Opinions/Insights/Advice On When You Get a Commission and Your Reaction Is 'Meh'. 2 2

[Dr. Balls]

Dropped a pretty penny on an established artist commission, and while it's a fine illustration, done in his style, was incredibly on-time and clearly he put 100% effort into it: it just doesn't do much for me.

I will readily admit, I approved one of the two prelims - so it's definitely on me for not elaborating or asking for an adjustment. I totally take responsibility for how I feel about the work, because I could have probably said something. But, I didn't - and now I have a very 'meh' commission piece. I learned this lesson the hard way, and won't be making it again. I'm not going to mention the artist, because this issue is 100% on me.

But, back to the original question: do you have a piece that you're just not in love with that you got as a commission? Do you tuck it into a portfolio and not look at it? Do you try and sell it? Would love to hear different perspectives.

[JC25427N]

My thought is that every piece of art you keep should bring you some sort of happiness either through appreciation of the art itself or by some happy memory/experience that is attached to the art (or if you're of a certain inclination, by the monetary appreciation of the art). If the art doesn't do anything for you, I'd just ditch it. Try to sell it or trade it away. 

[KirbyCollector]

The for you may be wow to someone else, for a reason only he understands. I'd put it out there at cost and see what happens. Heck, you may have someone sitting on the artist's commission list who sees your piece as the faster way to check that box.

[cloud cloddie]

I have around 5 commissions that didn’t work for a variety of reasons. They’re in my miscellaneous itoya that I figure I’ll donate to a hero initiative auction at some point. Maybe someone else can appreciate them if I can’t. Or if I get super ornery as I age, I’ll just make a CAF folder for pieces that don’t work. 
So altruism or scorched earth. TBD. 

[Dr. Balls]

On 9/24/2023 at 6:37 PM, JC25427N said:

My thought is that every piece of art you keep should bring you some sort of happiness either through appreciation of the art itself or by some happy memory/experience that is attached to the art (or if you're of a certain inclination, by the monetary appreciation of the art). If the art doesn't do anything for you, I'd just ditch it. Try to sell it or trade it away. 

This is where I fall: almost all of my art is on my walls so I can appreciate it daily. Good advice from everyone here, and great outlooks - thanks to everyone for their insights so far.

[Unstoppablejayd]

I’m not a big commission guy for a few reasons.. 1 big reason is being disappointed with something I spend a punch of money on is not the experience I am looking for lol. Some people myself included just aren’t cut out for commissioning at least at high dollars. That being said I do dabble a bit and have had some turn out not to my liking. I’ve sold/traded some of them away as like people said above, just because it didn’t meet my expectations doesnt mean someone else won’t love it! 

[Will_K]

I've gotten my share of commissions and bad commission experiences.  One of the reasons for "meh" is that I think the artist is so great and the commission doesn't rise to expectations.  It's basically comparing a single piece to a lifetime's body of work.  It can't be done, even at an artist's peak.

If the actual commission process was smooth, it's possible that you haven't had enough time to appreciate the piece.  It might actually grow on you.

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Will_K

[grapeape]

On 9/24/2023 at 5:08 PM, Dr. Balls said:

Dropped a pretty penny on an established artist commission, and while it's a fine illustration, done in his style, was incredibly on-time and clearly he put 100% effort into it: it just doesn't do much for me.

I will readily admit, I approved one of the two prelims - so it's definitely on me for not elaborating or asking for an adjustment. I totally take responsibility for how I feel about the work, because I could have probably said something. But, I didn't - and now I have a very 'meh' commission piece. I learned this lesson the hard way, and won't be making it again. I'm not going to mention the artist, because this issue is 100% on me.

But, back to the original question: do you have a piece that you're just not in love with that you got as a commission? Do you tuck it into a portfolio and not look at it? Do you try and sell it? Would love to hear different perspectives.

I offer it to Two Brothers at 5x FMV. "Potential is there for a "like new" cover guys!" I tell them.

 

[Rick2you2]

On 9/24/2023 at 8:08 PM, Dr. Balls said:

Dropped a pretty penny on an established artist commission, and while it's a fine illustration, done in his style, was incredibly on-time and clearly he put 100% effort into it: it just doesn't do much for me.

I will readily admit, I approved one of the two prelims - so it's definitely on me for not elaborating or asking for an adjustment. I totally take responsibility for how I feel about the work, because I could have probably said something. But, I didn't - and now I have a very 'meh' commission piece. I learned this lesson the hard way, and won't be making it again. I'm not going to mention the artist, because this issue is 100% on me.

