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The Artist/Customer Bill of Rights
14 years ago
My commissions are growing more prevalent and I'm developing a customer base, so I wanted to write something up just as a reference for people. I've stated this during the streams a few times but having something to point people to is always good.
Getting a commission is entering a contract in a way. You are buying something from me and have certain expectations. Not all artists have the same standards regarding commissions so I wanted to make mine clear. But at the same time I find a bulleted list of things that basically state that the artist holds all the cards and the customer has no say in the matter bothers me. So these standards and terms and rights go both ways instead of just me claiming what my rights are. So let's start with what I believe my customer has as their personal rights.
The customer:
If you believe you have waited too long for a commission, you have the right to ask for a refund. If I have a backlog I will try to warn you. If I say the commission will take two months and you have waited four, that is considered a fair reason to ask for a refund. If I say two months and you demand a refund after a week, that is not considered a fair reason.
You have the right to ask for a status report. Sending a note every week or so asking for info is not a bother. Although pestering me on a daily basis is a little over the top. I am sometimes an airhead and need reminding.
If you have hit a financial problem and need to ask for the money from an unfulfilled commission back, you have the right to ask for it. If I have done work on the commission I may subtract a small amount, but I will try to be fair and reasonable about it.
Up until the inking stage, you may ask for revisions. My art is done in pen and ink and thus when I have put ink to paper it is a lot harder to revise the art. I can to a certain extent, but it is a great deal of hassle and trouble. I will send you scanned pencils and other images for your approval though.
If an image is lost or damaged and the fault is directly my own, you may ask for a replacement or a refund. If it is lost due to mail mishandling and the tracking number shows it as having never been delivered I may also make concessions.
To summarize: If I am overly late or if I mess up something really big with your art, you have the right to ask for a replacement or a refund. If I find your request to be reasonable I will grant you a refund or a replacement.
The artist:
I may refuse any commission request at any time for any reason. I may also change my mind about a commission if I find the client difficult to work with and refund the payment minus any work done on my part.
I will only work when I have been paid. I am this way with all commissions and very rarely make exceptions. I will accept a partial payment if full payment is difficult, but I will only do the amount of work the payment covers. If you have sent me nothing, I will do nothing.
I rarely make trades or give gift art. This is because I make a living from doing art and my time is rare and valuable. Drawing for free detracts from the time I need to draw professionally. Thus, it is best to simply assume that I do not do gift art or trades in any capacity at all.
I have set prices and cannot be haggled down. I may choose to charge less if the commission is easy to draw or particularly simplistic, but the decision is mine to make. I will not lower my rates simply because you think they're “Too expensive”.
To summarize the points above: when you commission me you are buying my time. I charge for what I think that time is worth, and I have the right to choose what to invest it in.
Getting a commission is entering a contract in a way. You are buying something from me and have certain expectations. Not all artists have the same standards regarding commissions so I wanted to make mine clear. But at the same time I find a bulleted list of things that basically state that the artist holds all the cards and the customer has no say in the matter bothers me. So these standards and terms and rights go both ways instead of just me claiming what my rights are. So let's start with what I believe my customer has as their personal rights.
The customer:
If you believe you have waited too long for a commission, you have the right to ask for a refund. If I have a backlog I will try to warn you. If I say the commission will take two months and you have waited four, that is considered a fair reason to ask for a refund. If I say two months and you demand a refund after a week, that is not considered a fair reason.
You have the right to ask for a status report. Sending a note every week or so asking for info is not a bother. Although pestering me on a daily basis is a little over the top. I am sometimes an airhead and need reminding.
If you have hit a financial problem and need to ask for the money from an unfulfilled commission back, you have the right to ask for it. If I have done work on the commission I may subtract a small amount, but I will try to be fair and reasonable about it.
Up until the inking stage, you may ask for revisions. My art is done in pen and ink and thus when I have put ink to paper it is a lot harder to revise the art. I can to a certain extent, but it is a great deal of hassle and trouble. I will send you scanned pencils and other images for your approval though.
