lots of my returning clients told me part of why they like commissioning me is because i keep communicating with them about their commissions while a lot of other artists made them feel anxious about whether their commission is actually being worked on or not so… tips for artist about how to communicate with your clients:
- you dont have to give them an update of your wip everyday but everytime you work on it make sure to give a screenshot to send to your client. even if it’s not much, it still gives the client a sense of comfort knowing that their commission isn’t being forgotten
- giving updates on wip also give your client a chance to ask for changes early on instead of regretting it later after the piece is already completed, especially since sometimes clients only have a vague idea of what they want and only realized what they really want after the wip give them the inspiration
- if you find yourself unable to work on your commission for a while, inform your client immediately. give a time estimate if you can. from my experience reasonable clients don’t mind waiting, they just get agitated if there’s no contact at all
- if you can’t actually do the commission it’s best to be upfront and offer a refund instead of waiting for your client to ask what’s up. taking initiatives cultivate trust that makes people come back to you to order more art. i know some people feel awkward and anxious about this but trust me it’ll be worse to string your client along than just admit to the truth.
as for people who commission artists: don’t be afraid to ask for updates of your commissioned piece if there’s been three weeks* without contact. you paid for it so you’re entitled to know what’s going on.
*non dm communications can be less frequent but you should still update your clients