But, back to the original question: do you have a piece that you're just not in love with that you got as a commission? Do you tuck it into a portfolio and not look at it? Do you try and sell it? Would love to hear different perspectives.

I have one in particular that falls in that category. After a year after he did it, he fessed up and said he “never got” the character. Yeah, it showed.
I keep it in an Itoya, knowing full well that the lost money on resale would add insult to injury. Instead, I just pretty much ignore it beyond the experience of meeting the artist. Now, I’m just pickier about who I ask.

[kmiracleman]

I just had this happen to me; the artist's name rhymes with "Mrank Filler", and I paid a VERY high-dollar price for a pencil-and-ink full body sketch of a well-known rodent-based revenge character.  My written request was for that character as featured in a certain 4-issue miniseries that we all know and love.  The piece I got back....well...let's just say it's a bit of a letdown.  The detail on the face is just about zero and he looks a little more like a Transformer than the rodent-based revenge character I asked for.  It put me off any further commissions (not that I had that many to begin with) and I try not to let it affect my enjoyment of said artist/writer's DD and rodent-based revenge character work.  We live and we learn, Doctor Testicles.  Que sera, sera.

[Unstoppablejayd]

On 9/25/2023 at 6:18 PM, kmiracleman said:

I just had this happen to me; the artist's name rhymes with "Mrank Filler", and I paid a VERY high-dollar price for a pencil-and-ink full body sketch of a well-known rodent-based revenge character.  My written request was for that character as featured in a certain 4-issue miniseries that we all know and love.  The piece I got back....well...let's just say it's a bit of a letdown.  The detail on the face is just about zero and he looks a little more like a Transformer than the rodent-based revenge character I asked for.  It put me off any further commissions (not that I had that many to begin with) and I try not to let it affect my enjoyment of said artist/writer's DD and rodent-based revenge character work.  We live and we learn, Doctor Testicles.  Que sera, sera.

I’m sorry to hear this… one thing I do do when I decide to take the commission plunge is look at as many examples as can that are recent for the artist.. and if I’m guessing your artist I haven’t seen something I would want from him in quite some time.  

[Brian Peck]

I tend to be very selective in my commissions doing alot of research before requesting a commission. I have never gotten a commission (at home) I have gotten a couple where they didn't blow me away but like the finished product. One where I didn't realize the artist's style had changed from when I collected his artwork so it looks different from what I envisioned but I still enjoy it.

It's con drawing where I have gotten a couple where the final product was a let down, its with older artists. The con drawings I didn't pay much for so doesn't really bother me. I have so many more commissions that have blown me away so the one that were not as strong do not bother me at all.

[Math Teacher]

On 9/24/2023 at 7:08 PM, Dr. Balls said:

But, back to the original question: do you have a piece that you're just not in love with that you got as a commission? Do you tuck it into a portfolio and not look at it? Do you try and sell it? Would love to hear different perspectives.

First off, I would like to say that I am sorry that you don't find the commission satisfying.

As for me, I had Steve Rude do a cover recreation based on Tales of Suspense #80, which is pictured below.

His recreation had very little debris flying around. Also, he did a photocopy of the logo of the book (understandable), but he put an additional CCA stamp on the artwork. I was very disappointed with the piece. I kept it for a while, but I finally said, "Phooey." I sold it for 50% of what I paid for it on Ebay.

I have had many other commissions done by other artists: Metal Men #1 by Mike Esposito, Flash #117 by Joe Giella, Brave and the Bold #66 by Ramona Fradon, Spectre #1 by Tom Mandrake, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 by Pat Olliffe, Justice League of America #4 by Jerry Ordway, Showcase #55 and Amazing Spider-Man #16 by Tom Cook, X-Men #4 by Bruce McCorkindale, Tales of Suspense #49 by Bob Layton, and Avengers #7 by Giorgio Comolo. I have been happy with all of them, except the Steve Rude piece.

If you would like to see all of my original artwork, go here: Math Teacher's Original Artwork.

[Buzzetta]

Personally I stay away from commissions for this very reason.

The only pieces I have ever commissioned came from Larry Hama.  I was always pleased with every GI Joe piece he did and at the price point when I would pick them up $20-40 who wouldn't be?  Outside of that, I had Scott Hana, Jeremy Haun, and George Perez do some of that art thang on a blank comic cover to be graded by CGC. 

