I commission art a lot. I've commissioned from many different artists all over the world. And after several years here are a few on my own personal thoughts on commissions

1. List you prices.
- Whether its flat rates or by the hour, artists that commissions should list their rates. Most the time the old saying "If you have to ask, it probably costs to much." really comes into play here. I'm so much more likely to commission someone where I can gauge my budget. I myself am a single income family of five. That means I have a budget. A budget means I shop around. So that means when I am comparing artists if I know what I can spend with one and not the other, I'm more likely to go with the one I know I can budget.

2. List your customers.
- It is so much easier for a person to know where they stand when you have them listed.

2½. Update your customers.
- Most artists have an idea how long something is going to take. Now it's understandable that the idea isn't always accurate, as so many things can get in the way of the creative process. Real Life is a true bitch if there ever was one. If you update your clientele it's more professional and you won't have to worry about surprise psycho clients wanting to know where their art is.  

3. Gauge your prices realistically.
- Every artist gets better with every drawing. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. But look around at what your peers are charging. Try to be realistic. I've heard many arguments from artist and commissioners alike on this one. the only true I've found in the argument is this "NOBODY WANTS TO GET SCREWED" The truth is many artists started on websites like this who took the time to build their clientele and skills and charge the prices they do because of supply and demand. If you are an artist just starting out don't think you'll get top dollar from the get go unless you have something miraculous.

-Skill vs. Time vs. Payment. There is no minimum wage for artists. You are an independent contractor, not an employee. You are your own boss. You get to make your own rules, stay up late, and eat all the ice cream you want. So every time I hear the Minimum Wage argument I chuckle.

- Don't know what to charge? Ask. Look around you on Deviant Art, Fur Affinity, or any of the other sites. Ask other artists how much they charge and why. How they got to their current prices and where they began at. This is a pretty friendly community. Most like to help. If somebody doesn't want to help you, wave goodbye, back away slowly, and ask somebody else.

4. Payment.
- There are a lot of ways to pay. Here again I've heard argument for both sides. Everyone has been ripped off. EVERYONE! Is it your fault? Probably not, but nobody wants to get burned. Taking the pay in the beginning of the project can screw the commissioner. Taking payment after can screw the artist. Taking multiple payments for a project could easily screw both. However in my experience I've found the most fair is this;

Stage 1: Sketch Phase - artist creates a basic sketch based on the commission's requirements
Stage 2: Pay 50%
Stage 3: Finish Project - Artist completes the project sending a smaller low res file letting the commissioner know the work is finished.
Stage 4: Pay the other 50%
Stage 5: Completion - Send Original/HighRez file/Balloons/Flowers/ What have you and move on to the next project.

- Now there may be a lot of argument on this particular point. But look at it this way... Do you pay a mechanic before or after they fix your car? Do you pay the kid down the street before or after they mow your lawn? Does a gallery pay you before or after they sell your art piece?

5. Know your strengths, know your weaknesses.
- This applies to both artists and commissioners. If you want someone to draw a giant robot mecha, you don't commission your favorite artist that draws the big boobies cat girls. And vice versa, if you don't think you can draw what the commissioner wants, don't take the job. It will cause you nothing but stress and heartache. Look at what an artist draws and make sure the artist understands what you want.  Clarify what you want drawn and clarify what you can draw. If it doesn't work out there will be other commissions.

6. That was never a condition of our agreement, nor was giving Han to this bounty hunter!
- Do not change the deal upon completion. If the agreed upon deal was for say $100, but you think your time was worth more you don't take it out on the person who commissioned you. Learn from the experience. I'm not saying that your time and skill isn't worth more, but you agreed upon a price. You keep the deal. Taking it out on a commissioner who may not be able to pay a higher price will only end up with hurt feelings (at a minimum) on both sides. Re-evaluate your prices. Even talk to the original commissioner about what he thinks the work is worth. You will be very surprised.

