On the commission front, I can't say I've had many experiences where my commission isn't picked.

I've had a FEW instances of having to wait quite some time though, sometimes - I made a commission back last March which is only NOW just being worked on, and the worst offender is a commission which I was waiting on for over 5 years.

Yeah that's why "option C" isn't an option for me. Last new year's I kept the form open and didn't clear that queue until April, which isn't as long but is enough to stress me the heck out with a to-do list that long.

Indeed. I try to be as patient as i can with commissions, but with those ones, they've kinda stretched it a bit much XP

Hopefully you've at least had some communication from them! That 5 years one is a little... much :s

The former i hadn't heard from them since the commission was made, and only last heard from them near the end of last month when they were ready to do it. The latter required a fair amount of poking to get it done in the end XP

Would rather the artist just flat out tells me yes or no to the commission. Any communication is better than none!

Omg pls just tell me no, tough though it may be (you can do it!). For me as a commissioner there's nothing more emotionally devastating as radio silence, like I'm not even worth the dignity of a response. :\

I've always liked the option of artists picking what they want as it's less hectic than first come first served as time zones can make that really tricky to actually get a spot. What you could always do is leave the form open for a few days then choose which ones you like and post a journal of the commissions you'll be doing. It's a little less stressful than emailing every individual to let them know you didn't pick them. I've never taken it personal if my comm wasn't picked.

Personally I prefer the ability to think over my prompt and gather references- whether or not the artist actually accepts the commission.

So yeah. Smack me with that "no" any day of the week :P

Honestly, I kind of like form openings as a commissioner anyway. I put forward my idea, and (so far every time the idea has been selected) if they like it then it's great! I know the artist will likely put more effort into the piece because the idea took their interest. It allows them to have all the info in one place too, I don't like when it's first-come-first forms myself and they just get closed after 30 seconds
1) I might be busy at the time so miss the opening time then don't get a chance for ages and ages
2) God knows how long it takes me to think of the idea if its a sudden opening and get all the refs + writing out info.

I think overall it is a good way as I know the artist is gonna want to do it more and hopefully like my characters? Rather than me just being like "Yeah, commission please XYZ idea" and the artist not liking it or enjoying doing the work.

As for declining ideas you don't like, just a polite email replying back saying
"Unfortunately you're idea was Not chosen for this round of commissions, but don't let this stop you trying again in the future!"

I'd rather get a firm "No" than having to wait...and wait...and then inevitably come to the conclusion I wasn't chosen. It also feels more respectful and polite to me as a commissioner (Ik artist can be very busy people though so this can take time out of work to reply with a "no")

I try to combat the "ran out of time because I was writing it" part by listing the form questions on my commissions carrd page! So people can copy+paste their prewritten info :D

Probably will (if I do switch to this method) send out an identical email to all the No's. It's not the actual emailing part that's hard I just feel bad haha

That's a good idea.

Honestly, try to think of it this way, please. I want the artist to enjoy drawing my characters and the piece. Some people may get pissy, yeah...but screw them. I want the artists I commission to enjoy it cus, I dunno, it makes me even happier when they do.

Using a copy-paste declining email is a good idea. I hope what I said helped. Happy new year :)

I don't think artists have to individually say "no" to each request they don't pick, especially if they receive a high volume of requests.

Instead, what I've seen some artists do (and as commissioner am totally fine with) is that after the commission form closes, they post a list of everyone they picked, with the implication that everyone not on the list didn't get picked.

As a commissioner, I know I prefer curated to FCFS. This way I can tell if an artist actually wants to do my pic instead of just putting up with something they don’t like for money. Plus, FCFS tends to favor the same people over and over, and leave others behind. I know I have a pic I’ve wanted to see drawn by you for years now, but haven’t had the chance either due to poor funds when you open or bad timing from FCFS. I guess that last bit is a little selfish on my part though.

As for the saying no part, I much prefer a flat out rejection rather than radio silence. Radio silence just keeps my hopes/anticipation up, whereas a direct no at least lets me move on.

To me I would much more prefer being told that my commission wasn't picked rather than being left silent.

That said, a more general announcement of commission forms closing to choose which ones to do would be fine, if you don't want to go through every single one.

As a commissioner I don't mind waiting for art. As long as I have at least vague idea how long I have to wait. Just an artist's queue posted somewhere is enough.
I'm not a fan of first-come-first-serve. In most cases all slots get claimed before I get a chance. Due to different time zones and life in general.
Some artists chose commissions from all applications via lottery and then announce who was lucky via journal. Maybe you could also try to do it this way. Maybe then you would feel less/no guilt, because it wasn't really you who made the choice.