Commissions; how I learn what you want and make it

I truly love making commissions.  I  have had quite a few and all of them have taught me loads and where really fun to do. 

I know that a lot of people who would commission work don't do so because they don't know what will happen. I can't say how other artists do theirs,  but I this is my process.

It starts by me receiving a message earlier on etsy,  Facebook, on here etc. Some have exactly what they want in their head already and some only have a really vague idea.

I start by asking a lot of questions and generally talking it over.  I  give all the options,  so that you can be the one making decisions.  There is not a lot that I refuse to make.

I tend to send pictures as well as text, as it is far better than trying to describe things. I am not a good drawer, but I have used drawings in the past.

I make sure that the customer knows that I want them to feel free to say what they think.  I am very hard to annoy,  so no worries are needed.

Once we both feel happy that the commission is properly understood,  I  work out a price.  This is not as high as you fear ☺. It will be in line with the prices in my shop.

I will also tell you at this stage or before,  how many outstanding commissions I have and when I expect to get to yours. There are a lot of times when I don't have any,  so I can get onto yours immediately.

Once you have agreed to everything,  I  take a payment of half of the price up front.  I  didn't always do this,  but I have had people who have not bought their commission.  If you have to wait until I have finished outstanding work,  I will not want payment until I get to yours.  I take payments via etsy,  PayPal and direct debit.

While I am making your item,  I will send you pictures of my progress at important bits and at the end of each working day.  This is so that you can make changes to what I have done. 

Do note that if there are an excessive amount of changes or things get added to the project,  this may increase the end price.  I  will discuss this before doinganything.

I will get your clearance before baking  (most projects get baked several times at different stages) as once baked,  you can not change it.

Once it is finished,  I will find out how much it will cost to post,  then add that to the outstanding bill  (with any extra costs from bits added ect) and give you a final bill.

Once this is paid,  I will post you your item.

I would really appreciate it if you left a review for your purchase in my shop and you tell all of your friends about me.

It is a fun process for you as well as me and I have actually made some really good friends from commission customers.