Whether this is your first time commissioning an artist, or if you're just wondering how you can provide the best information to get what you're looking for when commissioning me specifically, the following should help you out if you're wondering what I find easiest to work with in a commission inquiry!
[Acceptable Content]
I DO take private commissions, but may add a fee of up to $50USD to these pieces, as I cannot feature them in my portfolios or galleries.
PLEASE COME PREPARED WITH YOUR COMMISSION IDEA/REFERENCES!
Answering emails, providing quotes, and sifting through ideas takes time, all of which is unpaid. I may choose to cancel a commission slot claimed by an indecisive client, because many others have been waiting with concrete ideas.
If you have claimed a waitlist slot, please use this time to decide what sort of art you'd like to get when active slots reopen.
The following are all things I am fairly comfortable with depicting in art. The extent of what I’m okay with depicting will depend on the individual commission, so please feel free to contact me if you are unsure.
Please note that just because you may have seen me draw a subject or use a style for personal work, this does not mean I am comfortable with doing it on commission.
Things that ARE okay:
- pin-ups or artistic/implied nudity
- recreational drug/alcohol use
- blood/violence/injury
I love drawing women and monsters, but I will attempt to draw most types of character if the client feels they're appropriate to my art style.
I am less comfortable drawing mech but will do my best with cyborgs or robot characters if you still feel like my style suits what you're after!
I am comfortable depicting most types of anatomy, ethnic features, and bodytypes.
*** Please feel very free to ask for corrections if you’d like me to change how I have drawn your character, or if I miss an important feature of theirs!!! ***
My goal is to give you art you are 100% happy with!
Commission types I DON’T accept:
I may be able to give you a custom quote if you have an idea for a commission similar to something listed on my commission info page, but if it is vastly different from the types I have listed, there's a much lower chance of me accepting it due to being unable to easily provide an accurate price for the work involved.
Below is a list of commission types I am guaranteed not to accept:
- I do not do sequential art/comic commissions.
- I do not take sticker pack/emote set commissions.
- I do not currently take commissions involving more than 4 distinct characters.
- I am not available for hire/contract/collaboration on long-term projects.
- I do not take commissions in a style separate from my own. ( example: mimicking styles in popular media like Pokemon, Animal Crossing, etc. I will still happily draw these creatures and characters, just in my own style.)
- I do not do tattoo or logo commissions, but if you would like to get something you have commissioned as a tattoo, please feel free.
I do NOT accept ANY commissions featuring the following under any circumstance:
- racism/sexism/other similar hateful topics
- explicitly sexual content
- underage OR underage-seeming characters in any inappropriate context
- characters with super-extreme proportions (hyper, hentai, extreme muscle, inflation)
I may exclude things that are not on this list.
If you're unsure, please send an email and we can discuss it.
[REFERENCES]
Clear references are very important when it comes to getting accurate artwork, but I understand not everyone has an official refsheet for things they may wish to commission.
In these cases, other pre-existing artwork, image galleries, screenshots, a colored free base provided by another artist, or even a simple MSPaint doodle will usually give me enough to work with.
If references aren't 100% accurate, please be sure to clearly note which parts I should and should not use.
Image galleries are easiest to work with if they provide a basic reference for a character's species, body type, important features, colors, and clothing. If you can't find a close reference for some details, you may include a short text description ( around 200 words or less) for your commission in addition to provided images.
If you're working on finalizing your character's appearance and would like my input, I'm also happy to provide small ideas here and there for features I think will fit. I am comfortable with a certain amount of freedom as long as you have a basic idea of what you're after!
If you are providing references which include adult content or poses, please clearly mark them. This is mostly so I know which links are safe to open during public art streams.
[PROMPTS]
The commission prompt should be clear and concise. Please let me know what type of commission (Sketch, Ink&Color, Ref sheet, etc) you are interested in.
I personally find it easiest to work from text when it's in a bullet format, but a small amount of prose is fine if you think it's important for getting the scene across.
