Receiving a commission that is underwhelming 4 4

[cloud cloddie]

I’m lucky to really only have one commission I’m not in love with. Not really the artists fault. He sent a pencil prelim, I okayed it. But there was a particular feature once inked that just bugs me. Really just a personal quirk on my end probably. I paid, said thanks, and later got another commission done by him. Love the second one. 

I figure they can’t all be home runs. 

[eewwnuk]

Thats the gamble with commissions.  Some work, some dont.   Ive had a mixed bag with expressing disappointment with these.  Sometimes an artist will do the right thing and tweak it or redo it.  Other times they just ignore it.  Either way imo no harm in telling them that u werent thrilled - its not like you will commission them again anyway.  

[grapeape]

47 minutes ago, dichotomy said:

I have a lot of feels about this topic. I love pursuing commissions and I put a lot of time and effort into them. But...

1. I can't draw at all. My artistic ability makes Tom King's sketches look like Frank Quitely work. So I have GREAT admiration for anyone who creates for a living. I approach every artist with this mindset. I do not bargain (and I greatly appreciate when the prices are clearly posted for all to see, whether on a website or a convention table). I do a lot of research, and I look at a lot of past work when I have the option. 

2. I do not art direct. If we are having a conversation and an idea comes up organically that is different, but if it's over email or over a con table, I try to have a brief conversation to make sure our ideals are aligned and that there is, silly as it sounds, a 'good vibe'. The one time I ignored this feeling is the one time I got a commission not to my taste that I know I could have avoided. Similarly, I always try to have some CHOICES for the artist. I understand for some people the whole point is to get a certain character from a certain artist, and there is nothing wrong with that, but again, make sure it is a realistic ask. Challenge the artist in a good way, to see something in a new light. I can't even fathom the process by which an artist begins to form an image in their mind and then on paper - hokey as it may sound I try to make sure that the origin of that idea is something that flows well with the artist and works with THEIR process. 

3. Not to beat a dead horse, but I will once again put @nexus up on a pedestal as the NEED and BENEFIT of a good rep. He mentioned in one of his podcasts that one of this jobs is to vet commissions. A fresh pair of eyes NEVER hurts a busy artist. Surely no artist worth their salt wants a bad representation of their work splashed around social media. A rep has a vested interest in making sure their clients are well represented AND that their customers are satisfied. And I've said this before, a good rep at a convention helps keep the work flow organized, makes sure the artist doesn't take on more than they can handle, and ensures there is a consistent level of work for price (to address the issue of a $700 commission vs a $100 sketch cover). Again, not all artists are fortunate enough to have good representation, and some artist do extremely well by themselves - but for all the complaints on this board, there's a rep for that. 

4. If you get a commission that you don't absolutely love, you say thank you very much, pay the agreed upon amount, and leave. Come back to the commission later, spend some time with it. It may grow on you. And you may stick it in a portfolio and never look at it again. This is the hobby, the thrill and the disappointment of being a patron. 

5. Naming is something that should be reserved for serial, confirmed offenders. All anyone in this hobby has is their reputation. 

Happy collecting! I currently have 7 commissions out in the wild growing at various stages. 

My convention sketches (https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerydetailsearch.asp?gcat=108264&ATy=8&pm=1&pi=18&order=Date) and commissions (https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerydetailsearch.asp?aty=2&gcat=108264). There are a couple that are second-hand. To date I have only received 1 (out of roughly 25) that I have not posted and just got rid of. Everything else went up as a representation of the artist's work. They may not all be auction busters, but they're mine dammit!

Very thoughtful post and a delight to absorb. Thank you 

[grapeape]

1 hour ago, Grendel72 said:

If you are gonna "out" him in the commission thread, then do you think you should first contact the artist and tell him/her your concerns and see if he does right by you I.e., redo the commission or partial refund etc. You could post the response by the artist if you want. For all we know the artist may believe it was a good commission. 

Honestly I would reserve posts for thief artists that refuse to deliver art that’s paid for.

Its probably counterproductive to create a space for torching art work we loathe.

like you say artists usually hope we like what they create. As in life turning out sub par work should stop collectors from buying. Maybe the artists get the message and do better.

[grapeape]

48 minutes ago, Bronty said:

I’ve had three commissions done so far.    One was 700, one was 1600, one was 7k.

