How do you tell an artist when a commission is not what you expected

[ratchet]

Maybe the artists themselves would like to chime in here - but how do you tell an artist that you are unhappy with a commission?

[carlito1978]

where's the batfan when you need him?

[galactus]

The best policy is, be honest about it. Depending on what the deal was (did you give guidelines about what you wanted?), you have a certain "right" to receive what you paid for.

Now, if the commission request was "I want a Planet Hulk", and that's it, well, what you get is what you get.

If you ask for a Planet Hulk, but said you wanted a certain pose, certain armor/weapons...and you didn't get it, then I would say you have cause to ask for a re-do.

Commissions are tricky. 90% of artists simply aren't super consistent, and they're always going to sell you on their work by showing their best efforts (well, best results). Unless you have a rather large sample of artwork from a given artist, it's always going to be a crap shoot on what your particular commissions comes out looking like.

[liamsynclair]

Originally Posted by galactus

The best policy is, be honest about it. Depending on what the deal was (did you give guidelines about what you wanted?), you have a certain "right" to receive what you paid for.

Now, if the commission request was "I want a Planet Hulk", and that's it, well, what you get is what you get.

If you ask for a Planet Hulk, but said you wanted a certain pose, certain armor/weapons...and you didn't get it, then I would say you have cause to ask for a re-do.

Commissions are tricky. 90% of artists simply aren't super consistent, and they're always going to sell you on their work by showing their best efforts (well, best results). Unless you have a rather large sample of artwork from a given artist, it's always going to be a crap shoot on what your particular commissions comes out looking like.

I had a hard time describing evil eyes n evil smiles, lol, does bad vocabulary skills count as"my bad"

[JadeGiant]

This is a tough one. I have received a few commissions that I would say I was not too thrilled about. I tend to agree with Drew – you have to ask yourself if you got what you asked for. If you asked for something you clearly did not get, I would let the artist know. If the art does not live up to what you had hoped for but the artist lived up to their end of the agreement, I think you are stuck with it. I do think it is within your right to open some dialog about any concerns you have as long as it done in a courteous and respectful manner.

[SunnyLee]

As a artist, (for me anyway - I can't speak for other artists), the best possible way for me to get a client something he wants without having to give up too much artistic license is by involving the client as much as possible without losing the part of the commission that makes it fun for me.

As some of you know, my process is two fold: First I try to obtain as much information as possible from the client. Costume (there are always multiple variations from multiple time/universe/etc), pose, power display, etc. This eliminates the minutia error. I also ask the client if he/she has any reference pics they want me to work off of. Once as much info is nailed down as possible, I then proceed to draw a rough for the client. If the client is either way too nitpicky or demanding (I'm not drawing one his 10,000 pouches with the right buttons or I want a hair follicle flowing right instead of left) or I sense a great deal of trepidation (takes days to respond to inquiries), I'll usually back out of the deal and walk away and explain that I'm probably not the best artist for this particular piece - no monies exchanged and no harm no foul.

Now here's where it gets a little iffy. I usually ask for half down payment now when the rough is approved. This part is non-refundable because at this point, I'm beginning to work on the final piece and this takes a lot of time and energy. I am going into it armed with the fact that the client approved of the rough (pose, costume, etc) and that I have been given approval to proceed to the next phase. At this point, because of the amount of detail involved, any change to the pose, costume, etc, becomes a major effort on my part and it becomes extremely difficult to accommodate such a change without having to restart the piece entirely (loss of art board, time, materials etc). I am always happy to accommodate any kind of minor change to keep the client happy with his piece - because in my mind, that's the ultimate goal here. He's the paying person, and it's my job to keep him as happy as possible. If, at the end, the client becomes unhappy with the piece for whatever reason, the second half of the payment is no longer due, and we walk away... but I hold onto the first half/downpayment as payment for the time and energy spent and I also retain the rights to resell the piece to another if so inclined.

I guess, in short, the best answer I can offer, is that for me, I try to eliminate as much doubt as to the outcome of the piece as possible. The best way I can think of is the rough and the clients approval of it. For me, that's our binding agreement to move forward.

