Hi everyone! Omega Husky here and here we are in my VERY first fandom themed news Article! Before I get started with this article I would like to mention that this has been a kinda hard one to make… my expertise revolves mostly around the Automotive media and opinion articles. This however was a pretty good change to begin with. Maybe on the future I will write more furry articles to help out new furs to get started on the fandom.

For commissioning Artists.

-Have a set limit for your budget: As we all know Furries don't have unlimited money like everyone else (except for the suspiciously wealthy furries or Elon Musky Husky) Most of us have to pay for stuff like utilities, gas, rent, insurance... It is important to keep track of the money you have available to cover all of the previously mentioned necessities.

Things like Furry commissions are NOT above them, they are a side thing. You can always wait up for an artist to open up their commissions again if you can't afford them. So far the most wise thing to do if you want to commission an Artist is to ask yourself

• -Do I need it?

• -Can I afford it?

• -Do I have any breathing room/Margin in case of an emergency?/Cancel the commission?

   

If the answer to all of those 3 questions is yes… go ahead! However the next point will make this first point much more effective in the long run.

-Research your artists: When it comes to search for commissions… it seems easy to simply head over to the most popular artists that will easily charge you over 200$ and above for a simple sketch without color. It is the car enthusiast equivalent of heading to a Ferrari dealer to buy an entry level car instead to a Porsche dealer to purchase a fully equipped car. If you get what I mean… You'll understand this point much better.

When looking for artists… it is good to search in journals, advertisements, raffles, requests, you can always ask your friends for their artists (or ask them) for a commission/request. It is also good to expend time on the research and make yourself a small list of artists after checking out their TOS*, Prices, Style and general reputation, from that point on… choose at your heart's content!

*Terms of Service

However… If you want to hunt for bargains you can always look forward to commission new artists or artists in need. Some of them have styles which can rival in quality and price the artworks of much more expensive and popular furry artists. Getting a 100$ piece for 30$? if that isn't a good deal I don't know what it could be!

Hunting for bargains in new artists or artists in need as well has the benefit of not having month long waiting lists, dramas, financial trouble… you also get to help the artist get noticed on the community and attract more clientele towards them.

Conclusion? Researching is ALWAYS worth it.

-The Quality/Price ratio: I'm going to be direct on this. You can't hope to get a Picasso for free. We like silly doodles that have meme potential, we like cheap animations or simply stickers… but when it comes to the Q/P ratio nobody decent would pay 50$ for a badly drawn sketch in cream colors by a V-signaling artist on Twitter.

Research as stated before is an important part of looking for an artist, it is always good to have a list, to see their examples and compare the style/quality to what they ask for, however… the Q/P ratio will always be determined by the individual and this point is pretty much an informative slot to remind commissioners to expend time researching rather than diving into the first artist they can run into.

-Always keep track of time/keep messages: As both a commission artist and commissioner I can never exhaust this point enough but… ALWAYS keep track of how long your commission artist is taking.

Before I go on I will remind everyone that Artists cannot dedicate themselves 24/7 to artwork, they need the drive, inspiration and time to work. And asking them about progress on the current omission you ordered can be draining and outright annoying. While you wait for your commission do something else, read, write, do some gaming… your work will eventually arrive!

Before I get started… I will remind everyone reading this part that artists cannot dedicate themselves 24/7 to artwork, they need drive, inspiration, time… and asking them about progress every 1-3 days is draining and outright annoying. While your commission awaits do something else as gaming, writing, photography… your work will eventually arrive! However always keep a note on the day you ordered an artwork.

You can also keep a screenshot of the messages with you and the artist as a fail-safe or a paper note. Mostly to prevent what I call “Ghost artists” Artists that take the money, disappear and later pop back up as a complete different artist. It is always good to keep tabs on who you commissioned to keep track of time. (let's be honest, you might forget about it)

-Learn to give the artist some space: Don't pester them every 1-2 days with “How's my commission going?!” don't stalk their medias, don't seek out their personal profiles on social media unless invited personally, don't prod on their businesses… do I make myself clear? I always wait at least a week or two before asking for progress information.

If there's people ahead of you in the queue… always wait longer, do something else while you wait up.

For being a Commissioner.

-Limit your commission slots/learn when to stop working: As much energy you can have or inspiration… Every human has a limit like everything else. You can be an artist who can make an anime-like piece in half an hour or recreate a classic music piece in just a few seconds.

But as much energy you can have it is always good to set yourself limited slots regardless of how much money you want to make or how much you need. This is good to have specially as a starting artist who has yet to improve their works and isn't used to the pressure of time. Set up a small timetable, a slot for yourself, a slot for your work, for utilities… in the spare time you might have you can choose to work or not if you still have leftover drive/energy or inspiration

But NEVER forget to keep working!

-Set your prices based on time and effort for piece: This is pretty hypocritical to put down on the same article. But let's say that you want 30$ how long it takes for you to work and complete the art piece? How exhausting it can be to complete the work order? That is up to you to determine.

-Keep track of your time/put down updates: When working on commissions… always have a list of your current work orders. Remember not to overwork yourself but never stop working.

Like… if you work 3/7 days on commissions always work by queue order, if your client asks for an update after a week or two ALWAYS be honest. If you haven't done any progress due to circumstances or any other eventualities at play mention it. If you want you can also show the current state of the commission you're working on. This helps the customer see that their work is currently in progress.

Like… you can message your commissioner one day out of the blue and show them progress on their commissions (sketching, coloring, shading…) they will highly appreciate it and will keep them close to you.

-Don't tolerate toxic/annoying commissioners/keep screenshots: It is good as an artist to set yourself some limits, as a commission artist you work like a business, you can always reserve the right to refuse service (but not refuse such based on their ideology, race, religion etc etc…) due to the customer behavior as the excessive request of updates, stalking on social medias, over-exagerating things or the like.

It is also good to keep screenshots as a commission artist since some people are whackos and in order to quench their thirst for drama/conflict they can make things up as you supposedly running away with the money. When this happens it is always satisfactory to put down your side and reveal your toxic commissioner as the instigator, from that point on you are to return the money and ban the commissioner from future work orders.