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Howdy again. It's been 8-9 months since my departure from this site, and as I need some work done again, I wanted to share with you a little something that came up during my recent venture on this site. 

I'm currently trying to get some animation work done

 for my channel for a fun little gimmick that I want to add. Since my previous artists of choice primarily focus on emotes and logos, they were unfortunately not up to the task. So I decided to look for new artists via a service request to get the job done. Which resulted in me getting like 30 offers from random people that I had no experience with. Everyone had their neat little ideas, and half of them did not even read the requirements, but that's beside the point. 

Now, I try to be as descriptive as I can in my requests (quite often the 2500 limit is not enough), and occasionally an artist's vision/language barrier/whatever gets in the way. But... 

sometimes you just find that little golden star among all the rubble

. And then, when it clicks and you see your vision personified in front of you on-screen... it's like a little magical moment. 

This is sorta what happened to me yesterday after I requested some rough sketches from some of the artists that made me an offer. I asked both parties to please make a very rough sketch of what 

 thought I wanted my character to look like, with a focus on cartoonish, based on my descriptions and drawings. Like, 5 minutes of work, so that I could get an idea of what the artist's style was and whether it matched my personal idea. What I got was more than what I expected and asked for, but it pretty much hits the nail on the head on 

why it's of utter importance to offer or request (free) a sketch

Because, while the first artist assured me they could get the work done quickly and I looked at their work and their style was good, the sketch they showed me was not remotely what I had in mind. Though I think that maybe my drawings might have added to that, but that's why I try to be very descriptive in the actual request and always provide references. 

To help you understand, let me show you some pictures to go along with this story. 

First, let me quote parts of my description and show you my drawings I made prior to all that. 

These are the drawings I made. Didn't spend too much time on them as it would be pointless because I'm no artist. I just wanted to have some ideas on paper. 

And here's an excerpt of the request, describing the character: 

The character is supposed to have a comically large helmet with a tiny body. You can draw inspiration for the design from Disney's "Marvin the Martian". I want the helmet to be based off my logo character's helmet [...] I want the body to be muscular but scrawny and tiny in proportion to the helmet [...] and "leather" wristbands. As for pants, a "leather" speedo would do. The character itself does not need to be massively detailed [...] Most of the facial expression will come from the eyebrows and eyes; the character does not necessarily need a mouth [...]

This is the helmet for reference, and Disney's "Marvin the Martian" for comparison. This will be important later. 

(What I'm about to say should by no means be taken as me trying to insult or diminish their work, but I tend to speak freely. It's splendid work regardless.) 

The first artist apparently ignored my descriptions both in the request and messages prior to the sketch and simply used my drawings and pictures as references. While it is a nice drawing, it's by no means what I requested. I did not ask for shoes and the body was too bulky, and it all looked kinda... off. It just didn't click with me at all. 

it highlights the fact why sketches are vital

. I did the same thing with all the artists I hired for my emotes/logos. They were always happy to provide a free sample. However, this case was seemingly a matter of an artist getting in the way of themselves in the form of going strictly off a client's references, 

. Which I understand plays an important role in business, but you can always make 2 sketches if need be; 1 strictly based on client's ideas, and 1 based on your own interpretation. 

However, I hope I'm not too much to blame here as I did tell them to draw the character in their own style and in a way what they thought I wanted it to look like. Lovely work, but quite far off the mark of what I was going for. 

Now, let's get to the creamy part of this story and my "magical moment". 

I later got another offer by an artist that had me intrigued after visiting their profile and checking out their work. A little bummed out from before, I was starting to doubt whether I put too little money on the table (I offered $100 or more, depending on work and quality) and didn't exactly have much hope in getting what I wanted. But I messaged them anyway and asked for a free sample. 

They were kind enough to offer such, but since it was late at night, I told them I'd check out the sketch in the morning and wished them goodnight. 

And when I woke up, I booted up my PC and decided to go check my Fiverr inbox. 

. That right then, that was my little magical moment. When you just click with someone... 

Here's that absolute beauty of a sketch: 

That right there is an artist who understands me.

 Who seemingly knew exactly what I was going for. This... this is way beyond what I expected I would get. Reminder that this is a mere sketch, a very good one, no doubt, but that's not even the finished product. Now, just imagine the magic this artist will be able to produce on-screen with a finished cartoon version. Absolute madness! 

Not only do the proportions match, but they actually did include the leather wristbands (more like armguard, but I actually like it better!) and the speedo. A few adjustments will be made along the way, but all in all... it's just bloody gorgeous! 

I'm still so in awe that I felt the urge to share this with you, and I hope you can appreciate the art for what it is. I will definitely proceed with this artist and they will get a tip from me after it's all done. 

I hope my little experience was at least somewhat entertaining to read, and maybe, if you are an artist yourself, it gave you a good perspective from a client's side of things and why you should always offer a free sample sketch. It's probably common knowledge, but still. I wanted this post to emphasize on such. 

The Importance of (Free) Sketches (And Why You Should Always Request/Offer Some)

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