#and I do see artists who commissioners tend to reblog

[thevikingwoman]

question if you either do or buy commissions, curious about how people feel about posting commissions on tumblr

if you both buy and sell, pick the one you do most please

do note that

this is NOT about insta or twitter, only tumblr behavior

not about whether artists want to post to their portfolio

this is about whether the buyer posts them personally, even if the artist also posts for portfolio or consistency reasons on their own blog too

[pftones3482]

hi! i don’t know if you’ll be able to help me or not, but i’ve recently been trying to save up for further education and i decided to open up writing commissions to help me out. i was wondering if you had any tips to advertise them. i don’t like going on about them on my blog because i feel like people will start to think i’m just doing it for money. if you have any tips, i’d really appreciate the help!

Here's the thing: you ARE doing it for money, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Anyone who thinks so doesn't deserve your work. Art is time and time is money and writing is art. Its fantastic if you also happen to enjoy the commission you're writing, but I'm not gonna lie, sometimes it sucks. Sometimes you don't want to write it, but you already agreed and you really need the money so you don't back up.

Don't be scared to advertise on your blog. I get anxious about that too, because I don't want to feel like I'm pressuring people. I always throw in a little note that says something like "its okay if you can't afford to commission me, but if you could reblog this that would be helpful too!"

People want to help. I have some wonderful repeat commissioners who give me full liberty with prompts, and theyre some of my favorite people to hear from.

My main tips for commissions in general are:

- Don't be afraid to advertise. The only way people will see your posts is if you keep reblogging and posting them

- Advertise on multiple platforms if you have a following! I only announce mine on tumblr or in authors notes on my personal fanfiction, but if you have a lot of followers on twitter thats also a good source

- openly communicate what you are and are not comfortable writing. A lot of people looking to commission tend to ask for very specific things (especially if you're open to doing n*fw content). If it makes you uncomfortable, be clear about it. They'll either amend their request or go find someone else.

- stay firm on your prices once you set them. If someone is willing to tip you extra, make sure you thank them. But if someone wants you to lower your prices for ANY reason, be clear that they're not negotiable. Your work and time is worth the price you set. If they get mad about it, oh well. You don't need their money THAT badly.

- Give yourself plenty of time to work and edit and make sure you know your own strengths and weaknesses. I can write a 5000 word or less fic in about a day. But ONLY if I'm not working, don't have to do chores, and stay focused and motivated the whole time, which usually never happens. I always triple the time I need: if it takes me a day, I say three. That gives me mental and physical time to make sure I'm putting out a product I'm proud of. And if you need an extra day, communicate. Most commissioners are very chill about it.

Above all, remember that you're providing a service this person can't do themself, because if they could, they probably would (this is not to say writers can't commission writers; but the ones who get nitpicky over prices tend to not be any kind of artist).

You ARE writing for money, you told me this. And thats nothing to be ashamed of. I write for fun a lot, but I also write for money. I'm clear with people that if they want to request something from me, they can always commission me or buy me a Ko-Fi if they want to see it (oh yes, set up a Ko-Fi! Its a great way to get little tips and is easier to use than Patreon).

Good luck with both your writing and furthering your education! If there's anything else I can do for you, don't be afraid to ask! And if any other writers have any good tips, feel free to reblog or reply!

[darlingpeter]

i believe it could be.

“can i get uuuuuuh pre movie eddie flirting with reader as he's crafting an article about them”

eddie brock is such a sweetie and i’ve been excited about this ever since i went to go see the film!! also this is one of the best requests i’ve ever received, hands down. please only send in requests if they’re in this format. thank you.

(title is from peace train by cat stevens)

pairing: pre-movie!eddie brock x reader

warnings: none!

length: 1119 words

part two - part three

“So how did you break into the San Francisco art scene?”

You were sitting in a coffee shop, sipping on a cappuccino as Eddie Brock tapped his pen against his lip absentmindedly. You were the subject of an article he was writing about up-and-coming artists making impact with their work in the bay area. You could admit that you were nervous at first: he was the Eddie Brock and you still considered yourself a starving artist - not yet used to the traction that your work had gained in the recent months.

It also didn’t help that he was even cuter in person.

You were a fan of his show and his work, and you were really trying to be conscious of what was coming out of your mouth. His reader-base was huge, and you really wanted to come off as professional just in case future commissioners were in his audience. However, it was taking almost all of your concentration to keep yourself from completely melting under his blue-eyed gaze.

