# Question to artists that accept commissions



## ADF (Apr 12, 2011)

This is never a easy subject, so I feel it's one worth asking.

What happens when a commission goes wrong? Meaning, some significant error was made from the description given, or the person doesn't feel the image is up to that artists standards. When someone comes to you saying there is something seriously wrong with the commission, what is your approach?

I ask because there has been times in the past where a commission has come back to me just... wrong. Like they missed the colour description, and the character is shaded to a high standard; in the wrong colour. Or the artist misinterpreted something. Or the quality of the art doesn't meet the payment/gallery of the artist.

I always find myself angsting a bit in these situations, because I have to ask the artist to go do something again, sometimes even to start from scratch. Sometimes I just lie about being totally happy with the image, because the sheer amount of work required to fix it just seems too much to ask.

So what's the perspective from the artist side? Would you recolour a image you spent hours shading, after discovering you did the wrong colour? How would you take it, if someone thinks the piece you did for them isn't up to your usual standard? How do you handle a dissatisfied customer?


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## kabiscube (Apr 12, 2011)

i've had to recolor a few commissions, but since i do them digitally. it really hasn't bean a problem. i've never had to fully recolor a drawing. if it's a digital drawing, it shouldn't be hard for the artist to recolor it. that is if its not extremely detailed.

i guess if it would be a hard thing to recolor. id say be nice and pay a little extra and ask her/him to change the coloring, and try to be more specific this time around on the color. maybe show a templet of what you want the colors to be like.
if its a simple thing to change. just ask nicely and i think most people wouldn't mind too much


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## Bir (Apr 12, 2011)

I can only speak for myself, here.

I know that I need to make my customers happy. They're the ones giving me the money, right?

I may get a little PO'd if they say I totally missed the ball, but most of the time it's my fault, anyway.

Usually when I open up commissions I have little guidelines and a sort of TOS that says I have free will to an artist's vision. As in, I get to pick the pose, the emotion, that sort of thing. I just can't get motivated if someone is being picky.

Most of the time I will just start over. When I have an image in my head, all of my strokes and markings reflect that. If I just change it, it won't... match in my eyes, if that makes sense.

But for the customer, I would suggest making a VERY clear list of what needs to be changed. If you don't mention something, the artist won't change it. 

If you think that it doesn't live up to the rest of their gallery, try taking a look at what other customers ordered. Perhaps try to do a little research and figure out what that person's fursona or whatever looked like, that way you can kinda see what the artist did to it. For all you know, the person's style may be way off from what the characters actually look like. Sorry, I'm not sure how to explain this. I'm always wary when I commission someone.. just because I like the way an artist drew someone else's fursona doesn't mean I'm going to like mine in that style. It could be totally off the ball. 

But again, make a very clear list. 

Most preferably, I would like, when someone commissions me, to make a very clear list of MUST-BE's. As in, what am I not allowed to tamper with? That sort of thing.

Hope that helps. : 3


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## Taralack (Apr 12, 2011)

If an artist gets a character's colours wrong, it would often be because the commissioner did not provide a clear guide as to what the colours should be. Working from a description is much harder than working with existing refs.


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## Iudicium_86 (Apr 12, 2011)

I've done trades and requests, but have been making those receiving my art very happy. And to avoid any confusions or misunderstandings I take a written detailed description plus at least three other existing images to work from, even if I have to look through their gallery myself for more than just the single ref sheet most often provided.

Being a traditional artist, I can't afford mistakes.


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## ADF (Apr 13, 2011)

Toraneko said:


> If an artist gets a character's colours wrong, it would often be because the commissioner did not provide a clear guide as to what the colours should be. Working from a description is much harder than working with existing refs.



I provided both image and descriptive references showing the character had human coloured skin, they made him green.


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## dinosaurdammit (Apr 13, 2011)

ADF said:


> I provided both image and descriptive references showing the character had human coloured skin, they made him green.


 
Sounds like they dropped the ball big time- I'd request it be fixed. They messed up and you are not happy with the results. 

If they refuse to put things right make a paypal dispute and get refunded.


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## Meeku (Apr 13, 2011)

Well it's true we're not always satisfied with what we get, but if it means not being satisfied with the style, i believe that when you commission somebody, you commission his/her style, don't you... 

When it comes to the mistakes toward the description though, i say that you should dare to ask "why" first, and if it's a misunderstanding, or a lack of caring the artist should try to satisfy you as much as he can. I personally take a great care of the description, i'm being fussy as hell to please the commissioner, i'm even angsting not to satisfy enough, xD.


