ART..wanna it now or you want it GOOD?..discussion

..heehee.. this pokes the stick right in the eyeball ..err.. so as to speak..

Its a BIG question thats always had me puzzled..

what do you consider a good frame of time to get artwork back or even make artwork yourself?... hours.. days.. weeks?...

..how long would you wait for a Masterpeice.. and would you settle for less if you got it NOW??

..do seeing that linedrawings after a bit make waiting for the finished one even more worse .. or would you wait happily knowing how its gonna look..

..would WAITING for someone to paint it on canvas ( gawd, the oil painting drawing times ) and mailing it to you, make it feel more valubale?.. or dose posting it on the web for everyone in the world to see with your "idea/image" personallized by the artist, make all the differance?..

I say: is it too much to ask for both?

It really varies based on the artist and what they're best at. some folks do quick, sketchy but fun work overnight, while others are methodical and do detailed tratitional or digital paintings taking months.

Know who you're buying from, at any rate, and *ask* them how long it typically takes, so you have a good basis to say "hey it's been way longer than you said".

Depends on the person and it depends on the product. i think its worth waiting on quality. id wait 7 years for a graver digital painting

3 figures minimum for an actual mailed "painting", that is both worth it to the collector and worth it to the artist.

As for unfinished, sometimes that style can work. Black and White ink work is some of the most amazing art there is... not to mention great pencils.

The collector usually gets what they pay for when it comes to non-professional work, sometimes and luckier for them, they get something they would have paid a fortune for...

My personal work ethic is that 4 hours a day doing one of the stages, pencil, ink, or color is my limit. I can sometimes work longer but then I become irritable, and must have my Crunch Berries.

I don't know what the best time is, but I sure know what too long is.

Its the reason I stopped doing commisions. I'm just not sure, because of how quick my schedules change these days, just how long it will take me to do a piece. It isn't like 4 years ago, when art was all I was doing. I don't mind doing a gift art now and then (cause I can work on those as I have time), but I just can't put paying clients through that.

I say as long as you give accurate estimates on the time it will take, you can take a good long time. People can't complain when you tell them what it will be up front. Well... they can complain, but not rightfully so.

I say showing WIP's are important. Customers are fickle creatures, and may decide they didn't like what they thought they'd love. Unless they want a surprise.

Keeping the customer happy is an art itself. There is no universal solution. Each one comes with their own challenges. If you're good you can stab them in the back and they'll brag to all their friends about the free knife.

Just kidding on that last part.

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but then I become irritable, and must have my Crunch Berries

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lol i laughed at that one.


OK as far as timetables and quality, expectations and all that...


It really depends on elements such as the quality of the artist,the money exchanged, the communication between the client and the artist, the amount of time already being spent on it.

I say as long as there is great communication and samples being passed to the client then i am pretty damn patient. I won't say names but this came up a lot for me as a commissioner. I knew an artist that was a perfectionist to the core. He strained every detail of every pixel of a piece and thats exactly what i loved about his art. He at once was a great communicator and gave frequent updates. The price for the piece was a bit on the high but i didn't mind the wait at all because i had his ear and constant contact with updates. Eventually that wore out though after quite a long wait (we are talking years here).

In the end if the quality is right and the communication is on, i'll wait forever. Now on the artists side if they are spending 4 hours a day and have been working on the piece for a month straight, there needs to be more finances discussed. It's an even trade and should be beneficial for both parties.

I went on a tangent there didn't I? lol
So to answer the questions:




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what do you consider a good frame of time to get artwork back or even make artwork yourself?... hours.. days.. weeks?...

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I'd say depending on the piece and whats involved, a month at the most. If it takes longer then that then a new agreement between the client and artist should be made anew.


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how long would you wait for a Masterpeice

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As long as it takes! If it is indeed a Masterpiece in the end and like i said, good communication.


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would you settle for less if you got it NOW?

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If i needed the piece now then another agreement between the artist and the client would have to be made as in, if the quality isn't going to be as promised then i should pay less. Now this depends on who's asking for the piece NOW too. If it's the client like me, then i would take the wait for the desired result.


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do seeing that linedrawings after a bit make waiting for the finished one even more worse .. or would you wait happily knowing how its gonna look.

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I honestly used to love being surprised by the end result but would ask for the pencils,inks and colored stages separately afterward(as long as i knew the artist in question). Usually i would wanna see the pencils though just to be certain the pose and bg is what we discussed. I thought it always helped to be updated through the process though.

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would WAITING for someone to paint it on canvas ( gawd, the oil painting drawing times ) and mailing it to you, make it feel more valubale?

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Absolutely. Graver is a perfect example of this.


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or dose posting it on the web for everyone in the world to see with your "idea/image" personallized by the artist, make all the differance?

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For this question alone I say yeah it makes it worth it. I always wanna show it off to the world.

