Have a read over this if you haven't before. It'll probably help some newbs I don't think enough of you are aware we have this.

Everything you ever needed to know about becoming a Commissionable Artist

<sub>This journal will be updated and refreshed every time I change something or add new info. Please be aware of this as this journal will probably show up in your 'new journals' several times throughout the life of the club.


There is a lot of information here, but I wanted to cover everything that could possibly come up and anything that beginners may want to know. I have tried to organize it as best I could and categorize each. Peruse and use to your benefit. If you feel I have left anything out or would like me to add some information, please let me know! This will be an ongoing journal tailored to suiting all you artists out there!</sub>

Excellent Contract Resource: Commissions Contracts: A Must Have. <---Set yourself up and protect yourself!

New resource for artists: =TheKnowledge1 <---check it out. It teaches arts!

Sections here are:
Setting yourself up for Commissions
-Slots
-Pimping your Art
-On Buying: A run-through of the basics
Looking for Work
-Seller beware
Etiquette and Courtesy
Getting Paid
Ways of receiving Payment
-Paypal
-Cash/check/money order
Shipping
Other online selling venues
Credibility

_{This journal was put together by ^ElectrikPinkPirate. Any opinions here are those held by ^ElectrikPinkPirate, Club Administrator, and do not necessarily reflect those of club members, dA, or any other official policy system. This is only a collection of suggestion and information; a tool to be used at your own discretion.}

Setting yourself up for commissions:

Many artists already list that they are open for commissions. Some stick it in their journal header with a link to their commissions info/journal. Basically, you want people to be aware that you are available for work.

Slots- Many artists will post that they have a certain number of slots available to fill for commissions, and once they get filled, they won't be accepting anymore commissions till those are done. This is a function of a) Supply and Demand, and b) Affordability.

Since artists get so many requests for commissions and can only handle a certain number at a time, they put up slots to let everyone know what is available and what they are currently capable of handling (not everyone does this; suggestion, not a rule ). You might also want to do a waiting list for people interested in commissioning you Affordability plays into the slot system as well. As fantastic as being flooded with commissions is (here's hoping!!), you don't want to take on more work than you can handle if it will retract from your finished products. If you are being flooded with more work than you can handle and don't want to turn away business/are worried about losing the prospective business, simply set up a waiting list, let people know what's going on, and generally things should work out. You're human, we're human. People know that stuff can sometimes come up and letting them know is part of common courtesy.

Pimp yourself out- Post links to your commissionable area everywhere (that you are comfortable with, of course ) I have links to my online shop on my myspace, my facebook, my dA, my ff.net account, and basically any other websites which i belong to. I even have a link in my dA signature. A lot of work comes from word of mouth and from random web-surfing. Maybe your friend has a friend who finds your art intriguing. It's another way to get yourself noticed as a commissionable artist and to get work. Networking is vital to getting work, and it makes it easier on yourself ^___^

On your buyer: A run-through of the basics:: It’s important before you start taking commissions to decide exactly how you want to handle them and what you want from the commissioner (and we get into more detail in the rest of the journal). Things such as:

What you will and won’t do.

What type of media you will use: digital, pencil, pastels, watercolors, whatever type of artwork you feel comfortable enough to sell.

How do you want to receive payment? Such as paypal, money orders, some other form and when do you want payment(more information on this below).

Have some type of price range. It doesn’t have to be set in stone or really specific but there are a wide range of prices out there from $3 to $300. It is helpful to know where you are in that wide spectrum. As for examples, non-artists don’t know the specifics between different types of artwork so examples do become very helpful if you are offering more than one type of artwork.

What kind of information do you need from your commissioner to create their artwork? Do you need references or is description enough?

What will you offer the client during your creative process? Will you send WIP (work in progress), a rough sketch, or something before the finished piece. How many times may they make changes during the process? Can they make changes after you have completed the work?

What are the commissioner’s rights and yours? Will they be able to post the artwork elsewhere or alter it to make banners or backgrounds? Are you going to post it elsewhere or sell prints from it? Are you willing to sell the copyright (though they commissioned the work from you, you own the copyright of that piece of work).

How will the artwork be delivered? Are you sending them a physical copy or a digital one? Jpeg file? How about dpi size? Paper copy? etc.

