MMOART

ROFL! Yeah you are scarier than Cher!

I think there are a few factors at play here. The quality of craftsmanship you are looking for. How high the demand is for the artist you want to commission, and we must consider that things do happen in real life. The one that really pops out to me is Sayterra’s car accident and my chemical burn. Honestly for some pro's in the comic world I have heard of wait times going over 2 years. I also know other artists not in the gaming world that have VERY long queues for their work. Someone mentioned Graver, dude I would wait one year, two years, or as long as it took to own a Graver original.

As far as losing interest as an artist I can’t think of one commission project that I ever have. I love the fact that people want me to capture their characters. I also think its cool that my art is hanging on the walls of so many different people, and in so many different countries. I finally got an order from Japan W00T!

From the customers perspective I’m sure it’s hard to wait, and it varies from customer to customer, but when they see their piece coming together it seems like all of that frustration goes out of the window. I can’t say that happens in every case but I can say that some of my favorite testimonials came from people that got a bit frustrated during the wait.

I very much understand where you both are coming from. Storm I sent you an email last night and very much look forward to your response and also discussing any additional thoughts and or concerns you have.

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...I've yet to see Doug be insulted on his pieces. I guess he's lucky or I haven't seen it...

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I don't get insulted when people dislike my work because I've come to terms with certain realities;

1 - I know my art can't please everyone, so I don't bother trying. As long as my client and myself are both happy with it, then I succeeded.

2 - Everyone on the internet has an opinion and they don't always coincide with my own. People with whom I disagree, I ignore.

3 - I have more vital things to worry about than what someone online might think about my art. I let myself worry about the things that matter and gloss over the things that don't.

4 - Life is too short to allow someone else to twist me up with thier views. If something bothers me, I go get Taco Bell and watch the Discovery Channel.

5 - I've learned the value of humility; I know I'm not the best artist. I know I never will be the best artist. Therefore, I accept criticisms as they are intended.

6 - I allow myself to enjoy the compliments, while allowing myself to ignore the flames. How I accept criticisms is MY choice, so I choose to turn them into a positive force. Anything else is unhealthy.

7 - There is class in professionalism. Being defensive, rude, or argumentive can't lead to a positive result... so I don't bother.

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Doug I think you are my brother from another mother.

Those group shots can be tough, but you pulled it off without a hitch. Well done!

VERY good advice...well put Sayterra.

Hey Juggs, about how long does your average piece take to create?

Hey folks! Each week, I'm going to start posting finished MMOART and MMOART Studio works, and also works in production so that you all can follow the art progress. First, here are a few pieces that are currently in production. There are about 5 more that are also in production that I will scan as soon as I get a chance.

MMOART

Fire Guardian - complete
Bubbahotepp & Mandrah - ink stage
Living Hellfire & Markus - pencil stage
Synchrotron - pencil stage
The Pale American - rough draft

MMOART STUDIO

Ultra Dynamic Man - complete
Knight Stalker - complete
Frankie Carter - ink stage
Slashbite - rough draft

I posted this a few weeks ago but I'm happy to update it for the people that might have missed it. We basically blew up after our 1 year anniversary and got totally overwhelmed. This has all been a huge learning experience and sure hind sight is 20/20. There are things I would do differently and things I wouldn’t. I can tell you that it was not my intention to keep some of my clients waiting for such an extended time. Please remember that I am just one man and I am doing everything I can to get this work done. I have to maintain the website, run a business, illustrate, and last but not least be a husband, and father. So yeah my plate is pretty full but my resolve is still strong. Everyone will get their orders and I will put 110% into in to your commission when your turn is up. If you need to hear it directly from my customers then I invite you to take a look at my testimonial page and read their entries. I said it last time and I will say it again. I will not sacrifice the quality of my art for quantity or to speed things along. I do apologize for the delays and thank you for your outstanding patience.


