Your Approach to Commissioning

[Ilovebe]

This is a question that goes out to those who commission art or stories on at least a semi-regular basis. Do you normally get an idea for a commission and then seek out an artist who you believe would handle the idea well or do you see an artist that piques your interest and then come up with an idea based upon that artist's style?

[singory]

i do both , but mostly i have an idea and try to see who can do it

[Obsidian]

Have an idea first.

[no-name]

In regards to your question, I did a bit of the latter, though it was the only time I can recall having a process-themed commission done for me. More specifically, a continuation of an existing piece from the same artist. That being said, you should be flexible with whatever you're planning...just in case you run into any unexpected complications.

[Jimbo]

I want to do commissions but I dont think I'm that good yet.

[Dr. Otto]

Depends. I've established a pretty good rapport with several artists online over the years. If I get an idea I'd love to see visualized, I go to the artist whose style I feel would be the most appropriate for the concept. It helps if the artist shares a lot of my own interests/hang-ups. I have a very specific set of personal guidelines as far as erotic TF art goes (anything too gross or immoral is a big no-no), and thankfully we tend to be on the same frequency. I also try to allow them the room to embellish a story to their heart's content. Do your best to be patient, and only get pushy when you start to suspect the artist has forgotten you actually paid MONEY for his/her services.

Most of the artists I've commissioned in the past have been very amiable and friendly, but I've had a few unpleasant exchanges before that I'd rather not dwell on. Always try to get a good "feel" for an artist's personality before you commission anything from them. They could seem trustworthy at first, and then turn into a complete flake or bully out of nowhere. It's always painful when that happens.

[Anahki]

Originally Posted by Dr. Otto

Depends. I've established a pretty good rapport with several artists online over the years. If I get an idea I'd love to see visualized, I go to the artist whose style I feel would be the most appropriate for the concept. It helps if the artist shares a lot of my own interests/hang-ups. I have a very specific set of personal guidelines as far as erotic TF art goes (anything too gross or immoral is a big no-no), and thankfully we tend to be on the same frequency. I also try to allow them the room to embellish a story to their heart's content. Do your best to be patient, and only get pushy when you start to suspect the artist has forgotten you actually paid MONEY for his/her services.

Most of the artists I've commissioned in the past have been very amiable and friendly, but I've had a few unpleasant exchanges before that I'd rather not dwell on. Always try to get a good "feel" for an artist's personality before you commission anything from them. They could seem trustworthy at first, and then turn into a complete flake or bully out of nowhere. It's always painful when that happens.

One good thing about having a large community as ours is the chance to tell what happened to someone, listen to both parts and decide what happened and if someone was cheating on someone. Fortunately I have just good experiences with TF artists, but my experience is only based on finished product... man, sometimes the commisions cannot be afforded by anyone .

[Ilovebe]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I've commissioned a bit in the past, and 97% of it has been good. I did have one artist who would send watermarked, low-res photos before payment. He sent a page that was a bit different than what I scripted. I very kindly asked a fairly simple change based upon the original scripting and never heard back from him, so the comic remains unfinished. Oh well.

I also generally like to work with artists who work specifically with TF and other process related themes, though right now I'm planning something with an artist I've worked with in the past who doesn't necessarily specialized in TF.

What I'd really like is to find an artist who does high quality manga TF commissions, much like nojo, but it seems that nojo has left the community.

[Jimbo]

I do manga style stuff but I mainly been doing TG stuff and working on a short comic of my own.

Feel free to look at my stuff. I got time off soon if you want me to do something if you think I'm any good.

http://jimbo8472.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24