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On the subject of reference sheets.
8 years ago
This one's a bit more simple.
Every artist is obviously free to choose what they do/don't do but..
If you can't really do work out of someone's 'reference picture(s)' not being good enough, when said pictures and/or the characters are very simple, straight forward and flat coloured because you specifically want a reference sheet, then you're kind of out of your mind.
I'm sure some artists have that requirement out of people using 'ultra cool 50 colours and tattoos all over plus specifically coloured feathers' or some crap (God knows there's a lot of super edgy characters showing up these days); but putting it up front in your commission requirements/journals as a general requirement is just the most massive turn off I've seen lately.
Now please let me fully disclaim that I've actually never been in this position despite not having had a reference sheet in like a decade and I'm not making this complaint out of me being personally affected. Regardless of that, I'm sorry but I have no desire to spend $xxx in a reference sheet. I understand now there's those 'layouts' or similar that artists release for free and then other people use them to charge a little and recolour them for you. But you know what? Some of us don't like having the same thing that everyone else does :D ...probably why we spend money in 'art' to begin with.. you'd think.
I'm mostly complaining about those whose art probably costs LESS than the standard reference sheet (or at least a good one, you know?). It's just dumb. No I'm not getting a $100-150 minimum piece of artwork I don't care to ever use so that you can draw me a $50 picture because my very simple character isn't simple enough for you.
And yes, again I do understand some characters are too complex and probably need it; and I also understand that with some artists it makes a lot of sense. Ie. Someone with rare slots coming out even though they cost $superpricey per character, said artist wants you to have a reference sheet: You probably just accept the fact that it's their requirement, I get that, and I get it that they can do it and honestly I don't mind it as much, because clearly you consider that person worth the effort already to snag the slot despite the difficulty to do so and the very high price entry point.
I know some people who are very picky if their characters aren't 'exactly how my reference says'. Yes of course, those people probably should have one if they're going to complain or make artists work extra to follow every little detail. But there's also a lot of us who just let their character change/evolve overtime depending on the artists you choose and the small freedoms they take.
No offence but I know from experience that the more you use a particular reference the less your character evolves, because it's just too easy for the typical artist to use said reference and make 0 artistic choices/decisions to churn out a piece faster and move to the next customer; I can't blame them, but it's proving a lot more real now than it was in the past with the higher amount of people trying to make a living out of this rather than doing it as a hobby that pays. And of course there are exceptions to the rule, but they are honestly relatively rare.
Every artist is obviously free to choose what they do/don't do but..
If you can't really do work out of someone's 'reference picture(s)' not being good enough, when said pictures and/or the characters are very simple, straight forward and flat coloured because you specifically want a reference sheet, then you're kind of out of your mind.
I'm sure some artists have that requirement out of people using 'ultra cool 50 colours and tattoos all over plus specifically coloured feathers' or some crap (God knows there's a lot of super edgy characters showing up these days); but putting it up front in your commission requirements/journals as a general requirement is just the most massive turn off I've seen lately.
Now please let me fully disclaim that I've actually never been in this position despite not having had a reference sheet in like a decade and I'm not making this complaint out of me being personally affected. Regardless of that, I'm sorry but I have no desire to spend $xxx in a reference sheet. I understand now there's those 'layouts' or similar that artists release for free and then other people use them to charge a little and recolour them for you. But you know what? Some of us don't like having the same thing that everyone else does :D ...probably why we spend money in 'art' to begin with.. you'd think.
I'm mostly complaining about those whose art probably costs LESS than the standard reference sheet (or at least a good one, you know?). It's just dumb. No I'm not getting a $100-150 minimum piece of artwork I don't care to ever use so that you can draw me a $50 picture because my very simple character isn't simple enough for you.
And yes, again I do understand some characters are too complex and probably need it; and I also understand that with some artists it makes a lot of sense. Ie. Someone with rare slots coming out even though they cost $superpricey per character, said artist wants you to have a reference sheet: You probably just accept the fact that it's their requirement, I get that, and I get it that they can do it and honestly I don't mind it as much, because clearly you consider that person worth the effort already to snag the slot despite the difficulty to do so and the very high price entry point.
I know some people who are very picky if their characters aren't 'exactly how my reference says'. Yes of course, those people probably should have one if they're going to complain or make artists work extra to follow every little detail. But there's also a lot of us who just let their character change/evolve overtime depending on the artists you choose and the small freedoms they take.
No offence but I know from experience that the more you use a particular reference the less your character evolves, because it's just too easy for the typical artist to use said reference and make 0 artistic choices/decisions to churn out a piece faster and move to the next customer; I can't blame them, but it's proving a lot more real now than it was in the past with the higher amount of people trying to make a living out of this rather than doing it as a hobby that pays. And of course there are exceptions to the rule, but they are honestly relatively rare.
