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Commissions Clossed Forever
13 years ago
After taking a few months of commissions I finally remember why I stopped taking them in the first place, and also, why I stated drawing this stuff in the first place.
I now remember that I draw this stuff for me, stuff I wanted to see but didn't exist. With that I have had some limited success.
I can no longer take commissions because I am deeply unsatisfied with my style and method. It is too time consuming and fiddly to yield worthwhile results, and it never looks quite as good as I wanted to because I feel rushed for time. If I am going to be paid $50 for something, I don't want to spend more than 5 hours on it but I inevitably do. It doesn't feel like i'm drawing, it feels like i'm sculpting, pushing lines around until they are in the right place.
Then I get commissions for stuff I don't really care for or want, or other commissions for things I can't really do. Then I waste time trying and turn out something that doesn't look good at all and throw it out halfway through.
It pisses me off.
On several occasions I get commissions and I get stuff about their character wrong. Minute details hard to notice, forcing redraws. Or even big details I completely forget because I missed it the first time, or it wasn't even mentioned at all.
It pisses me off.
Then there's the commissions for weirdass characters that are hybrids between two or three different animals. Hybrids between aquatic and land animals?? Between insects and mammals?? Seriously, do you have to be that different? Or other cases with characters that have weird or complicated designs all over their fur. I'm not talking spots and stripes, those I dont have a big problem with. I'm talking things like symbols or odd patterns. Are we artists expected to charge the same amount for a character with tons of designs (that we have to map to the contours of the body) as we do for a simple character?
it pisses me off.
Also I keep getting commissions from furs as opposed to scalies. I haven't had one commission from someone who's just a lizard or a snake or something, just a few dragons and that's it. Fur is even worse for me to draw using this particular method. I was never great at fur or hair, and most of my art is lizards and dragons. So where are all the lizards that want bondage?
It pisses me off.
In addition to commissions, I get requests for trades and offers for giftarts. The trades are usually incredibly vague, and I don't really feel like taking the initiative on them. I do owe one trade which I will still do, but i'm still a little annoyed that a trade I did years ago was never held up on their end (if you are reading this you know who you are.)
As for gifts, I really don't care a whole lot about any of this, and if I take a giftart it won't look the way I want it, and I would never request a redraw or change because its basically free and I myself know how annoying that can be. I'd rather not waste anyone's time on something I probably won't like and then have to pretend to like it. The only giftart i've received so far was awesome and I want to keep it that way.
In the end the real point is that I'm not a professional. My artistic background is in illustration, design, logo creation and photography. So my style is a strange hybrid of techniques I used in those other areas. And my training is in molecular biology, which pays a hell of a lot more than this.
I have gone over my books and have been making less than $10 an hour, just above minimum wage. As a lab tech I will make twice that, work more hours, and get benefits.
I'm not really a part of this community. I don't read anyone else's journals, I haven't read a single story posted here. I barely reply to comments on my own artwork and almost never comment on others' work because really, what needs to be said?
So, seriously, screw this. If I can't get a job, I may be forced to reopen commissions but I very much doubt that. The only way I would do the open commissions like I have been doing is if I take some classes in figure drawing and comic book art.
That being said, I do have my own projects I will be working on. I have a few ideas, and would be willing to sell slots in those projects to make the character specifically yours and not just some random fur/lizard. For example, I had a throne room/bondage scene idea in mind that would have a ton of characters, but that one's on the shelf. I also wouldn't auction slots... that's dumb. I would just have a flat rate.
Or I would have commissions in a specific format, like my padded cell series.
I may announce these projects ahead of time but I don't know if I even care enough to do that.
But no more completely open commissions. I'm not ready to walk new artistic territory and charge money for it.
I will of course honor the slots I still have up there. and I MAY still take padded cell commissions, but i'm even getting tired of doing those so you would have to really entice me.
I now remember that I draw this stuff for me, stuff I wanted to see but didn't exist. With that I have had some limited success.
