Can you explain this adoptables thing to me? I have read dA articles about it, but they all leave me very confused. How does it differ from drawing someone's OC? I understand it must really be non-fanart because of copyright issues... But what exactly is being sold here?
You're being sold partial rights to a design that you really enjoy. Why is it partial rights only? Because to purchase a full license of a pre-designed character costs in the thousands or more at times. Can you imagine trying to buy the character Bugs bunny or Mickey mouse? Millions+ I bet.
So having adoptables as partial-rights means the costs go down, down, SUPER DOWN. Any where from free - just a few hundred dollars for a design you love. (Meaning however much you want to spend on it.) It just makes the character/design sharing much more accessible.
What is the difference? The only true and real difference is that artists want to be respected and not ripped off. They don't want you to buy something they made and make it into the next Mickey Mouse and leave them in the dirt. No recognition, no royalties, notta.
You can literally do everything you want (AS LONG AS YOU ABIDE BY THEIR PERSONAL TOS/TOU) with the design in question except make a profit off of it. Selling prints of it, making dolls to sell of it, just don't merchandise it? Or try to resell it for higher than what you personally purchased it from the artist. A lot of people now like to try and buy a character then turn it around and sell it for 2-3x it's worth not letting the creator get any profit for their work.
You adopted a character. That character is now yours. You enjoy the hell out of that character. You get commissions of it, make yourself a doll of it or cosplay, you write about it or roleplay with it, you use it to meet new people... Just anything. It's an open door for you to enjoy.
Here are a couple of older posts that might help??
AJ's First Adoptable Experience.
FAQ Short answer of technically what an adoptable is.
My FAQ about Clo Species.
