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A Guide to Quality Checks
6 years ago
Hello, everyone! This is something I've put together to help explain my methods and uses for quality checks as I work. It is my hope that this will also help facilitate communication between clients and myself throughout the commission process. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below!
So what is a quality check?
A quality check, or QC, is when an artist sends you a WIP sample of your commission to make sure that they're going in the right direction and that you are still comfortable with the piece. My Terms of Service guarantee four quality checks per commission. This means that you will receive at least four WIP reviews at certain, specified intervals while I work.
Will I receive the linework, sketchwork, or flat-colored versions of my commission as a .PNG?
No. My quality checks are always delivered as a screenshot, both to mark the time I sent it in my location, as well as to prevent WIP images being posted publicly outside of my portfolio, as it could end up being mistaken for a completed piece and, as a result, misrepresent my style, abilities, and work ethic.
You will receive the .PNG you paid for at the end of the creation process. You are guaranteed four quality checks, but I have the right to decline any further quality check requests. I typically end up giving more quality checks than anyone ever asked for, though, because I love sharing my creative process and communicating with others, especially when we're both so excited about the end product. It's why I started doing commissions in the first place!
How do I offer criticism and critique without hurting your feelings?
Please don't worry about that! Believe me, any artist who has opened up their commissions has long since come to terms with their imperfections and weaknesses, or at least should know how to handle negative feedback with grace and tolerance. As long as you are polite and courteous, there isn't any correction you can give, no flaw you could point out that I won't be glad you mentioned. My only request is that you try to avoid vague or short answers, like, "No / Yes," or "IDK / I guess," when I'm trying to double-check something very important, like a color shade or a joint angle.
When is the best time to point out a particular flaw? Is it ever too late to fix something?
I would love to say that it's never too late to fix certain things, but realistically, that would be incorrect. My quality checks are stage-specific, so there are some areas and details that do need to be focused on and can be changed during one stage but not the other.
Here's a break-down of what is most and least important at each stage...
Sketchwork QC - Anatomy and proportions are key. Make sure that the body is the right size, the expression is just right, that the length of the limbs and the weight of the body is accurate to your vision, etc. Of least concern are the fine details: patterns, hair, fur, etc. Sketchwork does not ever look like a masterpiece; that is not its purpose.
Linework QC - The time to edit finer, more minute details is here. This is where the fur must be feathered, the eyes must be squinted just right, and the plaid and polka dots have to be just-so. Proportions can be adjusted slightly during a linework QC, but it is very discouraged, because any major resizing or bending of the lines will require a complete redraw.
Flat Color QC - The time to worry about proportions, shapes, and tailoring is past. Now, it's all about the colors. The important thing to understand about flat colors is that they are merely the base colors from which the shading will be determined. Especially when checking a lined commission, prepare for these colors to look a little darker or lighter in some places.
Shaded / Final QC - At this stage in the process, the only things that can be adjusted are the amount and intensity of shadows and direction of light. If your character glows or is carrying a lamp or an umbrella, this is where you will see those effects come to fruition. The time to alter proportions, outfits, expression, hair length, etc. are long past.
I really hope this helped! Again, feel free to ask me any questions you may have below.
I appreciate all of you!
The Creature of Habit
Idk why it doesn't has any comments... so even tho it's old, I thought I'd leave one.
PS: My discord account was hijacked, and then (after a bit over a month) deleted, so in case "I" reached out to you from there in the last 1.5 month or so, it wasn't me. Sorry for not sending you a note sooner.
Ehh, either way, well, I'm around I guess. You can always reach out to me (if not there[since its not exactly possible now], then here I guess.) if you'd like to talk about anything, if I could help you with anything.
I hope you are well or at least relatively well over there, I saw quite a few of your journals and I remember some of our past conversations... and as much as probably not all problems got resolved... I hope you aren't doing too poorly currently... and if you are, well, I really hope it will change for the better very soon. Wish I could say, and more importantly - do - something that would help, but I don't know what is there really that I could say or do that would improve your situation... but, if there would be something you'd like to talk about, or simply vent, you know where to find me.
I'm glad to hear it's nice to hear from me. I try to reach out to people every now and then but I'm not always able, and it can be quite sad and discouraging that big most of the time no one bothers to reach out to me heh... I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, especially not you with all your problems, I'm just stating how things are in my life.