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UPDATE 5/07/2012 Here's the commission list as it stands right now:

Commissions:
1)
2)

Wait list:
1)
2)
3)

Next wait list round:
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If you requested a print and I haven't returned your message, please send me a note!


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Howdy, ya'll!

So this semester's winding down, and though I'll still be attending classes during the summer, I've decided that I'd love to start taking commissions! To start out, I think I'll only be taking them during the summer because I have more free time. I've given it a lot of thought and have talked to several other artists about it, and I think it will be a great way for me to "art" even more. Plus, I love bringing people's ideas to life on paper!

Of course, before I pay for a PO box, I need to make sure people are actually interested, so if you read this journal and think you're seriously interested, please let me know so I can get the ball rolling! I wouldn't want to pay for a PO box for nothing.

That being said, I do want to establish several "rules" up front. These are not because I am a big, horrible, mean person, but because I have been taken advantage of too many times to count whenever I do commissioned pieces, and I'm at the point where I really don't want to be walked all over. It's just too emotionally and financially taxing. I need to establish these guidelines up front, and I need to be strict with them, because otherwise, I end up not getting paid or being treated like crap, for lack of a better word. Of course, I don't think any of you would do that at all, but still. I think it's a good thing to have some rules, for my purposes as well as yours. Please do read these rules if you're interested!

What follows is all the commission information, and then after that, I'll talk about prints.

COMMISSION RULES:

1) I must receive payment BEFORE I begin your piece. This is because too many times in the past, I've painted the entire piece, given it to the person expecting payment, and the person has simply up and left without paying me. I've also tried to say that I'll accept half of the payment up front and then the person can pay the latter half when I'm done, but this never works, either: the person takes the finished piece and runs without paying the full amount, and it's just so frustrating. So, if you are commissioning me, I must receive your FULL CHECK or MONEY ORDER payment in the mail and make sure it clears FIRST before I start working on your piece. I will not take cash. The reason I'm not taking cash is because it's too easy for mail thieves to steal your money that way, and that's the last thing I want. Checks or money orders are just safer. As soon as it clears, I will contact you immediately to let you know that I have received your payment and work will begin!  

2) And on that note, after I get the go-ahead, I promise never to drop contact with you during the commission process. I'll keep you posted regarding how the commission is coming, and if you want, I'll even send you pictures of the work in progress, just so you know that I really am working on it. I think a commission is a collaboration: I want to work WITH you so we can come up with the best final product possible! Send me your ideas and suggestions before and during the project. Let's keep an open dialogue! I want to make sure you're getting what you paid for, and I'd love to work with you to make that happen. This should be something fun and creative for both of us!

3) That being said, however, I have learned (unfortunately) from too many past experiences  that some people try to manipulate me into starting the piece over and over again until they get "what they want," which is, I've found, just another way for them to get me to draw them several pieces for the price of one. It's just not right, and it makes it hard on me. So please understand that I will not start your piece over ten trillion times. (Unless, of course, I take it upon myself to paint it with my toes at first and it legitimately looks like poo. Then I'll start it over. )

4) I WILL NOT, under any circumstances, take commissions that are sexually explicit, pornographic, overtly graphic or violent in nature. I will not take commissions that reflect racist or bigoted ideologies. I will not accept commissions that promote criminal activity or violence in general. If that is what you're looking for, look elsewhere. I will not do it.

5) And on that note, as the artist, I reserve the right to refuse to take any commission. Again, this is not me trying to be a big fat meanie. I am a very, very open-minded person, but I do have moral principles that I will always adhere to, and if I feel the piece may compromise those principles, I will not do it.

6) As of right now, I will only take TWO (2) commissions at a time, meaning I will only work on TWO pieces simultaneously This is to avoid me crashing and burning, as well as to ensure that I produce the best quality work that I can for you. I will, however, have a WAIT LIST of up to THREE (3) people at a time. If those three slots are filled, it means commissions are currently CLOSED while I finish up the pieces I have.  After that, I will make an announcement that I am opening the three slots again if anyone wants to sign up I don't want to make a promise I can't keep regarding finishing your piece, so I need to make sure that I don't have too many pieces in waiting at once. My goal is to finish your piece in a timely matter, and if I'm working on too many at once, I won't be able to do that.

7) Once I finish your commission, I will send you a message letting you know I'm ready to ship it! Please let me know when you receive it---I want to make sure you get it. If not, I'll keep sending you messages every five minutes going, "Did you get it? Did you get it? Did you? Huh? Did you?"

PRICES

Pricing is slightly tricky, only because everybody lives all over the place and domestic versus international shipping will affect the prices. Pricing is in U.S. dollars, and is determined by the U.S. Postal Service's cost of shipping to your country.

1) Domestic (U.S.) prices: (Includes the $5.30 cost of shipping based on the U.S. Postal Service's domestic flat-rate shipping  rates)

Pencil sketch: $20.00
Inked pencil sketch: $25.00
Inked and colored, no background: $35.00
Inked and colored, full background: $50.00

2) Canada and Mexico prices: (Includes the $12.95 cost of shipping based on the U.S. Postal service's Canada and Mexico flat-rate shipping rates)

Pencil sketch: $30.00
Inked pencil sketch: $35.00
Inked and colored, no background: $45.00
Inked and colored, full background: $60.00

3) All other international countries prices (Includes the $16.95 cost of shipping based on the U.S. Postal Service's international flat-rate shipping rates):

Pencil sketch: $40.00
Inked pencil sketch: $45.00
Inked and colored, no background: $55.00
Inked and colored, full background: $70.00



PRINTS

I will also start selling prints, if anyone is interested! For now, I'm not going to use DeviantArt's print services, just because this is the first time I'm doing this and I want to have a direct hand in it. These prices will be slightly cheaper because I'm not taking into account the time I spend creating the piece--it's already been created. For now, all prints will be 8.5 by 11 inches (21.6 cm by 27.9 cm), just to keep the price as low as I can, because size often determines the shipping price. If, in the future, people would like larger sizes, I'll have to raise the price according to the price of shipping. The same payment rules for commissions applies to prints: I MUST receive your payment BEFORE I send you the print.

Prices:

1) U.S. (Includes the$5.30 cost of shipping based on the U.S. Postal Service's domestic flat-rate shipping  rates):

  8.5 by 11 inches (21.6 cm by 27.9 cm) - $12.00

2) Canada and Mexico (Includes the $12.95 cost of shipping based on the U.S. Postal service's Canada and Mexico flat-rate shipping rates):

8.5 by 11 inches (21.6 cm by 27.9 cm) - $26.00

3) All other international countries  (Includes the $16.95 cost of shipping based on the U.S. Postal Service's international flat-rate shipping rates):

8.5 by 11 inches (21.6 cm by 27.9 cm) - $35.00




So! There you have it! Again, if you're seriously interested, please let me know. And if you have any questions, let me know! This is the first time I'm doing this online, so I'm a newbie. I really did try to make the prices as cheap as I possibly could while still considering the price of shipping and the fact that I'd kind of like to make some sort of profit.

Let's see how this goes!