If an image is lost or damaged and the fault is directly my own, you may ask for a replacement or a refund. If it is lost due to mail mishandling and the tracking number shows it as having never been delivered I may also make concessions.
To summarize: If I am overly late or if I mess up something really big with your art, you have the right to ask for a replacement or a refund. If I find your request to be reasonable I will grant you a refund or a replacement.
The artist:
I may refuse any commission request at any time for any reason. I may also change my mind about a commission if I find the client difficult to work with and refund the payment minus any work done on my part.
I will only work when I have been paid. I am this way with all commissions and very rarely make exceptions. I will accept a partial payment if full payment is difficult, but I will only do the amount of work the payment covers. If you have sent me nothing, I will do nothing.
I rarely make trades or give gift art. This is because I make a living from doing art and my time is rare and valuable. Drawing for free detracts from the time I need to draw professionally. Thus, it is best to simply assume that I do not do gift art or trades in any capacity at all.
I have set prices and cannot be haggled down. I may choose to charge less if the commission is easy to draw or particularly simplistic, but the decision is mine to make. I will not lower my rates simply because you think they're “Too expensive”.
To summarize the points above: when you commission me you are buying my time. I charge for what I think that time is worth, and I have the right to choose what to invest it in.
If it is a freebie and something you are giving out of the kindness of your heart, I would remind the person that you have paying clients to deal with first. If they pester too much I'd probably simply tell them they need to chill and I'll get it done when I get it done or else simply revoke the gift. If they REALLY want it that badly, then they can pay for it and I'd tell them such. Gift horses and all that.
You can be diplomatic and polite about it, but in the end you may have to put your foot down and tell them that they've completely drained all interest you had in doing a nice thing for them and say you may consider doing it later, but but you'd rather focus on stuff that has some sort of return, be it financial or simple gratitude. Above all else, don't let yourself get bullied.
*cough*
I mean, thank you :) Mind you, I'm not perfect and when I disappoint a customer I feel like a failure, and sometimes I'll find myself getting irritated when someone is just being reasonable. But I do my best.
By the by, I'm the dealer's den manager for Megaplex. If you need any help there or if there's anything I can do for you, please let me know!
good thing I never had to deal with those before (except some customers who suddelny stopped responding, but in the end it was more my fault for delivering first, asking for payment later), but when I do I'll remember this journal entry. :)
now those who are a bother need to read and understand this, too.
That wasn't good enough for him, hounded me to the point where I did his above the others to just shut him up.
What I hate is that theres always at least ONE person at a con who swings by the table every 5 minutes asking if I got their commission done and gets visually upset when I'm working on a badge. I always tell folks I do the badges first cause the person is waiting as I draw it.
I dread the ones who literally hover at the table though. I had one actually yell at somebody as I was working on his commission "He's working on my art...go away!" Needless to say I verbally ripped him a new one for that. I started again...when he left...and sure enough he came back and again told the person just paying for some books to "Go away, he's busy!"
Needless to say, I didn't finish his art, and refunded 50% of his money, the rest was kept for bullshit factor.
"OMG, I can't believe it's been a month since you sent this! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Why didn't you remind me?"
As I recall, my reply was something to the effect of "I was under the impression you couldn't rush art" :)
Doesn't work with everyone though -- some artists like you to ask for a quick status update every so often, others send them without asking ("hey, I did some sketches for your commission, WDYT? WDYT of this colour scheme?") and a small minority hate being hounded in any way shape or form ("I'll get back to you when it's done"). The trick is in figuring out which of these strategies works best for the artist you're working with.
The furry fandom can be exasperating sometimes. I'm glad awesome artists like you have the patience to deal with it.
More artists and customers should realize that commissioned work is a two way contract, and when doing things professionally it is that... professionally. It is a job and no one should expect anyone to work for free.
I really like how you phrased and listed this information. Again... brilliant!