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Commission tutorial
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Published: 2009-03-19 17:19:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 298897; Favourites: 10013; Downloads: 4492
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Description
Yes it's true, new monthly tutorials are now available via my Patreon
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Over the past three years I've done loads of successful commissions, and have commissioned others successfully as well. I have never had an issue with my transactions because I did my research before I started, and asked others who were doing commissions themselves how they were managing. However, not everyone has the time to go and note everyone (or, if you're getting noted, you may not have time to answer inquiries constantly)! So for your perusal and reference, here are some helpful tips to help you get started with taking commissions on DA.
This tutorial is more for people who offer commissions, but I have a few words for those who take them as well:
- Do your research. Make sure you're getting art from a reliable artist!
- Art costs money. Don't haggle down, its insulting. Don't forget, you're also getting free advertising when they post it to their gallery (for example, who here doesn't know Audley 's Castor ;3 )
- Don't be afraid to pimp the artists who did good work for you! Here is my list!
Raraarrar you know the drill, feel free to comment w/ questions if you got em, thanks for reading etc
The pics in the icons are mostly from the LJ random image generator, they're (c) to the internet, I suppose XD Except for Kash, he's (c) Geico.
My other tutorials:
Pose tutorial
Expression tutorial
Hand tutorial
Foot tutorial
Ladies tutorial
Fellas tutorial
Face tutorial
Coloring Walkthrough
Related content
Comments: 1342
I'm not sure how to raise them without alienating my customers though or making myself look like an egotist.
I've been a bit reluctant to draw fanart most of the time, because I haven't watched the anime or cartoon or played the game the character(s) come from, and I'm worried that I might not be able to capture the "spirit" or personality of the character him/herself.
I have, however, been posting my stuff in the Thumbshare forums lately.
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oh,thanks a lot! i've been finding on this matter so long
oneday i may use it, i think
most of them are using paypal, but i don't really know how paypal works
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Sounds highly... blonde and stupid of me buuut~
...
For digital pieces, as when I start doing commissions I'm only doing digital to start...
How would I give them the piece? Just by e-mail, or what?
Or are they going to expect me to make nice prints of it and send it?
I really don't know what people expect these days. XDD
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Just make sure you specify what they get! If you want to send them a print then I guess it is up to you, but I generally just send a really high rez image to them. That way they can walk down to their own Kinkos and make a print. Then (with permission) I post a smaller or watermarked version of their commission to my gallery to share with people.
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i wanna start commision but i am affraid i will overprice myself, should i start low?
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It is up to you... overall I would suggest not, because you will be undervaluing your work. If you would like to attract commissioners but still have low prices, maybe start by offering low-priced sketch commissions? then later you could offer higher-priced commissions that would be inked or colored
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good idea! ou should be a rocket scientist by now lol, thanks anyway, here a beer
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Wow this helps ALOT!
I am starting commissions and I need all the possible info I can get, and I got it all right here!
Thanks sooo much
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Wow this helps ALOT!
I am starting commissions and I need all the possible info I can get, and I got it all right here!
Thanks sooo much
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I have a question.
Do most people Mail their commissions or do they send them via email and if so should there be a difference in price?
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I email my commissions because I do digital work. If you are doing traditional art and if the buyer agreed to purchase the original, then you should send it to them. Normally the buyer also pays shipping in this case.
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thanks so much again I must be a pain
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Wow, thank you so much! I think that will help me a lot
C.
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This helps a lot!I need to figure out how to get myself noticed.
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Great tutorial on commissions! It's just what I was looking for!
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Thank you so much. This is going be really helpful!
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This is great, lots of sound advice from experienced artists!
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i'm still new to paypal, and i'm wondering about payment reversals? i got an email from paypal that said i received the money, do i have to accept it or anything? (i just intend to keep it in my paypal balance, and not linked to debit or anything)
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No, once you get it, its yours.
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thanks so much for this tutorial
after talking with my mom (yeah, i'm a minor 
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Thats good! It really helps to gain some experience at a younger age, so you don't make mistakes when you're an adult... but of course, make sure your parents know what you're doing at all times to keep safe
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oh, yes
in fact, it was my mom and older sister who encouraged me to do it in the first place
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Geez, too many comments to sift through.
Quick questions. As a kidzorz of only 15 or so (I think?), I was wondering how exactly you mail the traditional pieces? Its not like you fold it up and stuff it in an envelope. Though, I don't really figure I'd be doing much traditional work that can't be scanned, I'm pretty bad at painting and colored pencils...
Maybe I should just hope on an experienced commissioner should I try it. lol.
Otherwise this tutorial is awesome, I'll keep it in reference.