I can no longer take commissions because I am deeply unsatisfied with my style and method. It is too time consuming and fiddly to yield worthwhile results, and it never looks quite as good as I wanted to because I feel rushed for time. If I am going to be paid $50 for something, I don't want to spend more than 5 hours on it but I inevitably do. It doesn't feel like i'm drawing, it feels like i'm sculpting, pushing lines around until they are in the right place.
Then I get commissions for stuff I don't really care for or want, or other commissions for things I can't really do. Then I waste time trying and turn out something that doesn't look good at all and throw it out halfway through.
It pisses me off.
On several occasions I get commissions and I get stuff about their character wrong. Minute details hard to notice, forcing redraws. Or even big details I completely forget because I missed it the first time, or it wasn't even mentioned at all.
It pisses me off.
Then there's the commissions for weirdass characters that are hybrids between two or three different animals. Hybrids between aquatic and land animals?? Between insects and mammals?? Seriously, do you have to be that different? Or other cases with characters that have weird or complicated designs all over their fur. I'm not talking spots and stripes, those I dont have a big problem with. I'm talking things like symbols or odd patterns. Are we artists expected to charge the same amount for a character with tons of designs (that we have to map to the contours of the body) as we do for a simple character?
it pisses me off.
Also I keep getting commissions from furs as opposed to scalies. I haven't had one commission from someone who's just a lizard or a snake or something, just a few dragons and that's it. Fur is even worse for me to draw using this particular method. I was never great at fur or hair, and most of my art is lizards and dragons. So where are all the lizards that want bondage?
It pisses me off.
In addition to commissions, I get requests for trades and offers for giftarts. The trades are usually incredibly vague, and I don't really feel like taking the initiative on them. I do owe one trade which I will still do, but i'm still a little annoyed that a trade I did years ago was never held up on their end (if you are reading this you know who you are.)
As for gifts, I really don't care a whole lot about any of this, and if I take a giftart it won't look the way I want it, and I would never request a redraw or change because its basically free and I myself know how annoying that can be. I'd rather not waste anyone's time on something I probably won't like and then have to pretend to like it. The only giftart i've received so far was awesome and I want to keep it that way.
In the end the real point is that I'm not a professional. My artistic background is in illustration, design, logo creation and photography. So my style is a strange hybrid of techniques I used in those other areas. And my training is in molecular biology, which pays a hell of a lot more than this.
I have gone over my books and have been making less than $10 an hour, just above minimum wage. As a lab tech I will make twice that, work more hours, and get benefits.
I'm not really a part of this community. I don't read anyone else's journals, I haven't read a single story posted here. I barely reply to comments on my own artwork and almost never comment on others' work because really, what needs to be said?
So, seriously, screw this. If I can't get a job, I may be forced to reopen commissions but I very much doubt that. The only way I would do the open commissions like I have been doing is if I take some classes in figure drawing and comic book art.
That being said, I do have my own projects I will be working on. I have a few ideas, and would be willing to sell slots in those projects to make the character specifically yours and not just some random fur/lizard. For example, I had a throne room/bondage scene idea in mind that would have a ton of characters, but that one's on the shelf. I also wouldn't auction slots... that's dumb. I would just have a flat rate.
Or I would have commissions in a specific format, like my padded cell series.
I may announce these projects ahead of time but I don't know if I even care enough to do that.
But no more completely open commissions. I'm not ready to walk new artistic territory and charge money for it.
I will of course honor the slots I still have up there. and I MAY still take padded cell commissions, but i'm even getting tired of doing those so you would have to really entice me.
It seems like everyone that is doing some sort of "Bondage/latex" works seem to stop drawing :/
As for not liking your commissions results, the most important is that our commissioner likes it, not you, so as long as he enjoys it, there is not big deal at all, you don't know how may times i did commissions i didn't like the results but my commissioner enjoyed a lot more than i expected, but also many pictures i liked very much but the commissioners wanted to change, so that's kinda normal.
