I have done I think two art commissions EVER in my entire career and its mostly for my friends. I don't know how to start and even how to price my work. I don't know where to find ppl who would want me to draw for them. IDK THIS IS VERY CONFUSING.

Has anybody noticed that every artist post on here gets like 50 upvotes and maybe 1 comment? Nobody hires people. All of the “Hiring” posts are already filled with comments underneath the millisecond they’re added leaving smaller artists or people who just don’t pick up their phone for a minute left in the dust.
Even the emergency commissions are bare, it doesn’t matter if you’re DYING, nobody will hire you. im so sick of trying to be an artist, the one thing that brings me joy, and I can’t even make a couple bucks off it, let alone get an actual commission.
And don’t tell me any of that “Just post more!” crap, my commissions have been up since 2019. I have gotten maybe 3 NON FRIEND COMMISSIONS since then.
I shouldn’t have to juggle and dance for people to get a sliver of attention, it’s humiliating. It’s not “how the world works” and if it is, then this world has failed artists.

Hello!! This artwork of mine has recently gotten a bit of traction and led to me getting a couple commission requests. I’m not quite sure how I should price my art since I’ve never done artwork for commission purposes, but I saw someone say that it is generally worth $10/hr. This piece took me ~15 hours, however, I’m not sure if people would be willing to buy at such a high price point. If not, what would be an adequate price? Any tips are appreciated!

I've seen a lot of skilled artists on this subreddit and similar subreddits with amazing art and lots of upvotes, but I don't see many of them getting commissions. So, I'm wondering how artists find commissions and whether they even find them nowadays.

I think my prices are reasonable but even if they weren't, I think that's a wild thing to say to someone who's art you're interested in.

I started doing art commissions a few weeks ago and have already gotten a few clients here on Reddit (im very thankful for them)

In my last discussion post, some comments mention that artists should promote their work on social media to reach more clients.

I've thought about posting on TikTok (super scary place), but the way people there can be so harsh toward different art styles makes me hesitant. Just look at all the DDLC fan art that ended up getting flooded with hate. I also read some comments about how you can join niche discord servers, how do you even get into one? it seems difficult to find a server to promote on. Where do y'all post/promote your artworks? 

im not sure if this breaks any rules but need to know if im overreacting. i commissioned a smaller artist to make my robux character and they put a picture of some persons face in the back and refuses to remove it. it was like $5 so im not super mad but like?!😭

Me trying to find commission buyers in this economy. Has anyone else been trying to get an art commission recently, or is it just me? Promoting is tiring 🫩 unfortunately cant stop grinding

Considering that I'm a new artist with no followers anywhere, and from a third world country where a dollar is way more valuable than our currency (?

🟡EDIT:

wow this post blew up, I wanna thank everyone for the feedback I was a bit apathetic and uneducated about the value of art

I read and take notes of ALL comments, I don't respond because it would be me just spamming "thank you" over and over

I will not underprice because it is harmful for me and the art community

Would you guys mind sharing your Instagram handles?

Sorry to bother anyone…I’ve noticed that strangers support me more than people I actually know in real life. I was just wondering if you guys wouldn’t mind sharing your instagram socials?

Just looking for new artist to follow and interact with as I restart my career! ☺️

Have a wonderful day!!

I'm just curious, which community pays a lot for an artwork? I've always heard the furry community pays really well, is it true?

Hi all 👋
I'm trying to figure out if my digital art is realistically marketable/sellable, and what would be a fair minimum price estimate for a style like this? (I usually spend 20 hours for each).

I just joined Vgen and noticed that my style is very different from the popular anime look, so I wonder if anyone has suggestion or perhaps recommendation on which platform to use.
Thanks

UPDATE: I'm working on my very first commission!! so excited!! 🥰

TDLR; 90% of artists ghost, including when already paid, I am at my wits' end.

You know it's bad when you have to resort to reddit for some answers.... Seeing as we're now over halfway through the year, and I feel relatively emptyhanded in comparison to the money I can see that I've spent, and the amount of effort and strain..... It really does get to a point.
As embarrassing as it is to admit, I'm brought to the point of tears knowing my birthday has been around the corner and I can't even get myself a fucking gift despite having plenty of money and months in advance to coordinate it, but the concept of someone being respectful and reliable enough is apparently just too much to ask for.

