FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Welcome to my Frequently Asked Questions Page. If there are any questions that you cannot find answers to on this page, please feel free to email me at comments@canadiandragon.com or use my contact form.

To learn more about Sandra Staple, visit the About Page or read the bio on Patreon.

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General Questions: Artwork Usage questions: Purchasing, Payment, and Shipping Information: Art Instruction & Publishing

Answers to General Questions:

Q: Will you draw me a picture?
A: Yes, but I charge for my services. I accept commission requests for a variety of different things, such as character or book illustrations, paintings and drawings, sculpture, and website/graphic design. You can commission my services for a variety of things. I offer illustration, website and graphic design. Visit the Store for more information.
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Q: Will you send me more pictures?
A: Pretty much all the artwork I have that's worth showing, or that I want to show, is on my website. I do try to update it when I can with new artwork, but if you want to know when I have new artwork posted, you can join my mailing list.
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Q: Will you draw me a tattoo?
A: Unfortunately I don't have the time nor patience for designing and drawing a tattoo for each person that would like one. I've had several requests in the past that have amounted to nothing, or worse yet, a stolen digital sketch and no payment. So the answer is no, although if you read below I do have some guidelines on using existing artwork for tattoos.
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Q: Can I put a link on my website to www.canadiandragon.com?
A: Sure, I don't mind if you link to my website as long as your website meets my Terms and Agreements." If you'd like to use a banner, here are some you can download and save to your own web server:
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Q: Will you link to my website if I link to yours?
A: That really depends on your website. I will carefully review each website to make sure they meet my Terms and Agreements. I will not link to any adult content websites, hate websites, highly commercial websites, or sites that have a lot of "under construction" content.
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Q: Why is your website called the "Canadian Dragon"?
A: This page was originally created in 1997 because I am proud to be Canadian. Rather than taking insult to every stereotype surrounding Canada I chose to laugh at them, knowing that I am probably no better with my stereotypes regarding other countries. Besides, it is cold up here in the winter! It's not much colder here in Nova Scotia than in New York however, but we measure temperature in degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit, so it's sounds much colder when we say it's 0 degrees! As for dragons, well... this is my tribute to a great creature that has sparked the imagination for thousands of years. You can read about how the Great Canadian Dragon was born here; It all started with a story I wrote in 1997 when my website first launched as a one-page, free hosted, simple HTML site.

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Answers to Artwork Usage Questions:

Q: Can I use one of your existing drawings for a tattoo?
A: I don't mind if you take an existing drawing from my Gallery sections of my website to have done as a tattoo only if the following guidelines are met:

  • The design, sketch, and/or photos of the tattoo will not be displayed in a tattoo parlor, gallery, website or other area promoting the design.
  • Your tattoo artist is aware that I am allowing the image to be used for a "one time only" usage. This means that he/she cannot use it on another customer or promote it as a design that they can use on a regular basis.
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Q: Can I use your drawings on my webpage?
A: That really depends. For commercial websites, or websites whose primary function is to sell goods or services, you can contact me at questions@canadiandragon.com for information on purchasing a license to use my artwork. Artwork is not to be used for any commercial or for-profit venture without purchasing appropriate usage rights.

If your website is strictly non-profit you may use the images from the art gallery and photography gallery only if you follow the specific guidelines as described in the Copyright and Terms of Service Agreement. Read the Terms of Usage here. Reference to www.canadiandragon.com and our Artwork copyright notice must be displayed with any images used along with a link to https://www.canadiandragon.com. All artwork from CanadianDragon.com must not be altered.

Artwork and content from CanadianDragon.com is not to be used on any Adult websites or websites which have content that contain pornography, hate artwork or literature, pro-drug propaganda, and written or graphic violence.
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Q: Can I use your drawings as a background for a poem/story I wrote?
A: No. As stated in my Copyright Statement, text cannot be added to, or over, any images, nor can the images be altered (such as being faded out.)
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Q: Can I use one of your drawings for a forum/game avatar?
A: Yes, as long as my Copyright Terms of Use are followed. If there is a particular image that you want to use but you would like to crop it to a specific size, then please email me at questions@canadiandragon.com and I will crop the image for you so that the copyright watermark is not totally removed.
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Q: Can I have a higher resolution (larger) copy of a particular drawing?
A: Usually the answer to this is no, for copyright and printing reasons. If you feel you have a justified reason for requesting one, please email me at: questions@canadiandragon.com.
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Answers to Purchasing, Payment, and Shipping Information:

Q: Can I purchase any original artwork pieces from your website?
A: Yes I do have some original pieces of artwork for sale on my website, and you can also make commission requests. To see a complete list of currently available artwork, click here.
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Q: Do you take commission requests?
A: Yes I do take commission requests for artwork including paintings, drawings, sculptures etc. Prices depend on how long each piece takes. Base prices for an 8x10 graphite pencil drawing start at $195 USD and go up from there depending on size and detail level. Watercolor paintings start at $295 USD for an 8x10 painting, and sculptures start at $345. I usually do not require payment before starting the piece unless it is an unusual request that I wouldn't be able to sell to anyone else (for example, a purple dragon with a tatoo that says "Molly" on it's arm.) So basically if there is something in particular you are looking for (for example perhaps you know you want a drawing of a blue dragon flying, or maybe you're just looking for a graphite pencil drawing of a dragon in some type of sitting pose) then I can draw it for you if you are going to buy the original. For more information, please email me.
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Q: Can I purchase wholesale items for my store?
A: If you want to buy items from my Cafepress store and you buy more that 15 of any one item, you do get bulk purchasing discounts. Visit my store for more information.
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Q: Can I sell your original artwork in my store on consignment?
A: If you are reading this and happen to be in the Halifax Metro area (Halifax, Nova Scotia) then perhaps I could work on a consignment basis. Please email me for more information. Otherwise, I cannot work on a consignment basis as I need to be able to physically access my artwork.
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Q: What types of payment do you accept for original artwork?
A: My preferred method of payment is through direct transfer using PayPal. If you wish to pay through a credit card using paypal there is an extra $4.95 transaction fee. I accept checks and money orders from certified banks in the United States and Canada only. All items will be held until payment is received in full, and if paying with a check, the item will not be shipped until the check has cleared.
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Q: Do you ship outside of North America?
A: Yes, but the purchaser is responsible for deciding whether they want to pay the extra amount for shipping insurance, and payment will only be accepted through PayPal. I do not insure against lost or damaged items, so if you do not get shipping insurance, then you are out of luck. International Shipping rates vary, so please email me with your shipping address for an estimate.
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Q: How much are shipping costs for original artwork purchases?
A: Shipping costs vary depending on the size of the item. International Shipping rates vary, so please email me with your shipping address for an estimate.
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Q: What happens if the original piece I purchased is lost or damaged in the mail?
A: The purchaser is responsible for deciding whether they want to pay the extra amount for shipping insurance. I do not insure against lost or damaged items, so if you do not get shipping insurance, then you are out of luck.
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Q: What happens if I have a problem with the item I purchased from your CafePress Store?
A: Any items purchased through CafePress are external to CanadianDragon.com and you will have to contact CafePress.com for returns or complaints. If you are wondering...I haven't had any complaints about them yet, or any returns.
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Answers to Art Instruction & Publishing Questions

Q: How do you draw dragons / unicorns etc?
A: Unicorns are easy to learn how to draw; just find any book on drawing horses and start from there. How you draw Dragons really depends on what you think they should look like! A good place to start is by looking at lizards, herons (long necked birds) and birds of prey. Then go from there! A lot of people seem to have trouble with the arms and wings of dragons, but think of it this way: The arms on a dragon are usually similar to human arms, but stockier and stronger. So start there! And the wings should be well attached to the shoulders, after all, they have to be able to support the body when flying!
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Q: How do you shade with colored pencils?
A: The trick to coloring and shading using colored pencils is to apply many gradual layers. When I first start a drawing I will usually have about 4 pencils in different shades of the color I want- for example, if doing a blue dragon I might use a light gray, a light blue-gray, an ultramarine blue, a navy blue, and a black. I slowly build up the layers so at first, much white shows through the pencil, and as I gradually use and blend the different colors, less and less white shows through. You need to have fairly decent colored pencils to do this- I recommend PrismaColor - and a lot of patience. Practice is most important part of learning to draw!
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Q: How do you do details using watercolors?
A: Having details in watercolor paintings while not having your painting look "overworked" can be difficult, but one of the tricks I have found useful is to blur your harsh lines using water, and to have a steady source of light- remember, if you want something to look real, then you need to have many shades and avoid harsh outlines around items.

Of course, if you are going for a particular style that includes outlines, then that is also fine, but you will still need to use shading so your image doesn't look too "flat".
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Q: How long do your drawings & paintings take?
A: That really depends on the medium used and level of detail. Many of my watercolor paintings take 20 or more hours. Colored pencil drawings take much longer; one dragon drawing with no background at all (such as Mendelas) can easily take 10 or more hours to draw. Art is a curious thing, as, like many other things in life, it takes patience and a lot of effort and time to turn out right.
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Q: Do you have any tutorials?
A: Not as of yet, but will soon. Follow me on Instagram @SandraStaple or my Patreon for more!
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Q: How do I copyright my artwork?
A: When you create original pieces of artwork, you already own the copyright on that work. If you want to have legal proof of your ownership of the rights to your work you can always copyright it at your country's copyright office. You do this usually by filling out a registration form, sending in a copy of your work, and paying a fee which is usually around $30USD. You can find out more information regarding copyright laws and how to officially register your copyright at:

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