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Whats Your Opinion?
11 years ago
-Commission prices (Revising soon)- http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2745595/
If you already noticed, i commissioned alot because i love to collect different styles of drawings from other artists, from streams to journal orders.
Now i hit few bumpy roads with some artists about how they draw
's character. At the moment she doesnt have an official ref of her character yet, and her first drawn image of her updated character is here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/11098828/ Now when i give refs, i usually gave these two along with the first because they're the best i got to show her body and face little more: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/12848967/ and a closeup https://www.furaffinity.net/view/13292586/
Many artists got her right on first try, while others i try to help out when theres one or two details out of place. Now some dont mind that i do. However i met a handful that seems to feel bothered or offended when i "nitpick" at the details that are wrong. They complained that they're allowed to add their own style to the characters being drawn. I agree, HOWEVER, these characters are personal and should be drawn to the closest they can to the original, NOT giving them a near overhaul makeover. Details on characters can be personal to the creators no matter how big or small the details are.
Some drew her having short tomboy hair, others draw her ears erected, others draw her body supermodel skinny, and etc....you get the idea. I point out where the details are wrong and just to tell them to fix it, NOT to change to something totally brand new from the original idea. Some artists think i do that. Others think my refs are not official "refs". I heard the conversation over on their skype with friends (who agreed of course) and sometimes they type that out to me. Now let me get this straight, references are images to show how a character at least look. The three i gave them, they believe are NOT refs so they to blame me why i nitpick them. They believe "refs" are where a character is shown from a head and it's body their fronts, backs, and sides along with written details of the character. And then they go on with why they're afraid of doing commissions because of nitpickers, which will make their friends/followers glare at me.
I thought refs were images where the artist can at least get info of the character's design. I thought mine were decent enough. They're consistent with the facial fur, droopy ears, and the curly shoulder length hair. I always try to keep it consistent whenever i draw the same character again. YET, they dont care. A REAL ref is where its super super details of the characters front, back, and side profile with description, so as they believed. To me i called that a DETAILED ref. Yes i do agree too that detailed refs are waay more accurate, HOWEVER,'s character ISN'T that hard to decipher, is it? She's more simple compared to others i've seen.
About commission practices, you should draw the character best and close you can to the original, after all, they PAID you to draw their prized/personal character. I do not mean to draw 100% the lines from the refs, BUT to add your own flavor while keeping the details/designs consistent at least, NOT overhauling their designs to your comfort zone, unless they instructed you can do that word for word. You should also break a tiny bit of your comfort zone when doing commissions, cuz who knows you might learn a few things, thats how you get better. You may not get it right or 100%, but you get it best you can and learn from it, just let the buyer know ahead of time of your strengths and weaknesses so they can be prepared. Yes you do have your TOS to go by, but way too many rules that makes you too comfortable or too protective will result in less potential customers, because they're afraid to get on your bad side. When you do commission, you NEED to be aware and prepared there will be customers who will ask for fixes. Its not their fault you need to fix it. Its YOUR fault you did not pay attention to the character's details and missed them. This is a mental contract when you decide to become a Commission Artist. The better you respond to customer's replies, keep details in check, and keep a positive attitude, the better chances they'll come back for more. The basic law of business.
Here's my tip as an on and off commission artists, always ask the customers after major progress "how does it look, anything need to fix?" this will signal the buyers you're willing to be open and cooperative. This builds trust and a potential returning customer.
Now whats your opinion on the matter. Do refs must ONLY be sophisticated with front, back, and side with many written details, or can refs be simply be ANY images of a character that at least shows fair amounts of their specific details to get the message across? If you're that skilled of an artists, then you should be confident in your abilities and awareness in details regardless as long the refs has enough to go by.
For the artists who drew her correctly and/or was patient with my requests, I truly TRULY thank you and appreciated you for your time, service, and commitment of doing business with me, and and as always will look forward to commissioning all of you again when I have the chance. You're all wonderful!
Now i hit few bumpy roads with some artists about how they draw
's character. At the moment she doesnt have an official ref of her character yet, and her first drawn image of her updated character is here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/11098828/ Now when i give refs, i usually gave these two along with the first because they're the best i got to show her body and face little more: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/12848967/ and a closeup https://www.furaffinity.net/view/13292586/ Many artists got her right on first try, while others i try to help out when theres one or two details out of place. Now some dont mind that i do. However i met a handful that seems to feel bothered or offended when i "nitpick" at the details that are wrong. They complained that they're allowed to add their own style to the characters being drawn. I agree, HOWEVER, these characters are personal and should be drawn to the closest they can to the original, NOT giving them a near overhaul makeover. Details on characters can be personal to the creators no matter how big or small the details are.
