of them are downloadable bases, but some are high resolution, unwatermarked versions of the previews everybody can see and favourite. In other cases, it's simply a way to pay for an adoptable or to purchase a custom, it really depends on what the deviation's owner wants to do.
Example of a P2U Base:

Can everybody use the P2U option?
Not currently. Right now it's available to Beta Testers only. This means you need a Premium Membership (paid account) and an active Beta Testing option (free). The dA staff has however said that this feature will be available to everyone and not just to Premium Users. This means that people just need to wait until all the bugs have been worked out and the Platform is released to the public. No, I

Drawing contest : Win 1000 points and Drawings!

Welcome to my first drawing contest! The theme for this occasion is Original Characters. Show me your skills and try to win the prize! Good luck and have fun!
All what you have to do in this challenge is to draw your own Original Character and at least one of my characters together. The situation can be anything that comes to mind..
__________________________________
:iconstygiangrey:
awesome works

in example it could look like these pics
__________________________________
referenz

(beware! Mature content)
__________________________________

Fav

this journal entry!

You have to use an OC created BY YOURSELF.

Backgrounds are allowed, but not required.

The pic can inc

CSS Did You Know? - November 28th, 2012

UPDATES CONT. - Warm Winter Project: 2012UPDATE 9 - As of Sunday, November 25, 2012, I WAS ABLE TO MEET AND PURCHASE MY DONATION GOAL OF 50 HOODIES thanks to deviantART's 30% off Black Friday sale as well as my 10% Premium Member Discount. Congratulations to us and thank you to everyone who helped out!
UPDATE 8 - As of Saturday, November 17, 2012, we are at 125,125 points, with only 34,875 points left to go! I was able to purchase 2,000 points a moment ago to put directly into the pool myself. My original intent was to get 8,000, but I ended up working less than I expected this week and was unable to, but as of my next paycheck (in two weeks), I will be able to purchase 8,000! That will leave us with 26,875. And after `TimberClipse's AWESOME point doubler, like the one that helped out and did so amazingly earlier in the year, that will be another 8,000, leaving us with only 18,875! And his doubler is already halfway full with much thanks to =rainylake for immediately putting 2,000 points in

Need brushes?After references, textures and faces, the time comes for brushes. All inspirational, all useful!
GIMP BRUSHES

PHOTOSHOP BRUSHES

Groups: Tutorial + Resources There are many groups on deviantART. DeviantART Community aims to help you find ones that you are looking for, or introduce you to new ones you have never seen before!

General

comission

Please read this info before commission me

commission status are left with 1 slot now

general commission info

if you interest, please send me a note called " Commission"
type: sketch, water color
style: anime, chibi, semi realism
size: head shot, waist, full body
pose:
number: ( how many characters)
payment: points ( paypal on summer only)
your email: if you don't want me to upload it in DA
- I prefer you pay me first in order to get start it in your product

price ( is up to me when i want to increase the price nor make a discount)

notice that this price in this list might change when you noted me with specific details and more, plus the price are go with the paypal amount
type: sketch ( headshot) $3=240 points
:thumb217593530:

(waist) $5=400 points

(full body) $8=640points
:thumb211026811::thumb176292929:
sketch commission are OPEN

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Adoptables, Basics for Adopters

by =Karijn-s-Basement, Jan 25, 2012, 11:02:43 AM
Journals / Culture / Projects

Since I've been asked these questions a lot, I thought to write some journals about it. This is from an Adopter's point of view.

What are adoptables?
Adoptables are "characters" that you can purchase for your personal use. They can be animals, humans, objects... Anything and everything can be turned into an adoptable.

What exactly *is* it that I'm adopting?
You're adopting the *character* itself, not the design, not the art, just the character.
Take this adoptable:

Art = The drawing itself = Right remains to the artist
Original Species = The lines = Right remains to the artist, unless the species is for adoption too (Not valid in case of existing species such as wolves, cats, etc....)
Design = Black coat/Golden wings/Pattern on Tail = Right remains to the artist
Character = (Original Species + Design) = This is yours

You are basically adopting the right to use the character as a whole, species + design/pattern. Usually, artists are able to do a lot of different designs so it is unlikely that that *exact* design will be recycled with another species. Orange fur with black stripes on a dog can be used again on a horse, but they are still different *characters*.

Why should I adopt one?
There are lots of reasons to adopt a character. Because you want a fursona, because you want a pet for your OC, because you like the way they look... Anyone has a different motivation for wanting an adoptable.

Where do I find them?
You can either browse dA by searching for 'adoptables' or you can go to an adoptables group. There are a lot of groups, so you might want to look at more than just one, to increase your chances to find the perfect character for you.

How do I adopt an adoptable?
First of all, you need to know that almost all adoptables have a 'first come, first serve' rule. Meaning that the first one to offer the artist what they ask, becomes the owner.
This being said, there are four main ways to purchase an adoptable:

For Free
Since they're free and you get them with little effort but be there at the right moment and place, they're the first to go. Your best bet in getting one of this kind is by watching the artist who does them.

Draw to Adopt
a) With reservation = You were the first to ask for the adoptable, so you only need to submit a drawing of the adoptable and you're done
b) Without reservation = It's like a small contest, everyone submits their drawing and the artist chooses the one they like best

Trade
You'll be asked to draw something (one of the artist's OCs or a design of your own) in exchange for the adoptable.

For Points/Cash
Not much to say here, points are dA's currency and cash is real money. There's usually a time limit to send the payment to the artist.

And always, always remember to read the artist comments and follow their rules. You might find that some are more lenient than others and will bend the rules a bit, others stick to what they have written and there's no way to change their mind. To avoid upsetting the artist and creating useless drama, please read the rules. Asking never hurts, but if they've clearly stated that what you want is *not* going to happen, please don't push.

Adoptables Journals Series:
Adoptables, Basics for Adopters
Adoptables, Basics for Adoptables Artists
Adoptables Tutorial
Adoptables, Writing an Artist's Description
Adoptables, Customs
Adoptables, Design Tutorial
Adoptables, Buying Adoptables
Adoptables, Pricing
Original Species Tutorial
Adoptables, Auctions

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