Hello, friends! One of the many good things about Tumblr is that it’s teeming with artists, and a good number of those artists are often willing to draw things for you! I am not an artist myself, but I managed Avali’s commissions for quite some time & I have purchased a number of arts from various people as well. I notice that there are many guides out there about selling artwork, but not as many about how to go about buying it—maybe because the latter process seems self-evident.
Experience in commission management has taught me that it is definitively not.
Now, every artist has a different set of rules and requests, so it’s difficult to make unassailable guidelines. But here are a few things to (please) keep in mind when buying a commission:
- READ THE ARTIST’S INSTRUCTIONS. ALL OF THEM. Read. All. Of. Them. Carefully. Common topics covered by the instructions often include where to send the commission inquiry, how to pay, when to pay, and what types of information the artists needs from you.
- If the artist requests that all commission inquiries be sent via e-mail, use the e-mail. Do not send a Tumblr ask, an IM, a journal PM, etc., unless the artist has asked you to do so with regard to official inquiries! Certain message services (like Gmail) have much better indexing and organizational functions than others (like Tumblr, which has basically none, though some artists may still prefer this avenue). Knowing where to send your inquiry is the first step.