A prompt should include things like pose(s) for the character(s), expression, mood or theme. Again, I'm comfortable with a certain amount of freedom if you would just like to see what I do with an idea, but I prefer to have at least a little bit to work from, even if it's just a short note about the character's personality or what you'd like them to be doing.
Please do not send story excerpts as prompts. It is not a format that is easy to work from, and details will easily get lost if I have to refer back to a large amount of text. A prompt description should ideally be no more than a few sentences, or a max of around 200 words if you need to clarify several things.
[EXAMPLES]
Below are a couple examples of different commission prompts I'd find it easy to work from!
Feel free to use these as a guide if you need to! At the bottom is also an easy copy/paste template you can fill out to send your email if you're still unsure where to start.
Hello!
I'm interested in getting an Ink & Color illustration commission featuring two characters.
Character 1 - Paeloh [reference]
This image will be earlier in her story, so please do not include the scar over her eye.
Character 2 - Emiko [reference]
We'll be working with her human form on the left, specifically. She wears the white and red outfit of a miko, or shrine maiden. (something like this: [link])
There is a large height difference between them - Emiko is around 5'4", while Paeloh is around 6'8" at the top of her head (not including horns).
For poses, I'd like Paeloh to be looming behind behind Emiko, arms crossed, looking down at her with a scowl.
Emiko will be in front of her, facing the viewer, imitating Paeloh's expression and holding her fingers up to her own head to mimic horns. (here's a vague image ref for the pose: [link])
I can be invoiced via Paypal at this email address.
Please let me know if you need any other information!
Thank you! -- @guttertongue on twitter
Hey there!
I'm interested in getting a two character sketch commission!
First, here's Adele: [reference] [colors]
She's a witch-hunter (who also hunts a bunch of other spooky supernatural things)
For this, I'd like her fending off a big werewolf (the second 'character') with her sword. I don't have a specific reference for the werewolf, but if you're comfortable winging it I am perfectly happy to let you do so! You can use this [link] as a vague jumping-off point. It should be a fair bit larger than her and look very wild/feral. Definitely more on the monstrous side rather than a creature in control of itself.
If you'd like me to elaborate on anything, please let me know! :D
You can send the invoice to [guttertongue@gmail.com]!
Looking forward to working with you!
Thanks! -- @guttertongue on twitter
Hi! I'm looking to get a refsheet for my sona. It'll be a from-scratch design.
She's a therizinosaur! I really like this reconstruction of the species with the big fluffy tail: [link] so I'd like to go with something based off that, but with a more humanoid body shape.
Bodytype should be scrawny ( think almost like llama-kuzco from Emperor's New Groove, but upright.) I'd like to keep the long neck and have her posture be kind of tired and slouchy. A few big feathers on the head in place of hair would be great!
For colors, i'd like to go with white underbelly and teal back. the scaly hands/feet should be grey, with darker claws. I did a quick color over this silhouette I found so I hope that helps! [link]
I'm looking for a refsheet with:
- Full body front
- Full body back
- 2 headshots
For one headshot I'd like her to be yawning. For the other, looking comically tired with a thought bubble with a picture of a cup of coffee inside it.
If you could include the following information in a little info box that'd be great!
Name: Gutter
Species: Therizinosaurus
Gender: Female
Height: 5'10
This address is fine for paypal!
Thanks a lot!
[TEMPLATE]
SUBJECT: Commission Inquiry
Hello! I'm interested in commissioning you!
Commission Type: [Commission type here, include the number of characters if greater than one].
Character/References: [Character name] [Links to your reference(s) here. Please clearly mark if they contain explicit content. If there are things about your character references do not clearly show, you may include a short description to help out.]
Description: [Describe what kind of pose, expression or scene you'd like me to draw. For reference sheet commissions, list what types of full body/portrait/details you'd like on your ref sheet.]
Paypal Address: [Paypal address here]
Name/Username: [What you'd like to be called, or your twitter username]
Feel free to add other things to this template if you wish. After receiving your inquiry, I will contact you back ASAP with a price quote for the work. You will not be invoiced until I confirm everything with you.