Need some advice / reassurence on dropping a commission

[skulldog.livejournal.com]

Awhile back I took on some emergancy commissions to cover some unexpected medical bills, and still make it to AC. Over all everyone who commissioned me was fantastic, and have since been finished.

But one.

I won't name names, since I don't think he's a bad commissioner, or should be warned against. He paid in full up front, provided many photos to explain what he wanted, and has been polite.

My problem is, I don't think he even looked over my work, commissionsing me for some subjects and character type I. Just. Don't. Draw. very well. But, I don't believe in turning done commissions because it's not something I enjoy, and what he wanted wasn't offensive or anything to me, just very very new to me.

Things went along great, fixed up the sketches and he seemed happy, now I'm well over halfway into the digital part, and he's not taking to it well. Faces aren't 'perfect', it's 'fuzzy'.

I've told him to provide more photos for the faces, since again, he's asking for character types I just don't draw. Ever. I just feel like this is going to end in badly, I'll put more work into than I want to, and he still won't be happy.

Would it be too out of line for me to just drop it this far into the commission? The price was already at dicount, so I can't offer to much of a refund at this point, I'm a little worried I'm going to get some sort of negative reaction that I'm a 'ripoff' if I say "Hey, I'm done, here's the large file, and have a few bucks, bye now"

I've never had to drop a commission this far in, anyone more pro than myself have any advice on how to handle this in a professional manner, where both sides are happy?

*For note, he clearly states in one email, he read my terms of commission and agrees to them. They do say I can drop a commission and once work starts I won't offer a fun refund.

Comments

[thaily.livejournal.com]

Uhm, the fact he didn't look at your material beforehand is his problem and not yours, though you're being very professional. He did approve the sketches and you've earned the money.

However, if you want to resolve the matter of the fuzzy faces there's no shame in asking for help from fellow artists, artists who're more experienced with the subject at hand. Maybe they can redline or give you some hints to help fix the problem to the customer's satisfaction.
I'm sure you have capable friends willing and able to help you out?
I'd offer help but I'm not sure what the subject is or if I'm skilled enough to help you out.

Push comes to shove though it's the commissioner's "fault" for not checking with you if you could draw what he wanted you to draw. Hopefully he'll be more careful about his next commission and avoid frustration on both sides.

[skulldog.livejournal.com]

For the 'fuzzy faces'. I work large, so I have a more painterly style. Once the picture is zoomed and viewed normally, like the smaller files in my gallery, they look great.

I have a feeling he's zooming to 100% on the working files I've been sending. Sure it'll be more loose that close..any painting looks that way with your nose against it.

His problem is less the art isn't good enough, it's NOT PERFECT to his vision in the end.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

Uhm.
That's kinda his problem and not yours O_o

[fareme.livejournal.com]

Sometimes people just expect too much, also. 'Specially if the dude agrred to your terms and saw clearly what you work with (which I might add - your art is just.. incredible. :|) and still went forward with it.
I also have a small suggestion, though you may have already done it. If he's zooming in as you say, why not send him a web-size version of it? Perhaps he'll be happier as he 'takes his nose out of the paint' so to speak. Just a small suggestion from someone who is by no means a pro, but I thought nonetheless I would attempt to be helpful. :}
Either way, best of luck. All the other suggestions thus far are great.

[skulldog.livejournal.com]

I was originally sending him smaller files, but he wanted to see 'more details' and since he'd paid in full there wasn't any harm in sending larger files.

And thanks. :)

[fareme.livejournal.com]

Ahh, I see. Sounds to me like he's just being a bit too nit-picky, then. :}

Professional Advice

[dustmeat.livejournal.com]

He agreed to your terms and paid up front. You did the work. If he cannot be happy with the work you did, too bad--you tried your best.

Re: Professional Advice

[kaided.livejournal.com]

Agreed, fully. You did the amount you were paid to do. You're not required to do much more.

Re: Professional Advice

[skulldog.livejournal.com]

I agree, I'm giving him one more shot to show me some photos and I'm going to give it one more tweak, then I'm done with it for good.

[kaputotter.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what Meg says is totally right on.


I look at it like this, Skulldog. He's paying you for a service, right? There's only a finite number of hours that you should have to agree to put into this particular service, and that's heavily based on his monetary compensation, and what he's willing to shell out. Beyond that, you owe him no more of your time than you're able to permit.

Essentially, you have already put time into this project. If you decide to give him his money back in full refund, guess what? He has no room for complaint. That time you spent on his painting, that's time you'll never recover. It's a bonus for him to be able to see the material you already produced for him, and he's not out any funds.

If he reacts badly, that's all you have to tell him. But my advice is to quit while you're ahead. To a certain degree, I see where you're coming from as far as your principle on not denying commissions simply because you're not into the subject matter, but honestly, and I want to say this to you in the most nonjudgemental way that I possibly can, but that's kind of selling yourself short. If you know you're not going to enjoy the work, my advice is to not accept it. You're better off finding other people to work for, who'll pay you adequately. :) And you can find them!

[skulldog.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind words, always good to hear from folks doing work.

I think it was less that I didn't like the subjects, it was pretty fun in all actually. I just think he was expecting me to live up to art done by artists who ONLY work on these subjects..which is making this end poorly.

[skanrashke.livejournal.com]

To Quote Jessup: "If you wanted Manga style.. get a manga artist. You commissioned me. That means you get my style. Art ain't a copy/paste machine, buddy."

If he wants you to magically alter your drawing style to suit his cheapass needs, then he's shit out of luck. I'd take your money, finish the commission(to YOUR standards, not his) and hand it over.

Most likely with a warning to look at peoples art beforehand.