FAQ
About Lucca
Are you really The Original Gaian Ferret?
I haven't had anyone challenge my title yet, so I suppose I am. However, ths question is a bit sticky because as of Saturday, October 29, 2005, I discovered that Salen-Stormwing has been a ferret on Gaia for only slightly less time than I, and has been identifying himself as a ferret online for even longer. So I'm really not sure. At any rate, I thought of the idea myself, and I have a couple ferrety followers so far.
Really? Whom?
Kirara-yasha is a ferretcat and Darth Iori morphs between ferret and human. Salen-Stormwing isn't really a follower, but like I said, he's a ferret too, so I feel obligated to mention him.
Ferret count: Four.
Can I be a ferret too?
But of course! It can be a bit expensive because of the Were Tail, but the rest of the things you need are all store items - Reindeer Mask, Cat Band or head-covering hat, Mod Squad or Zorro Mask, and some way of making your hands and feet black. For hands, this can be black gloves, or a Radicool shirt if you're male. For feet, it's black shoes - or black socks/stockings if you want to wear sandals! And of course, if you become a Disciple of the Ferret, I will list you up in the previous question. And ferret hybrids are accepted!
What's your favorite video game?
Chrono Trigger, if you couldn't tell from the username! Also, I love The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I & II.
Do you only do edits?
Actually, I draw lots and lots, and have
a DeviantART account. I don't do avatar art on request anymore, because it took up too much of my time.
How do you DO that?
My artistic tools are printer paper, a mechanical pencil, a scanner, a WACOM tablet, and Adobe Photoshop. But of course, since edits are what you order from this shop, it's only the tablet and Photoshop I use for your stuff.
Here is a very long, but very complete tutorial of how I make edits!
A/S/L?
You had better not be hitting on me. But for what it's worth, I'm eighteen, female, and I go to college at Clark University in Worcester, MA.
Will you donate to me?
Hey, I barely scrape out a living myself! I have occasionally donated things to people I like, but asking for a handout is a sure way NOT to get one. Unless your username is Dias Amastacia. You can have anything you want, Dias.
heart
OMG, have my babies!
I'm flattered, but I must decline,a s I am already madly in love with Dias Amastacia, and naturally monogamous. Sorry, fanboys.
About Lucca's store policies
Hey! I'm on the blacklist! I'm sorry! What can I do to make you sell stuff to me again?
It depends upon what it is that you did. If you stole art, then your chances are next to nil. If you stole art and started SELLING it, your chances are exactly nil. However, if your crime was lesser, and you show signs of truly changing for the better, I will consider your offer.
Can I get a premade edit from you put on a base from someone else?
Sure, if you get the permission of whomever made the base! If you made it yourself, no problem. If you bought the base from someone, I take no responsibility for any trouble you get into with the base's creator, since I ask their permission. It's YOUR FAULT if you don't get it.
Can I buy an edit from you, then take it to someone else to add another piece?
Well, I'd like a link to the shop of whomever is adding this 'other piece.' Once I check that person out, we'll talk. Mainly, I want to be sure that the ferret logo with my initials remains in full view, and is easy to see. And please, if you do this, have the other person be at least at a similar skill level, though style may be different. (Example of equal skill level and similar style:
Meriko. Example of equal skill level and different style:
NoFlutter. These are not the only people - use your own judgment as to who does the same quality work as I.)
Will you promise to never re-sell the custom avatar edit you made for me?
Well, if it's your original character, you're home free - that character belongs to you and you alone, and you only paid me to render him or her! If it's some well-known character like Sephiroth (or not-so-well-known character like Riff), then you'll have to pay me at least 5000 for a custom pose, because it's not fair for you to be the ONLY PERSON ON GAIA with that character edited by me.
What constitutes 'multi-color recoloring' on a premade edit?
Well, I'll use wings as an example here. If you want angel wings that are black and red, that is obviously a multi-color job. However, even if you're only changing one color, it might still be classified as a multi-color job: For instance, if you want angel wings with some feathers in the original white and some in black, that requires just as much work as red and black.