When I have expressed these frustrations, I have often been met with defensiveness, hostility, people victim-blaming the client end of things, people even saying I deserved it and outright admitting they would 'scam me too', dismissiveness, denial, weird threatening into silence, deliberate ignorance, just to name a few things, despite the fact I have proof of everything.

Where does this all even start? I could say this year, I could say as well as a decade ago, remembering the times I tried my damndest on every 'taking requests' opportunity from deviantart at an age where I barely understood what a commission even was.
So maybe I am actually late to the party, and perhaps I'm just missing something as to how this all works. You give the references/concept, you pay, you get the art. Should be fairly simple and straightforward, right? Couldn't be further from the truth in my case.

It's like a backwards ass catch-22 conundrum where you get pitiful lectures about supporting real artists, but oops, if you don't have any reference art to begin with, sorry, can't help you! ...Why exactly do you think I'm here?
Or, "why don't you just draw it yourself then?" Because the fucking alternative all of you preached from your soapbox was to commission real artists instead of using AI or whatever the fuck, which keep in mind, despite all of the bullshit I have endured, I still have not resorted to.

I carefully vet all of the artists I approach, so it's never been one of those obvious fake/traced/AI 'artists' that I've been ripped off by, which is all the more infuriating when these are the 'real artists' you get lectured to support, when all they've ever done is strung me along, steal my money, and play the victim.

I am probably down about 300-400$ USD (if not more) from several different artists I have struggled to work with since February. Only a very tiny fraction have actually fully completed what they were paid for, and an even smaller fraction of that was done with a normal, pleasant experience & outcome.

An artist I paid in Feb had previously been giving (what I presume to be) regular progress updates, then stopped, then suddenly came to me about wanting to redo the piece for free, which was confusing as I thought the piece was almost complete, in fact I was worried they had finished it and it didn't occur to me they had shown off the final product.
Regardless, they put it off, and despite my efforts to figure out what the hell was going on, it was quiet from them for months until I called them out publicly, and it's clear the 'redo' piece wasn't done with much consideration and I wasn't happy with the final product.

Another artist I paid in March has done fuck all after taking a payment of 101$ for a commission he has no intention of ever even STARTING, he instead resorted to playing the victim about medical issues despite the fact he has done more open commissions since then, posted an art raffle, and even advertised participating artfight.
A month after silence from him, I did the paypal chargeback, and only then did he finally bother to reach out to me, and ONLY because the negative charge was impacting his friend's account, which he guilted me into undoing.
Last month I had called him out publicly after becoming enraged upon discovering he had still been participating in artfight, to which he dug his heels in on being the victim, and alluded to the fact he had been consulting everyone else (his friends) BUT me in regards of what to do about my commission. There has once again been no word back from him since that last "conversation" despite him still being active online since then.
It's August. Still no commission, still no refund.

A young artist who was visiting from out of the country was taking commissions since she was able to use Venmo while being in the US, I paid 95$ and was met with silence once again, blocked/unadded on the platform we were initially communicating on, and then I was cussed out by her as she made excuses for not working on the commission and she either blocked me or deleted her account on that second platform I just so happened to find her on to confront her. To my knowledge, Venmo doesn't have a chargeback option like Paypal does.

Another artist I have paid about 200$ in total months ago has been quite slow with the process. I may have made the grave mistake of allowing this to slide since we had been on friendly terms and communicative on a regular basis, and they are even very familiar with my struggle and predicament... Seeing as they live in an area that was recently struck by disaster, pushing them now to complete the work feels like a dick more, doing a chargeback even more so. Though I'm not sure why I say this when it seems they've been posting art since then?

One artist who I actually had success with was very accommodating and pleasant the first time around, but when I came back to do it again, they were suddenly very standoffish to the idea and only acknowledged me in regards to the money I could offer, which was a stark contrast to my prior experience with them. To add insult to injury, they have messaged me on more than one occasion for advice on their art/advertising themselves. Feels kind of tone deaf when I very eagerly expressed working with them again before and they continued to brush it off, but will still come to me when they want something that benefits them.

I just had another artist basically drop me, generally because of the struggle to align communication (I had previously offered to pay them in advance as a token of trust due to this).
Apparently it's ok for other people to take their sweet time getting back to me, but I can't have setbacks due to being torn in multiple different directions irl (for context, I've had to fly out of state and everything that accompanies that has kept me away from the obligations I'd prefer to be focusing on since my money is involved)
Despite the fact they kept continuing on with the process without my confirmation to do so, leading to things not turning out the way I wanted (which again also has to do with the fact I have zero reference art for my characters because commissioning has been so difficult), I'm the one who once again has to sit with the loss.

