Welcome to "Step by Step to Commission an Artist" as well as my "TOS: Terms of Services."

Half the list about how to commission an artist. The list is long, but they are described in detail how a client should address their idea to an artist as well as a description of their character.

The second part of the list is my ToS "TERMS OF SERVICE": These are not set in "stone", which means, by any time, depending on the client, I can alter these rules to better suit the job and client, with warning. These are rules I put up due to my past experience as a freelancer. Some clients need more explaining than others.


By reading this journal from top to bottom including my TOS and commissioning me, you understand what rights I have as an artist and what rights you have as a client. If any mishaps/drama/arguments arise in the middle of a commission job, I, the artist, have the right to follow and site the TOS stated below. You, the client, also have the right to site and state what is written below if you feel your own stated rights have been damaged/broken. Any questions, please ask me. Thank you.


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---- DETAILS ON YOUR CHARACTER AND IDEA ----


Description of your character: If you found an artist who wishes to accept your commission, here are a few notes that you should think about when you are describing your CHARACTER:

Name of your character: Sometimes, knowing the name of your character adds some background history to him/her. It is better to refer to your character by the name instead of “your character” or “your fursona” or “that fuzzy thing”.

Sex: Male? Female? Herm? The name of the character, even if it is boyish or girlish sounding, doesn’t help the artist determine what sex the character is. Your character’s name can be Bill, but Bill is really a girl. If your character is a herm, tell the artist. Mention what kind of body parts they have, as they vary. Sometimes saying “shi” or “hir” in your descriptions are clues that your character is a herm, but sometimes the artist miss that or take it as a spelling error.

Species: In the furry world, there are thousands of animal families and hybrids. It is best to ALWAYS tell the artist for hire what family your character falls under. IE Canine, Lupine, Feline, etc. If your character is a hybrid or a completely new contract of species, tell the artist what animal traits your character shows physically: Wings, two tails, a third eye, half scales/half fur. etc.

Details of the character’s fur/scales: Every animal, fur or scales, have different patterns. Some are a bit complicated than others. Having visual reference of the fur or scale pattern from the net will help the artist understand where you are coming from. If your character has visual tattoos or scars or markings, make sure you have visual aid for that too. A good source for patterns and designs that closely resemble your idea can be found on the web. Don’t just tell the artist verbally and with less detail as possible. Artists are visual people. Visual references are helpful in the long run.

Details of the character’s body structure: Fat, Slim, Busty, Muscular. These are all different shapes and proportions. Is your character considered anorexic slim, maybe toned, or fat with a bit of muscle to them? Make sure you tell the artist what kind of body type your character has. Is your character tall or small, Macro or Micro? A good measurement of your character is helpful, in FEET and INCHES. It will give the artist a general idea on how tall your character is compared to another character or object.

Details of the character’s colors: If you plan to have your character colored, tell the artist what color the character’s fur is. There are vulpine characters with neon blue and pink fur colors. What color is your character’s hair? What about her fur? What about the eyes? What fur patches ( if any ) are of a different color? The more descriptive you are about your character the more the artist will visualize what your character looks like.

Personality of your character: This is of great important to the artist depending on what pose or feeling the character should be drawn in. Is your character a happy-go-lucky type? Depressed? Quiet? Loud? Violent? Clean? Messy? It is best to also describe your character’s personality depending on what you want the character is in the picture. Give a small and brief outline about your character’s personality even if you have full trust in the artist’s take on your character.

Details of your character’s props: Clothes? Is your character clothed? If so, what types of clothing does your character wear and from what era? What about jewelry? Does your character wear a necklace or a ring or a wrist band? Is your character carrying or wearing anything that is tied closely to the character’s background? Small costume props and designs help the artist figure out how to correctly portray your character. Clothing helps with the character’s personality, background, and style. It will also make it fun for the artist to draw your character that is wearing clothing. It will help the character and the style that it’s drawn in pop out, even look more dramatic. Again, images of photos or other drawings on the web help greatly.

Your character is YOU: The character you want the artist to draw is often your fursona or a representation of yourself. Try to describe it simply, especially if the character has a complete background, but remember not to skimp on the important visual details. Be as simple but yet not lagging on the details. Do you have images of your character from previous commissions? Great! Show that to the artist. Make sure the markings and figure on your character closely resemble what you want your character to look like in the artist’s style and version. Has your character been upgraded over the past commission? Make sure you include the new details about your character to the artist, weather it is something as small as an extra fur patch to growing large wings.