Maybe you're just having a small hiatus moment about commissions, those happen to everyone, so instead of closing forever, maybe just take a pause, even a long one, and draw what YOU want and what YOU like, maybe ask for ideas or stuff so you can exercise and learn about stuff you don't know in the meanwhile (not REQUESTs, just ideas, like "try to draw this" but not "draw my character") ^^.
If you don't like furryes but you like dragons, a good way to learn how to draw fur could be drawing an Easter dragon, in some designs those have fur too ^^
As for people saying they are happy with your work.. are they just SAYING that or do they really mean it each time?
No I don't think I can start up taking money for this stuff without getting some serious training first.
However, with that said, I do wish ya luck on finding a job, and if you choose to pursue other art stuff to improve and expand upon what you do already. I know about the job thing all too well...not fun and hopefully I'll be able to go back to school and get training for something else I can pursue.
No I really don't want to name names and it really isn't just one person. I sort of have a mental list of people I do like doing commissions for, and you were one of them.
I like the idea of a break and all, you guys here aren't the first to suggest it (my master/bf was the first to tell me its good to take a break) but I feel that it is more than that.
No. I'm serious. Commissions are closed forever. I may include the FA community in some of my next projects for a very small fee, but I just can't go on like this.
If I do decide to reopen commisions it will be under a different account and name
Regardless, I'd like to thank you personally for my commission and hope it was not a huge trouble ans hope you can find out again what you enjoyed about art.
I'll be sad to see you go as I did enjoy some of your art. But if the furry fandom is not the place where you want to be developing it, I completely understand.
You pretty much posted the reasons why I'm not offering commissions anymore. It's especially frustrating when the commissioner is vague and just offers something like "bondage" as the theme, and gets you to totally create a scene. Then what right do they have to freak out and get angry if they don't like the final result, because they have okayed it the entire way through and didn't give anything to build off of.
It's all stupid. Hopefully you figure it out though.
I am curious though...why did you never get more involved with the community here?
I feel it would be unsensible to go to any artist and ask them for a completely different fetish than what they usually do, as it might even offend them, or other drawing style. Thus, for experimenting in new territories, you'd best do this on your own initiative and pace first.
Also, artists are different. Some likes to have detailed description of scenes so they don't need to come up with their owns (or fear the customer doesn't like them?), others require the artistic freedom and refuse too much details. Though that includes the risk of having a scene which is different from their own ideas - I was usually happy with what I got. Are there really that many out there complaining about it afterwards? Or if you create a basic scene and the commissioner likes it and suggests some enhancements (e.g. for a bondage pic: a bit more gear and a muzzle after seeing a sketch) is that already asking too much for you?
In my own personal experience it gets to the point sometimes where it's draining to keep doing the same thing over and over and to keep thinking up new plots for everyone. Perhaps I'm not built to be a commercial artist in this sense then. I'd rather put out one good unpaid short story a month then write 100 paid commissions that I do not put heart into.
And no I don't agree that asking for changes is too much. That's not the issue I addressed though. The issue I'd felt was relevant to talk about was the aforementioned commissioners who did not know what they wanted and just asked for "bondage" without specifying, okayed the sketches, then tried to get the entire drawing/story redone at the end because it was "not what [they] wanted".
I agree with both sides of the coin on the overall issue. Sometimes it's hard to be an artist and sometimes it's hard to be a commissioner. Some artists don't care about their commissioners just like some commissioners are extremely selfish and don't empathize with the artists situation.
It was because of experiences like those that I personally don't offer commissions right now. Perhaps I just got unlucky though?
sadly i not had the money to have you draw my char but that my fault not yours. smiles you allways have to do what best for you not what best in the minds of thows that want to commission you. i am one that on the other side of the little info problem . for me i like to give caretive fredom to the artist to see what they come up with i guess it that abstract in me i like to see how othere think of my chars from what they see in my gallery.
i wish you well in whatever you do krayne
cloudchaser pony (a,k,a slith)
But, in the end, you have very valid points and I honestly respect you for saying them. It doesn't really matter as I have always appreciated your art and the world it comes from, and will continue watching you for that.
