Receiving a commission that is underwhelming 4 4

[MIL0S]

I've never commissioned a full blown big money studio commission but have gotten many con sketches and they have always been a cra pshoot, even with an artist you love doing a character they're known for, but it was much easier rolling the dice when prices were more reasonable.  it's a lot easier writing off fifty bucks compared to the couple of hundred dollars now that many artists charge. My ratio was slightly better than 1:10 but I've had a lot of misses that have ended up on ebay.  Early on I also had several con sketches that were prepaid for and were promised to be completed by the end of the show that ended up dragging on for years, some people seem to be fine with that but I couldn't stand that.  I have many con sketches in my collection but most of them were purchased second hand where you see what you're getting.

Edited October 28, 2019 by MIL0S
to correct ridiculous censoring

[jjonahjameson11]

After reading all of the posts in this thread, I can only state that I am very happy that I switched my collecting focus from commissions to published pages.

[MagnusX]

31 minutes ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

After reading all of the posts in this thread, I can only state that I am very happy that I switched my collecting focus from commissions to published pages.

[fuggit]

I commissioned a very very expensive piece from a well-known, prolific artist. It turned out super ugly.

Luckily, the artist previewed it on his social media before I was contacted to come pick up the piece. 

I kindly messaged the artist and said I didn't like the way it turned out and since it was such a huge lump sum of money, I couldn't go through with the purchase. He understood. He tried to re-sell the commission on his FB page and I let him passive-aggressively bash me in the process to help him sell it. *liked comments from others that said things like "the original buyer's an insufficiently_thoughtful_person for passing on this!"*
 

2 months later... and it was still in his portfolio at SDCC unsold.

Edited October 29, 2019 by fuggit

[Will_K]

1 hour ago, fuggit said:

I kindly messaged the artist and said I didn't like the way it turned out and since it was such a huge lump sum of money, I couldn't go through with the purchase. He understood.

Does the artist now only take commissions if he's paid in full in advance ??

[Rick2you2]

2 hours ago, fuggit said:

I commissioned a $4k piece from a well-known, prolific artist. It turned out super ugly.

Luckily, the artist previewed it on his social media before I was contacted to come pick up the piece. 

I kindly messaged the artist and said I didn't like the way it turned out and since it was such a huge lump sum of money, I couldn't go through with the purchase. He understood. He tried to re-sell the commission on his FB page and I let him passive-aggressively bash me in the process to help him sell it. *liked comments from others that said things like "the original buyer's an insufficiently_thoughtful_person for passing on this!"*
 

2 months later... and it was still in his portfolio at SDCC unsold.

Why did you think it was super ugly? Did you approve preliminaries?  I ask this because if it were well done, but you didn’t like the way it was posed or it “just didn’t seem right”, and if I were the artist, I would be pissed off, too. Were you able to articulate specifics to him so that the artist didn’t think he was being hosed? I am a fan, not an artist, but I am still curious about the whole situation.

[grapeape]

29 minutes ago, Rick2you2 said:

Why did you think it was super ugly? Did you approve preliminaries?  I ask this because if it were well done, but you didn’t like the way it was posed or it “just didn’t seem right”, and if I were the artist, I would be pissed off, too. Were you able to articulate specifics to him so that the artist didn’t think he was being hosed? I am a fan, not an artist, but I am still curious about the whole situation.

The artist screwed up. Should have collected some earnest money up front. Fair point about “ugly”—-  specifically where did the artist go wrong?

Hey cheers 4 K is a lot of dough and somehow you managed to see the finished product without being on the hook financially.

[Rick2you2]

1 hour ago, grapeape said:

The artist screwed up. Should have collected some earnest money up front. Fair point about “ugly”—-  specifically where did the artist go wrong?

Hey cheers 4 K is a lot of dough and somehow you managed to see the finished product without being on the hook financially.

I don’t see that as an artist’s screw up at all. There are way too many stories of artists getting payment up front and then not performing. I don’t offer it, anymore, and would think hard about ever doing it again. I generally don’t get asked, either.