Some may think that proximity/relationship could easily weed out most of the issues that come with commissioning, but it pains me to confess that even my own spouse, who is a very talented artist, has also let me down on this front several times. Despite offers to pay, requests as gifts for Christmas, Birthdays, Valentine's (a piece in which I posed nude for them to use as reference), the process is met with indifference, getting my hopes up for nothing, arguments, and ultimately pieces that have all gone unfinished. Because of the lifestyle we have had to live (we move a lot) and how much their career keeps them busy, we generally don't get to do a lot together and I don't ask for very much (mostly of my own volition, since we don't struggle with money), so I had thought it would be a good, low cost 'gift' that allows us to spend time together and collaborate on something, but I was very mistaken...
I have entirely given up on having any of their support in this avenue of my life. Despite the fact I have never asked to use their money for it or involve them in any way, we still get into arguments about it.

One artist was very lovely from the get-go, I was super supportive to their cause (what the money from commissions would be going towards), they were giving normal updates and being very accommodating, then again, silence... Later on I come to see on their social media how they're talking about having 'no intention of ever taking commissions', and some time after that making a post about 'quitting art' entirely. When were they ever planning on telling ME that?

These are only a very few examples of the crap I've had to deal with.
It's impossible to gauge whether or not an artist will just ghost at any point of the process, including after payment. So many artists will beg, desperate for commissions, but do no actual work when paid and continue to play the victim.
I have probably reached out to hundreds of artists at this point, on various platforms. Stuff like VGen doesn't work because of how straightforward it is, they expect you to have all the actual references ready to go and I have none of that. Many artists have turned their nose up at me for this reason, while others have it as part of their guidelines which makes them unapproachable in the first place.

I can't imagine what I could be doing wrong. I have never asked for anything unsavory, it has overwhelmingly just been the bare minimum of having a face to the name of characters I've created YEARS ago, to maybe, just maybe, make future endeavors just the slightest bit easier. Even with my google docs of photo collages and written references has been met with conflicting feedback, ironically so as it's often spat out as a thoughtless alternative. I'm not 12 years old, I do not want to use picrew, especially when I have the means to commission.

It hurts me deeply because I cannot do it myself no matter how much I've tried. I used to draw, I had for years, but for some reason all my current attempts to improve are only met with strain (including physical pain to my wrist). That's not even mentioning how absolutely nasty people on Reddit (or even in general) are to artists trying to improve, because god forbid someone hasn't magically improved in the time frame that's considered acceptable. Thought we wanted people to pick up a pencil, yeah? Why make them feel like shit when they do? Damned if you do, damned if you don't!
I cannot translate all of the effort of my ideas/creations in a way that matters in a world where art objectively dominates these communities. Seeing the constantly peddled fix-all solution of "just commission artists!" continue to fall on its face for me feels like adding piss to the open wound.

For the longest time, I thought the only thing holding me back was my willingness to put my money down. People always talk about art in terms of commissioning being a luxury, but when I pull up being able to afford said luxury, suddenly they can't deliver on their end.

It's probably ridiculous of me to keep trying but I am still currently in the process with a few other artists, so I have to sit in this state of dread like a hostage situation of my money until the very moment the final piece is delivered because again, no matter how seemingly normal or promising the circumstances are, Murphy's Law is sure to rear its ugly head.

I have no idea how this will be received, but this has been weighing on me for years upon years now, and it's hitting me heavily this year with how much of my effort, time, patience and money has been put through the wringer for something that really shouldn't be this difficult.

I am tired of constantly entering this cycle over and over again. I want real results and accountability.

I’ve been posting non-stop on social media for months, showing my price sheets, and joining commission servers, but I still have zero orders. I tried making fan art of various things to get more visibility, but that hasn't worked for me.

I feel like these scream traced/ai art. What do yall think?

This is just a rant that I want to get off my chest about my experience commissioning artists from Reddit over the past 5 years. I want to preface by saying I'm writing from the perspective of a patron. I know artists themselves have tons of grievances with some of the patrons they work with too, so I don't want to suggest everybody on this side is perfect either.

