Some commission/YCH dilemmas I'm having.

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At the moment I am having trouble deciding on a few things and was wondering if anyone can help me decide by giving me their thoughts.
 
First are YCHs. I have done one already and am getting ready to start a new one soon, but I don’t know whether I should do a YCH based on one of my uploaded pics (like this one >>1956242 (deleted)) or create something entirely new.
 
Next is where I should upload for auctions. I know of two sites, ych.commishes (I already have an account there) and ych.art. Is there a difference between the two? Is one better than the other? Or are they generally the same thing?
 
Finally commissions, I am not sure about doing those at the moment since I don’t have a lot of art that really shows I’m any good or reliable. I am happy to take on requests since I can take my time with them, update the person as I go, I put a lot of work and effort into them and I generally enjoy doing them. should I jump in and give those a go just like the YCHs or give myself a little more time and upload more first?
 
Thank you all for your time.
Clear Vision
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Petrolhead Artist
First are YCHs. I have done one already and am getting ready to start a new one soon, but I don’t know whether I should do a YCH based on one of my uploaded pics (like this one >>1956242 (deleted)) or create something entirely new.
 
Welcome to the site :)
 
To answer your first question, I think it would be a better idea to use YCHs that aren’t tightly based on some of your existing artwork (loosely based is fine), as it might give off the impression of you just recycling content in an attempt to make a quick buck which most likely isn’t the case. First impressions can be quite crucial, after all.
 
Next is where I should upload for auctions. I know of two sites, ych.commishes (I already have an account there) and ych.art. Is there a difference between the two? Is one better than the other? Or are they generally the same thing?
 
They’re generally the same thing, but ych.commishes is a bit more well-known so you may have a better chance of a successful auction there, but advertising your YCH elsewhere is also important.
 
Finally commissions, I am not sure about doing those at the moment since I don’t have a lot of art that really shows I’m any good or reliable. I am happy to take on requests since I can take my time with them, update the person as I go, I put a lot of work and effort into them and I generally enjoy doing them. should I jump in and give those a go just like the YCHs or give myself a little more time and upload more first?
 
I think that you’ve already got enough art uploaded here for people to get a general idea of what your art is like and what you typically draw. You don’t necessarily need to wait until you have hundreds of images under your artist tag before you get started; I didn’t, and so far I think I’m doing relatively okay. By all means jump right in and try to get started with commissions; as long as you’re not shoving it in people’s faces, I don’t think anyone would take offence and would instead just see it as an option for early adopters.
 
The one tip I can give you is that I would recommend taking the time to design a really nice commission sheet for yourself, as this is one of the ways you can set yourself apart from others. Here are a few examples of sheets that I think are decent:
 
 
>>1818849
 
||NSFW Warning >>1794274 (deleted) ||
 
>>1790071
 
>>1760034
 
||NSFW-ish Warning >>1962958 || <– my own current sheet
 
 
An artist who isn’t serious about what they will do will most likely never design a price sheet that is visually appealing as well as being easy to understand (however, just because an artist hasn’t made a dedicated sheet doesn’t mean that they aren’t serious). If your prices are reasonable, your sheet looks good at a thumbnail size and the example(s) that you use on your sheet are good, you’ll increase your chances of getting clients when you’re new, especially if you start posting your sheet on Discord servers where art related self-promotion is allowed for example. Just bear in mind that if you use an example that has some sex appeal to it and is possibly NSFW, you won’t be able to post it everywhere, but you might get more attention on places where you can post it.
 
 
Here’s a checklist of things a commission sheet should include (in my opinion):  
  • Base prices for different tiers of art (sketch, flat colour, cel shading if you offer it, and fully shaded)  
  • Extra character fees, as well as indicating whether it is universal across all tiers, or whether it is different.  
  • Add-on fees if you intend to charge extra for things such as backgrounds, props, anthro characters or adult content.  
  • Your contact information  
  • What you are NOT willing to draw
     
 
It sounds to me that you genuinely want to make a good start and a good first impression, and you should hold onto that. I hope this helps, and feel free to respond with any further questions!
deactivatedc22c3c
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My Little Pony - 1992 Edition
The Magic of Friendship Grows - For helping others attend the 2020 Community Collab
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2020) - Took part in the 2020 Community Collab
Dream Come True! - Participated in the MLP 9th Anniversary Event
Wallet After Summer Sale -
Happy Derpy! - For Patreon supporters
Best Artist - Providing quality, Derpibooru-exclusive artwork
Artist -

Evening, and thank you for your response ^^
 
@ClearVision  
To answer your first question, I think it would be a better idea to use YCHs that aren’t tightly based on some of your existing artwork (loosely based is fine), as it might give off the impression of you just recycling content in an attempt to make a quick buck which most likely isn’t the case. First impressions can be quite crucial, after all.
 
I had a feeling, my original thought was to use the first picture as a YCH example, to show what I can do. But you make a good point, I’m going to work on more original YCH pictures sometime soon.
 
 
They’re generally the same thing, but ych.commishes is a bit more well-known so you may have a better chance of a successful auction there, but advertising your YCH elsewhere is also important.
 
Oki, I thought so, I suppose because one seemed newer than the other, I wasn’t sure if one was better or easier to use. I did a YCH there and was successful with a YCH and now know how it all works, though I’m still getting used to ych.commishes since it feels like 3-4 sites in one. I went with ych.commishes because it seemed like everyone was using it lol.
 
The one tip I can give you is that I would recommend taking the time to design a really nice commission sheet for yourself, as this is one of the ways you can set yourself apart from others.
 
I have been thinking about drawing up a ref sheet sometime soon, showing sketch (maybe), lineart, flat color and shaded, with other bits based on added characters, backgrounds and all that. I do like all the examples you have provided, they have given me a rough idea of what my commissions sheet would look like. :)
 
I guess I could draw it safe/suggestive to upload to booru and DA, its advertised on those two sites then.
 
In the meantime I have been taking requests here and there and I have a lot of fun doing them (like how I did with my first YCH so I assume it’ll be the same with commissions), they give me something to draw, some practice with ponies and even other species and I will work hard on them to make sure they look perfect for the person who requests them, put as much effort as possible into the pictures. I also see requests as a good way to build myself up a little. ^^
 
Thank you so much for your advice, you have been a big help ^^
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