[ SECRET POST #4201 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4201 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



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02.
[Sophie Turner, from Game of Thrones]


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03.
(Hindustan Times)


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04.


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05.
[Philip Quast in "Ultraviolet"]


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06.


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07.










Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 07 secrets from Secret Submission Post #601.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

01. https://i.imgur.com/atPwvvv.png

[(Anonymous)]

Eh there are varying degrees of this.

Can't ask "Could you fix Billy's hair a little?" I'm with you.

"Oh my god, the whole thing is not at all what I wanted and I don't know how to break it to this artist gently because it'll take them another 15 hours of unpaid work to fix it, there are 50 different things wrong" ...yeah, I understand why someone might be afraid to say something.

[(Anonymous)]

Do commissioned artists not check in at stages? Like, correcting little things as they go along seems easier than getting presented with a hot mess three months later and everything is sucky.

[(Anonymous)]

Some do, some don't, depends on the artist. Some offer one stage, some two, depends on the artist too. And the final product doesn't always look the way you'd imagine from a sketch either.

Like yeah, it's an extreme to end up with something completely off, but it's also an extreme to find an artist that will sit with you for multiple rounds of revisions too. At least in the amateur space.

[(Anonymous)]

I've commissioned several pieces over the years, and oddly enough, the only time I've been unhappy was when a BNF did a piece for me. Her price was 3-4 times as expensive as anyone else, but she was recommended and I figured, "Hey, she'll be worth it." Nope. No checkin at all. She flung a fugly completed work at me. I didn't see what that I had any recourse.

Other than repost it and give her full credit, of course. :p

[(Anonymous)]

I've commissioned a lot of things from a lot of different artists and I've never had one who didn't with the exception of a few times where I just commissioned a rough sketch.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe I just follow conscientious ones, but the artists I know who take commissions make a point of checking in at stages - precisely to avoid that whole unpleasant surprise thing at the end. If I wanted to commission something, I'd definitely choose an artist who did this.

[(Anonymous)]

I am just... incredibly dubious of this. Just this whole idea that artists are going to be totally fine with you saying that you don't like it. Maybe you're right - I can't prove it one way or the other. I just find it really hard to believe that artists on the Internet (or really, any other group of people on the Internet) are totally chill and open to requests and criticism.

I completely understand why people are anxious and worried about trying to communicate stuff like that. It's an extremely natural way to feel.

[(Anonymous)]

OP isn't talking about artists in general, though. Artists who are doing commissions are a lot more incentivized to make their clients happy, surely? It'd be difficult to take commissions without listening to people's requests and feedback.

[(Anonymous)]

Just because someone has an incentive to do something, that doesn't mean that they actually do.

Especially when it's something like listening to criticism and feedback and taking it into account.

[(Anonymous)]

That depends on whether you mean the fanartists who treat commissions as a business contract, or the ones who are going I can draw pretty well and I want money, so I can draw for money? The large portion of the second kind usually flake out and never deliver too, or deliver weeks/months late and think an apology and excuse is good enough 'cause its just fanart, right? It's not like the commissioner could have used that actual money for something else in the meantime.

There are good artists out there for sure, but let's be real, the fanart commission space is distinctly not a professional one. Think of how many people flake out on Big Bangs and exchanges as well. Professional conduct is generally not expected by either side of an exchange, nor should it be in practical terms. It's a treat if you find it.

[(Anonymous)]

They take commissions to make quick cash for something that is a hobby to them. They don't care about making the customer happy. They'd prefer to just put in as little effort as possible and take the money. They don't do this as a charity or for anyone else's benefit than their own wallet.

[(Anonymous)]

On one hand, professional artists on the Internet are going to be totally fine with you saying you don't like it. They're an artist, you're a client, you do rounds of revision according to client comments and etc etc, that's normal.

On the other hand, fanart commissions and the vast majority of people who take commissions for fanart, are not professional artists and are not going to go through all that for a $50/commission, so yeah, it's silly to believe they'd act exactly the same as the professional charging $50/hr.

If only.

[(Anonymous)]

I am with you, dubious!anon.

Personally, I would like to give and receive clear criticism, but a large part of fandom throws hissyfits at the slightest hint of anything that's not glowingly positive -- and that's over words (my realm), easily changed; visual art can be hard to fix to fix at all.

[(Anonymous)]

Nope. I've seen too many fanartists bitch about revisions to ever ask fo any. It's also not a universal skill to verbalise a mental image and fandom attracts a lot of people with social anxiety. I can easily see someone taking art they hate rather than struggling with trying to communicate what changes they'd like even if they thought the artist was 100% cool with them asking.

[(Anonymous)]

My social anxiety is so bad that I have to sit for an hour to think of a nice way to write an email to a professional business to cancel a service I'm paying for because I don't want to seem rude.

I'd have an even harder time telling a non-professional artist I'm unhappy with the result. Unless we were friends or the artist is really nice and seems open to suggestions.

[(Anonymous)]

Lmao perfect use of background image, OP

[(Anonymous)]

+1

Came here to say this.

[feotakahari]

When you’re too shy to complain about the art to the artist, but not too shy to complain about the art to your Tumblr followers.

[(Anonymous)]

That's simplifying it to a meaningless degree.

I mean, yeah, if you completely ignore that anxiety about direct confrontation or sounding like you're making direct demands of someone exists in one situation and not the other, you could say that. But why would you?

Going behind the artist's back and complaining about it in public is a dickish thing to do, but being unhappy with an art doesn't mean that you're doing that.

It does ruin the glibness, though.

[(Anonymous)]

Haha, I know. I feel like if people are going to piss and moan about it, then they really owe it to themselves to at least TRY and resolve it with the artist first.

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, I must be incredibly naive in this area! I didn't even realize actual dollars were being exchanged on such commissions (yeah, maybe I live under a rock?). Aren't we not supposed to be profiting when we "steal" others' characters to create fanfic and fanart?

[(Anonymous)]

Either trolling or yes, you've been living under a rock.

[(Anonymous)]

I know the paying customer has rights but as far as commissions go... you never really know how the artist is going to take it. Even if the buyer is really polite it could come off as demanding. Considering the self-victimizing stuff artist keep saying/reblogging I don't trust that their mental fortitude is strong enough to not take it personally. Even if it's supposed to be a business transaction.

It's not like a professional business where there are so many regulations and rules that keep things in order... it's a lot more personal.

[(Anonymous)]

Agreed. It's so much more complicated than secret OP is making it.