I'm not sure how your situation proceeded ratchet, but the best remedy I can offer depends a great deal on your relationship with the artist and the artist himself/herself. There are artists out there (big and small) who's ego plays a great deal in this purchase and would take it personally if you told them - this isn't what I wanted. Others, are extremely amendable and work hard to keep clients happy and coming back. Most tho, are somewhere in-between. I guess it's hard to tell you how to proceed ratchet when I don't know the circumstances of your commission or what part of it (or all of it) you are unhappy with as well as how much you're willing to work with the artist towards a remedy (if that's possible). It would help to have more information, but that's up to you.

[BillC]

Tough situation.

I got a commission once that was really half assed, and I was a bit upset. I didn't say anything though because I didn't want to burn the bridge for potential dealings in the future (it was a good artist that still "had it"- when they wanted to. They were also known to be a bit touchy).

[CKinSD]

Originally Posted by SunnyLee

As a artist, (for me anyway - I can't speak for other artists), the best possible way for me to get a client something he wants without having to give up too much artistic license is by involving the client as much as possible without losing the part of the commission that makes it fun for me.

As some of you know, my process is two fold: First I try to obtain as much information as possible from the client. Costume (there are always multiple variations from multiple time/universe/etc), pose, power display, etc. This eliminates the minutia error. I also ask the client if he/she has any reference pics they want me to work off of. Once as much info is nailed down as possible, I then proceed to draw a rough for the client. If the client is either way too nitpicky or demanding (I'm not drawing one his 10,000 pouches with the right buttons or I want a hair follicle flowing right instead of left) or I sense a great deal of trepidation (takes days to respond to inquiries), I'll usually back out of the deal and walk away and explain that I'm probably not the best artist for this particular piece - no monies exchanged and no harm no foul.

Now here's where it gets a little iffy. I usually ask for half down payment now when the rough is approved. This part is non-refundable because at this point, I'm beginning to work on the final piece and this takes a lot of time and energy. I am going into it armed with the fact that the client approved of the rough (pose, costume, etc) and that I have been given approval to proceed to the next phase. At this point, because of the amount of detail involved, any change to the pose, costume, etc, becomes a major effort on my part and it becomes extremely difficult to accommodate such a change without having to restart the piece entirely (loss of art board, time, materials etc). I am always happy to accommodate any kind of minor change to keep the client happy with his piece - because in my mind, that's the ultimate goal here. He's the paying person, and it's my job to keep him as happy as possible. If, at the end, the client becomes unhappy with the piece for whatever reason, the second half of the payment is no longer due, and we walk away... but I hold onto the first half/downpayment as payment for the time and energy spent and I also retain the rights to resell the piece to another if so inclined.

I guess, in short, the best answer I can offer, is that for me, I try to eliminate as much doubt as to the outcome of the piece as possible. The best way I can think of is the rough and the clients approval of it. For me, that's our binding agreement to move forward.

I'm not sure how your situation proceeded ratchet, but the best remedy I can offer depends a great deal on your relationship with the artist and the artist himself/herself. There are artists out there (big and small) who's ego plays a great deal in this purchase and would take it personally if you told them - this isn't what I wanted. Others, are extremely amendable and work hard to keep clients happy and coming back. Most tho, are somewhere in-between. I guess it's hard to tell you how to proceed ratchet when I don't know the circumstances of your commission or what part of it (or all of it) you are unhappy with as well as how much you're willing to work with the artist towards a remedy (if that's possible). It would help to have more information, but that's up to you.

[Underdog07]

As a patron of the arts, I am just thankful that artists are willing to take my money and am thrilled with getting anything in return (is that sarcasm? - otherwise, I agree with Drew)

[Mean Green]

Originally Posted by Underdog07

As a patron of the arts, I am just thankful that artists are willing to take my money and am thrilled with getting anything in return (is that sarcasm? - otherwise, I agree with Drew)

I blame you if Mark Brooks never comes back here.