10 Steps to Ordering Commission Art
One thing that a lot of people don't know about me is that one of the largest chunks of my income is though commission art. Commission art is where someone approaches me with their own idea and I design and create it the way they visualize it.
For me this applies to paintings, stained glass, murals, sewing, sculptures, tapestries, event backdrops, installations and even interior design. I actually love commissions. I find it so much fun to work within someone else's parameters to bring something to life that they were seeing in their head.
But I realized the other day that a lot of people don’t realize how the commission process works. They’d love to ask an artist somewhere to make them something personal, but have no idea how to go about it. So, I thought I’d write up a little bit about how my process works using the example of the most recent commission that I did.
1. Start with an idea.
This commission was for an incredible badass of a woman. She had gone to the desert and had a deep and meaningful spiritual experience that had shown her the goddess part of herself that she’d never connected with before.
When she returned she asked me to make a portrait of her as the fulfilled, powerful, engaged goddess she was. This was the core of the idea that we started with.
2. Decide on your budget.
Before you start on anything at all, it’s important that you know how much you want to spend on your art. This will help the artist immediately define the possibilities of the project. This can help nail down the size, type of materials, amount of detail and timeframe for any project.
Any artist that’s used to working in commission art will have an idea of how quickly they can produce something using certain types of materials. Although the creative process will always have curve balls, knowing how much you’re willing to spend is essential before starting the process.
When I charge out for commission art, I charge around $25 an hour (depending on the project). So with whatever budget the person starts with, I’ll immediately have a rough estimate of how many hours I can put into the project, minus a general idea of how much the materials I’m working with cost. I ask for at least 50% payment at the start of the process, and the final payment at the end.
3. Make an agreement
There should be a written agreement at the point of initial payment that details the commitment between the artist and client. An email for this is fine. It should include things like agreed upon budget, what you’re hiring them to do, timeline, final payment, and any specific requirements that have to be met.
4. Choose your symbols.
Every individual has certain symbols that resonate. There will be things that have come up in your life, or that you’re just drawn to.
For this piece the symbols the client wanted included were the desert, the peyote cactus, a flowy dress, and a rabbit. From listening to her talk about it, I brought in extra idea of the snake, the moon, and sacred geometry.
5. Make a mood board.
There will be images out there that you love and ones that you hate. Comparing your ideas to things that have been done before help me get a sense of the type of aesthetics that a client is drawn to. For this process I search online and find things that I think match what we’ve been talking about and I ask the client to do so as well.
All of the imagery goes into a shared folder and we have an in-depth conversation about each image. We talk about things they love, things they don’t love, textures they like, colours they’re drawn too, etc.
By the end of this process we should’ve narrowed down a particular style, types of line work, colour palette and feeling.
6. Make a sketch.
I tend to make my sketches digitally, but many artists will do also this by hand. The sketch will be the first place that the artist creates a full composition of what they’re intending to do. From this sketch the client can see the full idea before any work has been done in the actual material. Since the sketch can be easily modified or changed, it’s essential at this point to get really specific about things you like or don’t like.
The re-sketching can happen as many times a necessary so that the final sketch is signed off on by the client. Then the real work can start!
7. In process client feedback
Communication is key! In any creative process there will be choices that come up during the work that I want to make sure the client is happy with. Although I want to make sure this process isn’t too convoluted, I do want the client to feel involved in the process. I’ll send periodic photos of the work in process with notes about what’s coming and things I want their feedback on. This makes sure that they’re not surprised by anything along the way.
8. Sticking to the budget.
When I’m doing a commission, I’m very aware that there are some aspects that will take more time than others. I order these things in terms of priority so I make sure that I can create a resolved piece in the time budget allotted.
With this particular piece I made sure I created a painting that I was happy with within the budget. But by the end of this process there were still things that I would’ve loved to add. So the images get sent to the client with a list of things I wanted to add in, like a more fleshed out background, more sacred geometry, painting on the side of the canvas, tattoos on the body, etc.
With this particular painting the client was excited about the extra ideas and encouraged me to keep going. We re-negotiated the budget and I went back to work on the painting.
9. Revisions and Final a-ok
When I feel that the piece is done to where I want it, I once again send photos. If there are any extra adjustments wanted at this point, this is where they happen. But by this point any adjustments should be minimal. Then I need my hard and final “YES I love it!”
10. Delivery!
When I delivered this piece to this particular client she said that I helped her see a part of herself that she’d never seen before and that now she could look at it every day and be reminded. That’s exactly the feeling you want to have achieved by going through this process. If that’s not what art is for, I don’t know what it is! Such a wonderful experience!
And there you go!
That’s what it takes to get an artist like me to create something completely specific for you.
If you ever have a desire for something you want to be created, just reach out and we can have a chat about it. Start a conversation with me at jodithesharp@gmail.com.