D&D General Questions about comissioning art

[quiet engine]

Hey everyone, I have some things that I'd love to have drawn / painted / rendered / whatever for a campaign I'm running. I've never comissioned art before. Where do I begin? Are there marketplaces for this type of thing where I can check out people's portfolios? How much do folks charge typically?

 

[trappedslider]

Hey everyone, I have some things that I'd love to have drawn / painted / rendered / whatever for a campaign I'm running. I've never comissioned art before. Where do I begin? Are there marketplaces for this type of thing where I can check out people's portfolios? How much do folks charge typically?

Etsy would be a good place to start looking. Depending on what you want prices can range from $30 up to over $100 in my experience, this user might know more @Art Waring

 

[LordEntrails]

Art Station and Deviant Art are two "portfolio" type sites you can check out and possible find artists to seek a commission from. If you are looking for maps, then Cartographer's Guild is really good, they have some posts about how to commission members.

I've tried before, sometimes the artists are responsive, and sometimes they are not interested and don't respond. Reach out to multiple ones.

 

[Seramus]

Also, expect the commission to take a while. Sometimes you get lucky with lightning fast turn around, but 3+ months is far more common.

 

[sevenbastard]

I've always wondered the same thing. I have projects I would like to Art Up to legitimate them.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

My partner has commissioned art by contacting artist through deviantart.com

I will say you need to be more careful now as the site is flooded with amateur AI art, so you will need to work a bit more to find a true artist.

Artstation as more pro’s IMO, but they will cost more too

 

[Morrus]

Also, expect the commission to take a while. Sometimes you get lucky with lightning fast turn around, but 3+ months is far more common.

For one piece? Unless it's a full page full colour detailed cover piece, no. 3 months per piece would make the average hardcover RPG book take a century to produce!

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

For one piece? Unless it's a full page full colour detailed cover piece, no. 3 months per piece would make the average hardcover RPG book take a century to produce!

Yep, less than a week per piece for the art my partner commissioned. If artist want to make money they need to work fast!

 

[Morrus]

If artist want to make money they need to work fast!

That's a bit harsh.

 

[Seramus]

For one piece? Unless it's a full page full colour detailed cover piece, no. 3 months per piece would make the average hardcover RPG book take a century to produce!

I mean, that would be great! Sometimes I get a quality piece very quickly, and that rocks. Far more often they have several other commissions and I'm waiting my turn, then they have some emergency, or just get sluggish and send me apologies. Thankfully I usually get a solid product in the end.