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Mine certainly did. I ordered 2 pieces from MMOART back in August of 2006 and, as is customary, paid half up front. I got some sketches in late March of 2007 to approve (which I did immediately), and was told to expect delivery in April or May. It's now September and, frankly, after 13 months my enthusiasm has waned to the point of not being interested. All the contests are great, but if they dont deliver the bread and butter pieces, it seems like kind of a waste of time.

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Hey Blue, I do apologize that you have had to wait. I sent you an e-mail on Aug 16th as I was working on the final stage of your order. Nakiesha sent out e-mails this weekend to the people we have yet to hear back from and we got your update via our client image updater 2 days ago. Thanks for that and you can expect your piece very soon. I will contact you via email in regard to your second piece so please be on the lookout for that and please know that I will do everything in my power to restore your enthusiasm and to create a piece that justifies your wait .

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*nods* I'm in the same exact boat as you. I'm feeling generally blah towards the two pieces I commissioned back in Aug '06. I was excited at one point, but now the enthusiasm has exited the building.
I understand life happens and delays happen. But waiting over a year with no idea when I'll ever see the finished pieces has left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth. Lessons learned, c'est la vie.

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Life does happen and I thank you for your patience. I will e-mail you in the morning in regard to your commissions and as with Blue I will do all that I can to restore your enthusiasms and deliver a piece you can be proud to display.

If there are anymore questions or concerns please dont hesitate to contact me at gillbates@mmoart.com

Very well done my good man!

W00T! The Wacom pad will get no rest today!

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Isn't Guildhelper doing the same strategy? It works for them, why not you, right?

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Eh.. not quite the same. I see GH kinda like a commission artist database. I'm not sure if the owner is actually involved in the commission process. I think he's more like an agent for those artists.

MMOART Studio on the other hand, is a direct extension of MMOART. I'm not an agent. I am an artist working with other artists. We have been very successful over the past 2 years and I want to continue producing the same quality artwork and the same level of service. But doing it all by myself limits our potential to grow. I'm excited to be working with the artists I've selected because the combinations of our concepts and talents can take MMOART to that next level.

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Can you request specific artists if their style is what you want your character done in? O_o

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Not a specific artist, but you can describe the specific style you're looking for, absolutely! I was very selective about the artists I wanted to work with and if there is any style or technique requested, I am more than confident it can be accomplished.

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Hmm....you choose the artists for your clients? That's ...... new.

*scratch head and wait for samples*

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It may be new to the fan art world but not to the art world in general. Many of the top design houses and conceptual art studios work this way. Clients can present a either a very detailed or a very vague idea of what they want. Our job is to breathe life into their characters and create a custom masterpiece for them.

I look at some of the very detailed posts above and I am truly humbled. Thank you for the inspiration, motivation and support over the last few years. I would list you all but there are far too many…what a great community =)

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Gratz on the launch!
Which artists works for the MMOART studio? Could we see samples? I can't decide if I don't know who to expect.

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MMOART Studio is designed to be a collaborative studio of various, rotational artists. Many of them have degrees in art and design, experience working in concept design and comics, for clients like Marvel and DC. The commission process is not like MMOART, where a client would be directly commissioning my work only. On MMOART Studio, a client would be commissioning a team. Based on the details of your request, and the style/look/story of your character, I will personally hand-pick those artists that best suit your project and I will oversee its creation and production from beginning to end. Each piece may have 2-4 artists working on it or more, depending on availability, style compatibility, their strengths/weaknesses, and several other factors. Basically, we will work together to collectively create a masterpiece for you. So what you can expect is high quality work at a fast turnaround and your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. With the amount of orders we've already received and are currently in production, artwork samples will be posted very soon.

Looking good Turbo! Try painting your fire on a new layer and play with the layer effects like screen, hardlight, overlay. I tend to use a few layers to get the right effect =)

Hey guys, I have a lot of artwork scheduled this week so I'll make it a point to post them here as they are completed. To start off, here is the final version of Odessa Dark! Let me know what you guys think. More MMOART coming soon!

