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Marker-Guru — Commission Guide revised
Published: 2006-10-10 19:08:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 27280; Favourites: 532; Downloads: 1188
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Description
This tutorial is getting more attention lately, so I've updated it. and reopened comments. I will close commenting agian if people get all holier than thou again.Apparently I cant change the gallery because they'll never load. you'll have to download the doc until I can.
I'll add more FAQ as they come along as well enjoy.
FAQ
I get SO many notes about more questions. I'll add them!
Q: How do I set up paypal?
A: It's different for different countries! I'm Canadian and from what I hear the American paypal is very different. other countries .. who knows. you will need to follow the instructions that paypal gives you, and ask them if you have questions.
Q: Can you go through my gallery and tell me if its worth opening commissions/I'm good enough/ how much to charge?
A: No, I can't. Sorry but pricing is something you have to manage on your own, and it's up to you to open commissions for your OWN reasons, not because i said you're cool
Q: What option should people use when sending money via paypal?
A: I'm not sure which ones have fees or not, but i generally choose "other" or gift"
Old Tutorial Translations:
In russian - Translated by Bat-Mau
In Indonesian - translated by shukugumo
In Czech - translated by Myrthilla
In Spanish - translated by - JacquiJax
in French by LoukvennMoon
Related content
Comments: 145
Commenting again b/c I finished reading it. I'll say this again, very positive motivation! Thank you. I have that "no one would buy them" or "I'll wait until I get better" thing...but the main reason is I fear the money transfer and the fact that I'll feel bad if they expected more out of the picture. I wouldn't want anyone to waste their money because of me. I never did anything like paypal, so I'm a little weary about it. It seems safe though.
Thanks again
E-Z
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i'm not in the market
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this makes me feel bad 
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I cant understand why that would make you feel bad, honestly.
Not all are created equal.
I create work upwards of 1000$ each, but that doesnt mean everyone can.
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well congratulations.
Most people should expect that for a painting, but online its very competetive and the average doodler/non career artist can tend to charge less to start off.
no one in any industry can expect to make a high wage when first starting out.
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Need to keep this in mind :3 thank you ! I'll use it for future reference (aka when I have more time to do commission work)
Thank you ^_^ !
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Very nicely written and detailed. I found it incredibly helpful and I might start commissions soon... ^^
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Thanks! I have a dream of becoming a commissioner one day... as for now I'll stick with teachers...
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Thanks for the guide! Well written and motivating. I've just placed a journal for commissions and Im wondering if I'm asking too much money wise.What's your opinion on the prices? I think I might get more hits if I upload more art. Thanks!
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seems good to me, but make sure you are comfortable with it
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I'd been thinking about doing commissions, and I found this tutorial to be wonderfully helpful and informative. Thank you very much for sharing it!
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This is great and a positive motive. I'm definately comming back to finish reading it later 
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How can people pay? I've tried PayPal but its only for people in the US... I'm from the Phils. and I want to do commissions, but how can people pay for my works?
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pay pal can be international. i am in canada and i have a paypal account. otherwiseyou can accept whateveryou want . cash cheques money orders..
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Thanks so much for the advice on commisions. I've been thinking about it for some time but I never knew how much to charge for my work. But now I have a far better idea and I won't be shy to say what I can and cannot do. thanks again
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This and the smaller essay were extremely helpful. I was thinking at first that I have a hard time coming up with even a decent answer. You always go up and beyond when you explain things. Thank you so much for taking time once again to do so. I especially liked the intro! I didn't know that mindset plagued that many artist as well.
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Thanks loads!! This really helped alot and came at a good time too because I'm just about to start commissions
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good work, very informative and coach-like (inspiring)
I hope to do animation commissions which was not specifically addressed though.
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this was helpful, sumwat. except ima digital artist, i struggle way too much with "real media", and this tut seemed to cover that type of commission. i tried for awhile to get commissions, it wasnt until i lowered the prices to almost dirt cheap that ppl started paying =/
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I did touch on some of the differences with Digital and how i would handle them as well.
commissions are just commissions. however you do them doesnt change how you would price, or handle them beyond the considerations of what the buyer gets.
