The Second Commissions Poll

[sigune]

sugarplumkitten asked me about commissions today, and I thought I'd post another poll to find out a bit more about the expectations of those people who are considering ordering a picture with me.

My previous poll brought to light that 9 readers of my journal are definitely interested in commissioning a picture; on top of that, 8 more are interested if the prices are reasonable :D.

Now, as you well know, my artwork (doesn't that sound ponderous and self-important?) is not digital; it's invariably done the old-fashioned way with pens, pencils, paint, markers and whatever on paper or cardboard. That means that when a drawing changes hands, it is forever gone from me. I am not sure how understandable this is in view of the relatively limited artistic value of my scribbles (they're not Picassos, right?), but to me, definitively handing over something that I have created with love and patience is not an easy thing. I can do it, when I know from the start that I am working for someone else; but it is obvious to me that an original is going to be sold at a higher price than a print or scan of which the original stays with me.

In view of the concerns about price, then, I would like to hear from you what kind of an image you would expect; if different options get checked, I will consider them and make different prices.

Secondly, I would also like to hear what attitude you take towards commissioned art at all - what kind of freedom or limits you would set to the person who does a drawing for you.

Please help me out and take the poll! Advice, concerns, comments are very welcome :).

[Poll #785586]

Comments

[lunafish.livejournal.com]

I definitely couldn't imagine asking you for a pic of SS/HG, lol! But I think that many artists refuse commisions (or have their commisions refused when the buyer finds that the artist doesn't depict what was hoped for). I think most people expect artists to have preferences about what they wish to work on.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

I was unacquainted with the commissions system until I joined LJ, really. That is - I know that before photography, rich and influential people used to commission their portraits from painters, and I am familiar with classical patronage and such, but I wasn't aware there was something popular and similar in fandom :D. I still find it odd myself. For me, buying art is about going someplace where finished pictures are on display, and when you see one that you love very much, you ask the price, barter a bit, and buy it if you think you can't live without it. But to seek out an artist and ask them to make something specific for me - it had never crossed my mind, and now that I know about it, I think I still wouldn't do it :D. Not that there's anything wrong with it, mind; it's just -

Your commission was basically that: you saw a sketch and an idea that you liked; it was there already and you paid me to finish it. It's not the same as when you would have walked up to me and said, "I have such and such an idea in my head, would you please picture it for me?", which seems to be what most people expect to do. Basically what someone who commissions wants is their mental imaged transferred onto paper by someone else in apparently as accurate a way as possible. That's where I become slightly nervous, because I'm not sure I can live up to that.

I put in the "more interested in the style than in the subject / more interested in the subject than in the style" question because I had a sneaking suspicion that people who commission fanart care more about what's in the picture than about how it looks. Me, I'd be the opposite. If I am proud about anything when drawing, it is about how I depict something more than about what I depict - like my writing, actually :D. I'm also much more inclined to like/love/buy something because it's the work of a particular artist than because it depicts a specific subject that I happen to like, though a combination of both would of course be ideal :).

I'm probably too serious again, as usual; but the poll results do show that my basic attitude towards art is very different from that of most people who consider commissioning me, and I find that very interesting.