What are your time frames? Do you work fast or slow? This is important if you are going to be a while finishing commissions. You might want to add slots (more information below). Please make sure that you set something up between the two of you.

Anything else that you think your potential client should know, remember the more information you have about your commissioning process the easier it will be for both you and your client and certainly less bad surprises. For that matter, doing some sort of a contract doesn't hurt either. It will protect the both of you in the long run

After you have decide on everything it is important to post it somewhere whether it be in your journal or website. It should be really easy to find and I suggest always having a link to it in your recent journal entry so anyone browsing your deviant art account and liking your work might be tempted to commission you. This information will make the process easier for both you and your potential clients and add credibility to you showing that you are serious about your commissions.

Looking for work:

For those unaware, deviantArt currently has a Job Services and Job Offers forum. I highly suggest browsing Job Offers to see what people are posting that they need/want done (a very easy way to find specific work and details; the work is there, now you just gotta go grab it). I also suggest putting up a post in the Job Services forum offering your services and a little info about what you do as well as a link to your commissions FAQ. Check it out for examples of what other deviants are doing

Also, if you are new and just starting out, I found a very helpful thread in the job forums which I think would be beneficial to read: The Top 10 Lies told to Naive Artists and Designers.

If you will be posting in the forums or responding to other deviant's job offers (and this is highly suggested) you should tailor what you're posting to suit what the deviant wants/what you're advertising. "Check out my gallery" is pretty generic, can annoy some deviants and make them take you less seriously. You will be taken more seriously if you send them a note about whatever project you're vying to get to do, and be more detailed than the rest. You can see bad examples of the 'check out my gallery for style' in either of those job forums. A good idea might be "Check out past commissions in my commissions folder" or "Here is a folder with the style you're looking for that I do, and my prices can be found at this link" yada yada yada.

Etiquette/Courtesy:

Treat others as you want to be treated is a pretty good rule to play by. As well, if you happen to burn anyone on a commission, word on dA gets around and frankly you'll only be hurting yourself and your reputation as well as exposing yourself to flames (you can find artists outting people in the Job Offers forum all the time about being ill-tempered, discourteous, or flat-out thieves). Which brings us to the next topic.

Getting Paid:

Some deviants want cash upfront, some will take it once the job is all done, and others will ask for half now, half later. A lot of the idea behind securing some sort of payment before any art is rendered is to secure a contract and feel more secure that you will be paid upon project completion.

You may want to get paid half up front, do the sketch/whatever preliminary/planning stuff for the project, show it for the go-ahead by the buyer, then get the rest of the payment and only then finishing the project. Sometimes buyers want to do this as the door swings both ways, and they are wary about whether or not you will rip them off or not. Keep them in mind ^__^

If you're doing some sort of custom artisan crafts (something tangible that will be shipped) i suggest getting payment in full beforehand as shipping can get expensive and materials can be costly.

Considering how much a certain commission you're doing costs may also factor in to how much you may want up front/or all up front and how much your buyer may be willing to give you upfront. If you're charging $5 or something, I see absolutely nothing wrong with asking for the cash up front as it's generally a smaller amount. If it's a larger project, like $50 or something, then a half now half later might be preferable to your buyer ^__^ These are of course just suggestions, do whatever ya want!

I have seen some artists accept very interesting ways of getting paid without actually receiving the money (i.e. bartering and whatnot). The most common of these ways is accepting deviantArt subscriptions instead of actual cash. Another I have seen is making a list on e-bay/amazon/etc. of things you want, and having a buyer ship them to you as payment. Giftcards is another thing I have seen cleverly done, and deviantArt merchandise as well for payment. Please note, most buyers see a cash/paypal/etc. transaction as less work for them, so make your buyers aware of what you accept and whether or not you're open to different methods of payment. Please choose your payment methods at your own risk.

Please note: Different buyers may expect different ways of their commission being handled. Please take this into account of how you deal with them, do not assume things, and generally make sure everything is clear (how/when payment will be received, how the commission process will be handled and if proofs are included before going ahead with it, what DPI you're going to do it in etc. etc.). Drawing up some sort of a contract between you will safeguard the both of you in case anything unexpected happens and for some reason you are unable to complete the job. Protect yourself ^__^

Ways of receiving money payments:

Paypal

Pro: Quick, traceable payments. Seller-protection. Currency-conversion.