7. I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice.  (AKA The 'Don't be a Douche-Bag' rule)
- This is another rule for both artist and commissioner. There is never a reason to be rude. You can be angry, fed up, anxious, and any other number of assorted flavors. Don't be rude. Commissioners, you went to the artist. You wanted their skills on your idea. That takes effort and time. Artists, your commissioners help pay your bills, spread word of your work and get you out there. That means business. Don't think on either side of this equation you can't suffer. Artist will group together in a heartbeat. So will commissioners. So be polite, if you can't be polite at least be business like. Make no mistake Commissions are Business.

8. You didn't ask for that. You have no personal politics. You're just trying to scrape out a living.
- Everyone needs money, but if you can't do it or it doesn't seem right... Don't Take the Commission.

9. Freedom isn't Free.
- Commissioners listen very closely. NEVER EVER EXPECT SHIT FOR FREE! There are a ton of artists that take free requests for various reasons. But they owe you nothing. Nothing I tell you. They are taking the time to practice their art and skill on ideas that aren't their own to improve themselves. Now I LOVE Fan Art. Everyone does. We all want to think our ideas are the next great thing. Believe me I know this. I wish every story I wrote would inspire artists near and far to draw those stories to life. But guess what artists have their own ideas as well. I hate... no I loathe when I see someone begging for free shit. If you want something you have pretty much two choices. A) Commission the work or B) Inspire the work. Don't be afraid to tell an artist your idea. But DO NOT GET UPSET when they tell you no.

10. Kiribans. Putting the carried away in every Ban.
- Artists listen very closely. ALWAYS EXPECT AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE TO CATCH YOUR KIRIBAN! We all know how the page view system works. It is HIGHLY probable that two people will turn in the winning number. If you don't want a big mess or fight over who won be specific in your journals how you want to see it; the first comment, the first comment in this journal, the first note you receive, the first comment in this journal of the note under the blue moon, etc. Or you can always plan for two winners to alleviate any pain. Kiribans are wonderful things. Gives everyone something to shoot for. But unless a few selective measures and realizations are put into place can become a big pain in the ass for the artist.

- Artists please don't forget about the people you owe Kiribans to. We all understand that paid work takes a precedent and that we are waiting in a line just like all your customers. But the lucky recipient(s) also want their picture as well. It's not only bad practice, but also impolite, to brush off anyone you owe art to without an explanation.

- For those of you Kiriban hunters out there, be gracious. We all can't win. If you didn't win this time, congratulate the winner on their luck. It could have just as easily been you. Maybe next time and good luck!

11. Pay it Forward.
- This is another both ways kind of thing. Commissioners if you have found a great artist that you think does terrific work for a great price, well then spread the word! Let all your friends know. Artists that take commissions usually love the advertisement.  Some can use it desperately. Artists, if you have gotten a lot of commissions because of one person commissioned you a lot, or brought in a lot of business for you. Do something nice for them. I believe in Karma ladies & gentlemen.... you should to.

12. Paypal Charges.
- I hate when an artist wants to charge me for Paypal fees. I make all my payment as gifts, so I pay a Paypal fee to send my money to you. So when you want to charge me +$2, +$5, +$ One Billion Dollars on top of the agreed payment, I feel a little screwed. Adjust your prices before hand. You really need to cover your Paypal charges then list it. Don't Charge me $10 for a sketch and $2 for Paypal, Just charge me $12 for the sketch. Trust me on this. Or simply tell your commissioners to send the payment as a gift so the cover the charge. Cause what I pay for a charge is pennies comparatively to what you want to charge me to do it.

- And if you think customers don't know how Paypal charges work all you have to do is go to calculators like this one [link]

13. I Ride the Special Bus.
- Special deals are great. They can drum up business for an artist and they allow commissioners to get something that might be normally out of their price range. I personally think it's a good way for artists to gauge and check their prices every now and then as well. If your art isn't selling for price Z but it's going like hotcakes at price X, you might want you think Y. Y= a new regular price between X & Z. Fun with Math! But in my experience Artists should limit the number of available slots with special prices. If they don't they can easily get swamped doing tons of art which can easily cause burnout, and/or not be worth the art supplies used.

