icon by mikifluffs!
she/they, 1993, WA. Ask me about card games!

warning: I reblog 18+ content here. filter it if you want.


I love that the art community in general and the furry subculture in particular has this "commissioning" culture, where even if you don't draw, you can play the "producer" role and hire someone who does, at shockingly reasonable prices! here are some tips to make you and your artist happier.


have an idea

this sounds obvious but it isn't always! if you want to get custom artwork done then you should be able to describe it in some way. do not just come to an artist with a three-word "prompt" like "twilight sparkle naked", you need to be way more specific. why do you want this art? do you have a very specific kink that you want to see more of? are you writing a fanfic and you want some cover art? hell, it doesn't even have to be horny, maybe you have a long distance relationship and you want a picture of you holding hands. anything can happen in art!!! if you don't have an idea now then start carrying a notepad around with you until you do, and when you do have an idea, write it down for later. if you have a cell phone, sometimes the simplest way to save an idea is to scribble it on a napkin and take a photo of it, but if you want a fancy note-taking app, the best one available right now is called Obsidian.

get some refs

I have worked with a few dozen artists on everything from black and white sketches to colored animations, and across the board I have found you will always get the best results if you use references. a reference is any image that has something in common with your idea. artists can't read your mind, but if you point at a reference and say "I want it to have this vibe", most artists will catch on quickly! there are three main types of refs.

pose ref

this is mandatory. in 99% of cases you will not get good results without a pose ref. this is why you always see artists in movies working with a live model! that's their pose ref!

a pose ref shows the shape of the body (or bodies) to be drawn. bodies are complicated and nobody is good at imagining all those parts. you can find a lot of existing poses on sites like e621 or gelbooru, but if you can't find a good pose ref anywhere then you have two main options:

  • sketch it yourself! draw some stick figures doing your pose. remember, artists are smart, they'll use your stick figures as inspiration and draw better stick figures and then wow you have a pose reference!
  • take a photo! you have a human body of your own (probably) and you can use that to your advantage! don't worry if you don't have the right "body type" because, again, artists are smart, they can change that later!

character ref

this is mainly required for furry art. if you do this a lot you might want to get a "ref sheet" made, but you don't actually need one, all you need is one of these:

  • an existing picture of your character, or
  • a picture of a similar character, with notes on what you want to be different

outfit ref

same as character ref, but for clothing! maybe you want to wear something different this time? find a picture of an outfit somewhere! you can get a lot of free pictures from clothing stores and pinterest. it's fine to copy an outfit for inspiration (citation).

bonus: character trademarks!

if you want people to say "oh shit, I've seen that character before, that's sponty" or whatever, then it helps to have one or three "trademarks" that are always attached to your character. mine is "purple stripes that come in twos", here are some other great options:

  • mole on left breast
  • heart-shaped fur around one eye
  • animal combo, like bunny ears and antlers
  • silver pentagram necklace charm
  • red button-up vest
  • tail with an eye or mouth on the end
  • plaid fur? (please show me if you've done this)

find an artist

specifically, find an artist whose style is a good fit for your concept, whose budget works with yours, and who's currently available to work. this can take a while. it helps if you follow a lot of artists on twitter, they'll usually put something like "comms open" in their username when it's a good time, or you can go on freelancer sites like commishes.com or fiverr.com, or just ask your friends! maybe you already know someone, or someone who knows someone! make sure to find a specific pic by that artist that you can refer to when saying what style you want, as most artists have a limited number of art styles they're familiar with!

send them your idea

this is why we got all those refs together ahead of time. do not waste your artist's time with a hello. a lot of popular artists get a lot of spam, or worse, and you need to be as clear as possible about what you want. here's a template you can follow:

Hi! I'm interested in a commission! I liked <previous post of yours> and would like to have <my character> drawn in that same style! Here's a character ref and a pose ref. Let me know if you're interested!

negotiation

the artist will probably come back to you within a few days and say something like

sure, I'd be happy to draw that. I charge $40 for a sketch and $80 for shading and colors.

do not ghost them. if you cannot afford their prices, please just be honest.

ah, apologies, that's out of my budget right now. thank you for your time!

on the other hand, if that sounds like a fair price to you, then you're good to go! typically the artist will have some script they're comfortable with, like "you pay me half up front and half on completion", or "you pay me the full amount up front and I add you to a public waiting list so you can see when it'll be your turn", or something like that. honestly if the artist has unreasonable demands at this stage you are probably better off giving them a polite "no thank you" and working with someone else, I have never had a good experience haggling at this stage.

patience

once you've paid for your work, be patient! the artist will typically notify you when they have a rough sketch ready! if you don't hear back for a while, it's acceptable to send a reminder. use this template, no more than once every two weeks:

Hi! No rush at this time, but I'd like to know the status of my commission, please!

if they put you off for more than a year then you may want to ask for a refund. I don't have experience with this though so you're on your own here.

sketch feedback

almost all artists will bring you a sketch and ask for feedback. this is that "better stick figures" concept I mentioned earlier. check the sketch for the following:

hands and feet

these are hard to draw! make sure they're facing the right direction! the artist will thank you if you catch this early.

pose isn't what you wanted

sometimes the pose doesn't come out like you imagined it. your best bet is to try a new pose ref and start over. some artists will give you a free "do-over" at this stage, others will charge a small fee for additional sketches. it's worth it.

missing character trademarks

make a list of these! you'll be happier if they're all present and accounted for

boob size

this is probably the most common thing people change at the sketch stage. it's a meme, but it's funny because it's true. just go on gelbooru or e621 and find a picture of a character with the bust size you want. descriptions like "H-cup" or "melon-sized" are not good enough.

patience again

assuming you wanted your sketch to be lined or colored, you'll have to wait again. same rule as before, no more than one reminder every two weeks.

completion

thank your artist a lot!!! share your new artwork around and tell everyone how good your experience was!!! exposure is cheap but it makes a great tip, and everyone loves the warm fuzzies of making someone else happy.

subscribe?

if you really like an artist's work, consider becoming their patron on whatever patron-site they use; even just $1 a month makes a huge difference to a freelancer, and some of them will offer you repeat customer deals. no pressure, just something to consider, okay? now go out there and bring some dreams to life!


I was putting this off because I wanted to write a "good" version, but in the spirit of no-effort-november y'all get this version I just kinda skimmed off the top of my head. feedback and corrections welcome.


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