#batshizzmizz

[leslielumarie]

Hi Leslie! I'm a game design major and after seeing some of my art in class, a classmate of mine asked for me to draw him in some cartoon style. I told him that I don't do that kind of thing for free, so he agreed to pay me. I took the request, but after a bit, I realized that I know NOTHING about taking commissions. I don't know how much to charge, if I should send progress updates or anything really. So that brings me to ask: do you have any tips or insight on doing commissions? Thank you!

OKIE DOKIE

1.) Figuring how much to charge is p hard. I heard there are websites that help you do it. All I can say is make sure it’s never less than the minimum wage. Here in CA I think min wage is $10.50/hr. so I won’t go under that. Technically I’ll spend up to 2-3 hrs per icon so I should be charging up to $30 haha but ech. JUST YKNOW. Dont undercharge! 

2.) Make them pay UPFRONT. Don’t work first and then have them pay! You can get scammed like that really how stupid!! If the person who is commissioning you doesnt want to pay upfront don’t take the commission. They can find someone else then.

OR you can have them pay half up front, do a sketch and send them that, and once they like the sketch they pay the other half and then you finish. But yeah I rather go with full payment up front cuz I refuse to work for free lmao.

3.) I, personally, love sending progress sketches! So that if they dont like something about the picture they can tell me as soon as possible! Nothing sucks more than finishing a long commission AND THEN they ask you to change something they dont like.

“No one could ever be that big of a jackass, Leslie!” UM YES THEY CAN haha trust me. So its best to send people multiple updates if you can afford to do so!

I like to send then a rough sketch WIP. If they like it I’ll do the lineart and send them that too. Once they approve the lineart I finish the coloring! The end!

4.) Communication is VERY important! Try to keep your commissioner updated often! If you dont talk to them for a while they’ll think you abandoned them and their commission. If you need a vacation or hiatus or whatever let them know! 

5.) REQUIRE VISUAL REFERENCES. unless of course it’s a custom adoptable or something. Nothing sucks more when someone is like “can u draw my oc they have short brown hair and blue eyes thanks :)” LIKE NO THANKS 

Not having visual references makes things incredibly hard! If they have no references then it’s considered a custom adoptable (you design a character for them) and that is usually more expensive than normal commissions! CUZ YOURE DESIGNING A CHARACTER FOR THEM WOWIE yeah 

6.) Be upfront about how long it’ll take you to finish the commission! If you think it’ll take you a week tell em! A month? Be honest! Dont say youll have it done in 2 days when you know youll be extremely busy or whatever haha like I said, COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANTE! 

TREAT YOUR COMMISSIONER THE WAY YOU WOULD WANT TO BE TREATED IF YOU WERE IN THEIR SHOES!

7.) If the commissioner is rude, too impatient, overall an unpleasant person it’s okay to drop them. Give them a refund and let it go, you HAVE that right. Don’t put yourself in a position you dont want to be in. If they cant be professional you can leave. If you give them a full refund you owe them nothing more. Sometimes people are assholes so don’t work with them. 

THATS ALL I CAN COME UP WITH RIGHT NOW. HOPE SOMETHING STICKS WITH YOU!! GOOD LUCK YOU’LL DO GREAT!! 

[chainsawbettyloo]

Hello, hello! I recently saw that you used to be m-inku and now I'm all embarrassed to send this ask because I've been following you forever haha but because of your blog I really want to play a Fire Emblem game, but I know nothing about FE besides it having gorgeous art and it being turn-based (I think). I have a 3DS so would it be okay to start on Awakening or Fates? And if so, which one should I play? Thank you!

Hey there! I mean, my url change was pretty abrupt and I didn’t exactly broadcast it either (whoops, sorry about that) so no worries! 

That depends! Both games have similar gameplay that is turn-based style but Fates can be exceptionally easier than Awakening. If you’re looking to test the water, I’d recommend getting FE Fates: Birthright first as it’s a really good introduction to the play style of the games and isn’t overwhelming. Which isn’t to say that Awakening is that difficult but it takes a lot of time, a lot of grinding and a lot of management (keep track of weapon usage because they do break, the weapons triangle and what not) which is super rewarding in the end but if you’re just looking to start out easy, Birthright is the way to go. If not, then really any of the games will do. 

It also comes down to how much money you’re okay with spending. Awakening comes as an all package deal and has a ton of free content - essentially, get the game and you got the whole story, plus free DLC which can take hours to play through. Fates, on the other hand, is hacked to pieces. You got Birthright, Conquest, and Revelation. There’s a point in the game where it splits into three routes and you’re left to make a choice. Birthright, you go with Hoshido and your birth family. Conquest, you go with Nohr and your adopted family. Revelation, you go with neither. And there’s a war going on so you can guess what shit goes down. If you want the full story, you have to buy all three. If you want the best ending and don’t care about the full story because that’s what wikis and youtube are for, you have buy one and Revelation. All in all, that can be around $60 or more.  

I don’t know if this matters to you but Awakening has dual audio (it has both Japanese and English audio tracks) and the dub for it is pretty dang good (even though the translation can be a bit weird at times and the confession scenes from some of the dudes are cringe worthy). Fates, on the other hand, doesn’t have dual audio and the dub kind of sucks. It’s not terrible but it’s not the best in the world. The translation can also be kind of iffy in places so that’s just something to be aware of. If that doesn’t bother you then either are fine. 

Fates does have a much more interactive “romance” / “friendship” system where you can hang out with your fellows / SO in your tree house and it’s really neat. Bewarb, though, once you get married, you will be prompted to blow on your 3ds to cool of your SO and no, I’m not joking. Marriage options for both games are good, though personally I found the options more appealing in Fates but that’s just my opinion. Child units in Awakening are more compelling because they have a greater part in the story, while the child units in Fates are just kind of blah. 

As for story, both are exceedingly complicated with a bunch of fantasy jargon thrown in and a shit ton of characters to keep track of. I think Fates is a bit more simple and lacks the punch that Awakening has but it’s got charm to it and a lot of amazing characters that make up for it. Awakening is a bit more realistic, a bit more compelling, a bit more gut wrenching, a bit slower in pace while Fates kind of lacks that, though it does have it’s awesome moments which make up for it but it does feel super rushed at times. Unless you’re getting all the supports (which takes a fucking long ass time), it’s kind of super short. 

If you want something a bit more dark, a bit more gritty then I’d go with Awakening. If you want something that’s a bit more light, a bit gentler but still with a tense undertone then I’d go with Fates. Keep in mind, though, both games can be extremely sad and have moments that make you go ‘NOOOOOOO!’. 

All in all, both games are super fun and addictive. The supports in both games are fun to go through, the matchmaking is fun in both games, combat is fun in both games so really, any of them will do but I hope I was able to narrow it done a little. If you have any other questions, feel free to hit me up! My sole goal in life is to get more people interested in Fire Emblem XD (mostly so they’ll come talk to me about huehuehuehue)

[shutupadachi]

Ayy, Adachi-senpai! Just wanted to say that you're a real cutie pie and I hope you have a good day/night

I’m going to be up literally all night since I woke up at 7PM so I guess good day at night? o w o;

Also. am not cute u shush that.

[motorizedmycologist]

Clear? I'm sorry, I couldn't help but ask uwu

(from last night's meme)

bless you lmao

alike:

both ain't got good sense

both love fluffy animals

both so very very queer

not alike:

my ass is not pathetic and tiny

im not ACTUALLY a robot (yet)

i dont have massive dickthirst