# I am wondering what the proper etiquette would be in this area.



## HenriBijAnthony (Mar 28, 2013)

If you have a condition that can unexpectedly put your art and/or commissions on hold for unpredictable amounts of time, are you obligated to tell people?
My first instinct is no, and if something happens, to message the person and say some life issues have come up and that I will resume work on their piece as soon as possible.
So far that has fared well. My only concern is when it is used often. Does that look shady or what. . .?

I mean, the way I see it, clients don't want to know what is going on, they just want art. They don't need to know your life information. 
Plus, knowing you have X, Y, and Z would probably be a deciding factor in whether or not people want to hire you, right? Emphasis on that being negative.
Lastly... I wouldn't want anyone to know. It's shameful!

HOWEVER, the doubt really comes in when I see other people doing the complete opposite.
They let people know right off the bat what diseases or disabilities they have that will hinder the art process, and how it will be effected... and this is including on sites like HireAnIllustrator. 
So this is presumably done in a professional light, not in one for attention?
I can't exactly see what gain there could be in doing this, but perhaps someone can shed some light on this. :')

I suppose what I am really looking for is some affirmation in my methods, but some discussion would be appreciated as well. 
What do, or would, you do?
My thought process seems to have become too biased to look at it from alternate views on me own! < n>


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 28, 2013)

Taking commissions imply that you are able to do the work expected for a reasonable amount of time. If you can't make that obligation simply don't take the work. 

You know a payrolled job has expected hours and an attendance policy. You follow it or get fired. So have good work ethic when taking commissions. 

Now I know things happen so you do have an obligation to let your commissioners know. Whether in private or public is up to you. But make good on refunds if necessary.


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## HenriBijAnthony (Mar 28, 2013)

I'm not sure I fully understand what you are saying, since I don't always understand all sentence structures, so bare with me if I misunderstand. > o<;

The thing is I can get things done, but not when an issue arises, which is unpredictable. 
Everything fine: 1-2 days for small things, a week for large projects.
Not fine: Nothing. 
So I can be reliable but... I don't know when I won't be... if that makes sense? 
I feel contradictory. Haha...

I've never actually been on a pay rolled job, so I can't go back on it or correlate anything to it. You can bet I will work my ass off and try to get things done in a timely manner when I have a commission though, so I do have good work ethic... but you can't control whether or not you can hold a pen or not, right? Whether or not your mind is in it has no effect. 

At what point? Before or after the commission takes place? 
( Funny you mention those! Haha. I feel like I spend 95% of my commissions giving refunds! However my peers tell me artists shouldn't. < __ > )


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 28, 2013)

Ok.

You go to a job. The employer wants you there from 9-5. You tell the employer, oh well I might be there, but I'm not sure when I'll get there every day, or if I get there. But I'm a good hard worker.

Sounds like a person you want to really employe or do business with?

So again if you don't know if you can be reliable, don't waste people's time and money asking these questions. As I said there are times when something unpredictable happens and if that happens be prepared to refund them.

So I don't know what you're asking, how to come off as less of a flake?


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## drpickelle (Mar 28, 2013)

Hm, you seem pretty gun-ho on doing commissions, and you mentioned not being on a pay roll prior-- so I'm guessing you're planning on having commissions be a large part of your income?

If you're set to do it, I guess my best advice would be to let your commissioners know that turnaround time for art may be anywhere from one week to three months (or some other extended time period... however long your episodes last for, I'm not sure what you're dealing with.) You seem to be dedicated... it's just a matter of avoiding looking flaky while still communicating to your paying customers that there may be delays. 

Honestly, not a lot of people like waiting, so there may be business lost-- but there will be some who wait, and it's better to be honest. Also, Your art is pretty nice, building a good rep will help you, but that means working extra hard when you're well, to fill the gaps during downtime.


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## HenriBijAnthony (Mar 28, 2013)

*Arshes Nei;*
Um. Freelancing isn't the same. It doesn't work the same as a 9-5 job. Sure, there are a certain amount of hours you put in, but I can work whenever I want, delays may just be imminent as if one was working a part-time job. 
Or part-time/full-time. 
Or you know, someone who works from home while raising a family.

It isn't going to hurt anyone to be out for a day, or in the rare occurrence that I'm out for a week. 
If I'm hospitalized, then God knows. I think the worst has been up to a month?
I'm asking about what the best way is to handle the situation, not "does the situation make me eligible".
Should I use your analogy and say... you would be getting fired for getting into an accident?
How would you know if you could get into an accident? Maybe you shouldn't work, because you won't know if you'll be consistent. 
You never know what life will throw at you. How can you make any promises to anything? 

By that sort of sense, you would be saying the disabled have no right to work, period. 
Should I be put down or, quit what I'm doing, sit on my rump all day or...? What about the other artists who get work despite all this...? 
As in my original post, I'm not the only one doing this. There are many other artists who work professionally, who even have more unpredictable conditions than I do. 
It is they that started me thinking. 
Should they drop everything, despite success in the industry, because they aren't as reliable as a healthy artist?

I believe I made it pretty clear in my original post, what I am asking. I think you just added in some other things that led the whole topic off track. :')

*DrPickelle; *
No. I am home-bound, so if I hope to make any sort of income, I have to do something over the net, and art is what I know best! :')

Yeah. I try to prevent that by keeping the clients regularly updated. WIPS, delay times, and estimated times of resuming and completion. 
It works so far, but I wonder if even that looks suspicious. Plus, I don't tell them ahead of time that there may be delays. > <;
So I'm basically wondering, am I doing it right, or do I need to give them more information?