I must get you to create Gill & Lush. I will be in touch very soon!

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I won't be checking this forum again, so I won't see any replies.

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I was replying tho Power_Play's first comment when he made the quoted statement. I will try and contact him via board PM's and the only email address we have on file for him, and if I dont hear back from him then Scarf Girl you just got yourself a free piece of art =)

Hey guys thanks for the feedback!

Power_Play we sent you a second update and a follow-up email and never got a response from you. I do believe it featured the changes you requested. I'm not too sure when you emailed us but there was a post on our site and through our newsletter describing the mail/spam problems we were having and I requested that emails be sent directly to my personal account. I also posted that very same announcement on the boards here as a matter of fact. Another thing I must point out is that none of the contest winners have been in our queue so its not strange that yours wasn’t there either. The bottom line is a few things have come up in that past few months that set us back a bit. But I honestly tried my best to make sure I announced it everywhere I could… our site, deviantart, myspace, and our newsletter. I have also spoken to pretty much every contest winner whose piece I haven’t gotten to yet and they are patiently waiting. I must tell you though that my obligation is to paying customers first they have been patient also and they have spent their hard earned cash so I must take care of them first. I will tell you that Junkyard King and Soul Train are in line before you so yours will be coming soon after theirs.

One more thing I must address is you suggesting that my work was copied from a wolverine comic. There is no greater insult you can sling at an artist and I must say if you disrespect me or my talent like that again I have no problem keeping my art to myself. Anyone who knows me here will tell you that i don’t lose my cool very easily but that my friend is right on the line. The fact that your character has claws exactly like Wolverine and also flaps on the side of his mask pretty much just like Wolverines, does present a huge challenge in regard to him not resembling Wolverine. Especially in the rough draft stage. I however am positive that I can come up with a pose/composition that you will be happy with. So please contact me at your earliest convenience at gillbates@mmoart.com and we can collaborate and discuss the project in greater detail.

MMOART is now two years old!! To celebrate our second anniversary, and to kick off the official launch of our new expansion site, MMOART Studio, we are offering a limited time Labor Day Launch special! From now until September 3rd, 12 midnight (CST), all MMOART Studio orders will receive a 20% discount!

For those of you who don't yet know what MMOART Studio is, it is our expansion site that features a team of talented artists, hand-picked by yours truly, to provide additional MMOART commissions. All artists will work closely with me on each and every request, ensuring that all works will have the same quality and detail as many of you have come to expect from us over the years. So ORDER NOW, time is running out!

In other news, check out two new pencil pieces I released: Doc Boy and Firefighter Frank! And in the works are Omega Brothers (rough draft stage, changes pending), Fire Guardian (pencil stage), and Odessa Dark (ink stage)!

Now for our brand new site feature! I've been experimenting with Art Rage (I can't say enough about this illustration app, it is absolutely awesome!) and a new video program for a few days, and now I can post video of MMOART WIPs! The format still needs to be finalized and I'll dedicate a permanent WIP Video link to the site soon. But for now, check out the video of a quick rough I did for one of the Ever After chibis! More coming soon folks!

We are pretty much done I just want to test everything but I cant until I finish this pencil piece Greyle. I was going to launch it last night but I took Nakiesha on a date to celebrate her B-Day.

Very nice piece! Great toon style!

Wow Markus my sincere apologies! While our response time has been longer than id like in the last few months, detailed in the post Lady Judgement linked. I can assure you that if we didn’t reply to your email there is a good chance it got lost in the ocean of spam. That’s another major reason we are streamlining our site now as our mail forms were being bombarded by spam, making it almost impossible to tell what e-mail was legit as we were getting thousands a day. The same with the forum and the guestbook we had up.

Markus I will get in contact with you right away, and please if anyone else has e-mailed me and didn’t get a response please direct it to my personal email account gillbates@mmoart.com .

Looking good!

Nice work! Nice site! Good luck with everything!