Con: Fees; must register a credit card/bank account with them to take out your money. Doesn't protet against digital transactions. Read about one deviant's experience here so you're educated on hopefully not a common occurence.

If you're using paypal to accept payments, please be aware that they do charge fees to accept money on your behalf (it is free to send money with it, just not to receive). You will be charged a flat rate of $.30USD (regardless of the payment amount) plus an additional 2.9% of the entire sale. Not to drive up your commission prices, but I want you to be aware that if you are charging $1USD for a commission, you are actually only making $.67USD. If $2, you're making $1.64 and so on and so forth. Paypal also charges more for foreign money payments received (not much, but it's worth noting here). I know that as a starting-out seller, I myself was confused as to how paypal worked and whatnot and only through half-understanding their policies and tons of trial and error did i find that fees were not adding up with what i was charging/the amount of work put in for commissions. You can learn more about how paypal works on the paypal site here.

Note: If you are new to paypal, please be careful with your e-mails and any e-mails you supposedly get from them. There are phishers out there who send false paypal account messages telling you that your account has been hacked or that there has been unauthorized activity. They get you to log-in to a fake paypal, they send you a message saying everything is fine again, and then steal all your money. If you receive an e-mail from "paypal" that is like this, please forward the entire thing to: spoof@paypal.com. They will send you an e-mail back that lets you know if the e-mail is fradulent or not.

Cash/Check/Money Order

Pro: Usually no fees, you get exactly what you charged.

Con: Slower in most cases (than paypal, at least), waiting for checks to clear, can get lost in the mail.

If you're going to be accepting well-hidden cash, or money-orders, it is highly suggested that you have the buyer purchase Verification Delivery from their post office upon sending you payment (they only have this for domestic mail, not international, to my knowledge). In the case of personal checks, a buyer will know if the payment got to you when they see it withdrawn from their account. With cash/money orders, it is especially important to get Verification Delivery as cash/money orders can get lost in the mail, and then you wind up with a he-said/she-said situation i.e. You never received the payment, the buyer did send it, and they want their commission but you haven't been paid by fault of lost mail. The way Delivery Verification works is that the buyer is given a tracking number they can check and told the exact day that their payment was received by the seller (mail-delivery is scanned by the post office now). This way, the seller knows they got paid, the buyer knows they got paid, and everything can run smoothly. Generally for good business and to keep track of things, it is smart to get this verification, especially when you worked really hard on something. In my experience of shipping to over 250 different cities worldwide, i would say i have had about 8 incidents of lost mail in the past 5 months. So it does happen, even more if you're doing high-quantities of work.

Western Union:

Western Union is available across the world; but Buyers/Artists should be aware of their nearest agent (usually major shopping malls have at least 1). Also watch out for agents that do NOT have "Receive Money" feature. They can find out their nearest agent online: [link]

Buyers will bring cash (some agents accept credit card) to their agent; fills out a "to send money" form (IDs will be needed) and hands the form and the cash to the agent who will check the ID, calculate charges and goes into the backroom. About 5 minutes later; assuming no problems with the form itself. The agent will reemerge with the copy of the form, filled in with a unique 10-digit number (known as MTCN, Money Transfer Control Number) and be told EITHER the money is already available to collect OR the money will be available the next working day (excluding weekends)

Buyer/Sender gives this 10 digit number to Artist/Receiver, who will go to their agent, fill out a "to receive money" form with the 10 digit number and some info about the sender and themselves.

The form is handed to the agent with IDs (Usually 1 LEGAL ID*, however some countries/states request 2 or 3) who will check the form.

If everything is good; agent comes out with the cash and hands it to the artist/receiver

DONE!

(Legal ID - Driving license, Passport, Credit card with photos etc.)