TL;DR: Reddit artists, on average in my experience, are very frustrating and unreliable to work with. You have to be pushy to get anything done.

I'm very lucky to make an income where I can spend some money to commission artists. I don't buy Pokemon cards or video games or gaming computers. I commission artwork, or try to at least. I wish I could have been an artist in another life, but I'm not, so I feel this is how I can live vicariously through others that have put years of effort to hone their skill. Commission prices I pay are somewhere between $75–500 per piece, most often something in the middle of that, and the works are usually digitally painted characters in scenes, though I have commissioned a few traditional art pieces (pencil, charcoal, etc.). I'm mostly looking to have "true" pieces of art made, some of which are neutral scenes exploring an artistic style, other of which have shadings of erotica without being overtly NSFW.

AI has become cheap and good enough that I can at least in theory explore artistic ideas with AI, but I've found that the human touch is infinitely better in the hands of a good artist. They can have a vision that I can't communicate to an AI, and a sense of technique and aesthetics that AI doesn't match. Of course, hiring people is over 1000x more expensive, but if your goal is to get true art, then the price really isn't comparable. But, that assumes you're actually going to get art.

First, I have to say a big THANK YOU to the small minority of artists out there who have great communication and who work diligently. Some artists are so phenomenal to work with. They tell you what's going on, what you can expect, and they ask questions to ensure they really understand what you're trying to achieve with the commission. They really care about art, and they really want to make something for you. For the kind of art I commission, the best artists are turning around single character works in 5–20 days, and that includes a couple intermediate checkpoints. These are the people I love doing repeat work with. Some of the artists I've worked with ended up not making art that I liked, but they were still great to work with, and I recommend them to others who might like their style. Again, THANK YOU, this is why I commission. I wish you were easier for me to find.

But, sadly, that is the small minority, maybe only 3 out of every 10 people I've worked with. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised, but I am, that the majority of the artists I commission are always very late, go AWOL, don't do artwork at the level of their portfolio, or only do an absolute minimum amount of effort producing a mediocre product.

I am sure to try to weed out scammers early. I check portfolio, online presence, their payment methods and policy, and the vibe of discussing art briefly with them. I'm glad r/artcommissions has taken steps to help people identify scammers, and their guide is an excellent start. But I'm not infallible; I've been scammed a few times. Most of the time I get my money back. But for the most part, I heavily filter for people that seem reputable and reliable.

(Side note: There are two common scams. The first one is someone who plagiarizes other people's art in their portfolio, uses AI to generate "sketches" to pretend they made it, and then they hope they'll be able to make an AI result for you without you noticing. The second is someone is being a middleman without being transparent about it. For example, they pretend to be a Japanese manga artist, but they're actually a middle eastern non-artist subcontracting to one of their middle eastern artist friends. In the latter case, you sometimes do get real art, just not from the person or portfolio you thought.)

Almost always, after the artist and I align on a vision for an artwork, the artist talks about how they need 50%–100% of payment upfront, before sketches, because they themselves are scammed all the time. (They'll also say how they need to up-charge for PayPal fees or whatever on top of the price they already quoted... so annoying.) I want to be artist-friendly, so I do it, usually 100%, as a token of good faith. My hope is that if, as a patron, I can give them their most favorable terms, they'll at least tip their hat and work with me earnestly. My goal is to do repeat business with them! So I want to start on the right foot.

But then any number of things happen. The most common thing is that the artist goes quiet for weeks, without update. As a patron, you don't want to bother them. In my head, they have their artistic process and some sort of business to run, even if it's ad hoc. Maybe they're working on 3 things, maybe life got in the way, who knows. But eventually you contact them and say "hey it's been 3 weeks and not even a sketch, any update?" Then, the excuses roll in:

• My life got really complicated.
• My so-and-so died and I had to go to a funeral.
• I've actually been working on it the whole time just not telling you.
• Sorry I lost track of time and my brain is all over the place.
• My tablet died and I'm waiting until I have enough money to repair it.
• I don't give updates during the art process. When it's done, it's done.

etc. It seems these kinds of things affect artists more often than other professions I'm used to engaging in. Then, with the fire under their butt, they quickly scrap together a sketch in a couple days, a sketch which was clearly rushed and doesn't align with the original ask very well. So then it becomes a decision whether to turn it into a back-and-forth to correct the sketch or just roll with it.