If you found an artist who wishes to accept your commission, here are a few notes that you should think about when you are commissioning the ARTIST:


1 - Your idea: What is your idea? What do you want the artist to draw for you? What story are you thinking about that you want drawn? There are many ideas and concepts people ask artists to do, ranging from a story idea, a character pose, something fun, something simple, to an adult piece. Each idea is unique in your head and if you want it drawn on paper, talk to an artist and try to commission him/her to create it for you.

2 - Your Budget: CHECK YOUR BUDGET! Do you have enough money to hire an artist to create something for you? Did you check the artist’s prices? Every artist’s price varies depending on their skill and what they were taught growing up as an artist. Most artists have learned NEVER TO SELL THEIR ART SHORT. They must factor in:

- how much the medium will cost them in order to make the commission.
- how much time it will take them.
- how much it will cost to make it a print or physical copy ( if any )

Make sure that you have enough money in your wallet or account to fully pay the artist. There are several types of ways you can pay the artist: Cash, Check, Western Union, and Pay Pal. Make sure the artist tells what kind of payment s/he accepts before jumping to conclusions. Once you know how much money you want to spend on the commission, approach the artist. If you have any questions, ASK FIRST instead of waiting until the commission is done.

3 - Shopping down the Artist Isle: There are thousands upon thousands of artists that are looking for people to commission them to draw for money, but only one will catch your eye. Shop around for a style that pops out to you. Does the artist’s style fit your ideas? Is the artist good with drawing the figure? Is the artist good with colors? These are a few things you should look for in the artist’s gallery. Next, check on the artist herself. What kinds of things does the artist like to draw? Is the artist someone who is good with commissions? Does the artist speak your language? Is the artist up for hire? Is the artist honest and trustworthy? Every artist is different. Make sure you find one who will for fill your commission job.

4 - Approaching an Artist: The correct way to approach an artist, both on the web and in person, is to introduce yourself. Ask the artist if s/he is open for commissions. Usually, the artist will post on their journal or in a piece of artwork if they are open for commissions and if there are any slots open. If there are, tell the artist you want a spot for a commission. Sometimes artists take a while to reply because they are busy. BE PATIENT! Don’t rush and swarm the artists with notes and emails about slots. This will be bad for you for the artist might reject you completely.

5 - Describing your commission: As soon as you get the message from the artist that you have a slot, try to create a small and brief outline of what you want the artist to draw. Explain what you are looking for in the commission. Don’t write a 5 page description about your character. Keep it simple. A full page should be the MAXIMUM amount. Keep it to half a page long. Do it in categories. This will be easier for the artist to read and understand what you want. Here is an example:

Name:
Age:
Sex:
Species:
Height ( feet and inches ):
Fur Color:
Fur Markings:
Jewelry:
Clothes:
Background:

Don’t answer these with one word. Like talking to someone in person, be descriptive. Nothing can be answered with one word. It leaves something that could be important lagging in detail, which will cause confusion in the drawing process. Make sure you know what your character looks like, acts and possesses that will make the description of your character easier to communicate. If you have any VISUAL IMAGES of your character or of fur patterns, jewelry, items, anything, send links to that image or email the images to the artist. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS IN THE LONG RUN.

REMEMBER, IMAGES, GIFS, JPGS. ANY VISUAL REFERENCES WILL HELP THE ARTIST AND ADVOID CONFUSION.



---- DETAILS ON MY TERMS OF SERVICE ----


5A - Artistic Freedom:[/i] Artistic Freedom basically means that you are telling the artist that they have full control over your commission with the information and descriptions you provided for them. Some clients tell artists they are hiring this. By telling the artist that they have Artistic Freedom, you trust the artist's judgement and will accept anything the artist does with your image. There are no limits to what they can do and you, as the client, should be aware that what you might have in your head due to your lack of information will look differently on paper. Some artists don't want to have Artistic Freedom and will inquire more information about the clients commission. If you have a CLEAR idea on what you want the image to look like, DESCRIBE IT.

