DRAFT 2 OF THE COMMISSION GUIDE

I'm actually doing it, guys. I'm going to make a video.

A guide for selling and buying commissions

Opening: Panning shot for 30 seconds of art wall. Sticky notes beside pictures to source each piece and or cover up those who don’t wish to be seen (and to cover up any suggestive content)

Narration: “I’ve spent a little less than 1000 dollars on commissions (links to all the artists who drew these in the description always credit your artists people.) That’s a lofty fee for vanity but in my opinion, totally freaking worth it. Likewise, I’ve made just about as much SELLING art of my own over the years.”

Shot: Dump out my own old art folder on the ground

Narration: “I’m not just showing you all of this to show off, although I would be lying if I said this wasn’t similar to someone showing off their impressive stamp collection in some ways. See, I’ve been buying and selling commissions for a decade now, and I’ve seen a ton of confusion all around (especially on tumblr) about pretty much everything regarding the exchange of money and art. From both sides. Hopefully this illustrates that I’m qualified to talk about this subject, or at the very least gives you some inkling of how much I just really love art in general. I’d like to apply my experience to a comprehensive guide for both artists and non-artists to make the entire commission process a lot more accessible. Keep in mind this will be a very basic visual guide and I won’t go TOO in to detail about subjects I probably could make entire videos on themselves (like what makes a good reference and so on). Without further delay, here is a basic guide to buying and selling art!”

Note: From this point forward, no other assets but ones I make myself will be used.

Client side

Finding the right artist in your price range isn’t as tricky as some might have you believe. Every social media brand has a preverbal army of folks open for paid work. One need only search for key words like “Commission” in any engine and you’ll find examples immediately. If you don’t follow and artist actively, I highly recommend checking out all their gallery first so you can get a feel for their style and limitations. For example, someone who draws mechs a lot will be a good hire good for robots. Someone who draws furries…? You get where I’m going with this. Not everyone can draw everything, and that’s totally fine! There is enough variety online to fit whatever niche best suited for your project.

Most artists looking for work will have a comprehensive price sheet. Be sure to look over it thoroughly to see how much you should expect to spend. Typically, the more time that goes in to a piece, the more it will cost. Similarly, the closer to professional work, the closer to professional price. You should be prepared to save up for extravagant paintings and NEVER try and compromise a price with an artist. It’s rude and you have no right to question how much they value their time. If you don’t think their goods are worth the price, I promise you can find another artist willing to work for cheaper.

When commissioning an artist, you should be wary of long reply times. The unfortunate reality is that scammers will always be attracted to any lucrative and relatively consequence free medium. A potential risk to have your money ran off with is there. But fear not! The best way to evade this is to just check how often they post commissions, how quickly they respond to emails, how willing they are to work with you or even if they post paid pictures at all. If commissions are being posted more than 6 months apart, this should be an immediate red flag for any potential buyer to maybe stay away. Although an exception exists in complex animation works. Regardless, use discretion and be sure to scan rigorously over the gallery of anyone you intend to hire.

When contacting an artist, make sure you are polite. Try to be understanding of skill, time and style restraints. Remember, at this point you should have familiarized yourself enough with the artist’s work to understand what they can and can’t do based on what you are paying for. Beyond that, you are speaking with another HUMAN BEING. Sometimes we get sick or busy—so please try and be patient.
When emailing references, be sure they are easy to interpret images. If you don’t have a ready picture of the subject you’d like drawn, try to include real life source material the artist can draw from. Written description are a fine replacement as well; but try to keep these short, sweet and to the point. Avoid purple prose please. As lovely as creative writing can be, if your goal is to have something specific, blunt descriptors are best.

