Commissions & Community

There’s something really special about the community here on Deviantart. It’s why I keep coming back. You won’t find the same support or make friendships in the same way on other platforms. I believe that with this community comes a lot of unique opportunities. For example, I just took part in my first art trade with Konan224 a little while ago. I not only had fun reinterpreting their character but I got to meet someone who shares the same interests that I do. (and now we are Applejack buddies for life). Definitely worth the time. 

Another awesome feature of such a close community is “The Commission.” I’ve learned a lot about commissions in the past year or so and I know that they can be a little intimidating for those who’ve never actually gone through with one. I’m here to tell you that you can do it. There are a lot of tutorials and resources out there and everybody does it differently, but I’m going to let you know how I run my show. You can pick up whatever you find insightful or helpful and let me know what works best for you! (And I am always open for advice. I’m not an expert yet! Here are some things that I consider when I open for commissions:

Consider Your Time.

 Aside from being willing to take commissions, you need to be sure that you have the time. When someone asks you to create something, they are usually going to expect it within a reasonable time frame. If you’re a character artist, then that might mean 2-3 days (and even 3 days might be pushing it a little.) If you are a marble sculptor who needs, like, 3 years to complete a piece, then obviously that’s a different story. You may want to consider keeping two days of the week free just for commission time, if you get busy.

Advertise!

You need to let people know that you are open for commissions. Setting up a commission journal can be arduous (I know it was for me) but once it’s done, it becomes an instant time-saver and a nice fallback for when things get hairy during the commission process (it can happen it will happen it does happen.) Here is a link to my commission journal. It’s a bit lengthy, but I want to be sure that the client (That’s right, we’re going to call them a client. We’re all big boys and girls here, right?) understands what they’re in for before the initial email. Feel free to copy and paste from my journal into yours, add, modify, etc. If you want to write your own journal from scratch, here are a few pointers that I think are necessary:

1. State what kind of commissions you are doing. Specify the max size, if you do color, faces, etc. Don't offer anything you haven't drawn before.

2. Explain what you WON’T draw. You have ethics and that’s awesome. If you don’t want to draw people without clothes on then you need to let them know *now* before they start sending selfies. (I can not emphasize this enough). A simple disclaimer may suffice:

I reserve the right to refuse questionable material!"

3. Explain your pricing methods. There are a lot of ways to do this (I know, you don’t want to hear that.) The lowest price should go to your least refined work. Here’s where you have to use a little common sense. Two characters cost more than one. Ink should cost more than pencil. Color should amp the price up too. Make this list as clear as you possibly can. Use bolded words and italics to emphasize your prices. You may want to include links to samples of your work at this point. You can do so by copying and pasting a link right from the deviation page into your journal. You’ll even have the ability to resize within the journal, which is neat.

4. Explain payment methods.

This is really up to you. I am currently only accepting paypal as It’s really the quickest and safest way to get dough. If you value points then that might be another consideration. I don’t really prefer points only because it’s so hard for people to get a hold of them. Again, up to you.

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Now that you have a journal set up, and have assessed your time and availability, you are ready to take commissions. However, there is so much more to commissions than being available. Here are even more pointers once people have started to express interest in your art.

Communicate.

 You need to  be communicating with your client.  Effective Communication with whomever is commissioning you is always a step in the right direction. A conversation before the art actually happens can mean the difference between a stressful process, or a painless transaction. Once you’ve reached out to the client and found out who they are and what their goals are for the piece, you can be ready to put pen to paper. But the buck doesn’t stop there. Communicating with the client while the commission is ongoing is an important asset that’s going to ensure that you both get what you want. Clients like to see how their piece is going. I let them know in the initial email that they are allowed two screenshots and two adjustments during the process.

Be careful of letting them see too much – clients like to get involved and giving more than two “work in progress” pictures is definitely going to mean you will be scrapping the entire drawing and starting over because (and I quote “I actually don’t like that pose can we start over.” That’s when things will get messy.

Get Paid.

I cannot even begin to tell you how important it is that you get paid. And this goes beyond deviantart commissions. If anyobody formally asks you to draw something for their project, you should not be doing it for free, even for friends. Once you get stuck doing one project for free, chances are you’ll be doing other projects for free as well. I’ve been there and I can tell you it’s a bad place to be. A small project turns into a week-and-a-half project and in turn you’ve gained nothing. Giving out your work for free diminishes the value of what you create.

You may want to prepare a pre-commission message to send to first-time commissioners and friends. Keep it short and sweet and let them know they are getting a good price. 

“Hey so-and-so! Just got your facebook message about so-and-so’s birthday! It’s great to hear that you want to give them something that they will remember – a portrait is always a great gift. I would usually charge between $XX - $XX for this kind of commission, but since you are a friend and this is the first time commissioning me, I can offer you an introductory discount and complete the project at $XX. I should let you know that this price is subject to change depending on the size and time the commission may take.

If they don’t want to pay up DO NOT EVEN PUT PEN TO PAPER. Walk away and wait for the next client. In my journal I state this clearly. It's also okay to ask for 50% of the payment beforehand.

Do Good Work.

The commission process is a challenge - a good challenge though. You’re going to run into people that you don’t communicate well with, you may not even get that many clients at first. I didn’t. But when I can effectively bring someone’s idea to life, there is nothing more satisfying. When you draw someone’s character in your style, you are pulling them through your portal and helping them see the world the way that you do. And this is work that you are getting paid for, so do an awesome job and have fun with it. Also make money.