How do I do commissions? Could you all lend me some knowledge?

[jmccubbins]

Ok so i really have to know this has ben something that's ben on my mind how do I commission and is my art good enough? These are some of m art works

[LunarScyphozoa]

Why is y’all spelt like that

[jmccubbins]

Oh, it's usually spelled like that here where I live. Ill fix it sorry

[LunarScyphozoa]

You’d not have to fix it if that’s how it’s spelled where you live

[jmccubbins]

Nah it's fine. I fixed this way people can understand the title better Any who any tips on commissions?

[TunaPrincess]

I think your art is good enough for commissions! I think what you want to think about is how much time does it take you to make a piece. Then you should calculate a livable and fair wage based off of your skill set. Don't charge less than minimum wage!

The things is with art commissions, it's better to do less than more. Sure you might make the same amount of money charging 5 dollars to 6 people and create 6 pieces of art for 30 bucks, but it's better to draw one picture for 30.

I'll leave some of my commission info here as an example (just prices).

For example the "Animal Crossing Style" if I work on it non-stop and once I get feedback from the client probably takes me about 2 hrs to make. So I'm making 20 bucks an hour. I'm also setting a limit on it being only for one character, charging extra for other characters and for a complex bg that isn't just a colour field/gradient or small doodle.

These are also a baseline. If I had a client who wanted a ton of revisions (more than 3) I would charge extra for that. If the character is extremely complicated and I know would take me forever, I will charge extra.

I live in Canada, so RIP expensive shipping - but I've also calculated for that as well! Even if actual postage only ends up costing a buck. I'm charging for my time to get it printed, my time to package it and pay for packing materials and my time to go to the post office.

The other thing to is don't get discouraged if people don't hop on the commission train right away. With COVID people are being more stingy than usual because jobs are up in the air. As well, if you don't have a huge social media following it can be hard at first to gain clients. The main thing is to not give up! Keep creating work and working on your own art! People will take notice. Also, tell your friends and family as well that you are opening commissions. You will be surprised how many people who are maybe not the most internet savvy also want art!!

Do not give friend discounts. You are offering a valuable skill and true friends will recognize this and pay you what you're worth! If a friend or anyone really wants a commission but can't afford it, meet with them in the middle with something. Maybe they can't afford a full colour commission, but you can offer a black and white one instead for cheaper.

I hope this helps out!

[jmccubbins]

Oh Wow! I didn't think art would be payed that high. For one of my pieces of a full character designed with coloring and shading it takes about three hours. Then for a painted back ground it takes another three hours or more. It depends on how detailed I go. But man I didn't realize how much an artist could charge.
@TunaPrincess So if it takes me about six hours to make a full colored piece with back ground? How much should i consider. Also do you recommend any specific way of advertising?

[renaissancebadger]

Hey, I've been doing commissions for a few years now and it's not so hard as one might think! Those are great prices for those services. I have a couple tips for starters that I wish I'd known when I started;

1. Discuss prices first! Never let anyone commission you without discussing and agreeing on the price. None of this 'for exposure' crap. Similarly, it's okay (and i personally recommend) to not give discounts, even if you're close.
2. Determine which order things will happen. Normally after I get a commission and discuss the price, I'll do a concept sketch and send it over. Very messy, lots of scribbles. I'll have the client approve it or ask for alterations then.
3. Profit. (no literally) This is the time where I ask for the payment. I only take paypal, and it needs to be in my account before I move further.
4. After all of that I finish the art piece. I like to ink and set base colors to make sure those are acceptable and then I'll shade and do any necessary embellishments.

Another thing a lot of people love is when I send them full sized images through email. Certain sites/messaging apps (facebook the worst of the lot) will condense images and ruin their quality, so I usually offer to email it to them so they can download it.

Good luck on your art journey!! here's to lots of great opportunities!! <3

[jmccubbins]

@renaissancebadger Ah ok So then that brings my next question how do I find clients?