During the creation process, some artists will give you an in progress shot to see what you think. If they allow alterations, be very clear in what corrections you’d like made to avoid doing over an image multiple times, as this can be frustrating on both ends. That being said, it’s best not to deviate from the pose or subject your originally described, as this can be very irritating or time consuming for the artist. For example, if you said, “I want my buff dog man sitting down giving a thumbs up” and the artist forgot to draw said dog man giving a thumbs up, it would be perfectly acceptable to remind them to look back at your original description. On the flip side, it would be unreasonable to say “actually I don’t like him sitting. Can you have him running instead?” If you do this, CONGRADULATIONS you’ve just wasted both the artist’s and your own time by not having a concise idea of what you want BEFORE even contacting.

Make note that some artists do not give in progress shots and will just do what they interpret you asked of them without the hassle of potential alterations. This is fine as well, but be prepared to accept the artist vision, even if it’s not your own. Be sure to double check an artisan’s commission information to see how they work and decide for yourself if their methods are ones you’d be fine with. Personally, I enjoy seeing someone else’s vision if their style permits lots of creativity.

After all you’ve made contact, sent your references, in a day, a week, a month or more later, you’ll have your shiny new vanity piece! CONGRADULATIONS *use melee voice*!
Now what to do with it? Print it, post it, save it as your wallpaper? Regulations depend largely on the artist, but a good rule of thumb is to never repost their work, even if you bought it, (without permission or credit of course). Keep their name on hand and be willing shout to the mountains about the experience you had. The best way to help the commission economy (aside from money of course) is lip service! If you liked a piece, share it. Hopefully this will encourage others to spend disposable income on a growing niche! By following this advice, I hope you have a good experience!

THE ARTIST SIDE

Before I delve in to the meat of the process, I’d like to give some advice to NEW creators. Trust me, I’ve been there myself and made a ton of mistakes. Heck, I STILL make mistakes. But I’m here to help you not retreat the missteps I’ve made.
This might be a little bit of a controversial thing to say but… I do not believe every artist should offer commissions, especially if they are just starting out. Before you brandish your clubs and torches allow me to elaborate.

As an amateur, it is in your best interest to focus learning the basics— anatomy, color theory, silhouettes... drawing folks OCs constantly won’t exactly improve your range or knowledge of shading. Black and white figure studies are boring as shit, but they’ll rapidly increase your basic understanding of shape, and no one is going to pay you money to draw one of MANY helpful self-improvement exercises. Unless you are still in school and don’t have a job, it’s likely you won’t have time to fit in both paid work, exercises and VITAL personal time. Today most folks work two jobs and doing commissions SHOULD be considered one as well. You could potentially work THREE jobs.

Doing art does take mental and physical energy despite what some people will say about burn out not existing for work you enjoy. Exposing yourself to exchanges means you won’t always be able to draw things you want to or even like; and trust me, this will kill your passion when time isn’t allotted to personal projects. If you don’t need commission income and you are still learning, I strongly advise against doing paid work until you are confident and solidified in your own style. Of course, the exception will always be financial strife, but it’s pivotal to enjoy at least some facet of your trade. Don’t let yourself stagnate. Draw self-indulgently when you aren’t studying from references: even if you don’t have the luxury to not take paid work. Remember, even if drawing for someone else, you started this talent for -you-. Don’t buy in to that horse shit that burn out doesn’t exist for you. It does, and you should ALWAYS consider your own mental health first even if you have no choice but to live off your talent. Take breaks, stretch your hands and wrists every time before you draw, and don’t neglect personal projects.
Another small tip: Try to pace yourself. Only open finite slots at once— as many as you think you can handle. Having a backlog of commissions 20+ people long can be overwhelming for you and frustrating for people waiting actual years for their turn to come around. If you can avoid being rushed, do it. The quality of your work will thank you. Stress makes a poor product.