[grapeape]

41 minutes ago, Rick2you2 said:

I don’t see that as an artist’s screw up at all. There are way too many stories of artists getting payment up front and then not performing. I don’t offer it, anymore, and would think hard about ever doing it again. I generally don’t get asked, either.

Mostly kidding Rick—screw up in that most artists take money before the commission. Artists would waste a lot of time working in commissions and then asking for money after completing the work. People change their minds at the drop of a hat. 
in saying the artist screwed up I’m really telling the person who changed his mind on the four K piece got lucky.

it usually doesn’t work that way.

 

[Nexus]

Thanks @dichotomy and @jaykza, appreciate the shout-out!

My first real piece of OA was a commission. I haven't stopped getting them since. I've gotten some real winners, and I've gotten some total duds. That's the nature of the beast; anyone who doesn't understand that commissions are a krapp shoot should stick to published art. Yes, the losers are a total loss. But the winners more than make up for them. For me, anyway. A great commission can make me as happy, in its own way, as a great published piece.

I've collected across the commission spectrum, from simple sketches to high-end pieces. In that way, I've followed the lead of my buddy Lambert, who has gotten more sketches/commissions over the years than any other collector I know. But the one collector who probably inspires me the most when it comes to commissions is Jim Reid:

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerydetailsearch.asp?aty=2&gcat=5816

Go big or go home! Whether you know it or not, @jaykza, you're following Jim's formula. It's worked well for him, as you can see.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Nexus

[stinkininkin]

6 hours ago, fuggit said:

I commissioned a $4k piece from a well-known, prolific artist. It turned out super ugly.

Luckily, the artist previewed it on his social media before I was contacted to come pick up the piece. 

I kindly messaged the artist and said I didn't like the way it turned out and since it was such a huge lump sum of money, I couldn't go through with the purchase. He understood. He tried to re-sell the commission on his FB page and I let him passive-aggressively bash me in the process to help him sell it. *liked comments from others that said things like "the original buyer's an insufficiently_thoughtful_person for passing on this!"*
 

2 months later... and it was still in his portfolio at SDCC unsold.

Wow, unless the artist did something completely different than what the two of you agreed on, or did it in a style that in no way represents his usual fare, you should have paid him and chalked it up to a loss.  You stiffed him.  Completely uncool, and if I were him, I'd be furious.  I don't generally take any money upfront and have done HUNDREDS of commissions, and never been stiffed, but your post is my nightmare scenario.  Commissions are not a sure thing, that's the nature of the beast.  Doesn't matter if its 40 bucks or 4 thousand, unless the artist went completely off -script, you pay the artist upon completion.  Full stop.

[Nexus]

7 minutes ago, stinkininkin said:

Wow, unless the artist did something completely different than what the two of you agreed on, or did it in a style that in no way represents his usual fare, you should have paid him and chalked it up to a loss.  You stiffed him.  Completely uncool, and if I were him, I'd be furious.  I don't generally take any money upfront and have done HUNDREDS of commissions, and never been stiffed, but your post is my nightmare scenario.  Commissions are not a sure thing, that's the nature of the beast.  Doesn't matter if its 40 bucks or 4 thousand, unless the artist went completely off --script, you pay the artist upon completion.  Full stop.

Thank you, Scott. I was just about to post the same thing. Bad form.

[ESeffinga]

I had the same thought as well. And for what it's worth, the comic art collecting field isn't super big. When you narrow it down to artists that take, commissions and the collectors that commission artists, it's even smaller. Last thing I'd think anyone who hopes to get good commissions would want would be people knowing they stiff artists if they don't dig the results of their work. Word (and names) get around. Both for artists that are disreputable, and the collectors that are as well. Everyone talks.

