Ive been wanting to start a commission service for a while now and I was wounding if anyone had any horror stories for things I should avoid and positive things I should try and do.

Exuding obvious things like not finishing work but keeping the money ext

I want to be respectful and fair for me and the client

Not really a top thing, but evaluate whether you want to take payment up front, split payment up (half now, half when complete), or take the payment after you've completed the work but before you send the file.

For some people, taking payment in advance works great. Personally, I like to take it after the work is done so if something happens to me/my motivation the commissioner isn't out money while waiting for the art.

As a total outsider to this kinda thing I feel like the advice I could give is probably something you've already heard, but, I mean, if a random layperson has heard this it might be pretty important.

Don't work for free, that includes not letting your friends pressure you into making art as a gift. If you want to make art for someone as a gift, that's fine, but your time is valuable, don't let anyone push you around.

Being organized about commissions helps a ton. Something like a Trello board does wonders so that clients can see things progress without having to constantly send out updates to clients or have them ask for updates.

Also, don't take on more work than you can reasonably do in, say, a month. Really long turn around times because of big queues will make people uneasy with the process.

darryus said:
Don't work for free, that includes not letting your friends pressure you into making art as a gift. If you want to make art for someone as a gift, that's fine, but your time is valuable, don't let anyone push you around.

I can't agree with this dood enough, =‿=)
Did it for a while back in the day and had no idea what I was in for; My god
if your gonna make something for someone that's not a gift from you to them
'Have them pay for it!'.

Do not believe the common misconception they throw at you like:
"C'mon, It's Great for exposure and will draw in new faces!"

Trust me, The only new faces that will bring in will be more people asking
for free art, You getting swamped in the sheer numbers and the same peeps
using the fact that you drew the last guy as a bases of
you "singling them out" and "refusing to draw Their character while drawing
others"

It's a world of guilt trips and peeps who believe they can persuade you into
giving them free art if they keep subtracting things they want from it T‿T)

Coming back to this topic, I do have a sort of "horror story" even though it wasn't that horrible, just tiring and annoying.

Set an edit limit in your ToS. Something along the lines of "first two revisions free, any more cost (X amount) per revision".

Three separate times I let customers keep asking for more and more revisions, until I just hated the drawing by the time it was done. I think the record was for nine separate revisions that involved editing large pieces of lineart. All three images looked very different from the original description.

I don't think the customers meant to put that stress on me, I think maybe they didn't go in with a clear vision of what they wanted. If I had an edit limit maybe it could have helped them get a better idea before they approached me.

Don't hesitate to communicate. If something in real life comes up and the commission might take a little longer to complete, let the commissioner know. It sucks to be left in the dark wondering why other people get commissions from you quickly while they've been waiting forever.

Be clear about the process: Some people will show you several progress pictures ("How's the pose, how's the character, is this what you wanted?") while others will jsut give you a finished picture with no in betweens.

Both can be frustrating. But I've known some artists who will, say, decide that your pudgey short character would look better if you were tall and thin and ... that's just not any fun. So be upfront about how you're gonna go through the process with them. :)

Don't draw what you're not comfortable with. Oh, pushing your boundaries is great, but if you're not comfortable with what you're being asked to draw.... it's gonna show. and it'll make you unhappy. Being happy about what you're making is one of the best ways to avoid burn out. it's okay to say that you only want to draw certain things. I know of a few people who will accept only commissions for whatever they're into at the moment.

Also: don't burn out. Take it easy. start with one or two commissions at a time, and add slots to your queue from there. Feel free to have a waiting list if you want, but make sure it's different from your TO DO list.

COMMUNICATE! No one likes having to ask about their thing. Send them a DM, PM, or whatever to let them know what's going on. I promise no one will be angry to be told "I'm starting on your commission tommorow after work! Any last details?" (and if it HAS been a while-- more than a few weeks, say-- confirm what they wanted: sometimes stuff happens and they no longer want a picture of their character and their boyfriend's cuddling, cough cough. Or maybe they want something more now.)

Further: Love your customers. They can be assholes. But the good ones are gold. Treat them well, and they'll keep coming back. Generally I mean, smile, keep a good attitude, communicate with them. (I am thinking about all the good things an artist could do with a discord server...)... Be flexible.

Sure, give them an inch and they'll walk all over you, but at the same time... Give 'em an inch now and then and they'll walk that extra mile for you. y'know?

Notkastar said:
Do not believe the common misconception they throw at you like:
"C'mon, It's Great for exposure and will draw in new faces!"

Never EVER EVER do art for exposure. Not unless you are happy to not be paid a dime.

Feel free to do art for friends, for projects.

Gosh, do all the fan art you want --it's good exposure, but never do something that someone Prrrrrromises will be GREAT exposure for you...

especially if you've never heard of them, or what they're doing.

Big fancy fur asks you to do a few pages for his long ongoing comic strip that everyone knows and loves? SURE. (though he SHOULD be commissioning...)
Nobodyfur says "plz draw my comic, it's gonna be great, it's got the best story, no one's ever seen anything like it, it's gonna be great, I've been told so by people who are totally not my family." No. nope. thankyou for thinking of me, but nope.

SnowWolf said:
especially if you've never heard of them, or what they're doing.

Big fancy fur asks you to do a few pages for his long ongoing comic strip that everyone knows and loves? SURE. (though he SHOULD be commissioning...)

I don't know dude, I feel like there's reasons to not do things for bigger peeps as well, I mean if they're bigger they ought to have the funds to pay you for something if they don't pay you it's kinda like they're using their status to take advantage of people. I mean, heck, if they're hosting their comic on their own website or like have a patreon or something, they're making a bit of money off your stuff, and you're getting next to nothing out of it, I doubt the fan transfer rate of guest comics is really that big, I know personally I've never started following someone after they made a guest page.

darryus said:
I don't know dude, I feel like there's reasons to not do things for bigger peeps as well, I mean if they're bigger they ought to have the funds to pay you for something if they don't pay you it's kinda like they're using their status to take advantage of people.

Oh, I generally agree with you-- just, this is actually a circumstance where you actually *would* be getting exposure. Like, really there are people who would see this, unlike most "exposure" projects which never leave the creator's social circle, if they even leave the flightdeck.

You should ALWAYS get money for projects, especially in those circumstances--but it *is* okay to do something just because you want to too.

Just, like I said: Never to art for the exposure unless you're happy to never earn a dime from it.

I mean, heck, if they're hosting their comic on their own website or like have a patreon or something, they're making a bit of money off your stuff, and you're getting next to nothing out of it,

I was more thinking of, like... Here There Be Dragons or similar, if there were ever 'guest artists' .... or... oh... I know there are a couple storylines that bounce between artists, without being attached to a single one.

You've generally got a really good point though. Just be sure you are HAPPY to work for nothing before you do so.

I doubt the fan transfer rate of guest comics is really that big, I know personally I've never started following someone after they made a guest page.

I think I have. once in a while, anyway.