Definitely! On the upside, people who watch me work often comment on how fast I am despite feeling slow myself, and I certainly take advantage of good days. :')
For now I try to do lots of free art to get some stuff going. Just hope people don't get too used to that. Ehehe...


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## BRN (Mar 28, 2013)

Heya, commissioner here.

I really, really appreciate it when an artist I'm working with lets me know what's going on. I look forward to the finished product, and I'm willing to wait for it; but I know that art is a creative pursuit and I know it's not an easy process for an artist. Because I understand that even the artist doesn't really *know* when they're going to finish, I happily substitute that knowledge for just understanding what's going on and how things are proceeding.

If things do take an unexpected length of time, that really doesn't mean I'll be an unhappy commissioner. What I can actively resent, though, is not knowing what to hope for. I'm actually actively happy to work with a change of circumstances that might delay the artist for any length of time. If I know in advance that there's going to be a wait, I'm fine with that. However, my hopes tend to rise as we get nearer to progress, and it can really hurt to have those hopes dashed.

In short, I just like to know what's going on. If I'm kept up-to-date, I'll be happy for an indefinite amount of time. Conversely, misinformation or silence can be extremely frustrating. In your situation, I wouldn't really need to know about your condition in advance. But if you were suffering, that's when I'd genuinely like to know, so that I can ease off the pressure.


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 28, 2013)

HenriBijAnthony said:


> *Arshes Nei;*
> Um. Freelancing isn't the same. It doesn't work the same as a 9-5 job. Sure, there are a certain amount of hours you put in, but I can work whenever I want, delays may just be imminent as if one was working a part-time job.
> Or part-time/full-time.
> Or you know, someone who works from home while raising a family.
> ...



Freelancing still has to make deadlines. If you are telling the employment you may not make those deadlines, it still comes off as flaky. The artists who work professionally know this, and *make efforts to meet* those deadlines. 

The point is, it doesn't matter if you are doing a 9-5 job or a job that says it's due on X date. You need to make those deadlines, because people are paying you. If you are disabled, there are certain jobs that make accommodations as much as they can. However, the tone of your post is showing flakiness or uncertainty to make what needs to be done. So it's probably not best to work on commissions unless you're prepared to be responsible for making deadlines and the consequences for missing them or have a turnaround you know you can meet.  

And if you want to use my analogy, you tell your employer you got into an accident. If you were on a payrolled job usually if you're going to be absent for a number of days you would get a doctor's note as to why. Of course commissions on the side this doctor's note would be overkill. I'm not leading the topic off track, I'm actually trying to get you to think this through if you're bent on selling commissions.

As far as dropping everything, no not necessarily, but this is still a bushiness. Artists who have had illnesses/conditions and terminal illnesses before, if they have built a name for themselves then People have a tendency to understand So if you are building a business, you need to build one of trust and respect. If you have something that could delay production of work you need to be honest about it. It's not that I'm not being unsympathetic, but I'm asking you to be more specific because if you don't tell people what one is dealing with, they don't know how to deal with you. 

There is a difference between "NEED MONIES!!!! I  FELL OUT OF THE TREE AGAIN AND NEED EMERGENCIES COMMISSIONS FOR MY CAR!!! BILLS ARE DUE !!!"
vs

"I am glad you have interest in my commissions, I want to make X commitment to you to give you this much time when I work on your commission. However, before you commission me, please note there are very intimate circumstances in my life that I may not be able to make that commitment, if you have no problems with this and want to commission me, we can talk in private"


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## HenriBijAnthony (Mar 29, 2013)

*SIX;*
Thanks for answering! :') 
I figured silence would be the worst, but then when it comes to letting people know, there is always a fine line of how much information is too much information, eh? Haha.

*Arshes Nei; *
Isn't that what I said.... ?
Hence the implication that I know that and have it in mind. I'm not completely daft. @@;

I don't think I've shown any uncertainty in _what_ needs to be done. Only on _how to go about_ what needs to be done. 
There are those who are silent, and function with it.
There are those who tell all and explain everything and function with it. 
I don't know if one method is more beneficial or preferred than the other. 
I don't know if I should change, or if I've got my method down to the most preferable as it is. 

So far, I've done about a dozen commissions. When I don't have commissions, I do art trades and freebies so I can stay on track. I know it's something I _can_ do. I don't know why you keep implying it's something I can't, or something I don't have the work ethics for, and the only reason I can think of, based on your responses, is that you don't think it is practical for me to continue this practice when I'm not 100% healthy and reliable. If you care to explain, please do, because believe me, I HAVE thought this through. Is bouncing methods off people for a more perfected method of practice really that bad? Does it make me look incredibly uneducated for asking? You go back and forth, you call me a flake when you know nothing but that I have an illness... You're confusing me here. :'/ 

_That's what I was asking about in the beginning. 
_Not whether or not I should or could do commissions because I asked for advice or what have you.


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## FireFeathers (Mar 29, 2013)

I'll simplify.

Don't be a dick and constantly go on hiatus. one hiatus once in a while is tolerable- if you constantly take month-long hiatuses... people are going to think you're unreliable and a flake. 

Generally: just be honest and up-front.


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## HenriBijAnthony (Mar 29, 2013)

I never implied that I did on a regular basis! < __ >
There was one moment in two years I was out for a month. Other than that the average is days, or a single day.

My question is: how much honesty is too much honesty, or rather, too much information. Where is the line?


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 30, 2013)

Question. Why all this hand wringing? If this is too delicate a situation to use common sense, maybe priorities are in the wrong place? If you're not daft then think it through?


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