Looking for an artist to commission
By
Aggelakis,
Posted on: 2009-12-29 23:01 in Multi-Media Fan Creations
Stop looking for CoH fanart then... a game about comic book heroes and villains is going to be more cartoon than realism. Expand your horizons beyond CoH FArt... also, check out TA's artist network.
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
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Thor's Assassin's Network - A Resource is indeed the first place you should start your search. http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=193630 This contains many, many artists of varying styles and the vast majority should be open for commision... Things change and it's impossible to keep totally up to date so not all will be.
A quick look on the first page of that thread and I see at least half a dozen people who look like they could probably fit into your no anime, no comic-booky and no porny requirements. But furthermore, you should keep in mind that the thumbnails provided by the artists for that thread are what they believe will be most likely to draw the target audience of that thread to their pages... And let's face it, most people around here are big into comic book like art, anime and being predominately male... Porn to a certain extent or another 
I suggest you spend some time going through that thread and checking out the artists whose style appeals to you as well as the artists who you just feel are really talented. Most talented artists can do more than one style - Check out their galleries and see what else they offer.
And don't be too put off if the majority of their art is scantily clad, big breasted warrior chicks... That's just predominately what people are buying. If all else fits your taste, when sending a note inquiring about hiring them note that you are looking for a flat chested girl in a winter coat (if that is what your after) and ask them if they can do that... The artists will most likely be completely honest on whether or not they can pull it off - They want happy customers so they get recommended to others so they'll tell you if they can't do what your looking for.
Besides TA's thread, be sure you have an account on Deviant Art...
This is important because finding an artist you like who is taking commissions RIGHT NOW can be difficult. Your best bet is to add all the artists you like to your Watch List so that when they update their journal saying they are open you will see that and can jump on it... (Sorry if you know this already but others who don't may read this thread...)
If you've searched TA's thread and have watches set up on your favorite artists another tact to take is to check out the favorites list of your favorite artists... Artists who do style X tend to like style X and watch what others who do that style are doing... Sure they will have other styles in their favorites list but you may be suprised what gems you find that way when you didn't even know you were looking for it
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who could forget those pink boots 
-to bussiness-
by realism. do you mean realistically rendered? or just realistically proportioned? the artist you have linked too seems to have some some grounding in realism but there is still a fair bit of a manga/anime influence.
my knee jerk reaction to realism is someone like battlewraith (frozendeath around these parts) http://battlewraith.deviantart.com/ not sure if he is taking anything on at this time but it never hurts to shoot him a note if you like he's stuff and find out.
scary pet is another artist that comes to mind. http://scarypet.deviantart.com/ a little on the expensive side though.
http://lordalphie.deviantart.com/ lord alphie has some nice realistic stuff, dont know what the price and waiting list are like however.
but like Aggelakis said check TA's commissionabl artist network out http://thorsassassin.deviantart.com/
also the artist's alley the city of heroes deviant art page. http://cityofheroes.deviantart.com/ most folks in there take commissions and play the game so they will be familiar with the costume parts, which is a plus.
Another good way to find artist's that do commissions is to go through other art collectors galleries aswell and see if you can find someones style you like.
Hope I have been helpfull! best of luck in your art seeking mission.
I've never done anything realistic 
in my entire life.
i think wassy is who you're looking for. but not because she's an sg mate or nothin. cause she's good at it. 
Roxy On DA...Finally!
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It's a bit more complicated than that. TA's network doesn't help as much as you'd expect because, being superhero fare, most of the art is actiony while I have a much more relaxed setting in mind, so I have no idea how well any given artist would do. Also, while I don't specifically need to commission an artist who's already done CoH-themed art, I'm guessing it would help if they were already familiar with the subject matter - they might think of ways to improve the picture, whether in terms of posing, composition or detail which I wouldn't.
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Originally Posted by Aggelakis
Stop looking for CoH fanart then... a game about comic book heroes and villains is going to be more cartoon than realism. Expand your horizons beyond CoH FArt... also, check out TA's artist network.
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Well, when you think superhero, you tend to think action, so that's what the majority of people commission.
Again, if you see an artist who you think MIGHT be a good fit, send them a note with what you're looking for, and maybe a couple of reference shots of what you're particularly looking for.
Reclining/relaxed can mean a lot of things. Like:
http://xbradtc.files.wordpress.com/2...ane-lane-1.jpg
http://static.squidoo.com/resize/squ...kinsale-13.jpg
http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/60074...timberlake.jpg
http://www.wikimusicguide.com/images...timberlake.jpg
http://handson.provocateuse.com/imag..._butler_10.jpg
http://barefoot.provocateuse.com/ima..._butler_01.jpg
Etc. There's so many places you can go, just pick an artist that looks to be about what you want, ignore the general comic-booky style, and ask if they can do what you want.
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Most of the CoH-related art I've seen has been pin-up work of characters, not so much the action-y stuff. The action-y stuff is far more difficult to pull off well, as it takes more time and effort to convey movement in a still picture. A "relaxed setting" is for the most part, a pin-up or a portrait, so really it's not super hard to find that sort of work done. It's far harder in my experience to find artists who can draw dynamic action well who will take commissions...those artists are in very high demand.|
Originally Posted by Quinch
It's a bit more complicated than that. TA's network doesn't help as much as you'd expect because, being superhero fare, most of the art is actiony while I have a much more relaxed setting in mind, so I have no idea how well any given artist would do. Also, while I don't specifically need to commission an artist who's already done CoH-themed art, I'm guessing it would help if they were already familiar with the subject matter - they might think of ways to improve the picture, whether in terms of posing, composition or detail which I wouldn't.
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I'm still not quite sure what you mean by realistic either. The sample you showed is in my view, anime-ish.
You might want to try http://keelerleah.deviantart.com/ - stylistically her work matches the example you posted. I love what she does with Bleach characters, and I believe she's done commissions based off of game characters.
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"The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It failed... In the year of the Praetorian War, it became something greater... our last, best hope for victory."
Feel free to take a look through my work (links in my sig)
Off the top of my head, I would think Graver could pull this off for you more easily, as could John Becaro with some prodding on making it more of a digital painting and less of a colored ink. You seem to only want the black in the hair and maybe the eyes, from what I can tell of your example. I could do this too but I won't as I prefer to work in my own style... good luck to you.
(Both Graver and John Becaro are on Deviant Art and in Thor's Assassin's Network thread)
Feel free to look around my work as well (link in sig). I'm pretty flexible in my style, and am happy to work with what you're looking for, so... there's that
So, it's the end of the year and I figured I'd treat myself with some art of one of my characters. Problem seems to be finding an artist I'm willing to commission; I've been looking through DeviantArt, but so far all quality City of Heroes fanart I've found is either a} too animesque, b} too comic-booky or c} porn. I'm looking for a style similar to Andrea Koupal's {who's, unfortunately, not taking commissions at the moment}, but while I'm searching, does anyone have a recommendation for me?