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## Fay V (Apr 13, 2011)

I try my best to keep the person in the loop. giving updates and such. For recolors in general I am okay with them, in general it was my mistake, or it's a simple fix from a bad reference sheet. No big deal. 
There was one commission that I just flat out told them if they want more done they would pay extra. It was that dragon one I did. I gave a sketch, showed the line art, showed the flats, then when I was done they wanted the lighting fixed, okay...then more background added, then more stalactites, then more stalactites. I went back and redid things at least five times.


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## dinosaurdammit (Apr 13, 2011)

Fay V said:


> I try my best to keep the person in the loop. giving updates and such. For recolors in general I am okay with them, in general it was my mistake, or it's a simple fix from a bad reference sheet. No big deal.
> There was one commission that I just flat out told them if they want more done they would pay extra. It was that dragon one I did. I gave a sketch, showed the line art, showed the flats, then when I was done they wanted the lighting fixed, okay...then more background added, then more stalactites, then more stalactites. I went back and redid things at least five times.


 
If I commission someone I try not to correct them past the sketch concept. I know it is irritating for someone to nitpick. I am very detailed about what I want and how I want it. When it gets past a certain point I have to trust the artist to do what they feel will work. When I had my ref done I only had to correct the feet from paws to more bird like feet and show the artist that the nose needed to be longer. I was impressed by how well they took the advice/criticism. 

I would hate to have to do something over and over and over due to the negligence of the commissioner. They have 2 chances to tell someone if provided WIPs that something is wrong. I hate to see when someone waits till something is finished then goes and says something like BAAAAAAAW HER EXPRESSION IS WRONG. Even though that was something from the get go they said OK to.

Commissioners have rights to have their stuff look right- they do not have to be an ass. Artist have an obligation to suit the buyer but not to the point the buyer is basically harassing the seller. There is a BOLD fine line.


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## Fay V (Apr 13, 2011)

dinosaurdammit said:


> If I commission someone I try not to correct them past the sketch concept. I know it is irritating for someone to nitpick. I am very detailed about what I want and how I want it. When it gets past a certain point I have to trust the artist to do what they feel will work. When I had my ref done I only had to correct the feet from paws to more bird like feet and show the artist that the nose needed to be longer. I was impressed by how well they took the advice/criticism.
> 
> I would hate to have to do something over and over and over due to the negligence of the commissioner. They have 2 chances to tell someone if provided WIPs that something is wrong. I hate to see when someone waits till something is finished then goes and says something like BAAAAAAAW HER EXPRESSION IS WRONG. Even though that was something from the get go they said OK to.
> 
> Commissioners have rights to have their stuff look right- they do not have to be an ass. Artist have an obligation to suit the buyer but not to the point the buyer is basically harassing the seller. There is a BOLD fine line.


 Yeah, I've never had an issue past the sketch stage, I am more than happy to just redo sketches, it's no big deal at all. I will redo sketches quite a bit (though after 4 or 5 times I start to get annoyed and ask the person to be more clear)


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## Eske (Apr 13, 2011)

I think Fay V is spot on about keeping the client well-updated to prevent this kind of thing.  

Honestly, if a customer of mine feels that the end result is just miles away from what they wanted, I'm going to think two particular things: A. that I've failed to keep the client properly updated regularly, so the fault is entirely my own for not making sure we were on the same page earlier; and B. that I really, really would like the person to tell me specifically -what- they don't like so that I can fix it. 

It's my job to make pictures that other people like -- if they honestly don't like it, I'm not doing my job right.  It's not an insult to me personally, I can recognize that.  

And yes, perhaps after a point if it gets ridiculous I will stop and caution the commissioner that future changes will need to be payed for if requested, but personally it takes quite a long time to reach the end of my patience when it comes to things like that. I've gone through months of revisions with some clients, just making sure everything looks right -- and have even made revisions for clients who _okayed the final work_ and then came back a few days later asking for fixes that they began to notice. 

It doesn't bother me -- I'd rather have the person tell me what they want fixed so I can fix it and have a potential return-client, instead of possibly losing that client forever because they're disappointed with the result and were too afraid to ask for revisions.


