How to Get Custom Art Commissions in 2024: A Beginner’s Guide

Introduction

So you have an idea for an epic OC (Original Character), but you’ve never made a commission before? If you’re new to the anime or VTuber community, you might be asking, “How do I get my own custom art commission?” Or even, “What is a commission?” If you’re feeling like a total newbie, then stick around because I will be explaining the secret to getting professional-level artwork done by any amazing creator you find!

What is a Commission?

To start, a commission (or “comm” for short) is a fancy way of saying “art request.” The reason we use this term and not just “Hey, can you draw something for me?” is because buying and selling art is serious business. These are not your friends sitting at the desks next to yours doodling anything you want on a whim. These are people who have spent a lot of time and money learning a craft, and they rely on these commissions to pay their rent and feed themselves. They should always be treated with respect and professionalism.

It’s very much like hiring a contractor to build a deck. To hire a professional-level creator of any kind, you actually enter into a legal contract of work, a commission.

The Mission: Getting Your Art Commissioned

With that said, let’s start on today’s mission: getting you some dope art made by a legit pro!

Lingo You Need to Know

When you’re commissioning art, you’ll come across terms like:

• CommsOpen: A hashtag used to show if an artist is accepting work right now.
• OC (Original Character): A character you created yourself in your imagination.
• Ref (Reference): Images or descriptions you provide to the artist to help them understand your vision.
• TOS (Terms of Service): The rules and guidelines set by the artist for their commissions.
• Mama/Papa: VTuber terms from Japanese Twitter culture, usually referring to a VTuber Model Artist for “Mama” and a VTuber Live2D Rigger for “Papa.” (Most are just one or the other, but not me, I can be your Mama and your Papa ( ͜. ㅅ ͜. ))
• Lore: The backstory to an OC or VTuber that details how they got to where they are now.

Preparing for a Successful Commission

Gather Reference Images

If you don’t have any art at all for your OC, you will need to gather reference images. Get on Pinterest, Instagram, or the Cara App, and find images that represent different aspects of your OC. These can be pictures of clothing, hairstyles, color themes, or even other characters that look similar to your vision.

Create an OC Bio Sheet

Next, create an OC Bio Sheet. Write a detailed description of your character, including their backstory, personality traits, and any other relevant information. The most important things you need to have an effective bio are:

• Name
• Personality
• Specific color codes
• Details about their clothing and aesthetic

It is also a good idea to identify their “charming points”—unique quirks or traits that make your OC or VTuber stand out.

Compile a Character Reference Sheet

With your bio and reference images in hand, you can work with any artist. But everything gets much easier if you curate your bio and images into what we call a Character Reference Sheet. One PNG to rule them all!

For example, here is a quick Character Reference Sheet I made for myself.

If you need some help making one, you can jump into your very first commission with me and buy a sheet from my comm shop over on VGen.

Where to Commission Art

Avoid the Common Pitfalls

Now that you know how to commission, you need to know where to commission! Well, don’t be a baka and go to Fiverr unless you want to get scammed! And, though it’s not as bad, I also don’t recommend Etsy for the same reasons—too many AI fakes over there!

Recommended Platforms

At the moment, there are exactly four places I know where you can go to get anime art and VTubers made that are 100% legit:

1. The Cara App: The Cara App is a place for finding pros in almost any industry and messaging them directly.
2. Artistree: Artistree is a dedicated commission website with a lot of good safety features but a clunky user interface.
3. Nizima.com: Only for VTubers Nizima.com is great if you are looking for an artist based in Japan. They may require you to speak Japanese though!
4. VGen: The best place to get commissions in 2024 is VGen, in my humble opinion. Not only is the user interface so easy to use, but VGen stands out as a revolutionary platform connecting clients (like you) and artists (like me) in the safest way that I have seen online. They put all of our safety first and vet incoming artists to make sure no one is using AI or selling scams. VGen offers anime art, VTubers, background music, 3D, video editing, and so much more from a growing catalog of professionals.

Conclusion

So, have you ever commissioned anything before? If not, would you consider trying it now? Remember, I also do anime and VTuber art on VGen and am almost always open for commissions if you want to give all this a try with some help from this alien!

And if you’re curious about more tips on commissioning art or want to know about other platforms such as the Cara App, check out my other posts linked here. If you enjoyed this blog, make sure to share it with your friends and subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated with our latest content.

Thanks for reading, and until next time, stay strange!