Every other sketch I have ever picked up was through an auction site or on a sketch cover graded by CGC over eBay.  What I have noticed when it came to the sketch covers is that they usually go for less than the cost of the commission + grading fees.  The sellers are usually selling them at a loss. The same has held true with a flat out commission.  A Buzz Transformers piece and a Tony Daniel Joker piece found their way into my possession for a cheaper price than the original sellers paid the artist to commission them. 

After that, I usually do not pick any commission pieces up for this very reason.  They usually tend to be worth less than the original commission price. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Buzzetta

[Rick2you2]

On 9/25/2023 at 8:17 PM, Math Teacher said:

First off, I would like to say that I am sorry that you don't find the commission satisfying.

As for me, I had Steve Rude do a cover recreation based on Tales of Suspense #80, which is pictured below.

His recreation had very little debris flying around. Also, he did a photocopy of the logo of the book (understandable), but he put an additional CCA stamp on the artwork. I was very disappointed with the piece. I kept it for a while, but I finally said, "Phooey." I sold it for 50% of what I paid for it on Ebay.

I have had many other commissions done by other artists: Metal Men #1 by Mike Esposito, Flash #117 by Joe Giella, Brave and the Bold #66 by Ramona Fradon, Spectre #1 by Tom Mandrake, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 by Pat Olliffe, Justice League of America #4 by Jerry Ordway, Showcase #55 and Amazing Spider-Man #16 by Tom Cook, X-Men #4 by Bruce McCorkindale, Tales of Suspense #49 by Bob Layton, and Avengers #7 by Giorgio Comolo. I have been happy with all of them, except the Steve Rude piece.

If you would like to see all of my original artwork, go here: Math Teacher's Original Artwork.

Not the right artist for that recreation. The styles aren’t comparable. The original is pretty busy; I think you would have been happier with an artist who does very detailed work.

[barneythecantankerous]

Lots, but how I've handled it depends on the piece. Some have just grown on me with time. Others I'm aware they were a unique opportunity, so I'll make do. But the rest are in my junk pile portfolio of stuff that's ready to go to auction.

Unless you're in need of that money back I would hold onto it for a bit, as you might feel differently in a couple of months.

[alxjhnsn]

Per my CAF Dashboard, I have:
30.9% con sketches
29.9% commissions

Of my true commissions, only one was less than I hoped and I take full credit for that. I should have let the artist do his thing. Sigh... That said, it's very nice and I have no urge to hide it or sell it.

For the rest, I've been very lucky.

Yes, I agree. Commissions lose 50% of their value when you receive them. Some might gain value, but most won't. However, I don't mind. I like the images and the interaction with the artist. I also limit my spend to my "play money," e.g., from selling my comics, so my risk tolerance is high.

Here are a few that I've commissioned (L->R, T->B: Various, Cardy, Colan, Heath, Kubert, Fradon, Swan):

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by alxjhnsn

[paqart]

I don't understand commissions at all. I recently did a story for an anthology published by Graham Nolan. At one point, he asked all the artists if we'd be doing commissions. I couldn't imagine why, so I said no. A few others, including Graham, did them. 

There a few reasons I'm not interested in making them as an artist, nor in buying them as a collector.

As an artist:

1. I don't like working with non-professional clients. Some might be wonderful to deal with, but I've run into so many that are unreasonable that I won't take the risk.
2. Outside of the natural context for comic book art, the "story" behind a commission tends to be uninteresting. An exception to this are cover recreations.
3. If it comes out well, hardly anyone will see it. If not, the collector will be annoyed with himself or me, or both.

As a collector:

1. They lose value immediately
2. They weren't published, so no one will have seen the image
3. Outside a comic book, the art almost always lacks vitality
4. The tendency is to pose a character either without an environment, or in an environment that doesn't make sense.

[Buzzetta]

On 10/22/2023 at 6:58 PM, paqart said:

I don't understand commissions at all. I recently did a story for an anthology published by Graham Nolan. At one point, he asked all the artists if we'd be doing commissions. I couldn't imagine why, so I said no. A few others, including Graham, did them. 

There a few reasons I'm not interested in making them as an artist, nor in buying them as a collector.

As an artist:

1. I don't like working with non-professional clients. Some might be wonderful to deal with, but I've run into so many that are unreasonable that I won't take the risk.
2. Outside of the natural context for comic book art, the "story" behind a commission tends to be uninteresting. An exception to this are cover recreations.
3. If it comes out well, hardly anyone will see it. If not, the collector will be annoyed with himself or me, or both.