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Odd I would see this now...a friend of mine said I should charge for my prints...I was like I could but why when I'm just learning... I feel as if I need to get handle on what the public would pay for.
Hell,
I'm still learning how to use my camera....
AND my Phototshop
AND I STILL can't Draw a stick figure to save my life,....
I have stuff for sale that I don't want for sale because I didn't know how DA worked at the time
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Neat!
I think the thing that I found difficult when considering my prices for commissions was the curency issue. I live in New Zealand, and the dollar here is currently worth 76cents to $1US. If I charged the base price of $70 that I have, but in NZ dollars, the client would only be paying $40US, and I feel that that is far too low, considering the time I put in, and the quality that comes out. So I charge American $'s for all my international commissions. I was thinking about charging in pounds, since New Zealand is part of the British Commonwealth, blah blah blah, but then thats waaay too much money for me.
I think another good thing with pricing, is to not have a set price. A set base price yes, but you've got to be able to change it according to what the client wants.
There was really no purpose to what I just wrote. Just felt like writing it!! Great tutorial, and I know it has been and will be helpful for many more people!
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HHAA! I hear ya!
i do jimmymy prices a little too sometimes, and i also do things like if someone wants to trade an art book and then make up the price a little or something i do that.
The key is to be flexible within reason, and not get walked on :d
Its a tough balance sometimes D:
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yeah, sure is! If someone can't afford a commission, I wouldn't say, oh well, too bad, try again next time. Any money you can get is great. As long as it is within reason and you aren't short pricing yourself it's ok.
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Yup thats totally fair
I do the same thing
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This has officially kicked my ass into gear. It struck me when you listed some of the reasons I had been telling myself. I guess I need to have more faith.
Thank you Guruu.
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Thanks for this =] I've been recently thinking about doing commisions, this has been very useful
I do however need to get a decent scanner |D;
Any good ones you know of?
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Mines a canon and it was 70$ at walmart
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Thanks sweetheart! 
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[link] is what i use for currency conversion
Thank you so much
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Great and insightful guide.
I don't like mailing jpegs as final art, but how about TIFF files, which are relatively high quality and ready fo printing?
I guess the trade-off is that you'd have to charge lower compared to sending originals via snail-mail.
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my problem with Jpegs being the final product, is the same as any other format.
any hard copies come out of pocket.
when i pay for something I want something out of it that i can hold without paying more to get. not something that i can only see on a screen.
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I offered 1p commisions once, and everyone just laughed and told me to draw stuf for them for free. So I killed myself. The end.
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Its great i wish you could give us some links that would be cool (to get a pay pal account etc.. saves me googling it 
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well, paypal.com
But otherwise, i'd say, jsut advertise wherever you go. be creative.
make stickers to tag all over your town, you can make posters.
online there are forums and banner rotations of all kinds. the skys the limit.
as for legal stuff, i try not to get into
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lol thanks and good luck with your work
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I appreciate this tutorial, it relieved sooo much anxiety. : )
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This was very helpful! I've been trying to reel in some commissions. I have done some research on my prices, and have a list up; I'm currently having a sale, and trying to get more advertisement. But, still not people are interested. I know I'm not the BEST artist out there, but I know my work is worth buying. If there is any advice you can give me, it would be great! (just don't be TOO brutal, Lol!) Thank you very much for the tips and advice!
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that is really helpfully! funnily I’ve been rather confidant about my work lately ... but not that confidant 
good idea! and will probably help a lot of artist! (maybe me one day)
btw you got some nice art
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thank you!! ^^ that's all I can say. <3
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thank you so much for doing this, it really helps
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I've been thinking about doing commission's lately...I know i'm a bit young and I have alot of work to do before i'm nearly as good as some of the people out there so i'm still a little nervous about offering them even after reading this
If it's not to much trouble I was wondering if you could give me pointer's on stuff to improve and if you think i'm ready yet.
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take a shuffle over to the *artworkshop my friend and we will set you up with a learning plan if you like
(thats my club, so in short, yes i will help you, but the club has the best setup to do that
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