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Go to Target! Or Walmart, or the post office, they sell flat mailers of various sizes there for usually only a buck or two. If you reinforce it with cardboard that would be even better. Then you just send the whole piece to your client and charge them the appropriate shipping and handling (usually I only charge for the price of the shipping, but then again I can afford to at the moment). Anyways, whether or not you mail it will depend on what you've worked out with the commissioner ahead of time. If they are getting the original, then the price of the commission should reflect that since they will have a hardcopy vs just having a scanned picture on a computer.
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I've had some IRL friends and adults tell me I should take up a job drawing for money, but a "problem" is I'm only about 14. When did you start commissioning, umm, all the time/or officially?
Should I start out commissioning people I know in real life first, before moving online and getting a Paypal account?
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I didn't start (online) commissions until two years ago or so. I took commissions from irl people only infrequently before that.
The problem for you is that you're a minor, so you'll probably need adult help/ supervision if you do decide to do online commissions. Most of the time if you are professional there should be no problem, but if someone tries to rip you off or push the client boundary then you should have a back up plan.
As for whether you do it online or irl first, that is up to you as long as your parents are okay with it. Though you may be able to find clients who are asking for something you're most comfortable drawing (like digital pics, or anime styled pics or whatever) online. Usually all my irl commissions have been for photorealistic things or boring portraits XD Just remember that for minors on the internet (and actually anyone else), financial and personal safety should always be your first priority!
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Oh, I see. Thank you for the help and advice! You rock, alexds1! Seems like a ton of work to keep track of. >>
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Great tutorial! I was wondering, what do you do with the finished picture? Do you just email them to the person who commissioned you or do you post it on dA? Thanks so much!
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Once I'm done, I send the high resolution file to their email and ask if it looks okay or if they want any small edits done (mostly only for larger pieces like a portrait or full commission). Then once they're satisfied I post a smaller/ lower resolution picture online to share with others. But since its reduced quality there isn't a fear of it being stolen!
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Frankly thank you thank you very very much a lot ! It was for me really of a big help !
And yes, as you say it, the others not always the time to reply our notes. Then I am really enormously grateful to you !
Thanks again ! 
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This was enormously helpful. Thank you so much!
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Wow, that is a damn good tutorial (and I've been doing a lot of reading on this topic lately)! I'm somewhat happy now. But, one sorrow remains: how do I promote my work... Any similar easy-to-follow advice on that one?
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Well I have some suggestions in the tutorial, though I'm sure there are other ways. Do art trades or do gift art for people with more pageviews than you, they might display it and get some traffic to your page. You could post in the forums frequently to promote your work, or write interesting journals that might get people to come to you. Improving constantly is also a really good way to gain more viewers, people like seeing an evolving artist. And if you have money I guess you could always buy ads too!
I started out with about 1000 pageviews after my first year... after I started doing the art trade/ gift art thing my pvs went up pretty quickly. I also practice constantly so people don't get tired of me drawing the same thing... I guess it worked for me, no reason why it shouldn't work for you!
(or you can go the lame route and just draw a ton of harry potter/ sonic/ twilight/ anime fanart ugh)
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I'm going to put your advice to use.
Many thanks!
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this is very helpful~
i just getting start with my very 1st commission, well, i got some answers for the problems i'm facing thru this tutorial,
Thank you very much~
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Great tutorial, lots of helpful stuff. Though, I've been hearing a lot of complaints about paypal so I'm kind of worried about using it. Do you swear by it, or is there an alternative?
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I'm sure theres an alternative, but Paypal is used widely which makes it convenient more than any other vendor. I use it according to how they ask me to and I haven't had any problems with it. Just be careful online with money as you should already be
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I just want to say, that this is a VERY, VERY, VERY helpful tutorial on commissions. You are very precise in your wording, careful, polite, and very self explanatory.
I will follow this guide for my own commisions! T^T Thank youu!!!
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Thanks for reading it! I'm glad you got something out of the tut
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Thank you soo much, its really helpful! I'm interested in doing commissions but I was kinda confused about the whole process 
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Well, I recommend starting off doing trades or gifts for others. That way you'll build a reputation and gain some additional art skills so that people will want to commission you!
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Thanks for taking your time to create this tutorial!
This is great stuff XD
But I probably wont be taking any commissions any time soon, im encountering problems with creating a pay pal account T__T
But will definitely use this wen I set something up!
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You know, after my Shark Stew project, I might start doing commissions... this guide definitely sets down some helpful guidelines.
Lessee... I'm a cheapskate, and the economy sucks... I wouldn't really be in it for the money anyway... But I don't want to screw up the dA economy with stupidly low prices... Wow, there's a lot to consider with pricing.
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great tutorial indeed
i just have this small question that : can i gain attention by participating in contest ?
i'm not good with making friends and stuff like that so art trade and gift art isnt a good choice for me
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Sure, any kind of community participation really helps 
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