The $1600 job was professional and well done and I feel I got exactly what I paid for and was happy with the result.    The $700 job, the artist went above and beyond and just nailed exactly what I wanted.    The $7k job didn’t turn out the way I wanted.   He put in the work and he tried to listen to what I wanted but in the end it was a swing and a miss.   

You never know what you’re going to get and if they did the work, you take the bad with the good.

Great examples! It is Telling that 7 K produced the least satisfactory result for you. There’s a lesson in there.

 

[thethedew]

I have a lot of strong commissions in my collection, mostly due to the fact that Micronauts aren't often requested, and lots of artists groove on doing characters that they haven't been asked to draw a bazillion times.  You can thumb through my CAF gallery to see for yourself.

That said, commissions, especially convention commissions, are always going to be a bit of a risk.  Lots of factors can be at play.  The amount of distractions, the amount of the fee, the skill, and the degree of interest in the subject matter all figure.

My most disappointing commission piece is by an old Micronauts artist (whose last name rhymes with... ahh... 'bacon') who delivered a subpar effort, IMO.  Considering his background with the property, I'd expected something stronger and more confident.  In his defense, I'm certain he wasn't particularly interested in drawing the character at that time, and he insisted on only accepting $35 for the effort, IIRC.

SO, maybe a little apples/oranges to the OP's point.  It's easier to be content with a $35 effort from a legend, and file it away.

[Rick2you2]

12 hours ago, Bronty said:

I’ve had three commissions done so far.    One was 700, one was 1600, one was 7k.

The $1600 job was professional and well done and I feel I got exactly what I paid for and was happy with the result.    The $700 job, the artist went above and beyond and just nailed exactly what I wanted.    The $7k job didn’t turn out the way I wanted.   He put in the work and he tried to listen to what I wanted but in the end it was a swing and a miss.   

You never know what you’re going to get and if they did the work, you take the bad with the good.

Did the artist know the character, or have a portfolio of character experience which was similar?

At $7k, I guess it wasn’t by Jim Lee.

 

Edited October 27, 2019 by Rick2you2

[exitmusicblue]

This is why I don't mind time to time purchasing commissions commissioned by others.

It must feel almost like a jackpot to request and then receive "the perfect" commission.

[AnkurJ]

Happens all the time. Sadly they can’t all be home runs. But with prices continuing to rise its a risk. For those I’m not happy with, I usually list them for sale on CAF/EBay. I had a few duds at Nycc this year. One wasn’t cheap and was an artist I had been trying to get for years.

[vodou]

I'm like 1:10 on commissions, early in my collecting days...and then I just stopped and never looked back. Awful experiences by just about everybody (thus no need to name specific names, also ancient history anyway) "on the scene" in the late 90s to early oughts in the $50-$1,000 range then (which was a whole lotta money back then -as around the same time I bought two different Kirby 1970s Cap splashes and a 2001 cover for $1,000 each!) The horror stories that followed in the years since, waiting years and sometimes forever to get what you paid for, along with what I already knew -1:10 win record, has only more deeply entrenched my position: I'd rather buy what I can already see than roll the dice on not only quality but even fulfillment. Eff that. But I applaud those that continue to march on in spite of this...it does help those artists that aren't already making six figures annually to put food on the table; we all know what those days were like, even if it's no longer the zip code we live in.

My very last commission...a monster success (basically the "1" in "10"), I may just post that in the "other" commission thread currently active. Will have to edit it a bit though first for all ages CGC viewing

Life lesson applied:

 

[PhilipB2k17]

14 hours ago, Bronty said:

I’ve had three commissions done so far.    One was 700, one was 1600, one was 7k.

The $1600 job was professional and well done and I feel I got exactly what I paid for and was happy with the result.    The $700 job, the artist went above and beyond and just nailed exactly what I wanted.    The $7k job didn’t turn out the way I wanted.   He put in the work and he tried to listen to what I wanted but in the end it was a swing and a miss.   

You never know what you’re going to get and if they did the work, you take the bad with the good.

At $7K - I’d feel entitled to do some art direction and seeing preliminaries. 

[cstojano]

33 minutes ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

At $7K - I’d feel entitled to do some art direction and seeing preliminaries. 

I am very curious what a 7k commission looks like. I have never done a commission but am working toward getting one setup in this range, but that is a fully painted piece. And yes the rep is detailing the process which involves prelims, etc. The joy of the process is one of the things the rep is actually pitching as part of the experience. And while surely a sales pitch it does make some sense. 

