Artist Programme Terms

These terms apply to every artist in the Stranger Hands artist programme: 2D artists, who submit character designs and other artwork, and 3D artists, who submit printable designs. If you do both, both parts apply to you. They sit alongside the site’s general terms and privacy policy.

You apply with your artist details and some examples of your work. The studio reviews every application and may approve it, ask for changes or decline it, with a written reason.

You keep ownership of your original work. You must own, or have permission to use, everything you submit, including any characters, logos or references in it, and it must not copy someone else’s work without their permission.

Submitting work gives Stranger Hands permission to store it and review it. Once a piece is approved and listed, you also give the studio permission to use the material you supplied to make the agreed product, photograph it, show it on the site and in the studio’s marketing, and sell and deliver it. That permission covers the listing you agreed and lasts while it is on sale, plus whatever is needed to complete orders already placed.

2D artists upload artwork from “My 2D designs” in the artist workspace: preview images, plus the original files, such as .ai, .psd, .pdf, .png, .tiff or .svg files. The originals stay private: only you and the studio can download them, and they are used only to review the artwork and, if you agree a collaboration, to sculpt it.

Approved artwork shows on your public artist page only if “Show on my artist page once approved” is switched on. You can switch it off, or withdraw a piece, at any time. Approval means the studio would be glad to see the character made. It is not a promise that it will be sculpted or sold.

3D artists upload printable designs (STL, 3MF or ZIP) with listing photos and a proposed price for a digital STL. The studio sets the price of a printed figure itself, currently from £50.00, after assessing its complexity and material cost; an artist may suggest a higher one. The studio checks that each design will print and paint well and may ask for changes or decline it. An approved design becomes a private draft product, and appears in the shop only when the studio puts it on sale. A replacement file for a live design stays private until it is approved, and customers’ earlier purchases are not changed. You can ask the studio to pause a listing at any time.

The studio can introduce a 2D artist to a 3D artist to turn an approved character into a figurine. A collaboration goes ahead only when both artists agree to it, in writing (an email or a message in the workspace is enough). The 2D artist approves the sculpt before anything is printed for sale.

Each artist keeps ownership of what they made: the 2D artist of the character design, the 3D artist of the sculpt. The finished piece is sold only through Stranger Hands unless both artists and the studio agree otherwise in writing. Neither artist may sell or share the collaborative sculpt elsewhere without the other’s written agreement.

Every product can credit two registered artists: “Concept design by”, for the 2D artist whose character it is, and “3D design by”, for the artist who sculpted it. Each credit links to that artist’s public page, which shows your display name, portrait, bio, country, portfolio and social links, and lists every piece you are credited on.

You control what your page shows in Artist Settings. If a credit is wrong or missing, tell the studio and it will be corrected.

The standard commission for a design of your own is 75% of each digital STL sale and 10% of each printed figure, worked out on the eligible item amount after its share of any order discount, excluding delivery. Any different rate must be agreed before the listing goes live. The rate and amount are recorded with each order item when checkout starts, commission is earned when the order is paid, and refunds can reduce it. Earlier sales keep the rate they were recorded with.

For a collaboration, the total commission on the piece and each artist’s share are agreed with both artists in writing before it is listed. Until the workspace records split commissions on its own, the studio records each artist’s share and pays it as described below.

Earnings are recorded in pounds sterling (GBP). The studio moves pending commission to an available balance after review, and you can request a withdrawal once at least £10 is available. Payouts are processed by hand for now, so a request is not an immediate transfer. The workspace shows the status of each request, and the studio will contact you if payment details or a correction are needed.

You can withdraw artwork, ask for a listing to be taken off sale, or close your artist account at any time by telling the studio. Orders already placed are still made, delivered and paid out. A collaborative piece is taken off sale if either artist asks. The studio may stop selling a piece, or end an artist’s participation, with a written reason; earned commission is still paid.

When these terms change, the version at the top of this page changes, the studio tells artists before the change applies, and the version you accepted is recorded with your application and each artwork you submit.

Write to the studio through Messages in your artist workspace, or use the contact page. These terms do not guarantee that a submission will be listed, paired or sold.