Because of this, the conversation took a more casual tone, and where it wasn’t something you necessarily expected, it was actually very nice. Conversation came easy with Eddie. You had already discovered that the two of you had a similar taste in music, and that you were both looking forward to seeing some films set to premier soon. He had dropped plenty of subtle hints that he would like to go to a show of an artist that you both liked, and that if you needed someone to see a movie with, he was a call away. Unfortunately though, you read the subtlety as him just trying to be nice, and you figured he was just trying to be polite. How embarrassing would it be if you misread the situation? Better safe than sorry, you figured.

“I was lucky to already have a strong network when I moved here. I have a lot of friends with connections in the city, and many of them really paid off in building an audience.” You answered his question, fidgeting with a ring around your finger.

Eddie scrawled a little note in his notebook with a half smile on his face. “I had a feeling you weren’t from around here.”

You raised a brow at his comment. “Oh yeah? How so?”

“Folks around here who are higher up on the food chain tend to be a little, uh,” He sent a quick glance around the shop, making sure that no one was listening. “They tend to be a little self-righteous. Pompous. Like other people owe them something, you know?”

You knew what he meant. It definitely didn’t apply to the majority of the people who lived in the city, but those who held top spots in many city corporations were bitter and entitled. You had had a run-in with a local CEO who wanted to commission a piece from you, but was willing to pay much less than you would normally accept and suggested that having a name like his under your belt would be payment enough for your services. You told him off, said that it was because of jerks like him that people with incredible talents ended up living on the streets with nothing.

You shared this story with Eddie after making sure that he would take it off the record (you made him pinky promise), and it left him grinning, his eyes bright with delight.

“You really said that?” He asked, and you nodded. “That’s so badass. I feel like I need to kiss your ring for that.” He joked, and you played along, extending yours across the table in response.

He took your hand in his and brushed his lips along the delicate skin behind your knuckles before looking up at you and pressing a kiss there. His slightly chapped lips lingered for an extra beat, and your cheeks flushed at the sensation of his stubble scratching at your skin.

You let out a (hopefully not awkward) laugh to play off the situation a little bit and retracted your hand, and color jumped to Eddies cheeks. “That was probably pretty weird, um, thanks for rolling with it.” He laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“Of course. I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to feel like some sort of important English noblewoman.”

Eddie and you continued to talk, the point of conversation moving back toward your work and your hopes for the city, but you couldn’t help but think you noticed an extra sparkle in his eye.

After assessing the scrawled notes that he had taken in his notebook, Eddie finally closed it with a sigh. “What’s after this for you?” He asked, capping his pen.

“Do you mean in terms of my career? Or like what i’m doing this weekend?”

Eddie smirked. “I mean what are you doing tomorrow night? Any plans?”

Your heart fluttered. So you weren’t misreading the signs from earlier. “Why? You wanna get coffee with me again?” You asked in a slightly teasing tone.

“Yeah, I mean,” Eddie rubbed at the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. “I was thinking of something a little stronger. Maybe I pick up a couple of bottles of wine and I cook you dinner?”  

“You can cook?”

“Absolutely not.” He laughed. “I was thinking of getting takeout and putting it on plates so I can try to take credit.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. He was definitely the kind of person you could see yourself sitting down and having a good drink with. Though, you wouldn’t mind if more than that were to occur.

“I’d really like that, Eddie.” You told him, and he physically relaxed. “Make it a twelve pack and Thai and I’ll be there.”

“Yes ma’am.”

You reached across the table to grab his pen and scribble your number and address on a stray napkin. You slid it across the table back to him along with his pen. “Pick me up at seven, Brock.” You stood, and grabbed your bag. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you then.” He acknowledged, and you were close enough to hear his breath catch as you leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek before walking out of the shop.

As you walked past the shop window, you spared one more glance inside at the reporter, and looked just in time to see him grin down at the napkin in his hands with the digits on it and do a seated, fist-pumping happy dance. It made you smile. What a dork.

it had been a long time since you had been so excited for a date.

[a/n: hi everyone!! i’m so happy to be back and active on this blog!! my hiatus can be explained by this post here, and i’m so grateful to be in such a supportive community!!

i’ve been out of my element for a while, so all and any feedback is super appreciated because i’m a bit rusty and i’m afraid it showed in this work! let me know what you thought of this. i’ll be checking my messages, inbox, replies to this post, and the tags on reblogs!!

as always, my requests are open!! love you guys!!]