Some drew her having short tomboy hair, others draw her ears erected, others draw her body supermodel skinny, and etc....you get the idea. I point out where the details are wrong and just to tell them to fix it, NOT to change to something totally brand new from the original idea. Some artists think i do that. Others think my refs are not official "refs". I heard the conversation over on their skype with friends (who agreed of course) and sometimes they type that out to me. Now let me get this straight, references are images to show how a character at least look. The three i gave them, they believe are NOT refs so they to blame me why i nitpick them. They believe "refs" are where a character is shown from a head and it's body their fronts, backs, and sides along with written details of the character. And then they go on with why they're afraid of doing commissions because of nitpickers, which will make their friends/followers glare at me.
I thought refs were images where the artist can at least get info of the character's design. I thought mine were decent enough. They're consistent with the facial fur, droopy ears, and the curly shoulder length hair. I always try to keep it consistent whenever i draw the same character again. YET, they dont care. A REAL ref is where its super super details of the characters front, back, and side profile with description, so as they believed. To me i called that a DETAILED ref. Yes i do agree too that detailed refs are waay more accurate, HOWEVER,
's character ISN'T that hard to decipher, is it? She's more simple compared to others i've seen.About commission practices, you should draw the character best and close you can to the original, after all, they PAID you to draw their prized/personal character. I do not mean to draw 100% the lines from the refs, BUT to add your own flavor while keeping the details/designs consistent at least, NOT overhauling their designs to your comfort zone, unless they instructed you can do that word for word. You should also break a tiny bit of your comfort zone when doing commissions, cuz who knows you might learn a few things, thats how you get better. You may not get it right or 100%, but you get it best you can and learn from it, just let the buyer know ahead of time of your strengths and weaknesses so they can be prepared. Yes you do have your TOS to go by, but way too many rules that makes you too comfortable or too protective will result in less potential customers, because they're afraid to get on your bad side. When you do commission, you NEED to be aware and prepared there will be customers who will ask for fixes. Its not their fault you need to fix it. Its YOUR fault you did not pay attention to the character's details and missed them. This is a mental contract when you decide to become a Commission Artist. The better you respond to customer's replies, keep details in check, and keep a positive attitude, the better chances they'll come back for more. The basic law of business.
Here's my tip as an on and off commission artists, always ask the customers after major progress "how does it look, anything need to fix?" this will signal the buyers you're willing to be open and cooperative. This builds trust and a potential returning customer.
Now whats your opinion on the matter. Do refs must ONLY be sophisticated with front, back, and side with many written details, or can refs be simply be ANY images of a character that at least shows fair amounts of their specific details to get the message across? If you're that skilled of an artists, then you should be confident in your abilities and awareness in details regardless as long the refs has enough to go by.
For the artists who drew her correctly and/or was patient with my requests, I truly TRULY thank you and appreciated you for your time, service, and commitment of doing business with me, and and as always will look forward to commissioning all of you again when I have the chance. You're all wonderful!
I will say this tho, even have a highly detailed reference people still get basic things wrong or miss things entirely.
A style is not the lack of grasping a character's signature traits, like markings or body size, it is your own unique way of drawing them.
Also any image, or description that can be given to add detail to a certain object or person is a ref. If someone wants to claim they are not "good" enough needs to step up their game a lot and figure out how to be a better artist, and learn to use what their commissioner gives them.
I drew you two as a gift https://www.furaffinity.net/view/13317187/ did I get everything right down to a T? Probably not (more than likely not) but I tried and listened to
Sorry people are still being like that to you..
So uhm side note, anything I should remember for the next gift (it's for christmas btw) so I can draw you both right ? :3
Some artists might bristle at that restriction, but you as the commissioner have the right to insist on it. That said, the artist also has the right to opt not to take your request if they're not comfortable with those restrictions.
For my character example...
Ears are always droopy, no exeptions, and that facemarking is off centered on purpose.
Still some don't get the ear part, even she's never been drawn with her ears being perkily up by me.
But those who have been drawing them as hey should, needs to hear that I really appreciate that they paid the attention those characteristic details, which makes my character be the one who i meant her to be.