Opening Commission Threads

[Minami]

Hi Everyone

I thought I'll post this Commission Threads guidelines in the forum here, (instead of PMing it to everyone ) hope it'll help people a bit

On these forums we do Guild Wars related art, for in-game currency.

♦ The way it usually goes is the artist opens a commission thread in the Nolani Academy section of the forums. In the first post, the artist should first introduce himself, things like how long they've been doing art, what style, what programs/tools they work with, etc.

♦ Then they link pictures of their earlier works as examples, so potential commissioners can see what quality they can expect when they order from you.
These can be external links, or embedded pictures.
Please keep in mind, that some people's computer/internet might be slower, so if you want to include lots of pictures, please consider using the [ spoil] [ /spoil] (without the spaces) brackets to hide the .jpg's.

♦ After that, the artist usually post a list of requirements for the potential customer to fill out, this list depends on what the artist needs to complete the picture. Such lists include character screenshots (if you are not taking your own in-game), character name, age, eye color, weapons of choice, armor of choice, character pose, and character's background story.

♦ The artist then lays out the price list, which needs to be competitive, but also worthy of their art. A completely basic sketch might go for 5k, if the artist spends 10 minutes on it.
A full body, full color, background included picture can cost anywhere from 50k to ~160k or even more, depending on the quality of the art and how much time the artist spent on it. Only the artist can figure this out. Take a look at some other art commission threads, and try and fit your price in there.

♦ Some artists do a couple of character arts for free, if they feel like showing off their work Guild Wars style.

♦♦ The process of commissions go something like this:

♦ After receiving all necessary info and screenshots, the artist will make a sketch. He will then show the sketch (scaled down version from the original, usually) in a private message to the customer, to make sure they're satisfied with the pose and such.
If they are, the artist continues to work on the pic, usually sending one more private message with a link to the developing picture after they color blocked it. At this point, the customer can still say "no thanks" (the artists usually states this in their topic, that the color blocking is the point of no return).

♦ Then the artist completes the picture, and notifies the customer in a private message, plus sends him a scaled down and watermarked version of the final image, and arranges an in-game meet.

♦ Once in-game, the customer will pay the agreed price, and the artist will send the link to the full size, clean picture.
If you offer your art in physical form, you can agree with the customer on what they'd like and how. Personally, I haven't seen any of the digital arts being sent in physical form (CD, DVD, etc) to anyone, nor do customers ask for it. It's entirely your call whether you offer to send it or not.

♦ When you send over your artwork to the client, you can upload the full resolution one to tinypic, or even your DA (if you have one). Make sure that they're the first ones getting it. Don't put the finished work up on your DA 2 weeks before you give it to your buyer.

♦ Some artists like to post work in progress pictures in their thread, showing how they go step-by-step. Most artists on GWGuru do it this way, sometimes to make sure the buyer likes the direction the picture is going.
Signing your work is no problem. You can do whatever you like, it's a picture you create, after all.

♦ If you get several commission requests in a row, it's entirely up to you who's request you will take first, but do state in your thread who's art you're going to do.

♦ Your Commission thread may need to be approved by a moderator before it shows up in the forum. Please be patient, if you don't see your thread right away. Thanks

♦ One of the most important things to keep in mind is to be friendly to others. Remember, it's you who does the service, and it's you who needs the customers. Take constructive criticism for exactly what it is, not an attack on you or your art.

I hope this is helpful, and please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

Cheers,

Minami


♦ If you want to create Guild Wars art for real life money, please keep in mind that it is most likely illegal to do. In Nolani Academy, we don't do real money art trades.

[Unlucky Slayer]

Nice guide.

[` Marshmallow]

DO like :333 I wanna remake a thread to abuse the awesomeness of the open/closed option :C

Important rule :

DONT BE A irresponsiblesortofbutreallyisjustlazyartistMARSHMALLOW D:!

[Perynne]

Very nice guide, should be useful for any new artists looking to open up a commission thread.

[Tommy's]

Nice write up Minami. I would like to add though, something I might have read over, which speaks quite for itself, but still: This is not the only good way, its a guide. I think for example Blaz had a great auction going, doing one picture at the time for the highest bidder. But again, this speaks for itself

And perhabs you could add a second part aswell?..
''How to be a polite artcollector''.
Might be useful for some of the people what don't understand how artists pick their commissions and feel insulted (oh I still smell that flame of a year ago )


You are a great Nolani Helper Minami <3

[GeminiJuSa]

This would be worthy of a sticky, or so I think. Very good tip and guide.