Maybe researching other techniques that make your job easier... also saying "NO" to commissions you don't really want to do, or raising prices on things you don't like to draw.
Also, $50 is pretty good money! o..o
Of course partly also because it sounds like you'll be leaving here, again, and I miss people when they go.
But more so also because I like to imagine that the artists here are having fun what they are doing, feel welcome in the community, and though doing someone elses
character, basically still do the things they like themselves. From your text it appears this is not the case for you, and that makes me sad.
Myself, I'm very open to artistic interpretation and don't mind different styles - though I do hope that all my limbs including wings are at least there, most other aspects I'm not picky on - and when I commission someone I usually chose an artist already having done lots of Bondage work, so I know they're comfortable with this idea. At least that's what I think.
Also, using whatever tools are comfortable for you is fine. I never understood why you think 3D-premodelling would be any kind of cheating? Artists all over the ages have used models, be it life actors or wood stick figures. Using e.g. Poser for that is nothing different.
I do understand your argument of minimum wage. If you view it from this side, primarly to make money and feel disconnected from the community, this makes total sense. My understanding was that most furry artists like to create those images they do, and would produce some kind of art anyway, so they'll basically be paid to do it with someone elses character and scene idea. Long lists of "Do and Don't draws" from many artists supported this idea - I totally respect that from hobby artists and am glad if some share similar phantasies to myself. Would probably be different in a completely professional environment, would it?
So, yeah, coming back to the first point - it's sad to hear you're unhappy both with your customers and with the community at large which you seem to not feel like a part of. I'd be happier of you'd be happier being here, just for the sake of like-minded people. Can we do something to make you feel better?
I suppose I could stick to my current style for now although the 3d models I have are starting to show their limitatinos in some aspects.
And maybe I shouldn't be unhappy with my commissioners. I suppose I may have led them to believe I could do something when I really can't or don't want to, and i'm stuck doing it because if I SAY i WILL do it then I have to do it.
Really i'm fine. I like to share the stuff I draw for myself, and as a bit of a stat whore I like watching the comments/favs go up. But i've never been much of a community guy. It's a stretch for me to reply to these posts, but I make the effort because I owe you that much.
I have like two commissions to finish then I may start posting some of my other art. Probably older stuff.
but its your choice and the best one for you and ill agree not enough lizard in bondage around here :P probubly why when i do my own stuff its usually a lizard involved XD
mm i would still like to draw somthing for you or random trading but if you wouldnt like it then so be it ^^ ill continu enjoy your work no matter what man!
Honestly, I was pretty surprised that you chose to go with "open submissions" and take any requests that came your way - including furry characters. I knew your specialty was in scalies and well... rubber/latex. That combination is so freaking hot that I swear if you drew 10,000 pictures of these two subjects, it would not get stale in the least. Plus, I know how kinky and creative your mind is, so you'd probably still be able to keep all your ideas original.
As one person suggested here, perhaps you can really narrow your scope down to the requirements of having a scaly character in latex/rubbery bondage. If you don't like the ideas being pitched, you can always turn them down until you come across an idea that you like and/or haven't thought of before. I totally agree that you should be enjoying what you're drawing, because if you're not, it will probably show in the final result anyway.
Taking a huge break from commissions (even if it's permanent) will allow you to simplify your life and focus on your career, which will no doubt be your primary money-making initiative. If you don't have to worry about money, then you'll probably have a lot less stress, and during your free time you'll be able to draw what you truly want to see. I hope that you will continue to share your great illustrations with us. I'm thinking back to the Rubberfates days where you just drew for yourself; those were extraordinary! I always love how the shape of your lizard/dragon/scaly slave's head and body conforms to the latex/rubber. It is so hot, rawr!
I'm really glad that I pounced on one of your padded cell commissions when the opportunity arose. Believe me when I say that what you created is my most favourite work of art of all time. It is my best commission by far (just look at the monstrous comment I left!). You greatly exceeded my expectations! You perfectly depicted the idea I had in my head, and impressed me to a length I never thought possible. I can't thank you enough for the 3 fantastic drawings you have done of Sabre to date.