For both the questions above together i say it's both.


ok /end rant.....

this is just my opinion, but I agree that it depends on the artist who's being commissioned and the commission itself.

for sketch or sketch like commissions or commission that cost very little I don't expect much more than the finished product to be close to what was promised by the artist. lines or progress art to make sure the details are nice but if the commission was fairly inexpensive it's not necessary. anything 3 figures and usually is a pretty detailed/elaborate piece I'd hope and expect some sort of progress work to make sure the artist and I both have the right idea on what was expected for the final stuff, and in my experience more cases than not the artist would do that anyway.

Alot of things that have been said really sum it up. I don't tend to mind waiting personally because I love great quality and rushign things just takes away from it as the artist just finishes it hurridly to appease me. As long as I know the Artist hasn't just put my work aside and forgotten about it and lets me know what is going on I have no issues waiting. It's simply a matter of knowing hey life has come up, or hey someone is paying out the nose for a rush work. So unless I ask for something to be hurried I tend to be paitent, and usually the artist appreicate it and often come out with items better for the value then others get for that price.

I can only speak for myself, as I imagine this will vary considerably from person to person.

A clichè as it sounds, "Great Art cannot be rushed!" In the broadest sense of the concept, time invested into work yields better results. The catch is, time invested is equated to be actual effort.

In an era where theft and scams are rampant over the internet, everyone needs to be weary. We have artists stealing from artists, scammers claiming to be artists are stealing from collectors, and we have collectors commissioning works they have no intention of paying for. In this volatile environment, we must build a fragile trust.

I have negotiated with artists who are very slow with communication, before and after funds have changed hands. Time estimates are provided, only to be exceeded with no communication. On a few occasions I sat back and concluded, "Darn, I got scammed." Lucky for me, it never happened. The artist eventually delivered what was agreed upon. In some instances, upon seeing the finished work, the wait was more than justified. Some communication would have eased the tension though.

I attempted to contact an artist once, requesting a commission. After a month with no reply, I concluded they were not interested and completely forgot about them. About eight months later, I receive a completed product. No negotiations, no preliminary sketches, no funds exchanged, not so much as an agreement on the fee. I liked the art, but total break down in communication.

If the lines of communication are kept open, I think most people are willing to wait any reasonable amount of time for their finished product. Periodic updates on progress or lack there of let the purchaser know they have not been forgotten. Wassy, is exceptional in this regard. I cannot compliment her enough in this regard.

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..do seeing that line drawings after a bit make waiting for the finished one even more worse .. or would you wait happily knowing how its gonna look..

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Words truly have their limits. I can't count the number of times I've described things in words only to learn the listeners/readers came about a very different image or conclusion. I LOVE getting preliminary sketches and line work. When I commission an artist, I do so with the intent freeing artist to interpret the characters/story. I believe the greater the freedom of the artist, the more expressive the final work. At the same time, I'm terrified of a mis-communication and a subsequent interpretation veering way off the mark. I've gotten back a few sketches that made me realize I had utterly failed to convey my requests. I shudder to think what would happen with out such sketches and line art. Besides, they make for great updates on progress.

I say wait until it is done right. I love Hero Portraits, and it is very cool they have a very quick turn around time, but I'd be willing to wait a lot longer for a very good piece. I am on the MMOArt waiting list somewhere..

For me, I usually expect a piece to be done in about a month - both if I am requesting or doing - butthat's after its been started - some waiting lists are pretty long.

I have to agree wholeheartedly on *communication.*

I'm very forgiving of schedule slips and such. If something happens where a piece that was going to be done in, say, two weeks won't be available for a month - just tell me.

For instance, Graver has a long wait, typically, but he's a good example of what *to* do. He, and many on DA, have a queue on their site. You can see you're tenth, ninth, twentieth, whatever. And when you're nearly there, he contacts you, lets you know, and starts going back and forth with you on prelim sketches, poses, mood, etc.

He works *with* you, and I don't think I've heard of anyone being unhappy with a final product.

There are others that ask for a screenshot, and the next thing you hear from them is the finished piece. While these usually turn out OK with whatever info you give them... it irks me if it's something I've paid for. (Or paid for past a certain amount, rather.) I want input, since it *is* my character and I know what he/she would be like.

And then there are the ones who vanish off the face of the earth. I went and commissioned someone that one of our folks here mentioned last year, when the artist needed funds and help, so they were offering a sale. (This is back in april.) I didn't mind the style, and it was a decent deal. She'd had a body of work built up and prior commissions. So I commissioned her. Little back and forth, I hear I'm at the point of sketching the pieces... then nothing 'til October. When I'm still in sketching. Well, ok, stuff happens, fine. I haven't heard back *since* then, though. Not a peep. Sent a note, but noticed the person hadn't been on in four (now five plus) weeks.

Right now, I don't care if she shows up and gives me something that would make Rembrandt, Monet, and Michalangelo rise from the grave to offer her praises, I won't commission her again.

That kind of experience, though, is rare for me.

Now, if they're freebies? I don't worry about it... well, at all. I'll throw my screenshot gallery open and say "Find something interesting or somethign you need to work on. have fun." I'm out nothing if they don't finish something, and if they do, hey, cool, I have a new sketch! (The exception to this is "award" pieces, in which case, yes, I will ask if I hear nothing, but on the other hand, I do expect them to be much lower priority than paid pieces.)

