But it probably bears repeating. Me and a friend recently got into a discussion about commission etiquette… at least as how it pertains to frequency of commissions from a single artist and if it’s alright to request more commissions before your first one is even finished and it basically boiled down to this:
How would you feel if you were in the shoes of an artist trying to make a living working a 40 hour a week job, take commissions because you like giving back to the community, and still want to do your own personal work that makes you happy. How would you feel every day, when you got your few moments of free time, you sat down with your tablet and in the back of your mind there was this nagging feeling of “I have to get this done, there’s people waiting for commissions” and you open up your excel spreadsheet and there are dozens of unfinished commissions. How would you ever find the time to do your own artwork.
Look, I love supporting artists, because they make things that bring a smile to my face and paying for their art allows them to continue doing what they do. I too, love seeing my character done in their style. but there is a limit, they are not machines, they are human beings, with real lives, that involve more than just pumping out digital art. Often times they have day jobs. How could anyone function with that pile of crap in the back of their mind, nagging at them, dragging them down, sapping their will to do what they love to do. There is a reason I try to space out my commissions from artists and only ever ask for another one after the first one is completed, except in very very rare cases where an artist may need an emergency commission or something and they need the money right away.
It got brought up that maybe the commissioner doesn’t care how long it takes to complete the artwork, which in a lot of cases can be fine, some artists are slow, others fast, life happens, sometimes things come up that can push the delivery date back. In every single case I am very happy to work within the artist’s schedule; but this also causes any other commissions to get pushed back. The more commissions that are received it keeps piling up and every delay becomes even worse. The reason the “They can finish it whenever they want” argument is bullshit is because that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on someone, and that pressure builds up the longer it goes without working on it, because you know that you need to get it done; you feel an obligation to complete it. In the worst cases this kind of thing can cause a person to feel completely overwhelmed and entirely out of control of their own life which can lead to complete and total burnout and emotional shutdown.
Basically, supporting artists is great! Don’t be a shit about it. Piling on multiple commissions to a single artist before your last one is completed may not be the best Idea.