5B - Legal issues: Do you plan to mass produce the image the artist created on shirts or toys or any products that you will be making money off of? If so, construct a legal contract describing your intentions on the idea-to-be as well as pay the amount the artist wish to sell all the rights to the piece. If the artist approves and signs the contract, you have a deal. If not and you really want the artist to do it for you, be prepared to make changes. Artists have legal rights to that protect what they make, paid or not. Its called COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. To understand more about it, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright



Do you want your commission in pencil, pen, inked, or colored? Do you want it mature? Do you want it to have a story? Is it part of a bigger project that might take more commissions to complete? Check the prices the artist has listed as well as your budget.



6 - You pay now or later: Some artists require half the total payment at this stage. This will be payment for the work on sketching and coloring the image in progress. Other artists require payment after the image is completed. This is a safety plan just incase you change your mind completely on the commission and/or want the artist to do something different. The half payment is for the work the artist put into the unfinished image. Remember, you are taking up the artist’s time in creating the image. Do not expect a free sketch in the long run.

6A - Tipping: It is a simple sign of generosity and it will establish a stronger bond with the artist and client. If the client is feeling generous enough to give a small tip to the artist for their services, the client is aware that the tip they gave the artist is non-refundable. A tip is simply giving money without thinking about getting it back. Its a charity give to the artist. Even if the commission is canceled, the tip should NOT be part of the refund amount. Tipping means that you can part ways with that payment. You wouldn't want to go to a waitress and tell her to hand the tip back that you just gave her, right? If you are a person who does something like that, best NOT to tip or best NOT to commission the artist at all if you are very strict and anal about your money.



Once a contract has been made and signed, the artist keeps a signed copy as well as the client so both have record of their agreement.



7 - The Waiting Game: Once you send all your information to the artist by PM or Email, wait for a response. This can be the frustrating part. The artist might be backed up in commissions, has other projects to do, has a full time job to go to, or an emergency. Most times, the artist will contact you if there is a delay or problem. If it is something beyond the artist’s control, DON’T LOOSE YOUR TEMPER. Shit happens that no one can control. Just be patient. If you did not give the artist a due date, then expect to wait.

When the artist responds, be prepared to ask any question the artist has about the commission. Did you describe what you want correctly? Is there anything else that will aid in the creation of the commission? Do you have any other visual aid that will help the artist understand? Remember, Artists are visual people. The more visual images and references you have, the better the artist will understand. Once all questions have been asked and/or answered, the artist will start working on the image.

If you hired a number of artists to draw your character or your idea, make sure you have the UP TO DATE version. Do not link the artist to several images of your character or idea in different stages and colors. Such miscommunication will lead to walls in the road. If you see something that the artist or other people miss it constantly, point it out to the artist. The artist only sees what YOU show him/her. Don’t expect the artist to read your mind. Talk to them.

8 - Step by Step WIP: A professional artist will first create a few thumbnails to work off from. Next, a sketch of the image will be created. The artist should send a sketch of the commission to the client for approval. This will be a great time for you to suggest any changes, minor alterations or add-ons you wish to have seen in the image itself. I personally send the sketch over to the client and ask if there are any changes that should be made before the inking process happens. Once the image is inked, it is difficult to go back to the sketch stage unless the artist does it all over again ( unless sketching, inking and coloring were all done digitally which will be easier to correct errors ). This will take up more time and resources for both the artist AND the client.

Once you approve on the sketch, the artist will continue to the next stage: Inking or coloring. This step takes longer than the sketch stage. Sometimes the artist will send a rough digital image of the coloring stage just incase you have any new ideas to add on. Anything with ink or marker will be hard to correct. If the image is inked and colored on the computer, it’s very easy to correct errors.

9 - Do not hassle the artist: I can’t stress this enough…A great deal breaker for any artist is when the client haggles or gets frustrated at the artist. Even though you are paying the artist to get something done, remember the artist can back out from the commission and move onto another for someone else. You would have wasted the artist’s time and YOUR time. If you have an issue with the artist, ADDRESS IT POLITELY AND CLEARLY. Do not yell and curse at the artist. These are bad points for you. If the artist is giving you a hard time or is the first to throw the punch, you have every right to dismiss the artist, half paid or none. If you find an error that you are partially to blame in the creation of the commission, do not hide it. ADMIT IT. Don’t blame or accuse everything on the artist for not pointing out any differences or ideas that you missed explaining in the first place. A smooth relationship is the best way to get though some rocky bumps in the road. If you have an issue, address it politely. The issue will fix itself out smoothly and without any problems.