Again, though, communication is *key.* Set realistic expectations. Keep your clients updated, even if the news is bad. And don't set *other* expectations if you don't know for sure that you can keep them. If things are running longer and you're, say, in college with finals coming up? Say that. Apologize for the extra time. Dont' start saying "And I'll throw in a free X Y Z at the same time!" unless you're going to, *and* know you can do so with the time frame given. It feels, to me, like being bought off or pushed off if it still doesn't happen. Heck, my reaction if it's been a much longer wait is "Well, just do the original and get it done sooner, then!"

The way you relate to the people commissioning is as important as the final pieces.

See my Guides and Tutorials

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The way you relate to the people commissioning is as important as the final pieces.

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Ok Bill thats going in my signature, i agree 100%


Communication is EVERYTHING!!!!


Take this guy for example, i've been in his journal as a paid customer for almost 2 years now with little to no communication. He's had money since then. Do yourself a favor kids and NEVER commission a piece from him, like....ever.

See my Guides and Tutorials

Lots of good stuff has been said in this thread thus far.

As an artist, I know I feel awful when my estimations aren't what I think they'll be as far as time goes. That's why I always err on the side of over-communication. Sometimes stuff just happens.... like I just won't like the way the piece is going and I'll scrap it and make it better. If there's a real hard deadline I probably wouldn't do that, but I'll always tell the buyer exactly what's going on and my feeling on the piece and make sure the timetables are still acceptable.

There have been times when I've taken on way too much and learned from it, but it wasn't my buyers who suffered, it was me! I'll neeeeeever run a mini-sale during a school semester ever again. I worked myself into a frenzy for a couple months and had no free time. But keeping my good name, so to speak, was the most important to me, so I made sure everyone still got the same level of service and made a mental note that doing that much with schoolwork was a BAD idea.

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But keeping my good name, so to speak, was the most important to me, so I made sure everyone still got the same level of service and made a mental note that doing that much with schoolwork was a BAD idea.

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And so help me, if you ever run one of those again during the school semester I will shut your website down! (For anyone confused...I'm the guy who keeps her site working)

To the original question, from the perspective of somebody who receives art, I don't really care how long it takes to do it. I want a good quality piece and if that takes a couple weeks or a couple months (couple years in this medium is a little unreasonable I must admit), then I'll gladly wait.

The key is communication. I'd want to know how things are going and that the piece is generally being worked on.

Communication solves an awful lot of problems.

I don't mind waiting for good art, good art takes time. I prefer to have updates so I can be sure the artist and I are on the same track.

Having an originally painted piece is worth more to me than a digital. I do love the look of digital though and have gone that route purely for aesthetic reasons.

On an average though, I will wait forever on a list, but once the artwork is started I think a month to a month and a half is adequate time. If I know before hand that it will take longer, then that's a different story and up to me to decide whether or not I think the wait is worth it.

Depends on the work but most of the pros that I've commissioned usually get their art to me in 8-10 weeks for full, detailed pencils. Some have gotten it to me in 2 days. In other cases, over 13 months. If I've paid some money up front, I'm not terribly forgiving about commissions that aren't moving along according to an agreed schedule.

It depends on the artist, if it is... say Graver caliber art I wouldn't mind waiting months, or around a year. Though I would like to be given an estimated time of how long it will take or when they will start. The general wait time I'd expect is a week or 2 when they actually start on it.

What if you know the artist works relatively fast, but you somehow keep getting pushed back? Do you expect the artist to be as consistent time wise for your piece, because of their reputation, or do you still only care that your commission be given its own time frame towards a satisfactory conclusion?

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What if you know the artist works relatively fast, but you somehow keep getting pushed back? Do you expect the artist to be as consistent time wise for your piece, because of their reputation, or do you still only care that your commission be given its own time frame towards a satisfactory conclusion?

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I'd expect my piece to still be considered a priority, guess it depends on the circumstance but again, communication is what fills the gap here.

This has happened to me and i was patient through it up to a point. I could of handled a month, even 3 months maybe more with adequate communication but there was none from the artist.

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What if you know the artist works relatively fast, but you somehow keep getting pushed back? Do you expect the artist to be as consistent time wise for your piece, because of their reputation, or do you still only care that your commission be given its own time frame towards a satisfactory conclusion?

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It depends a great deal on *why.*

Say I'm commissioning someone who works in both digital and traditional media. I have a digital portrait on order. Their computer goes "Poof" and lets the magic smoke out. If I know that's what's up and they're waiting for a replacement, to get their files back, reload their programs, etc - yeah, I have no problem with sketches or other physical-media pieces being done first. It's beyond the artist's control.

With no explanation? I'd be miffed. OK, I'd email them first, asking what's up, THEN be miffed if I didn't get an answer, since they could have tried contacting me and gotten the email wrong or something.

Again, though... communication.

See my Guides and Tutorials

A digital pic that I had on order was delayed a bit due to hurricane knocking out the power for the artist. That is certainly a good excuse for it being a little late.