Shipping:

Some artists offer hardcopies of their work to be available to a buyer. And still, artisans usually need to ship their wares out to buyers. Please note that in this case, usually you/your buyer will need to give out/exchange addresses. Please do this at your own risk and if you feel at all uncomfortable giving out home addresses, a P.O. BOX might serve you well. They are relatively inexpensive in the U.S. and a good investment if you plan on moving a lot of product/receiving tons. Check with your local post office for options. Check out the United States Postal Service website here for more info (for U.S. residents). [If you're outside the U.S. and have reliable links to your country's postal system, please let me know, I'll add them!]
The UK Postal site: [link]
The Belgian postal site: [link]

Other online selling Venues:

A lot of you sell pre-made artworks (art which was not commissioned) here on dA as prints and whatnot. Well there are other outlets as well to sell your wares (some may find that they make a heck of a lot more profit printing their own prints than having dA and whatnot do it) and I thought I would make a list of them here.

E-bay.com: Useful to set up your own auction-type things for work, or if you have a buyer lined up and want to do it this way. E-bay's listings fees-to-time ratio, however, is not very long or very worth it for the long-haul unless you have buyers lined up already.

Cafepress.com: They will set you up in much the same way that dA does for selling your prints, T's etc. (though it is rather hard to make considerable profit as it can get expensive for buyers). They are similar to dA in that respect, though you have the possibility of more income if you raise your prices considerably.

Lulu.com: You can self-publish things here I know some people sell lit., so this might be for you (though book-binding is incredibly easy to do-it-yourself ) I like this DIY webpage: [link]

Etsy.com: One of my personal favorites. I know Etsy is a very popular site for artists here on dA as the profit to loss ratio is huge (you can make actual good money versus what you spend) and you have complete control over price, shipping costs, and other details. I found it personally through a fellow deviant. They only charge $.20USD for a four-month listing and take the lowest of sales percentages that I have found (only 3.5% of a sale, and they don't include your shipping cost into their revenue like e-bay does). Tell them ^ElectrikPinkPirate sent ya! HAHAHA! Read more about the site here: [link]

Do-it-Yourself Credibility:

This is something I just recently decided to add. I have noticed that many of you do not yet have avatars for your dA (if you want help with this please don't hesitate to ask). Not to out anyone or that there is any problem with not having an icon, but I just wanted to note that no matter how long you've been a member of dA (just joined or been here for years) it is to your benefit to add an avatar, ANY kind of avatar, rather than keep the blank space that dA automatically has for the emptiness. The purpose of this is subconscious trust.

If you have an icon of some sort, people will assume that you are more dedicated to deviantArt and will be reachable to do whatever work they may want you to. It only takes a second to make one (hell, even a black square with a splotch on it is better than nothing) and even less to load it to your page. I know that personally, regardless of the super-cheap prices they're offering and how gung-ho they might seem, if they don't have an avatar I personally am a little more distrustful of commissionable artists. Generally full-blown users who have info on their page, a journal or two, an icon or avatar of some kind, and some deviations shows me that they're dedicated, reachable, and someone I want to put my faith (and money) in. This is all based on random psychology so do what you will, it's only my observations ^__^

_{As a random note to help set you up, it might also help (with the buyer's permission or whatever according to the terms you've both decided on) to post past commissions you have done with info about your buyer It will give others faith to know who the deviant is that commissioned the work (granted some would rather be discreet) and that others are happy to put their faith in you. I know that pimping others out, especially, influences my own decisions in purchasing commissions from certain people. If I know they will pimp me out or whatever it is I'm buying a commission for (a website role playing game, a story, an RP character, etc.) then knowing that I will be exposed to a wider audience of viewers is influential in my decision to purchase. It almost becomes an advertising medium as well. Just a little off-topic note ^___^}







Hope that gives you a bit of insight you did not have before. I will add stuff to this as more information becomes available/you tell me something good that you think will benefit others ^___^ Feel free to comment on this journal with additions you think i should make, or to contact me for further info on stuff or with questions! If you have any questions about any of this or need any help, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you and good luck with those commissions!!

~ ^ElectrikPinkPirate, Club Administrator.

NOTE TO COMMISSIONERS

<sub>*hiredeviantARTISTS provides a listing of deviantART artists who take commissions. When you find an artist, please contact them directly with your offers/questions because this group isn't responsible for anything other than providing you with the list.

If you are commissioning something that will be sent in the mail, please know that you will need to provide an address. Please do this at your own risk, as we take no responsibility for any orders. Utilize a P.O. BOX if uncomfortable with giving out personal address.</sub>