Can you re-color something on an edit you've already sold?
Yes. Only 50 gold. Still 50 if it's a multicolor thing.
How do I post my base for premade or custom edits?
Step one: Go to your inventory, and hit 'Unequip All.'
Better step one: Go to
http://www.tektek.org/dream/ and select your base, eyes, mouth, and hair. This way is preferred, since with this version, I don't have to remove underwear myself.
Step two (optional): Equip any of the items that you own and want to be wearing in the edit (usually head and face items).
Step three: Save the avatar for the time being. If you used the Tektek avatar simulator, skip this step.
Step four: Right-click your newly-saved avatar (or, if you used Tektek, the avatar that you built) and save it to your computer. You can put your clothes back on now.
Step five: Go to
Tinypic.com, and click the button that says 'Browse.' Find the avatar you jsut saved to your computer, click it, and click the 'Open' button. Click the 'Host Image' button. Once it loads, your base should appear at the bottom of the page, next to a bunch of text boxes. Copy the code in the box labeled 'Img,' and paste it into your order form.
Can I wear your avatar edits on my actual Gaia avatar?
Unfortunately, no. I do not have the power to make real Gaian items - I'm not an admin, after all!
Not yet, anyway... ohohohoho! You can display the edits in your signature, on your website, or in any post you have made in a Gaia thread you have made. In all these cases, I must be given credit for creating the image. My logo counts for this, so any cases where a different artist is given credit for creating an image containing my logo will be considered art theft.
Can I take your logo off? I don't like it.
Absolutely not! That logo is my sole measure to prevent theft of my finished edits, and may not be removed under any circumstances. Any edit of mine that does not contain my ferret logo with the letters "LA" will be considered stolen, unless, like many of my older edits, it says "Lucca Ashtear <year>" instead.
I've bought an edit from you - can I take pieces of it to use in my own edits?
Again, absolutely not! This is art theft no matter how you look at it, even if the pieces are edited (rotated, recolored, resized, etc.) so that they are no longer exactly what I drew. As is any editor, I am saddened by the theft of my work, and wish to bring the thieves to justice.
Can I use your edits as references for my own edits?
Yes. You may look at my edits for inspiration all you want, and you may study my technique in attempt to copy it. I would be flattered, really. But be warned, I can tell if a piece is copied by hand or directly snipped from my own edit - I have a very practiced eye!
I think I found someone who stole your edit!
Well, tell me! If the edit in question is indeed stolen from me, and you can give me proof (a link to the thief's profile if it's a signature image, or a link to their post if it's not), then I will look into the theft. If it is indeed stolen from me, I give you my congratulations for catching the thief, and one Credit. Three credits get you a free edit valued at 4500 gold or less.
You made a mistake in the edit I ordered!
Oops. My fault. If any edit I make for you is unsatisfactory, I will correct it, free of charge. If this 'mistake' is the omission of an item I did not know was meant to be included, then I may charge up to 200 gold for the correction, depending on the item in question.
Your waitlist is full. Will you PM me when a spot opens up?
No. I try to take care of my customers, but I can't do everything. Just keep checking back in the thread. It'll be even easier if you subscribe to it - the button's at the bottom of the page!
God, what's taking so long? Get to my order already!
I'm probably busy in real life! Just be patient - I'll see you eventually. I check EVERY PAGE of my shop.
I can't afford your edits. Do you know any other good editors?
Well, my style is my own, so you won't get EXACTLY what I sell from anyone else. But
Meriko and Kimini are close to my talent-level, charge half as much for premade edits, and a bit less for customs. They take longer, though!
Saga has a very different style from mine (more cartoony and cel-shaded), but is The King of Poses in my book, and is one of my editing idols... and charges a fraction of what I do.
Carandra is another great Avatar Poser, and is slightly closer to my style than Saga is, for a similar price. Hey, why am I telling you all this...? Heh, probably 'cause they're my friends.
would be in the 1000-2000 category (this edit was harder than it looked!)
would be close to the middle.
would be in the 5000+ category.
My character Maraz Vax's lightsaber, pixelled by Angel Natavi 