What to do if you're unhappy with a commission

[epiceternity.livejournal.com]

Hi, i'm looking for some advice on what to do if you've commissioned some higher priced art and what the artists gives you is a very poor piece of art?

To give context for example, I commissioned a $60 digital portrait and what I recieved was something that normally gets sold at $15-20 in hobby artist prices. It was nowhere near the quailty of the artists usual work or commission examples and looked like it had only about a hour spent on it. (I was not shown any wips or offered corrections). I had given the artist the choice of 3/4 different characters I thought would suit thier style and be fun for them to draw so I don't think it was a wrong artist for that character issue. I was so taken aback I didn't know what to do so politely thanked them and moved on.

TBH I can let go quailty issues with lower priced commissions as you win some you lose some, but becuase this one was a slightly higher pricecd one and it looked like the artist just didn't put any effort in it, it's bothering me more. I'd like to know how to deal with something like this better if it happens again in the future.

Now I know some artists are professional and prefer a commissioner to talk to them if they're not happy so it can be resolved (i'm one of those myself) but there are other artists who may completely fly off handle and be difficlut/unpleasant as sometimes seen here in this com. The problem is not knowing how the artist will be or how to approach it in a way that doesn't upset the artist. For someone like me who's very fearful of confrontantion and has great difficulty with anxiety it's a daunting prospect.

So does anyone have tips, good advice or experince they can share? :)

Edit: My apologies, I should have been clearer in the original post. The commission mentioned was to give a real life example of where i've struggled, that particular commission was earlier this year so too long ago to bring up now with the artist, especially as fault lies with myself for not saying anything at the time. However it's preyed on my mind as I felt I should have said something but didn't know how, hence asking for advice here.

What I’m looking for is how to bring up the issue with an artist should something like this happen again. I know to 'contact/talk to artist about it' but I don't know what to say or how to word it or even how to start the sentence, add to that the with difficulty writing/expressing self due to dyslexia and I find myself completely at a blank. I would like to learn how I can deal with this kind of issue more appropriately.

(Plus I blame my British upbringing and being taught to keep quiet and not say anything. I'm not good at talking to people about problems because I’ve never had the practise or experience *LOL*)

Comments

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

If it's VERY obvious it's difference in quality bring it up.

But take note that some things just dont look good in artists styles. My art, for example, looks awful with dark colors, or certain neon colors. It looks just plain wrong. Take a peek at what they did for you, and their samples.

if your character is neon colors, but they only work in natural colors, it may be an issue like that. or maybe a species they don't draw.

But if it's clearly lower quality, like sketchy lines instead of neat ones. Bring it up. It's hard to judge because we don't know the artwork, or the samples.

[epiceternity.livejournal.com]

Yes, I do try to put forward characters on commissions that I feel would suit the artists style and usually suggest several characters so the artist can pick what they feel more confident/interested in drawing. I do agree that if it's something out of their regular skill set then that's something you have to make an allowance for :)

contact the artist

[aazhie.livejournal.com]

If you have done pretty much exactly what the first post said, maybe you should contact the artist.
Especially when you commission something they aren't familair with, sometimes an artist is charging your for time rather than outcome, so if you asked for something excessively complicated, that is another factor to consider.

Until I see images of both the commission and the samples they had provided for the same cost I can't really judge accurately. Feel free to PM me with links and I will be happy to provide a discreet opinion.

Re: contact the artist

[epiceternity.livejournal.com]

Thank you, it would be good to have someone cast an objective eye on it to make sure it's not just in my imagination. I will photobucket the image and send you a PM tomorrow as should have been in bed hours ago and brain is dead right now.

Re: contact the artist

[thaily.livejournal.com]

I could have a look at it too if you like, but when you contact the artist you should probably not mention that other people helped you put your concerns into words (for example; poor lines, pillow shading or whatever technical issues the piece might have that contribute to your dissatisfaction); it might give the impression third parties have pressured you into contacting the artist on this issue, rather than that YOU are unhappy with the piece. That's really the crux of the matter.

I hope the artist will respond well.

Re: contact the artist

[epiceternity.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's sounds like it could be helpful to get someone else to look over the piece to get a second opinion. But I agree that discretion is required, it could also come across as talking behind the artists back which isn't desirable either!

[dinogrrl.livejournal.com]

If there is an obvious difference in quality, that's something I'd definitely bring up with the artist. Just tell them that you feel the work you received was not on par with the samples they provided of the sort of commission you payed for. You don't have to be nit-picky, but being able to state a few specific things (like "the color has gaps and goes outside the lines, where your samples are very cleanly colored" or whatever) would help explain your concerns.

And then I'd leave it up to the artist as to how (or if) they want to handle it. You're right, you never know how an artist will react, and that's just a risk you have to take. Just tell yourself that no, the situation is not right and no, you are not wrong for wanting to do something about it. You can always have trusted people look at the art and see if they have the same concerns you do, if you want a second opinion before contacting the artist. Perhaps not friends, though, as they might be biased in your favor ;}.

[epiceternity.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks for the tips, they've helped given me a better idea of how to broach the subject :)

[fiawol.livejournal.com]

As with other comments: if it's a very noticable difference, bring up the difference with the artist when you recive the image, and ask if they can work on it some more until it's more like their sample images. If this were a real-media sketch though, sometimes you have to just "suck it up", know that you got a "bad" sketch, but let it go anyway and move on. Thankfully something like that only happens about 5% of the time, but if you commission things long enough, eventually you'll get a "stinker" from someone. Just as equally, you can have someone do something so over-the-top fantastic, you're amazed at what they did, so just balance out the "good" with the "bad".

[tartii.livejournal.com]

Well I think to avoid this in the future, make sure you ask for WIP's of the image, or make sure that the artist provides those! That way you can see the progress of the image and make sure it's progressing okay. And then, if something does look a little lazy or not quite right it's easier to bring it up! Fixing something on a work in progress versus a finished image is a whole lot easier. c:
Most of the time, artists care what their client thinks and wants them to be happy and like the piece! So be sure to communicate your concerns! It can be a little touchy if the piece is finished. Thus the importance of Wips!

[empty-tea.livejournal.com]

This is so important. Unless it's strictly fun money (like between $5 - 10), I always ask if artists send WIP up front these days, and if they don't, I usually won't work with them. There's just too much potential for both sides to end up frustrated and PO'd.

[epiceternity.livejournal.com]

Sadly in this particular case a wip wouldn't have helped as the issue lies mostly in the colouring (or rather, the lack of proper colouring).
I do now avoid commissioning anything above a certain price range unless there's a wip stage. Though that doesn't help if the problem is with the colouring stage like with this one. While hopefully I won't have the same situation again; if it does happen I can have a bit more confidence in saying if something falls noticeably short of the artists usual work/commission example.