When commissioning? I'd say, I want to let the artist work in their own terms, but I like when I can get minor changes that might not take too much work so I can get the perfection out of what has been done.

Like expression, or if a tail is too long or short, or maybe different hair or clothing style. I don't think there have been many cases where more than subtle changes have been asked for.

MmMmm~! :3 its great when artists offer that kinda flexibility

There are a few details on my character that are often missed or forgotten. I like being able to point this out and see it fixed. And, well, this has never been an issue.
This is true for YCHs and open commissions.

With YCHs, I feel it's up to the artist what can and can not be changed. It is a YCH after all, so a lot is set from the start. I got a YCH once where the pose was kept, but the setting completely changed by changing out a few accessories. That was fun, made it more appropriate for my character.

With commissions it kinda depends on what kind of idea you have to start with. I got a piece of my character together with Ratchet (from Ratchet & Clank), and all I gave the artist for this was the two characters, and the fact that I wanted it to be an SFW piece. The end result was very different from what I had thought of myself, and I loved it.

On the other hand, I got a humorous NSFW piece once (I don't have it up anymore) for which my ideas were very specific, as poses and situation go. It was done during a stream too, so I could direct it somewhat. And with that I got exactly what I had in mind, that was good too.

So it depends, really.

There may be artists who find such specific direction too stifling. I don't think I've encountered that, but I can imagine it. And that's totally fine, but then they may not be the right artists for a commission like that.

Little of column A, n column B :D

Sometimes a bit more from A, sometimes a bit more from B.

It depends. When I approach an artist for a commission, if I have specific things I want to see in mind, I want to see them happening. I'm coming to that artist to realize a mental image, so I tend to get extremely descriptive with what I want to see. Fetish or otherwise doesn't matter, the details I provide are what -I- want.

It makes me sound like a tyrant, but there is usually an under-current to why I want to see it. So long as those requests are met, I'm usually pretty amiable, to a point of saying they can quiet down details of the character involved or outright omit things to help make life easier.

So long as the image contains what I'm looking for? Have fun with the rest of it. Otherwise, you'll find that I am accepting, but I may not return again.

Nothing wrong with aiming to gain what you came for!

Pitch a general idea and let the artist otherwise wing it is what I usually do :3

Find myself in this bucket often too ^^-; (onyl it's like... 2-5 dif ideas/characters and they can choose) \XS can't choose between my childreeeeen

Hmm, I've always been a bit so so with it. Like unless there is something specific I am thinking of I normally give the artist a good amount of freedom and only ever really ask that they don't modify the design of the character too much. And that's because at the end of the day...I just want art of the characters I spend days and sometimes weeks developing and coming up with. My two main characters are like...my pride and joy.

It really depends on what I'm going for, but I tend to like to leave things up to the artist more than not. A lot of times I want to commission someone, and I only have a vague idea of what I want, so I really appreciate artists that can work with ambiguity like that. And I have noticed that I get more art when I see a YCH or wing-it theme that I'm into. Even when I have a specific idea in mind, I definitely like to see how an artist interprets the idea, rather than forcing every last detail.

That said, I know some artists prefer to have more detail in requests, so I do try to give more guidance in those cases. What I love are artists that get excited about an idea and are willing to bounce ideas back and forth to fill in the gaps.

My mentality is to give the artist a rough idea of what I want. A character, a setting, maybe clothing/equipment depending on the character, and then let them do what they will with the information I give them.

hmm well in all honesty, after being screwed over by 3 artists and one that is well known as well. I kinda need to be in control as far as terms of paying. I don't wanna pay the artist for a job that is seemingly not guaranteed to get there cause they have a back log out of nowhere that was not mentioned, makes me worried now to even commission any artist that has a back log, i want my piece to be done in a timely manner, not half a year or almost 2 years of waiting to get the job done. That shit is not fair, why should I pay upfront first when I don't see any progress what so ever? It's fucked up, I do give the artist some creativeness if they can't do like the suggested pose to get what i want. if they can do something better then my idea or suggest, I would be up to listening for it.

As far as YCH goes, I'm very picky on that, it has to hit me if it'll be good for a specific character. Know what I mean?

Design auctions I have yet to get into those at all. Usually costs a lot since it's a bid battle. x_X So I just ask them specifically if they would do it for a straight up price or something of the sort if they were down. Not a lot of artists these days like doing ref sheets. I get why but at the same time, you want that specific style from that artist in the first place to do that specific character.

So in terms of trying to see how much control I want when commissioning? I'm more of a equal deal longs ya don't take advantage of me in that aspect. Other words compromise, meet half way. Know what I'm saying?

The poses I like are never offered as "ych" but I seem to be unusually hard to please. I have often had to show a bunch of examples of poses I DO like and ones that I do NOT like in order to be certain both parties understand each other. Hopefully somebody will refuse rather than ignore it and do what they want anyway. You gave me pretty good example poses when I asked, though. A lot of people avoid answering questions and then out of nowhere say "commission done :3!" and it is nonsense.

Nyeh-heh, see, it's hard. I'm all for artistic freedom. Love it, and I love what you can do with a monochromatic character when you say "Go Nuts!". Plus, if an artist has free reign to draw what they like, I feel as though they're going to instinctively just put that little bit more into it, because they're enjoying what they do to the max. Which is a win-win situation!

When I make exceptions to this, though, I'll want to control everything. I have an example of this where I needed to dictate colours, clothing, model of car(??!!!?!), etc.
It's not often, but I'll occasionally have a very specific image or feel I want recreated.

So I'm a weirdo, i'm all or none. I am especially fond of artists who are willing to give ideas of what they want to draw, and then for me to agree on an idea and have them roll with it. I know it takes a bit of mental effort on the artist's part, but some are all for it since it allows them to flex their creative muscles! It all depends on who you're working with, I guess.

"It depends." In the past, if I saw a ych I liked and had that ability to get it (money being the factor), it would just be details about it. Themed commissions, I want general things, like clean-only, nothing suggestive, nothing fetishy, nothing of certain things / themes, no sexual stuff ever. (I'm boring, I know. XD ) But otherwise, I don't mind a nice surprise. Gifts/surprise art (if ever xD), same thing, I basically want my "do not wants" held to. I like cute and / or funny, or general nice type of dragon-ness. It's rare I have a specific thing in mind. When I do, there's always leeway for the artist's ideas, I just want to have them run past me first. But sometimes a surprise is also nice, if it runs in the vein of my idea. I just have no good ideas. XD

Honestly, it varires a lot for me. If the artist and I are on a good wavelength, I can run that pretty easily. Sometimes I like to give a general brush idea and have the artist fill in the details.

For me it depends. Sometimes I have a unique idea so I want to be able to express my idea and have it brought to life. Sometimes I see a ych I think will look awesome/suit my character so I (try) to nab it, and sometimes it's an idea I've had that I forgot to write down so it helps me. Other times I just want to commission an artist I love and don't have a specific idea, more a vague one. So I give them the freedom to have fun and let their imagination run wild, and I always love seeing how the artist interprets the rough idea. In the end, I get an awesome piece that I'm always 200% happy with ^___^