As several have mentioned above, hiring a creative to do something creative can be a crapshoot. It's true that on occasion some guys phone it in. More often than not, it's either simply a mistmatch of artist and subject, or they just weren't as "on" as they sometimes can be, or inspiration just doesn't strike. I don't think it's totally inappropriate to let the artist know how you feel. Some artists will offer to do things in this instance. But at the same time, it is important to pay the bill. I certainly wouldn't start off with, "I'm not paying for this".

I'd never hire a chamber orchestra to ply my wedding, and then afterward say "Hey guys, normally you guys are amazing, but I just didn't care for how you played tonight, so yeah, I'm just not gonna pay you. Maybe one of the other guests liked you enough to give you some money for your work?"

If the artist showed up, did the work, and didn't disregard something you discussed or pull a "Faith is a Virue", then... yeah.
I get it. 4K is a lot to eat for something you don't care for the result of. Ultimately the market would punish said artist by folks not commissioning pieces for $4K that are a major shoot. Especially as more are seen. There are certainly artists I'd never commission, because I've seen as many bad as good ones. As with anything in the hobby, we do the research. But stiffing someone on a piece that they made at your request isn't cool.

 

[Rick2you2]

11 hours ago, fuggit said:

I commissioned a $4k piece from a well-known, prolific artist. It turned out super ugly.

Luckily, the artist previewed it on his social media before I was contacted to come pick up the piece. 

I kindly messaged the artist and said I didn't like the way it turned out and since it was such a huge lump sum of money, I couldn't go through with the purchase. He understood. He tried to re-sell the commission on his FB page and I let him passive-aggressively bash me in the process to help him sell it. *liked comments from others that said things like "the original buyer's an insufficiently_thoughtful_person for passing on this!"*
 

2 months later... and it was still in his portfolio at SDCC unsold.

I was wondering what the piece actually looked like. Can you post it?

[fuggit]

Lesson learned. 

Edited October 29, 2019 by fuggit

[Bronty]

Stiffing him and feeling bad about it doesn’t change anything.  You still stuffed him; the reason you feel bad about it was because in this instance you didn’t do the right thing and you know it.   

Dont get me wrong, it sucks when it doesn’t work out.   as I posted earlier I commissioned a piece for 7k and wish I had never done it as I will never look at the piece.   But I paid the guy prompt and in full.      

[JadeGiant]

I commissioned my first piece of art about 15 years ago and I still have the bug. I have received home-run commissions and some strikeouts. If you play the commission game, your results will vary. To further the baseball analogy ... my batting average on commissioned art is far greater than .300 so, in my eyes, my collection is HOF material. It’s the winners that keep me coming back, despite the lackluster pieces. Focus on the wall hangers, not the portfolio fodder. 

 

I think the question to ask yourself on a commission is whether or not the artist delivered on the parameters of the commission. If they did and you don’t like the piece, it is time to put it in the portfolio or move it into another collection. Each piece of art is unique and each perspective/appreciation of it is unique. 

Edited October 29, 2019 by JadeGiant

[JadeGiant]

15 hours ago, stinkininkin said:

Wow, unless the artist did something completely different than what the two of you agreed on, or did it in a style that in no way represents his usual fare, you should have paid him and chalked it up to a loss.  You stiffed him.  Completely uncool, and if I were him, I'd be furious.  I don't generally take any money upfront and have done HUNDREDS of commissions, and never been stiffed, but your post is my nightmare scenario.  Commissions are not a sure thing, that's the nature of the beast.  Doesn't matter if its 40 bucks or 4 thousand, unless the artist went completely off --script, you pay the artist upon completion.  Full stop.

100% 

[eewwnuk]

sometimes artists get it when they miss the mark.  I've done quite a bit of commissions and with the ones that are absolute duds, I do express disappointment.  I've had some artists proactively provide refunds hassle free, others that have gone ahead and have redone pieces for me and others that have made tweaks to pieces to make them better. 

[Rick2you2]

4 hours ago, fuggit said:

Lesson learned. 

Then follow it. Send him the money, and accept what he did. Also, he is probably owed an apology.

Bad behavior messes it up for others who may want a commission from him.