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

There's another thread on commissions that you may want to peruse, too.

Hi! Real life is unpredictable so a new source of income will do me good ;w; I've never tried opening commissions before so I am completely clueless to estimate my starting rate. I also see that artists divide their rate based on what's included in the commission, like head only, torso up, etc. This is an example of my art (taken from comic) [image] I feel like I am quite comfortable with poses, but need to practice more on proportion and anatomy. I am thinking to take commissions for h…

[renaissancebadger]

I have a dedicated Instagram and Facebook page that I promote wherever I can. I also have links on my Twitter and the tumblr I don’t use anymore lol. Mostly it’s about getting fans and reaching out. It takes a bit of work but if you get a couple people interested more will come. It’s all about patience!

[jmccubbins]

Ah ok thanks so much! Ill get started!
@Ordinaryaverageguy
@renaissancebadger
@TunaPrincess
Is this good for a commission sheet?

[renaissancebadger]

I find people resonate better with samples, so don’t be afraid of throwing some art in there!!

[jmccubbins]

So like showing all of what I offer?

[TunaPrincess]

Yeah exactly!!

I didn't include my actual commission page/post because I didn't want it to seem like I was highlighting my own work, but along with the prices I do include images!

Here's a link to my commission post on Instagram, just so you can get an idea?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJXcnLdDqVm/

And yes! Artists can charge money!! I think the prices you have listed are awesome! I also really agree with the things that @renaissancebadger has mentioned as well!

You got this and good luck out there!!

[ButterflyEmpress]

@TunaPrincess @renaissancebadger
How do you go about issues such as refunds or unsatisfied customers? I was trying to come up with Terms of Service and this is where I got stuck on.
How I planned to go about commissions is:
Get payment--> send sketch--> client approves--> finish drawing-->send finished art to client.

Imagine if you finish the art and the client claims they don't like it and want a refund. Or if they constantly ask for last minute changes or want a complete do over.

I know some artists have a strict no refund policy or no changes after the sketching process. Can these policies scare people away?

[TunaPrincess]

I have a very similar process to @renaissancebadger where I send things in for feedback from the client at multiple stages.

So I do a rough concept sketch, I do the real sketch > send to client and ask for feedback, do the the line art > send to client ask for feedback. I also stress to them that the sketch stage and the line art stage are the best stages to make changes, especially big changes.

Most people are awesome and are really good about it! For people who keep wanting last minute changes, well like... if it's simple like "hair colour change" and assuming the hair is on separate layer and you can fix it with a quick hue/saturation, I don't really worry to much and just do it. If it's like..... a massive change, like redraw more than half the picture, that's when I will tell the client that I can do it but it will cost more. It seems harsh, but like... they had multiple opportunities to address it. If it was never addressed that's on them?

This is a my bad on my part, because I haven't ever run into a situation where someone has wanted a refund, but I probably should come up with one for when it happens. I think if someone were truly unhappy, and like if the commission just ended up being out of the scope of my ability, I would refund someone. But also I wouldn't send them the high res final images, or the un-watermarked images until I actually got approval from them liking it.... just to protect myself from people who claim to be unhappy but are running a scam.

I think they may scare some people away but I think that's also okay? The thing is, they're curating a client base that respects their rules and boundaries! That's healthy! It might be more hardlined than I might be, but they are doing what works for them. In my commission sheet, I mention that I don't draw mechs or gore? I have that there because I don't want people coming to me for that kind of work. It all depends on what you're comfortable with, and what works for your process.

[jmccubbins]

@TunaPrincess Something like this?

[TunaPrincess]

Yeah!!! That's awesome!!!

The only thing I would be concerned about is how long the image is depending on where you're advertising. If you're on Instagram mainly, I would recommend using a more square format, or look up the sizes that Twitter and Instagram display images without cropping them.

Otherwise it's perfect!

[jmccubbins]

Alright then! I think ill try at twitter