Talking about art commissions
So, after talking about how my tattoo art commissioning went, and how reassured I was that it followed a structure I was familiar with from the experience I have with artists and designers at work, wrdnrd asked that I talk a little bit about dealing with an art commission.
So, in my particular case I didn't have to do much because Erika Moen has her shit together. Here's the information I got after contacting her about the commission:
Based on my description she estimated 5 hours of work at $50/hour. Half paid upfront, half on completion.
She'd send me thumbnail sketches on Day X. I would have 3 days to send feedback. Feedback would all have to be in one e-mail. One week later I would get pencils, then the same feedback window, then one week later inks, again with the same feedback timeline. Any changes not in one of those feedback loops would be billed as additional work at the $50/hr rate.
If the artist you talk to does not offer that level of detail, then you need to provide it. Maybe not so many steps, but if money is changing hands you need to structure this if you want good results. You should at least get something like this:
You talk about what you want to see. If you don't speak artist talk (and even if you do) provide links to references.
The artist then provides you several rough concepts to choose from within an agreed upon time frame. You have X amount of time (agree to all Xs before work starts) to comment. As in my case all comments should be delivered in one go, not six separate e-mails over a week.
Next you should get an initial design/rough sketch/pencils (terms vary) which you can again make comments on. After that you'll get the final design, which you can comment on (but for the love of whatever these had better be minor things at this point!).
You can do this with more or less rounds of feedback and revision. If you know exactly what you want then maybe just sketch and final. If you only have a vague idea or want the artist to explore a couple avenues then you'll need more.
Try to be very clear about timelines and expected turnaround times for both parties from the beginning. If you think it might take many rounds of revisions be up front about that.
This is what is, in my opinion, standard operating procedure. Any freelance artist should have their own personal version of this kind of workflow. You should not feel overbearing if you implement this if they don't offer it as you really don't want to be working without a schedule and clear expectations for feedback and revision.
So, in my particular case I didn't have to do much because Erika Moen has her shit together. Here's the information I got after contacting her about the commission:
Based on my description she estimated 5 hours of work at $50/hour. Half paid upfront, half on completion.
She'd send me thumbnail sketches on Day X. I would have 3 days to send feedback. Feedback would all have to be in one e-mail. One week later I would get pencils, then the same feedback window, then one week later inks, again with the same feedback timeline. Any changes not in one of those feedback loops would be billed as additional work at the $50/hr rate.
If the artist you talk to does not offer that level of detail, then you need to provide it. Maybe not so many steps, but if money is changing hands you need to structure this if you want good results. You should at least get something like this:
You talk about what you want to see. If you don't speak artist talk (and even if you do) provide links to references.
The artist then provides you several rough concepts to choose from within an agreed upon time frame. You have X amount of time (agree to all Xs before work starts) to comment. As in my case all comments should be delivered in one go, not six separate e-mails over a week.
Next you should get an initial design/rough sketch/pencils (terms vary) which you can again make comments on. After that you'll get the final design, which you can comment on (but for the love of whatever these had better be minor things at this point!).
You can do this with more or less rounds of feedback and revision. If you know exactly what you want then maybe just sketch and final. If you only have a vague idea or want the artist to explore a couple avenues then you'll need more.
Try to be very clear about timelines and expected turnaround times for both parties from the beginning. If you think it might take many rounds of revisions be up front about that.
This is what is, in my opinion, standard operating procedure. Any freelance artist should have their own personal version of this kind of workflow. You should not feel overbearing if you implement this if they don't offer it as you really don't want to be working without a schedule and clear expectations for feedback and revision.