I set up commissions as a Patreon reward, and it was so popular I had to set a limit to the monthly subscribers so I didn’t fall behind.

One of the things that I use is a pre-written list of guidelines.

Manage expectations

It’s a good idea to manage expectations.

So I’ll say in my commissions, no more than two figures and a simple background.

In other words, if you say that you want two figures shaking hands in front of the Spanish Armada sailing down, down the fleet as Godzilla rises up from the sea, it’s like, “No, we’re not going to do that.”

I also learned that it is very helpful is to keep the patron involved along the way.

So, they will send me a write-up of what they’d like.

I’ll send them back at that point any adjustments that I think need to be made.

Then I come up with a scene in my mind and I’ll sketch it out.

I send them a screenshot of the sketch. and I say, “Okay, this is a scene I’ve got in mind.”

Once they approve that, then I go on to the inks.

And then at that point, changes become a little harder to make.

And to be honest, I usually have very few changes at the sketch stage because we’ve discussed it already.

Next, I move on to inks. When I’m finished, I send them a screenshot of the inks. But as of now, it’s a formality.

Patreon rewards

Not only are the commissions something that I use to drive pledges, but of course, I end up posting that content on my Patreon for everyone else to see.

I’ll send the commissioner Dropbox links to high-res and low-res versions.

They can print it out. They can do whatever they want from it. It’s theirs at that point.