Edited October 27, 2019 by cstojano

[dichotomy]

13 hours ago, grapeape said:

Very thoughtful post and a delight to absorb. Thank you 

Thanks. My wife asked me why I was going downstairs and I told her that I have to get the laptop - I don’t want to write this post on a phone. 

[dichotomy]

4 hours ago, exitmusicblue said:

This is why I don't mind time to time purchasing commissions commissioned by others.

It must feel almost like a jackpot to request and then receive "the perfect" commission.

It does! 
 

Tim Sale - Hulk giving my daughter a flower 

Tony Moore - Deadpool and my daughter (all Tony)

Jae Lee - great guy. (Patience, young padawan)

Humberto Ramos! - I watched him craft this and it all comes together in the finish - absolutely incredible. 
 

Neal Adams - All Neal. Commissioned on a Friday and picked up on Sunday. Neal and his wife were awesome, and I think they were really having fun with it too. I think my jaw was on the floor when I picked it up. 
 

And all of these quite pricey commissions mean absolutely nothing to anyone else, and I look at them every day and enjoy them on the walls of my home. It’s a great! feeling. 

[exitmusicblue]

8 minutes ago, dichotomy said:

It does! 
 

Tim Sale - Hulk giving my daughter a flower 

Tony Moore - Deadpool and my daughter (all Tony)

Jae Lee - great guy. (Patience, young padawan)

Humberto Ramos! - I watched him craft this and it all comes together in the finish - absolutely incredible. 
 

Neal Adams - All Neal. Commissioned on a Friday and picked up on Sunday. Neal and his wife were awesome, and I think they were really having fun with it too. I think my jaw was on the floor when I picked it up. 
 

And all of these quite pricey commissions mean absolutely nothing to anyone else, and I look at them every day and enjoy them on the walls of my home. It’s a great! feeling. 

Great art always means something to someone else.  : )  Rock on!

[Bronty]

41 minutes ago, cstojano said:

I am very curious what a 7k commission looks like. I have never done a commission but am working toward getting one setup in this range, but that is a fully painted piece. And yes the rep is detailing the process which involves prelims, etc. The joy of the process is one of the things the rep is actually pitching as part of the experience. And while surely a sales pitch it does make some sense. 

Mine was a large painted piece also, with prelims, etc.  Just didn't work out.

[newshane]

56 minutes ago, dichotomy said:

It does! 
 

Tim Sale - Hulk giving my daughter a flower 

 

Well, your Tim Sale commission turned out light years better than mine. 

I'll leave it at that. 

[dichotomy]

55 minutes ago, newshane said:

Well, your Tim Sale commission turned out light years better than mine. 

I'll leave it at that. 

Very sorry to hear it. 

[timguerrero]

2 hours ago, dichotomy said:

Very sorry to hear it. 

I had one commission experience were I had to sit a complete day behind the artist in order for him to finish the commission. He was tired of working on it and at the end he made a terrible mistake with a color he applied. Needless to say I stopped doing commissions since that day. I have only gotten one more since then and it was a nice one that I really liked.

[jaykza]

Really enjoying this discussion and feel @dichotomy made some great points. I've gotten 4 commissions thus far with 3 that I am currently waiting on. I try to be selective with who I commission coming from the perspective that I basically wouldn't mind anything from this artist because I like their work so much. Usually, a fair amount of thought goes into the subject and whether or not it would fit well with the artist's style. Finally, I try to make sure they are at home commissions and pay the maximum for characters/size/etc. and give them a general topic or phrase to work their magic. At this point, whatever I get is whatever I get and usually if I've made a good choice in artist and subject, I'm blown away. Obviously, the more pieces I commission, the higher the likelihood of a dud, but that's what commissions are. The only way to get what you expect is to see it before you buy, which means pre-made published/unpublished pieces. If your risk tolerance is low, you should probably stay away from commissions. If you're getting a lot of duds, you should probably be more selective in who you commission. I think it's bad form to bash or jack an artist because the work didn't meet your expectations. I also don't believe in directing too much, if at all. I'm commissioning them for their artistic skill and creativity. Might as well get my money's worth in that regard. 

A point to note is that all my commissions, save one I am awaiting, have been through @Nexus and his crew. He posts all the work and you get a pretty good idea of what you're going to get. Has yet to disappoint me in the slightest.