captain_warlord

Yes, I am sure. The lady was a Top Level Seller at the time and my script had like 15-20 lines, and I asked if she could voice one line in a specific tone to see if it matched what I was looking for. She told me she does not normally do this, but then not only provided me with a free sample, but also added another free take of specific lines when she delivered the order. I've used her voice lines for some of my stuff. I've had people doing scottish accents offer me a free sample voice line, too. It's less common in this field for a reason, but it does exist. And most, at least in my experience, are happy to provide when asked. I am aware. And I agree. But I've also already explained this to a previous poster; this post is aimed at artists and is about art, it's basically standard practice as far as I'm aware. Aye. They sent me that sketch 30 minutes later. Yet, the main difference between the two sellers was the fact that seller 1 tried to constantly pressure me into placing an order while saying the whole time "sample is free", while seller 2 actively asked me more questions and then, after they sent me the sketch, simply added a "here ya go. if willing to proceed, let me know." Communication also matters, but that's a topic for another time. Both sellers got the same information prior, for both parties I emphasized on "cartoonish". Seller 2's version of the helmet isn't even that different. Seller 1 just made a direct copy of that helmet when I explicitely told them to simply use my images as references and not as templates. Seller 2's version is a cartoonized version of my logo's helmet, which is what I was looking for, and the feather garment plume isn't even that far off, it's just from a different angle. That was the original idea of the logo anyway, but I scrapped that later and went for a more "metal" look for the sake of reduced complexity. Here's the earliest concept from back then, and the free sample sketch I got from the artist: Here's the free sample sketch for 1 of my emotes, and the actual emote: Like I said, I've never had anyone NOT offer free samples before placing an order with them. And I'm glad they do. Has made it a lot easier to decide and not waste anyone's time. And for the record, I'm really grateful when I get them, but I also carefully select beforehand and usually end up with 1 or 2 artists to choose from. And no one has ever asked me to pay for them. I've had exactly 1 person decline a free sketch in the ~2 years I've been coming to this site. Yeah, I'd have no problem with that. But I've also been shown that watermarks don't really help against the truly dedicated scammers... if that is an artist's main concern. I've had people re-post my own emotes, that I had commissioned and added a watermark to before I posted them, without the watermarks. PhotoShop's a b****. However: If all you see is malice, malice is what you'll find, and you'll find it everywhere. Not everyone's out to scam you. Some people just like reassurances. Especially when everyone's poorer these days.

Yes. As a buyer, that is obviously my perception. And if you want to make a sale, then sometimes it comes with a little extra effort that is just part of business, depending on the industry you are in. Even in software development, we offer free "sketches" to clients in the form of either paper concepts or PowerPoint presentations. We don't charge for those, they are part of "business expenses". It's a trade-off one has to live with in order to attract customers. I mean, you are being pretty rude for no reason. I was merely showing how much of a difference a sketch can make, and how it can affect sales. For the record, I no longer order from artists who do NOT offer a free sketch, simply because I've been burned before. I simply ask as a courtesy instead of demanding them, and 99% of the time I get them offered beforehand anyway. So who are you to presume you know what my intention was? Especially when it's basically industry standard. Funny you should mention that, since I've ordered from Top Sellers before in the same way, and they ALSO offer a sketch every single time. Oh, and I just remembered: I even got offered free samples by people doing voice work. What do you have to say about that, hmm? And even if I consult with a tattoo artist in the actual world, I also get offered a free sample sketch. Like, seriously, what world are you living in? Getting all worked up and personal just because you disagree with something that can otherwise be considered industry standard. And as a footnote just for you: Ever considered that this is not about "convincing" the customer, but is in fact a sales strategy?

I don't get your point. Fiverr is a site for freelancers to offer a service. It goes without saying that, when someone wants to buy something on here, a certain skill level is required in order to make a sale. Why would I ever pay for someone who needs hours to come up with a basic concept for a sketch? Especially with concept material at hand? There's a reason why one doesn't always pick the cheapest offer available. You get what you pay for.

You see, this is because you look at it from your perspective as a writer, which, sorry to be so blunt, is irrelevant in this context as this post is about art and is aimed at artists. To help you better understand my point: Artwork and writing are two very different mediums. I can inspect the work of a writer and get a pretty good idea of what they can do. Same applies to the artist. However, the main difference lies in this one simple fact: When you write the word "owl", everyone will have a pretty basic idea of what an owl looks like. But there will be differences, yet they won't matter because it's only a word, and everyone will have their own interpretation of said owl in their minds, no matter how many times you write it for different people. With an artist, this basic idea applies in a different way and on a whole other level. My interpretation could be much less, or much more, detailed in my head than the artist's. The wings might be different, the feathers might look different, etc. Point is, while the subject of interpretation is nothing but an owl, the variances can be far too great, and thus a sketch is necessary to get on the same page. In your world, an owl is an owl. In an artist's world, every owl will look different.

That's why I always politely ask for a very rough sketch, and even mention that I don't want them to put in more than 5 minutes. And $5 per sketch, according to you... for someone with a $100 budget, that's a lot to account for, especially when you want to compensate the artist adequately for their work. But I also don't just ask everyone to draw me a sketch. I check out their work first, and, if I like their style, I ask if I could get a rough sample (and most already offer beforehand). I get that "doing free work" is not always feasible, but it's imo part of business expenses, similar to marketing. It's kinda the same in grocerie stores offering you a free sample of cheese/sausage/whatever. It's not that I wouldn't want to compensate them for a sketch (I do in the form of tips), but compare it to this: Imagine you are in a restaurant and they offer you 3 samples of wine. And they expect you to pay for every single one, even if they taste awful and are not at all what you are looking for in a wine. That just creates a bad feeling for the customer about the entire establishment instead of just the wine selection, which is why this is not done anywhere, at least not to my knowledge (unless it's expensive stuff). Yeah, I'd say you seem biased on the matter. Though I fully understand your side of the story. Keep it simple, that's why I never ask for a full sketch. Yeah, exactly. It's premature selection. You filter out beforehand so that there's no reason to have a bad experience for either one.

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 they 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: 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. BUT... 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, too afraid to do their own thing. 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. I was not prepared for what I got. 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. Thanks for reading and take care.