10 - Issuing a refund/Canceling a paid commission: Issues will arise when the client is unsatisfied with the artist's WIP, or with his/her artwork in general, or if the client and artist start to argue. This will be a time to have one or the other halt or cancel the commission. This is where FEES are mentioned. Let's say a client, who has paid the artist in full and has already gotten a WIP sketch of his/her commission, but wants to cancel it before it goes into the second WIP stage. The client needs to realize that the artist already spend time and energy into the sketch and getting a full refund is out of the question. The artist has the right to subtract a small amount of payment from the total amount based off of the work the artist did. For a sketch phase, 25% ( AT MOST ) of the total payment may be kept for the artist for his/her time and energy while the rest goes back to the client. This makes it fair to both the ARTIST and the CLIENT: The CLIENT gets a WIP sketch and the ARTIST gets a small fee for the sketch they did. This shows that free art does not exist when it comes to paid business. If the client even gives the artist a tip from the very beginning, don't expect to get a refund on that since its money not connected to the commission itself.

Here is a table of the right amount of payment an artist should get ( AT MOST ) if the commission is canceled during creation:

SKETCH PHASE ( WIP stages ): 25% of the total payment
INK PHASE ( approved WIP stages and goes into inking ): 50% of the total payment
COLOR PHASE ( approved inking stage and goes into coloring ): 75% of the total payment.

If the client refuses to pay the artist anything due to the work the artist did for the client, ranging from beginning to 90% completion, or forcing the artist to refund 100% of the payment from PAYPAL, the Artist may take LEGAL matter into his/her hands as well as notify authorities/admins that a client is trying to rob the artist and steal an art piece, finished or not. This is common when clients think that they can swindle artists for free art and take back the commission money they offered them. The client, knows that art thievery in the fandom or any kind of art business is illegal and the artists, with his/her vast network of connections, friends, fans and coworkers, can tag the particular client, making sure that everyone knows the client's name and reputation, preventing the client from hiring any other artist. This will protect other artists from making future mistakes with said-client.

If the ARTIST him/herself refuses to return the payment to the client and you feel cheated, you have as much legal action as the artist does. If an artist doesn't send back the payment and you end up empty handed with no commission WIP or any stage progress, you have every right to alert the authorities/admins about the theft and go through as many turns as you can to get the money back. This also includes telling people about the artist. This causes the artist's reputation to wither and fall. This is the LAST thing an artist wants to do for him/herself, even if the artist is trying to run a business. If the artist refuses to give you the fair or full amount and has no proof that the artists did not touch or work on your commission, then the artist is in the wrong and legal matters needs to be done.

11 - The final check on WIP: Once the artist finishes the commission, s/he will send you an email with the image attached to it. Don’t be surprised if the image has “WIP” or “SKETCH” or any watermark on it. The artist has every right to protect the unpaid image. Clients will gladly take the image and run, half paid or unpaid. How do you think the artist will feel after that? Think of the artist and what s/he has done to try to make your idea into a visual image. Also, you will be liable for lawsuit or any punishment of that nature. Artists have protective rights on what they create ( unless the client has the artist sign a legal contract protecting him/her self against such issues. )

12 - The Finish Product: Once you agree that everything is good with the image, send the full payment ( unless you already paid half at the WIP stage ) to the artist by the correct means. Make sure that the payment is in the correct currency and that you are not cheating the artist. Double check so the check wont bounce once the artist gets it. Once the artist receives the payment safe and sound, you will receive the finished product: high resolution and without watermarks ( except maybe the © of the artist on the bottom ).

And there you have it. You have the image and the artist now has money for food. If you followed the step by steps I offered to you, things should go very smoothly for you and the artist.

All these tips and steps were from years of personal experience as an artist and is simplest path to go down if you want a commission done from an artist. Many artists have their fair share or rough roads from other clients and we wish to not repeat those issues with out people.


- Ookami Kemono