Astolpho

Waiting List:

If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please read through the commission guidelines carefully, and then if you still would like to be added to the waiting list, email a description of what you would like to astolpho_on_the_moon (at) yahoo dot com.

The waiting list is currently empty, though there are still a small handful of prior commissions still in progress.

Commission Information:

-I now charge a flat rate of $20/hour for all commissions, with a minimum commitment paid up front of $20 for easy stuff like pencil sketches or livejournal icons, $40 for uncomplicated work like single character portraits, and $80 for anything more involved than that. When work on the commission reaches the end of the time you've paid for we can talk about whether or not you'd like me to continue working on it. All time spent working on your commission is to be paid in advance.

-If the commission is dropped for any reason before it's finished, time spent working on the commission will not be refunded. So if you pay me $80 up front for four hours of labor and I've only logged two hours on it and problems arise, only the remaining $40 for the two hours not spent on the project will be returned to you.

-I only take one or two commissions at a time, depending on the complexity of the work requested. This is to minimize the turnaround time on commissions I've taken; you know that when you've commissioned me you're not waiting behind half a dozen other people's orders and I'm not holding your money hostage for months on end.

-Please know what you want me to draw when you ask to be placed on the waiting list. I will not add you to my commission waiting list until you've sent me a description of what you'd like in email.

-If your name comes up next in the waiting list and you are not ready to pay at the time I will move to the next person in the waiting list. You don't need to worry about losing your spot, after I'm finished with them I will come back to you. If after several times you're still not prepared to pay for your commission your name will be removed from the waiting list until you notify me that you are prepared to commission me for real.

Gentle reminders and horrible warnings:

-Being on the waiting list is a gaurantee that I will get to you for a commission; but it is not a gaurantee that I will get to you soon. I may plow through a bunch of commissions in succession only to go weeks or months without taking on any commissions after that. Once I've started your commission you're certainly within your rights to request it by a deadline, but until then please refrain from asking me to estimate when I will get to your place in the waiting list.

-I set aside time each day to work on artwork for my own projects and personal enrichment. Which means you may see me post artwork to my livejournal or galleries that is not your commission when you know that your commission is the only thing I "should" be working on. It is very important for me to maintain a steady momentum in my artwork; in the past I've tried to place paid work before personal work and what happens when I do that is I will go weeks without getting any drawing done at all, rather than funneling all of my energy into commissions.

-I am not a corporate chain, I'm an individual person working freelance. I should tell you that I do try to make a point of being polite to people who treat me with respect. If you've worked in retail you know that you have to be nice to the customer no matter how the customer behaves. But the nice thing about working for myself is that I don't. Complaining to me in IM about how my rates are forcing you to eat ramen for a week, pestering me to hurry up and get to your place in the waiting list, nitpicking the specifics of how these guidelines could be interpreted, micromanaging or guilt-tripping me, etc, are all fantastic ways to make sure that I don't take work for you.

-I reserve the right to refuse. If the subject matter makes me uncomfortable (or just plain does not interest me), if it's been my experience in the past that you're difficult to work for, if I find you personally to be annoying or if I know that you've trashtalked me in public or private forums before, or for pretty much any other reason, I am allowed to turn you down. And I am not obligated to tell you why.

And most importantly:

-You don't have to commission me if you take issue with any of the above. There are plenty of other artists online who take commissions, many of whom are more talented, more friendly, and less expensive than myself. If you don't like my rates or my rules, I am happy to recommend other artists that you might get along with better or might charge you less than I do.