With that aside, the HOTTEST OF TOPICS regarding commissions is PRICE POINTS. There isn’t and shouldn’t be one universal starting point, since the value of art is entirely subjective. Beyond that, things like stickers and pixel art packs are sort of hard to judge. My best advice would be to price yourself what you think your time is worth. By hour, complexity, flat price... Choose whatever method will work best for you and stick to it. I highly recommend looking at a bunch of other folk’s art, not just because it will help you improve, but because this will give you reference for how you value your own work. Look at other commission sheets and consider how much time you spend rendering. The pressure to undercut is real in such a saturated market. Never lower your prices once they are set just because no one is inquiring. This hurts the perception of how much art is worth as a whole and might lure in people who will try and haggle you. Just like fishing, there is always some critter in the pond who’ll want your worm if you wriggle it enough.

Although, this pond I’d filled with more rods than fish if we are going to continue with the LAKE metaphors. There are a TON of people selling their talents, and you will have to compete against vastly differing skill and popularity. This can be discouraging, but remember, networking and social media are your best tools for getting your information out there. Don’t be afraid of reposting your information at least once a day and on as many networks as possible.
Having a good commission sheet will be pivotal in your success as well. Be sure it’s easy to understand with simple font and an organized lay out. Include examples of your work for various price brackets and make sure your business email (maybe the same as your paypal) is visible. I likewise recommend making your terms of service front and center, so costumers will be more inclined to look at the most important part first. Make to mention any restrictions on things you won’t draw. Detailing briefly what a customer should expect when working with you is helpful, especially if you don’t like to provide in progress shots or offering to correct ‘mistakes’. I also recommend specifying how many times you’ll be inclined it make alterations, since some clients can really go overboard or might have not had a clear idea of what they wanted in the first place.

So is a business email required to take commissions online? ABSOLUTELY. It’s easier to keep things organized or to have and this will automatically give you lists and dates. Do not take references over social media! It’s so easy to lose track of all the information that way, and again, you won’t be able to say a non-gimped image. Speaking of gimps... ALWAYS SAVE YOUR ART AS A PNG. JPEGs are low res and will blur your art! PNG is just as universal and about the same file size!

Paypal is pretty much universally used for online transactions. I recommend making a business account, so you can send invoices. These can be printed out if you need to report on earnings for taxes and just a good way to keep track of who’s paid and who hasn’t if you are handling multiple clients at once.
There are a lot of horror stories about people running off with art and not paying for it, and unfortunately, this is a reality all artists should be wary of. It’s up to you when the client pays, but you should NEVER take payment AFTER the full piece is completed. Scammers will be more inclined to run off with free art. To prevent this, I recommend charging right off the bat, or after a sketch is complete. Some artists even have clients pay in brackets of rendering. Ultimately, it’s up to your discretion which method fits best.
Another thing to be wary of is people trying to talk your price down. This could indicate they won’t pay you for work at all. I’d suggest not taking work from these sorts of people and cutting off contact as soon as possible, both for your own sanity and wallet.

Similarly, you should NEVER DRAW ART FOR FREE unless you want to. Listen, I know requests are popular, but you should never feel obligated, and opening them up warps people’s expectations of what art is even worth. If you like someone’s original character, surely ask then if you it can draw it for -fun-. But don’t open yourself up to the shit show that is people demanding you work for free.

Assuming you’ve been paid, however, you’ll be ready to start work once you’ve gotten an email full of resources. I recommend always keeping pictures and descriptions up at all times. It’s easy to forget demands or features of a character that isn’t yours. If you don’t have a second monitor, printing things out will work. If that’s not an option, tabbing between will also due, although admittedly isn’t GREAT. Always having the prompt up will help you not have to make many corrections, hopefully, streamlining your process.

When you are finished, it’s courtesy to email the full file to the client so they have a high res copy to print out or use as a desk top if they’d like. Making a commissioner download an image off deviant art or tumblr will bunk up the resolution, and that’s not nice customer side.

Hopefully this guide will get passed around, make the commission economy a little more stream lined. I love the fact artists can live off things they love being supported by the working class. Art is important, audience and creator side. Although the two don’t always understand each other, I hope my experience on both ends will bridge the gap somewhat. Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this. Maybe I’ll do another video if there is a need. Until next time, though, this is Deku out! No matter what, keep drawing and have a good one.