COMMISSIONED WORK
I'm now willing to take commissions, which means I'm basically available to draw a scene, page, or entire comic to your specifications. You can see some examples below. The amount of time this will take depends on the complexity of the art and my current work schedule, which tends to be spotty. In my day job, I often have large chunks of free time sandwiched between periods of extreme activity. It's during the idle times that I'll take care of any commissioned artwork.
Here are some basic ground rules:
- I work exclusively in pencils. Generally, when I try inking, I only ruin my art. I'm equally terrible at coloring.
- I'm much better at drawing women than men, though I'm getting better. If your request includes a lot of interaction with male characters, you've been warned.
- I won't draw explicit X-rated material, though tasteful nudity is acceptable. A casual glance at my site will suggest what I'm talking about. Nude characters typically cover themselves, hide behind objects, or are only seen from behind (as a general rule, at least).
- Underage characters, scenes of extreme cruelty or vore, and anything excessively objectionable are right out.
- Though I prefer SW, I'm willing to draw outside of this box. I'm not very good at depicting specific people or celebrities, though I'll give it a shot if you want. I can also do landscapes, objects, buildings, still life and so on (including specific ones if you provide a good photo). Have a look at the first-panel "establishing shots" of some of my recent comics, like Keeper and Something Different, for examples.
- You can request a single scene, a page with several scenes in a sequence, or an entire comic that tells a complete story. You retain complete creative control of your commission, and I'll work with you to make sure you get what you're looking for. You might, for example, describe a model posing for an auto part and tool calendar who winds up shrunk down on the set. This could be a single scene (the woman standing next to giant tools), a four-panel one page comic where she's reduced to various sizes, or an entire story where she arrives at the set, is miniaturized (to her dismay), has to pose for different photos and then finds out the effects don't wear off for days. It's up to you.
- After you've accepted the art, you can decide whether or not you want me posting it on my site. Generally this isn't an issue, though I have had people request certain private fantasies they'd rather keep to themselves. Note, however, that if you ask me to draw a specific person (say, your girlfriend), I won't post the art here. I have no way of knowing if the subject will be offended by the use of their image, even in sketch form.
- Please describe exactly how you want your main character or characters to look and what they're wearing. Same for the backgrounds and basic environment. Although you can go so far as to define the exact appearance of every single panel in a comic, and write every line of dialogue, I do prefer some flexibility. In general, the pickier you are, the higher the price.
- Just remember, the less specific you are, the less likely you are to get exactly what you want. If there's something about your piece that you absolutely insist on having, tell me in advance, don't wait for the final piece and get mad when I didn't read your mind. If you prefer, you can have me sketch out a sample or something so you know we're both on the same page (so to speak).
Oh yeah, about the price...
- I'm not going to list exact prices here. All prices are negotiable and depend on the complexity of the scene, how many characters are involved, and how long it ultimately takes to draw. Basically, describe what you want, how much detail you expect, and what your time frame is, and I'll quote you a price (in US dollars).
- In general, expect it to start at about $25 for a single character and simple background in one frame, then it goes up from there, increasing for more characters, panels, and complexity.
- I only accept Paypal at this time. Payments can be sent directly to my email address from anywhere in the world, and with Paypal, I don't have to mess with credit cards, cancelled checks or any of that stuff.
- For single-page commissions, I'll tell you when I'm ready to start on the piece and will need payment in advance. (If you're worried about not getting what you pay for, you can always request a refund from Paypal if you don't have the piece promptly.)
- For longer pieces, I'll ask for an upfront down payment followed by additional payments as pages are drawn and delivered. We can work out a payment schedule depending on your situation and the length of the comic.
- Dialogue and lettering, if any, will be added after the art is approved and only after full payment has been rendered. Any price quote will include lettering costs (I won't hit you with an additional fee afterwards).
- If you want the original art mailed to you, I'll put it in a box and mail it, if you don't mind paying for shipping. I'll wrap up the art as best I can, but I take no responsibility for lost or damaged mail. Keep in mind that since I add dialogue via computer, the original art won't include any lettering.
Anyway, that's about it. If you're interested, inquire further by sending me some feedback!
Recent Commissions (2010 and later)
Starting in 2010 I started to get a bit more serious about taking commissions. Prior to this year, I hadn't really felt all that confident about my ability to produce art with any kind of speed or quality. However, I'm now willing to give commissioned art a serious try. Here are some examples of commissioned pieces from this era.
Commissioned Comics
Three Wishes, Part V
Lewis Carroll's Legacy
Test Subject Needed
The one bad thing about living alone in the jungle--those pesky mad scientists and their shrink rays. (This is the lady scientist from "Catching Some Shrink Rays," see below, trying her new invention out for the first time.)
Lilliputian Escort Service
Need a little lady to accompany you for the evening? Stop by Lilliputian Escorts, Inc., and take your pick of one of these fine choices...
Mini Ninja Training
Maikuro figured finding her missing weapons would be easy, until they added one "little" change to spice up the challenge. (It was still easy.)
The Hazards of Temp Work at the Mad Scientist's Lab
Break time! Just watch out, you never know what they might slip into your snacks...
By the way, this is about as far as I'll go with nudity in a commission, just FYI)
Older Commissions (2009 and previous)
These weren't particularly good, but at least you can see how my art has improved over time.
Shrinking the Ladies of SW
The various female characters from the SW forums have graciously agreed to be shrunk in a series of one-page commissioned sequences. Enjoy!
This next one isn't a full-scale page, just a commissioned sketch of Minutia5, a techno-geek SW who wanted to see what she'd look like next to some of her equipment.
Christmas Greetings from the SW Ladies
From Christmas 2002: The ladies of SW (as shown in the comic pages above) team up to wish everyone a happy holiday season! Ribbons provided by Kid Komix.
 |
 |
Catching Some Shrink Rays
This commission was started back in September 2002 at the behest of ArtySF, but got delayed for a year for various reasons too complicated to go into here. What's most interesting about this series is how my artwork changed in the year that passed since I started doing this. (I still can't draw men, but anyone with any kind of critical eye can easily tell which pics were done early and which were done a year later.)
