ART COMMISSIONS – AN INTRODUCTION

This ArtMakers introduction provides you with a broad overview of Art Commissions.

You have been approached to produce a commissioned piece of artwork. By following these steps, you’re less likely to fall into difficulties during the process.

• Communication is really important. Make sure to thoroughly understand what the customer wants. Do not presume you know before having a meeting about the commissioned work. The customer may have strong opinions of what they want, or they may have no idea. It is your job to work this out so that it makes the rest of the process easy.
• Create a professional quotation and send it to the customer. The customer must understand that this is an estimate of the costs. If this worries the customer, you can explain that you will keep them up to date on any unforeseen costs.
• Make sure you write a contract covering details of the work, payment due dates and who is responsible for framing, installation and delivery. This should be signed by both you and the customer before any work commences.
• Take a deposit before work starts, this will protect you from customers suddenly cancelling the commission and you losing time, energy and money.
• You want to plan out stages where you show your progress to your customer. They should approve each stage before you continue to the next stage. In many cases this may only be a preliminary sketch or an example of work you have created for someone else.
• Framing, installation and delivery are usually kept separate from the main quote. The customer usually takes responsibility for this, however, if the delivery company doesn’t include packaging of the artwork for transit, you must do this. Some buyers will ask for the work to be  framed, and you charge this as an extra to the commission.
• If things go wrong meaning that there will be major changes to the work, timescale and costs, make sure you update your customer on these.
• Testimonials are great to get from happy customers. The commissioning process is a very personal journey and purchase for the customer, make sure to ask for feedback and a testimonial. You will be able to use this in social media and your online portfolio.

For more information on how to send your work abroad, and be able to easily get it back again, please REGISTER with ArtMakers