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?
Hi there, welcome to the forums!
Mkay, so you have decided to delve into art commissions, that is great!
I would recommend that you have some kind of game plan in place before you commission an artist: things such as your budget, your time-frame (when you want to start and when you want it finished by), and what you are going for can help artists significantly if you get the details sorted ahead of time.
--> Examples of important details: (is this a cover piece or spot art? is this going to be a full-page full-color piece, or is this going to be a quarter-page black & white lineart piece? Does the piece have one character, or multiple characters? Is the piece a character portrait, or a full-body character with a detailed background? Is the piece of a specific character with very specific details?).
As for the art you want made, I think that both a written description and visual references help when combined to weave a story for the artist. You want to help the artist to understand not just the subject matter, but the story behind it (while keeping it short and to the point, no need for walls-of-text lore dumps). Hopefully this can help inspire the artist to unlock that creative potential, as the more they understand the subject (and are intrigued by it), the more they can imbue their talents into the art itself.
Many have recommended Deviant (I personally avoid Deviant due to their treatment of artists regarding the training of artwork without consent for ai, compound this with the fact that they do not require ai images to be labeled as ai, and there is no way to filter it out). Artstation was mentioned as well (typically artstation is for the higher-end artists I have commissioned for big cover pieces, but they also have not treated artists well regarding ai training). I have heard good things about Cara.app, but I already know a good number of artists that I work with regularly, so I have yet to use it to search for artists.
Here is a short article on why artists are moving away from artstation and deviant (and some alternative options).
---> The Budget: The reason I recommend having a set budget is so that you can tell any prospective artists what you are looking for, and then see about finding something both you (the client) and the contracted artist can agree to.
Most artists have their own rates, and I personally always ask the artist their going rate out of respect. I know that some publishers/companies have "set" rates for pieces of art, but these set rates are often times lower than an artists rates, and IMHO you get what you pay for (if you want quality, you pay for it).
I think it might also help if you clarify exactly what the art is being used for. Is this a personal commission for your home game? Is this art being commissioned for a commercial product? Are you planning on using the art for other purposes beyond just the initial commission (like merch and licensing)? These details can help you to determine how an artist is going to approach your project. If your project is more of a personal (non-commercial) nature, than that is putting a different set of obligations than if you are trying to commission art for a project that will eventually be published.
Furthermore, contracting can be another subject that you can negotiate with artists, but I personally only negotiate for the benefit of both parties (just how I do things). For example, many standard contracts are for full rights over the commissioned art for the client, but you can negotiate with an artist (once you are familiar with their process and their personal inclinations,
and always in good faith) if you are willing to be more open-minded about the terms of the contract:
Which brings me to my next point: Art commissions can seem like they are expensive, until you look behind the curtain. If you are contracting for exclusive rights, the fee should indeed be higher, because the artist will have no way to earn residual income from their art. The majority of working artists cannot earn a living off of commissions alone, and rely on selling prints, or sometimes the original piece of art (if working traditionally), and other methods (like stock art licensing) to continue generating income from their work. It might help to consider that the artist has to earn a living, and sometimes that requires thinking about the long-term. One way you can help with this is to you talk to your artist about any of your long-term concerns.
I wish everyone the best, and I hope that you find what you are looking for, even if you don't find it the first time out (cause sometimes you have to find a diamond in the rough).
With Utmost Respect,
Art
P.S. I have been extremely busy (always am this time of year), so this is my first chance to check into the forums in a while. Apologies to anyone who may have been waiting on any replies. (Furthermore, I was going to write a long series on the forums on game design related to card games, but with the recent developments for the next year I simply don't see it happening with everything currently on my plate).