14. And the winner is...
- Contests can be a commissioners best friend if done correctly. But I've found there are two major parts in a contest; Theme and Prizes.

- I'm going to start with theme because it's the easier of the two. It's important to have something people want to draw in the first place. If they aren't interested in what yo want to see they aren't going to enter. Now if say the contest is to see Character X in some form or fashion participants may still enter because it is only one character after all. More than that, better make it something interesting. You are trying to convince artists at the chance of a payday. But it's no just about money for the artist. You also have to consider their time (its valuable) and their interest (which you need to catch). A decent theme can easily make or break your contest no matter the prize.

- Now show me the money. Another quite HUGE thing to consider is what is the prize and/or prizes. If a prize isn't worth much to a participant then again they won't enter. This doesn't necessarily mean financial reward though. Although consider this. If you prizes isn't worth much more than their commission price, why would an artist enter for a chance to get what they could normally get paid for anyway. Which again leads me back to theme. (see how I did that?) Now as someone who has run multiple contests I also know the more prizes, the more entries you will receive. Why? Because then people have a better chance at winning something. They may not go home with the grand prize, but they didn't go home empty handed.

- Planning on running a contest? Then listen closely... DO NOT USE A POLL TO PICK THE WINNER!!! Polls are great for a lot of things, but contest isn't ever on that list. Polls are to easily thrown off by the popularity or friends circle of each artist who enter your contest. Come up with some other way of judging. Even if it's just you picking the winner. That is one million times more fair than a poll. If you simply say "I like Deviant J's entry the best" It's your contest. You don't even have to explain yourself (although I point out rule 7 here!) because it's your contest and can easily be up to you taste alone. In the contests I've personally run I let the artist chose amongst each other, but that's me. And by all means if you are going to run a contest, give the winners their prizes.

15. Points
- I hate the point system on Deviant Art, but I do have the sense of what it is there for. As an adult I have a bank account and a credit card which means I have easy access to pay by the web sites like Paypal and such. Not everyone on Deviant Art has all that. Points are an easy mean of system credit to get things within Deviant Art. Therefore points do have value on Deviant Art.... En Mass. But for many artists starting on here they can be a means of getting a subscription or other things, which is why many new artists here take art commissions through points. But don't be crazy, it is very easy to see the monetary value of the points you have with a little math. (Yes I know most of you arty types cringe at that word, Math.) Don't insult and artist by offering points that would be well lower than their normal commission value. It's not to say they won't accept them, but would you offer $5 for a $50 commission?

- Now I really don't get the people who offer Dev Watches, Favorites, and Comments on your work for Points. Got to be one of the worst forms of Panhandling on Deviant Art. I love every time one of my pieces gets Fav's or an even more illusive comment, but I'm not paying you for it. That's Prostitution! I've earned every Fav, Watch, and Comment I've received. If you participate in one of these schemes, Shame On You!

15. We don't need no stinkin' Llamas...
- Here is the rule; Give a Llama, Get a Llama. Moving on...

16. The best bang for the buck.
- Now many people, including myself, are always on the lookout for best deal for our money. You may have a budget, you may be broke, you may only have points... What ever the case may be you still want the best looking picture for the money you have to spend. Well there is a simple trick I was recently introduced to. By using the journal search portal you can look up all sorts of deals on Commissions. For Example: [link]

- Understand you can refine your search by adding a few select words like; deal, special, sale, points, etc. You wouldn't believe the amount of people out there trying to get their commissions sold. Use this helpful tool in your search for a Commission today.
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That's it for now. I'm sure I have more, but my train of thought got seriously disrupted a little bit ago. But what do you want from me, I'm in a frakkin' war zone. So as I think of them I'll update. I'm glad people seem to appreciate this topic. And I love your shared comments. Especially as I'm sure there are things I haven't covered yet which you might remind me of.  And thank you to the people who have 'd this journal. Never had a journal fav'd before. Must be yet another change to Deviant Art.

- Wayne