And to you new to commission treads; When you've made a few commissions you will notice what you need to edit to make the commissioning suit your style and/or how to make your commissioning as smooth for you and your buyers as possible. The original entry can be edited along the way, so no fear.

[Aeronwen]

Really nice guide Minami and I hope it encourages more people to start up commission threads...

Originally Posted by Minami

♦ The artist then lays out the price list, which needs to be competitive, but also worthy of their art. A completely basic sketch might go for 5k, if the artist spends 10 minutes on it.
A full body, full color, background included picture can cost anywhere from 50k to ~160k or even more, depending on the quality of the art and how much time the artist spent on it. Only the artist can figure this out. Take a look at some other art commission threads, and try and fit your price in there.

Those prices rule me out every time, I suspect I am not the only person in GW that doesn't buy and sell stuff and therefore doesnt have oodles of gold. But 5k is what I make in game in about a day.

I love seeing the art in Nolani and I am glad there are rich people around to commission stuff, and also that there are artists who are sometimes prepared to compromise on what they charge.

[Verene]

A lot of artists will also allow partial payment in gold and also take other items for payment - if you're, say, working on a consumable title (drunkard, sweet tooth, party animal), or you need/want tomes, or you're trying to collect minis, feel free to list that in your post. I remember using an Elite Monk tome as partial payment for a commission. There was also a commission I wanted from Tzu, and I only had about half the actual gold for it, so I listed up all of the various alcohol and party items and I think a few dyes and she said that those would easily cover the rest.

(I wound up having to cancel it for other reasons - I wish now I hadn't because Tzu hasn't done commissions in ages, rather understandably, but we all know how awesome her art is)

But yeah, if you want to do that, feel free - it is after all your thread. Just be sure to, if you do decide to go the route of accepting items as payment (or partial payment) to list 1) how much of the total can be paid in items, 2) exactly what items it is you are looking for, and 3) how much you value them at.

[Death By An Arrow]

question from someone whom yet has a thread;
if you opened a thread in Nolani, and say you didn't initially want to make it comission-based. Would you be able to do that and then if you felt like doing comissions change your thread to comission-able? Or would that require a whole new thread. This also kind of links to a second and/or third question:

So if you were doing comissions; are you restricted to guild wars-based comissions or is it just comissions restricted to in-game currencies? I can see both being viable but a more specific answer would be helpful.

ANDDD third. If you were making just a general, non-comission art thread; does the art you post have to be GW Based? I.e. if you were working on a piece totally unrelated to guild wars, could you share progress pictures in your thread even though it has nothing to do with GW?

I thought I'd ask here because this could be helpful to other up-and-comers.

[Minami]

@DBA: 1.) If you create a thread where you let's say just share your progress pics and similar stuff first, you can always re-make it as your commission thread. However, you'll have to remake your entire first post to include all the information you need people to know when ordering a commish from you (see the pointers in the first post here).

2.) Since this is a Guild Wars board, I think the commission threads should stay within Guild Wars related art. If you are willing to do other game related commissions, I imagine you could mention it somewhere in your first post, then redirect people interested in that to your DA page or your own website if you have one.

3.) Yes, you can share progress pics in your own thread of whatever you are working on at the moment, whether it's Guild Wars related or not. Please do stay within the boundaries of the board ToS though

Hope this helps ^_^

P.S.: I'll work on a post addressed to new-coming buyers soon

[Death By An Arrow]

Alright, that helped clear some things up ^^ Thanks Minami
Commissions are guild wars commissions; personal thread can be anything within the terms of service.

By terms of service you mean guru in general; correct? Or is there a set of Nolani terms of which I don't seem capable of finding? I'm assuming the terms of service is just another way of saying dont spam your thread with completely unrelated stuff, and keeping the art appropriate (in the sense of like, it's not just a lot of really gorey, dark mutilation. Which would deffinatly not happen; im incapable of it. LOL)

[Minami]

BUYER'S GUIDE

Here is a little guide to those who would like to order a commission from one of the artists.
Please make sure to read the first post, while it's written to the artists, buyers might find answers to some of the questions they might have.

