I'm starting to hate commissions 1 1

[alxjhnsn]

For what it's worth, this isn't uncommon or recent.

I own a painted piece by Sheldon Moldoff done in his later years. He would draw a piece, lightbox ink it, and paint it. Each piece was painted differently. If you click on the image below, it will take you to my CAF where you can see the others.

My favorite piece was listed in the Heritage Auction as having been published in Eddy Zeno's Swan biography. It wasn't. Curt did this drawing at least twice. 

Mine                        From the Zeno book

Very similar, but not the same.

I have no issues with my pieces having siblings, but it is much better to know that going into the deal.

[Will_K]

5 hours ago, Michaeld said:

If you buy a piece that was drawn by the artist without having been requested by anyone (including yourself) and wasn't published anywhere what do you call that? What did you just buy? I ask because in my CAF gallery under "Art Type" I'm given 24 options and none of them adequately defines this type of purchase. I thought maybe pin-up but I'm assuming that applies to a piece that was published.

I have a CAF gallery called "Various good stuff" that has prelims and random pieces that artists had in their portfolios.  Under "Art Type", I usually put "Prelim" or "Other". 

And yes, I'm fairly certain some of the images were repeated over and over.  For example, the 50's Bat-family by Sheldon Moldoff (Shelley), not a commission.  I think when I got my Sgt Rock by Russ Heath, he may have had multiples and I picked the one I liked best.  Also, Nick Cardy repeated a lot images several times.  In some of his later pieces, he actually numbered them (i.e. "1 of 3", "2 of 3", "3 of 3").  I love Nick's art and I wasn't afraid to buy some of those from him.

There's a relatively well known artist who sold drawings that seem to be mannequins with different costumes rendered.  I was at a convention and requested a Black Canary.  After I picked up mine, I later spotted a guy with a Black Canary that was just a mirror image of mine.  I told him I liked mine better and he said the same. 

[Sideshow Bob]

28 minutes ago, Will_K said:

I have a CAF gallery called "Various good stuff" that has prelims and random pieces that artists had in their portfolios.  Under "Art Type", I usually put "Prelim" or "Other". 

And yes, I'm fairly certain some of the images were repeated over and over.  For example, the 50's Bat-family by Sheldon Moldoff (Shelley), not a commission.  I think when I got my Sgt Rock by Russ Heath, he may have had multiples and I picked the one I liked best.  Also, Nick Cardy repeated a lot images several times.  In some of his later pieces, he actually numbered them (i.e. "1 of 3", "2 of 3", "3 of 3").  I love Nick's art and I wasn't afraid to buy some of those from him.

There's a relatively well known artist who sold drawings that seem to be mannequins with different costumes rendered.  I was at a convention and requested a Black Canary.  After I picked up mine, I later spotted a guy with a Black Canary that was just a mirror image of mine.  I told him I liked mine better and he said the same. 

Nick Cardy Aquaman from 2004. 1 of 3 (mine) and 3 of 3 from CAF (Adam Beechen). Totally OK with either!  

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Sideshow Bob

[stinkininkin]

Well, for what it's worth, it would never occur to me to reuse shots and layouts so exactly.  Where's the fun in that?  The only exception might be in exact cover recreations where by definition repetition is required 

[▫️]

16 hours ago, Michaeld said:

If I ask an artist to draw something specific and I buy it when it is completed that is a commission. If you buy a piece that was drawn by the artist without having been requested by anyone (including yourself) and wasn't published anywhere what do you call that? What did you just buy? I ask because in my CAF gallery under "Art Type" I'm given 24 options and none of them adequately defines this type of purchase. I thought maybe pin-up but I'm assuming that applies to a piece that was published.

I think there are some artists that entertain detailed descriptions and welcome it like Sanjulian or Mike Mayhew and then there are some I wouldn’t give any detail other than the character name.  I asked for Ronin from Frank Miller and the Jungle Queen from Sam Kieth.  Nothing more than the names and absolutely loved what they produced.  For those two only, I wanted to be surprised with something original. I still consider them commissions because I commissioned them to produce art for me.

[jeffrey harnett]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 3:45 AM, Grails said:

I think there are some artists that entertain detailed descriptions and welcome it like Sanjulian or Mike Mayhew and then there are some I wouldn’t give any detail other than the character name.  I asked for Ronin from Frank Miller and the Jungle Queen from Sam Kieth.  Nothing more than the names and absolutely loved what they produced.  For those two only, I wanted to be surprised with something original. I still consider them commissions because I commissioned them to produce art for me.

 

[jeffrey harnett]

I understand that most original art is more prestigious and singular in nature. However, commissions I feel will always have a secure place in our hobby.

First, if you can obtain a "good " commission from a prominent artist, chance are it will cost much less then a published piece of any quality from same artist. Many collectors are priced out of the published art market due to pricing.

Secondly, if you get a " quality " commission it can be better then many published pages. It can range from a team commission ( Colan/Palmer, Rogers/Austin ) and even some re-creations ( from the original artist ) that sell for good prices due to the fact that you will never own the original.

Third, you may be able to get the artist to do a " unique " piece for you that he will not re-produce in the future.

I am only speaking of Quality commissions that I see sell very well on auctions and from dealers.

It is really up to the collector to try to make their illustration special with the artist they are dealing with. Some artists as well will only do a couple of the same piece making it rather rare in nature. I do understand that many re-create the same ones over and over. Again, the buyer like in published art has to do their homework.