But even after sketch approval, the same thing happens again. Disappear. It's like they did just enough work to placate me, and now they have some room to do nothing again. Mind you, this is while they've already pocketed 250 dollars or whatever 3 weeks before.

Most of these artists do have at least one ethical bone in their bodies, so they do eventually deliver something after constant badgering 4 to 16 weeks later. Often, the work is rushed at the last minute, and the product doesn't end up being good at all, barely matching their otherwise illustrious portfolio. But they delivered, they can't change it, and The Rules Are The Rules: just because you don't like it doesn't mean you're entitled to anything. I agree with that, I just wish it wasn't the scapegoat to allow poor work to be delivered.

Just to be clear, delays aren't in and of themselves bad. One of my favorite artists who has an amazing track record really did have some issues come up, causing my commission to delay by 6 weeks. It sucked, but they were completely transparent about it, gave me clear expectations, and offered a refund if I couldn't agree with them.

But the other artists? It feels like it's all about collecting money up front and then waiting as long as possible to do any work at all, only doing it when under pressure.

I'm just so surprised how frequently it happens. I'm not writing this long post just because I got burned once. I have 4 DMs open for commissions right now that started as early as January in which I'm asking why there still isn't any progress or update.

What is the problem? Am I missing some absolutely critical aspect in determining who is reliable?

• Are people just taking on so much work that they're constantly behind?
• Do a lot of artists have procrastination issues because paid-for work is on deadlines which is antithetical to art?
• Is ADHD prevalent?
• Are artists barely scraping by to survive, and they get money as a survival instinct, but don't have the headspace to follow up?
• Is this just Reddit, and artists should really just be hired elsewhere?

I don't know. As a frequent patron who wishes he himself were an artist, I've become so soured working with new people. I've definitely cooled off from commissioning new artists, because (literally) thousands of dollars over the years have paid for little more than frustration.

Again, a sincere thank you to the artists that are working hard to be fair and communicative, trying to turn their skill into a product we patrons find inimitable.

Thanks for listening to my rant. I'd be very pleased if any sort of interesting, insightful, or productive discussion could come out of it.

i'm looking to commission someone and someone volunteered so i need to be sure bc idk if i'm paranoid or not

EDIT: thank you to everyone for taking the time to help me out. most people said it was either AI or traced. i ended up not commissioning them. thank you for all your help!

Like the title says, I'm planning to start my commissions soon. Are my works consistent enough or should I expand my portfolio a bit more?

I’d really appreciate some advice

My PayPal account was permanently closed without any clear explanation. I tried appealing the decision and provided documentation showing that I’m a registered artist/freelancer, that I pay taxes on the commissions I receive, and that everything related to my work is properly regulated.

I’ve also tried contacting PayPal directly to get some clarification, but at this point they don’t even take my calls anymore, so I haven’t been able to get a proper explanation or find a way to resolve the issue.

Has anyone here gone through something similar? Is there any way to appeal this further or actually get the account reinstated?

And, if PayPal is no longer an option, does anyone know of any good alternatives for receiving commission payments from clients abroad, especially from the US or other countries?

Hi! I just got a vgen code from someone and is considering the prices, is 10$ too high for a creature chibi like this? :)

been struggling to get commissions lately and trying to figure out if it's my pricing or my work itself that's the issue 😔 would really appreciate some honest feedback, good or bad!

portfolio: vgen.co/RenzRol 🙏

Hello, I'm posting on instagram and other social medias for years and I don't have any attention there, recently my laptop broke and I need to get money more than before.

I started to create an art portfolio for dnd comissions using my phone, honestly it isn't that different from using pc programs, but I don't know exactly what I can do to get comissions, can someone help me?

​

I’ve been doing manga commissions through Reddit this year, but over the past two months, it’s been incredibly difficult to get commissions. I don’t know if I’m the only one experiencing this or if people have moved to another platform, but I’d like to know if anyone else is having the same experience.

You would be under the impression that they added that because they don't like the unfair use of AI but NO, hell NO.

I have recently worked with a client who put "no AI use" on the contract. It turns out they commission artist THEN feed it to AI to make variations and such. I was surprised to hear that some of the artists I know experienced the same thing.

If you come across something like this and still want to push through, at least request to mention that you don't allow your work to be fed to AI. Even so, you cannot guarantee that they wont.