If you haven't found your answer after reading that, please continue here.

How to buy art in Nolani Academy

Please study the art commission threads opened by various artists here. There are many styles of art being offered, chances are, you'll find what you like.

Try to avoid opening your own thread and asking people to look through your requests and linked reference pictures, unless you cannot find the style you're looking for exactly, or you're planning to offer a big amount of in-game currency.

Do not ask people to compete for drawing your character. It's disrespectful, and most artists will feel like you're just shooting to get free character art for little money.*
*It's an entirely different matter, if you want to start a contest. Be prepared however, that most artists won't bother with it unless the prize is pretty big.

When you order art from someone, please read and pay close attention to their rules in their first posts. Provide the artist with info they ask for. This ensures that they can do the best job for your money.

Please PLEASE do not be impatient! Artists have queues set up to help them tackle the requests. If they don't get to your image first and ASAP even if you did post first in their thread with a request, don't be annoyed.
Artists need inspiration to start a work, and they might feel like drawing a pretty necro girl instead of your male warrior.

Sometimes artists stop drawing commission pictures for a while. This is not a 24/7 job for us, it's a hobby and something we like to do a lot.
If your request doesn't get completed for months, please do NOT flood the artist's thread (or their PM) with posts attacking them. It won't accomplish anything, except for your request being thrown out and a bad taste in the mouth.

Please be respectful of everyone here, just like how you'd like to be treated yourself.

If you have any special requests from the artist you wish to commission, please always feel free to ask them. It's a lot better to ask for something, than not saying anything. Communication goes a long way


That's all I can think of when I remember past issues, if I left something out, please let me know

Cheers ^_^

[Minami]

@DBA: I assumed the general GWGuru ToS.
I am not sure if there's a Nolani specific ToS.
Gore, mutilation, sexual acts, murder, and similar things are not allowed.
Artistic nudity, I'm not sure of. Maybe a higher-up mod can clarify it
I don't want to say something that's not right. ^_^

[Sierraa]

Originally Posted by Death By An Arrow

question from someone whom yet has a thread;
if you opened a thread in Nolani, and say you didn't initially want to make it comission-based. Would you be able to do that and then if you felt like doing comissions change your thread to comission-able? Or would that require a whole new thread. This also kind of links to a second and/or third question:

You should be able to change the prefix anytime you choose, if you're unable to change it contact any of the mods of Nolani and we can change it for you. :) Also Nolani rules are guru rules as of now we don't have anything specific.

Also lovely guide~ <3 Stickied. :] Keep up the good work. ^^

[Minami]

Thanks Sierraa ^_^

[Sierraa]

Originally Posted by Minami

@DBA: I assumed the general GWGuru ToS.
I am not sure if there's a Nolani specific ToS.
Gore, mutilation, sexual acts, murder, and similar things are not allowed.
Artistic nudity, I'm not sure of. Maybe a higher-up mod can clarify it
I don't want to say something that's not right. ^_^

Our rule is basically, if it's NSFW it needs to be a link instead of img tags.

[Snograt]

Something I've noticed - it's not unusual for a thread to start off as a commisions threads, then continue as an artist's showcase/WIP sorta thing.

Would you mind editing the prefix to (no prefix) in that case? Saves having a mess of "closed" all over the place.

You can always re-tag when you're ready to be re-committed

[Perilay Elkhorn]

The artist then lays out the price list, which needs to be competitive, but also worthy of their art. A completely basic sketch might go for 5k, if the artist spends 10 minutes on it.
A full body, full color, background included picture can cost anywhere from 50k to ~160k or even more, depending on the quality of the art and how much time the artist spent on it. Only the artist can figure this out. Take a look at some other art commission threads, and try and fit your price in there.


How is this not against the EULA?

[InfestedHydralisk]

@Perilay; noone is buying for real life money. It's against the EULA if you are actually doing art commissions if you are doing it for real money.

[Perilay Elkhorn]

Originally Posted by InfestedHydralisk

@Perilay; noone is buying for real life money. It's against the EULA if you are actually doing art commissions if you are doing it for real money.

That makes no sense. So I can commission a new deck on a players back yard for 1000 armbraces?