As a collector:

1. They lose value immediately
2. They weren't published, so no one will have seen the image
3. Outside a comic book, the art almost always lacks vitality
4. The tendency is to pose a character either without an environment, or in an environment that doesn't make sense.

I should clarify as there are certain pieces that CAN increase in value over time. 

Certain commissions DO increase value and / or are VERY valuable to the buyer.  As I mentioned, I usually do not purchase commissions but there are a few that I have worked with over the years or picked up from sketch or signature opportunities. 

The one I wanted to show, was one from John Romita Sr.   Unfortunately, I do not have a scan of the book as it was not graded by CGC but it is of Spider-man with the half Peter Parker and the half Spider-man face.  At this point in my collecting years, I cannot see myself purchasing original published art by Romita Sr, so this was the next best thing was a sample of work from the artist I consider the best in the ASM run.   I paid $100 for it at the time.  Today that is worth more than I paid. 

This commission is from Allen Bellman.  I will never find, let alone own a piece of Golden Age Captain America art, so to get a commission of Captain America by an artist that actually worked on the character during that Golden Age run was quite an attractive find.  This was another sketch that I picked up for around $100.  Going by recent eBay sales, they are now selling for 3-4x that amount especially as Bellman is no longer with us. 

Other sketches I have had done are mostly from Larry Hama.  As a GI Joe aficionado, many GI Joe collectors have asked Hama to sketch characters, not so much because of Larry Hama, "the artist, but because Larry Hama is the Godfather of GI Joe and basically the creator of GI Joe: A Real American Hero.  As he wrote, and sometimes drew, and actually created the backstory for the many of the toys themselves, fans of the toy line AND the comics have sought out Hama's sketch work.  I own several.  Hama used to charge $25-$40 a sketch at NYCC up until a few years ago.   Now he is asking for much more and does not really travel as much.  His sketches of Snake Eyes are currently going for a couple of hundred.  

Edited October 22, 2023 by Buzzetta

[paqart]

On 10/22/2023 at 7:22 PM, Buzzetta said:

I should clarify as there are certain pieces that CAN increase in value over time. 

Certain commissions DO increase value and / or are VERY valuable to the buyer.  As I mentioned, I usually do not purchase commissions but there are a few that I have worked with over the years or picked up from sketch or signature opportunities. 

The one I wanted to show, was one from John Romita Sr.   Unfortunately, I do not have a scan of the book as it was not graded by CGC but it is of Spider-man with the half Peter Parker and the half Spider-man face.  At this point in my collecting years, I cannot see myself purchasing original published art by Romita Sr, so this was the next best thing was a sample of work from the artist I consider the best in the ASM run.   I paid $100 for it at the time.  Today that is worth more than I paid. 

This commission is from Allen Bellman.  I will never find, let alone own a piece of Golden Age Captain America art, so to get a commission of Captain America by an artist that actually worked on the character during that Golden Age run was quite an attractive find.  This was another sketch that I picked up for around $100.  Going by recent eBay sales, they are now selling for 3-4x that amount especially as Bellman is no longer with us. 

Other sketches I have had done are mostly from Larry Hama.  As a GI Joe aficionado, many GI Joe collectors have asked Hama to sketch characters, not so much because of Larry Hama, "the artist, but because Larry Hama is the Godfather of GI Joe and basically the creator of GI Joe: A Real American Hero.  As he wrote, and sometimes drew, and actually created the backstory for the many of the toys themselves, fans of the toy line AND the comics have sought out Hama's sketch work.  I own several.  Hama used to charge $25-$40 a sketch at NYCC up until a few years ago.   Now he is asking for much more and does not really travel as much.  His sketches of Snake Eyes are currently going for a couple of hundred.  

 

Here is something that might have gone up in value, but it isn't a "commission" in the sense that other items in this thread are commissions. At the time, I was an art director at Universal Studios. For a project based on Universal horror movie characters, I hired Bernie Wrightson to make some character designs and a production sketch of Dracula's living room. The idea was that if we liked the results, we'd hire him to design the rest of the project. The cost for this 16" x 20" watercolor on board and three 8" x 10" character studies was $5,000. 
My boss didn't like the character sketches. "You can do better" he said (I agreed).

This watercolor was fine, but for $5k, my boss felt it was over-priced. Right now, it is probably sitting in a box somewhere in one of Universal's many vaults.

My guess is that it is worth about $5k or maybe a little more. The character designs, not much.