Considering a commission

[RaccoonRaccoon]

I am thinking about commissioning an artist to do an oil painting, exactly recreating an Amazing Spider-Man cover. This artist is NOT a former or current comic book artist, nor is he famous or popular in anyway. However, based on examples of his work (other cover recreations), he seems to have talent. If the artist agrees to do this commission it will cost me a fair amount, probably $400 - $1000, not sure yet since $$$ has not been discussed. The artist first needs tell me if he thinks he can do the cover.

 

Do you guys think it is worth getting this done considering the artist is a complete unknown?

 

Should I just keep my $$$ and look for published stuff that I already do collect?

 

If for some reason I need to sell this painting (not my intentions but you never know), will it have any real value to someone who collects OA?

 

While this is “original art”, there is nothing stopping the artist from creating another one if someone asks. Should this matter to me?

 

Any thoughts will be appreciated!

)

[Hart1000]

My 2 cents...keep the cash and buy published pages that you have you eye on.

 

As for the painting...if you do decide to sell it later on...the value would be less than what you purchased for...unless this artist becomes the next Alex Ross or equivilent.

 

Personally, I dislike it when I commission an artist with a concept of my own...only to see it duplicated for another collector. I prefer the artist do something similar...not a 100% copy of my illustration.

 

Cheers RR!

 

-Hart

[Kevin76]

I'll only buy published stuff myself...If I have an idea for a piece of artwork that I think would be really cool, I'd just draw it myself and save some $$.Besides, I've heard too many horror stories with commissions but i've seen some really good ones as well.

[Artemaria]

This is a great question, because there is some unbelievable commissioned stuff out there. However, most of it was done by really well established artists.

 

From the little I know --- emphasis on "little" --- it seems like a commission generally will not hold its value as well as the actual published work. For example, I saw a Marshall Rogers Detective cover recreation go for $725 on eBay, while the actual cover might get $5K or more (if you can find it). Also, there's a Kirby classic cover recreation by Kirby himself, with an asking of less than a third of what I think the actual cover would start at -- and there's no bids!

 

So, if you are considering in any way, the appreciation of the value of the item, then you really have to focus on published pages. If you are thinking about something nice for your wall and you can get away with $400 to $600, I would take a chance. Why not? But don't count on that money being there if you have to sell it, especially from an unknown.

 

Best of luck either way!

[justin]

If the commission is done by someone who isn't well known, then I would only buy the piece if it is for my personal collection and I wouldn't care if it appreciates in value or not.

[grandz-migration]

If the commission is done by someone who isn't well known, then I would only buy the piece if it is for my personal collection and I wouldn't care if it appreciates in value or not.

 

Agree. This is the best way to look at the commission you are thinking about.

 

[Artemaria]

I don't think I am in disagreement with any of the other posts.

 

Art is one of the most subjective things in the world (along with religion and politics).

 

If you like it and it makes you happy - that's all the value it needs to have.

 

But, if you are in a situation where you might need that $400 to $1000 (and most of us hope not to be in that situation), from what I've seen, it just seems more likely that a published page will recover the investment.

 

However, one is always surprised on eBay. I've seen pages from complete unknowns pull in over $100, and in my opinion they were not that good, so if your commission is as good as you say, you might get your money back if you have to sell it after all.

 

These are very nice problems to have. I'm sure you can't go wrong either way. Best of luck.