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## Fay V (Apr 13, 2011)

Eske said:


> I think Fay V is spot on about keeping the client well-updated to prevent this kind of thing.
> 
> Honestly, if a customer of mine feels that the end result is just miles away from what they wanted, I'm going to think two particular things: A. that I've failed to keep the client properly updated regularly, so the fault is entirely my own for not making sure we were on the same page earlier; and B. that I really, really would like the person to tell me specifically -what- they don't like so that I can fix it.
> 
> ...


 
Exactly. I'll also do my best to stream the commissions sometimes so people can be there when it is happening. I have a going idea in my streams that if someone sees an issue with anatomy or something they should speak up.


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## darkdoomer (Apr 14, 2011)

simple : if the commissioner is disappointed, ask him what modifications you can do. ask him more references and anything, if he fails to bring these or if the customer keeps disagreeing, send him to hell and keep the artwork for your gallery anyways.

also, ask them for payment once the pic is finished and the preview pic approved. working otherwise is stupid and the opposite on how a graphic artist is doing it right.

another protip : don't  become the furries's slave. art there is usually retardingly cheap, if they still have something to bitch about they don't deserve it. not saying all commissioners are like this but i know a few who really have no respect and tend to get full of themselves, if not when they spread shit about you on various imageboards or blogs.


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## Zenia (Apr 14, 2011)

Thankfully I haven't had a dissatisfied customer. At least not a paying one... sort of. The only one I can think of, was someone that had a friend commission their character for them. They didn't have a clear ref or description, so I got some of the markings wrong and the shoes wrong... but it was easy for me to fix and I didn't mind it.

When I got my highest priced work, I offer to let the customer see the sketch stage to change anything, then the lineart stage for minor tweaks. After that, I may change colors on parts, but I won't redraw something unless it is minor. They had plenty of chances to see it before the final product. Most of my customers are very laid back though and just say "Do whatever you want! I don't want to see it until it is done!" and then they are very happy with it.

For my lower prices, I just do it start to finish in one sitting. I don't want to go back and forth endlessly for $2 to $10. Thankfully I do a nice job. XD

Though I would do my best to make sure that anyone that is unhappy, becomes happy with what I do, since I don't want to have done the work and have no compensation for it.


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## Taralack (Apr 14, 2011)

Eske said:


> It doesn't bother me -- I'd rather have the person tell me what they want fixed so I can fix it and have a potential return-client, instead of possibly losing that client forever because they're disappointed with the result and were too afraid to ask for revisions.


 
Same here. While making changes multiple times will start to grate on my nerves, often I just bite the bullet and do it anyway. It's a little demoralizing sometimes when each time the commissioner asks you to change one tiny thing and you never seem to get it right, and sometimes I feel they just think "fuck it" and let me finish it.


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## oMari (Apr 19, 2011)

Fay V said:


> I try my best to keep the person in the loop. giving updates and such.


 
I was gonna write up some long thing on this but it seems most of it has been covered so I'll try to keep this short.
_Both_ artist and client need to be in semi-constant(or as needed) communication with each other as work is being done. I strongly believe the artist should provide wip shots of the image as its being worked on. Otherwise the client shouldn't be surprised at all if they are not completely satisfied with the artwork. Likewise the artist shouldn't be surprised if they are asked to make changes. 

Professional non-furry artists usually don't get told what they want from a client and then work on it from start to finish without providing wip images of the work or any verbal communications what so ever. 

This is how I personally work.
1) make sure me and the client have a clear understanding of what they want
2) Do a rough pose sketch of the image and show it to my client.
3) Refine the sketch and make it resemble their character more and show it to them again
4) Flat colors (or flat with 1 value for the shadow areas) Show to client again.
5) Then just continue to work and communicate and show wip of the image as needed. 

The more wip shots you show to your client the less likely there will be problems when you are nearing completion.


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## Olivitree (Apr 19, 2011)

My general approach to this is if I have got it wrong, it's my fault, I should fix it for no extra charge.

However to avoid this I usually live stream my work and make sure they regularly have updates on it's progress and can see if I'm doing it wrong or not, I always ask  if everything is alright and if anything needs changing when It's near completion, and after completion, it's never too late to fix an error.

I don't think I've ever made a commission that is worth less than I'm paid, more the other way round and I'm paid less than I should be. *shrug* usually pretty consistent and I wouldn't short change anyone.


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## Arshes Nei (Apr 20, 2011)

Some people should read Don Seegmiller's book on Character Design and know why communication is important.

http://amzn.com/1584505338 this one or the Painter version have about the same info in half of it on character design. The other half pertains to each graphics program the book is about.


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