[spacegate]

i’m an artist that’s opening up my commissions for the first time - do you have any tips on how to prevent myself from getting chargeback scammed on PayPal? or other tips that might help?

Heyo! 

The first thing you should do is use invoices and invoices only. Paypal tends to side with buyers more than sellers most of the time, so the more documentation you have the better.

There is a tab to make invoices in your Paypal account.

Go to Manage Invoices, and you’ll get something like this.

Now some things are pretty straight forward, but there’s some things you should remember.

For item name, you can have something like ‘Digital full body commission’ and then use the detailed description box. You could write something like ‘A full body colored digital commission delivered over email upon completion.’ 

The key word is ‘digital’. Because if you don’t include that digital part, the scammer could just claim that they paid for art they never got and thus get their charge back. 

Now the most important thing here is the TOS. Be sure to be detailed, you get about 4000 or so characters to write everything out. Include things like 1.this is a digital commission done and delivered over the internet. 2.no refunds or chargebacks upon completion of work.

Remember, you can research a commissioner too. People remember scammers so more than likely if you look into them, you can see if they have negative attention on them. Reputation spreads far and wide and many times there are posts going around warning people of known scammers. 

Now, you sent your invoice, and you will get a ‘needs attention’ box under the invoice you sent in your summary page. Click it and you’ll come to a shipping and tracking page.

ALWAYS MARK IT AS ORDER PROCESSED! Order processed means that a digital good was delivered and doesn’t need a tracking number. Some people forget to take care of this after an invoice is paid, and people can use that loophole to issue a chargeback since you ‘never shipped their art’. 

Don’t delete emails with clients, archive them. The more paper trail you have the better. 

Also: DO NOT ALLOW PEOPLE TO SEND YOU PAYMENTS THROUGH THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY OPTION. If paypal catches you taking payments and not giving them their due fees and taxes, they’ll shut down your account.

Invoices only. Send it before you start work. Have a clear TOS. Avoid people who seem suspicious. Join a network of other artists so everyone can share information on any known scammers running the commission circuit. 

Also, i dunno if you want to do adult artwork or not, so disregard this if you’re not. Sometimes, a buyer will purchase an adult commission, and then turn around and chargeback, threatening to tell paypal you were selling adult art and that you’ll get your account locked.

The tos of paypal states that you can’t use paypal to pay for physical stuff, like escorts and other sex workers. For drawn art? It’s fine. So you can laugh in their face and file a false chargeback claim on their asses. 

Also not really for chargebacks but it’s a good idea to use watermarks! When sending pictures for people to approve, overlay the image with a bigass watermark that says something like ‘UNPAID’ on it. Only give the unwatermarked image after the art has been paid for. Refuse to give them high-rez unwatermarked art without payment.

I think that’s it for me. I have a lot of art friends who work selling their art online. If any of you guys have any advice to add, feel free to add it by replying or reblogging. Lets help some new artists out! 

[lissaremade]

art requests 101

(at least for me, speaking as an artist because some people seem to be sort of unsure about how they work)

under the cut! this is ok to reblog too by the way!

basically, for me, requests serve as a pool from which i can pick from if i feel like drawing something but i don’t know what to draw.

requests are NOT mini commissions (or commissions whatsoever), and requests are not very formal (at least for me)

requests tend to be more small doodles for me, although i will occasionally offer a larger piece if i’m in the mood to draw something big

if the artist ends up not drawing your request, then that’s okay! after all it’s only a request and they aren’t obligated to draw it because you aren’t paying or compensating them for it, really.

asking for an artist to draw a very complicated, specific illustration for a request is pretty rude. the artist is being nice and offering to draw you something for absolutely free in between any projects they may be working on, and you’re banking on their kindness to use them for free commissions. if you really want someone to draw you a large piece, then commission them! that way, you can really support the artist! 

an ideal request for me would be “hey, can you draw x character from x series?” it leaves a lot of creative freedom, so i can do whatever i want with the piece! it’s also very casual and friendly, not so rigid or demanding. (for example, say if you approached me and demanded i draw x character, or asked a million questions about my capabilities and restrictions)

preying upon artists who are offering requests is honestly pretty rude too, because you’re really only using them for free art. (i.e., if you go searching in the “art requests” search results on tumblr or deviantart and message every artist you see offering to draw requests without bothering to follow them or support their work)

in short, respect and support your artists and writers! 

likes are nice, but reblogs help spread our work to other people who might be interested in it, as well as potential commissioners!