So while I'm naturally disappointed that you will no longer be taking requests, I can understand completely, and I support your decision. Like I said, I sure hope you continue to draw the themes that made me fall in love with your art the first time I laid eyes on it: sexy lizardmen in sexy bondage!
You are right, I should never have accepted open commissions. I was attempting to expand my horizons a bit, but I just ended up experimenting on someone else's dollar and for this particular kind of artwork, that's not really very polite or professional.
I may narrow my commission requests but the only way I will take open commissions is after I update my style with professional training (which might not happen if I get a job doing DNA fragment analysis or bacterial culture assays, etc.) If I do, I might open a new account strictly for commissions.
Thanks for your appreciation! I really did enjoy doing this when I was just doing it for myself. Even with my ADHD and OCD, i'm amazed I finished anything at all. Going back and looking at them a lot of them look silly but still nice. I see some shine effects I used to do but don't do anymore =/
Part of the reason I suppose I opened commissions was I had run into a bit of an artist's block and was hoping for new ideas. But I didn't get a whole lot of that.
Thanks for the padded cell request! But you don't need to worry, you are one of those people I probably would take a commission from even when commissions are closed. And i'm glad you like it, cause it fell far short of my own expectations but then I guess all of us artists are like that. At least, the ones of us who want to improve and have room to improve. I seriously feel I could have done a lot better with the angles on yours with a bit more thought.
As for my themes, I may taper off on the rubber stuff and try something else. I wanna do more briefs and loincloths, and i'm trying to work out good ways of drawing muscles without refrencing other artits too much (the muscles on my 3d model can only show so much definition)
Art will be slow for a while but you will see stuff pop up from time to time.
I think it's important that, as an artist, you do whatever you feel will improve your work. Certainly getting burned out on commissions isn't going to do that, so I don't see any reason anyone should begrudge you for taking a break.
I love your work, and I am here as you are one of the few people who draw scalies and bondage the way I like :3 *hugs* draw whatever you want, as it is good :3
I understand the feeling about comissions not being worth the time and trouble: I've had a few stabs at request drawing and ended up with similar frustrations.
Glad to hear you've got projects in mind though, would be a shame to not see more of this stuff because it's some of my favourite material on FA.
also, scalies in bondage is certainly my favorite kind of bondage. its too bad i wasnt able to commission you before this. i've had alot of ideas in my head, but unfortunately my funds have been going towards the tournament i'm helping to plan. if i had alot more money, i wouldve commissioned you by now, and it most certainly wouldve been atleast 1 scaly in bondage.
i also know ehat its like to not make that mch money. i'm a hairstylist who works at a salon where my boss constantly watches me like a hawk and awhile ago cut everybody's pay, including mine. so i know how frustrating it can be to make money doing something that isnt really enjoyable for you.
a few other things though, i may have somewhat of a hybrid character (kaysee), but she's not that big pf a hybrid. also, most of my characters are actually scalies. however, i dont ink you wouldve liked commissioning me, hence the other reason i disnt really ask you for commissions. i can be a bit, well, nitpicky about details that arent what i envisioned in my head. its amazing the people who i do commission can put up with me, cause i feel like i annoy them sometimes. the say its fine cause its what i asked for, but i still feel bad about it. and based on this journal, i only wouldve been more of a burden on you.
but like sabre said, i support your decision. if you wanna take a break, whether temporary or permanent, its your choice. your art is some of the best ive seen though. my fursona may be a furry (well, one of my fursonas, the other is a debatable furry), but when it comes to bondage its scalies all the way. X3
so what i'm tryingg to say is that you should draw what you want and not feel forced or pbligated to draw things for people that you dont even enjoy. its your decision, youre the one drawing the pics, its your say. i do hope you'll continue your artwork, cause its definitely some of the best and most unique ive seen.
Of course I could not mind you doing a padded cell one for me, instead of a straightjacket I was thinking for fur was thinking bandages or tape would be the way to go.