Steven Universe Stronger

commission etiquette

a lot of people have been commissioning my friends lately and…i havent seen the best manners when they were doing so. i think it was from a lack of knowledge rather than from an intentional rudeness, so im here to list some things to keep in mind when youre gonna commission someone.

give them info. do not be vague about it. if you send someone a few sentences, theyre just going to be confused about what you want. if its an OC, have ref pics. PLEASE be descriptive. being vague isnt really giving the artist “more freedom”, its just confusing them. we like for you to be very descriptive and specific to ensure you get what you had in mind. dont be afraid to ask.

if an artist says they wont draw something, dont ask them to do it anyway. youre not special. oftentimes they have “i wont draw” because theyre not very good with those things, or it just goes against their personal beliefs on what is right.

dont tell people you drew the commission. thats just shitty. i dont care if you paid for it.

TIP THE ARTIST. dear god, tip them. how much? 20-35%. a few cents will make them think youre joking. it works like a restaurant. you wouldnt go into one and not tip, right? and if your argument is “well they never included the tip in the prices”, restaurants dont either. you still need to have some extra cash to tip. and if you cant tip…dont buy it, or buy a less expensive piece. artists need tips. a lot of them undersell themselves.

dont give the artist a time limit. someone literally set a TIMER for me once. (30 minutes.) if they dont get it done right away, they probably had others lined up!

you get what you paid for. if the artist is doing VERY cheap commissions, dont be surprised when theyre not HD drawings. theyre not going to spend as much effort on a $3 commission as they would a $100 commission. thats unfair to the person who paid more. you pay less, you get less.

dont get angry when artists draw things for free for their friends, but not for you. dont befriend artists to get a free drawing, either.

you pay the artist first, then they draw for you. i know you might be scared they wont follow through, but if so, you can easily call them out and sue them if you must. if an artist works their ass off on a piece, theres nothing to stop you from running off with it and saving it. and they cant really get that back or get you in legal trouble for that. when you purchase something in a store, the cashier hands you your items AFTER you paid. thats how it works.

be nice to artists. theres a person behind the screen.

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