Need someone to do you fanart? How about a comic? Or a whole animation? Or some cushiony graphic design or logo for your company paired with some sick motion graphics?
I am always available and glad to take commissions! Here I will talk about the range of payments I expect to get for commissioned work and ways for contacting me.
Contact for commissions
My preferred method of contact is by email. Please state the nature and requirements of the work and provide the necessary guidelines, and I’ll reply in acknowledgement that I have recieved your message. We might later discuss details upon doing the project and negotiate the price depending on further specifics. My email is nikgothic@nikgothic.com, or you can visit my ‘About‘ page for a built-in form.
You can also contact me on Twitter. Feel free to send a direct message to me.
I am also available through Discord and Skype, but I would provide you with my username through email or Twitter DM.
For payment, you can refer to my PayPal link. Donations are welcome, too, and it helps me live in a part of the world that’s always been economically fraught.
How to make an email:
There is no need to write any formal letter if you don’t know how to do it or are uncomfortable. I’m friendly and understanding! 😀 You can approach me and ring me any way you like. But here are some key pointers that might help you in composing a good commission letter:
- Please state that you want to commission me for work in the email subject field, and then give your greetings. Introduce yourself if you like! A good title are things like “Asking for a commission” or “Can I ask for a commission?”
- In the body text, state the nature of the work that needs to be made by looking at the sections below. Would you like a lineart drawing? A full comic? Animation? Video editing? Graphic design for your company? I need to know what I’m getting my hands into and how I should price it.
- Provide me a written description of the work you need to be done, and if possible with visual references. If I’m drawing characters, whether your own original characters or copyrighted ones, I still need to see references, which you can provide in one-to-several images. The look and stated result have to be clear so I wouldn’t make an irreversible error in the process.
- Explain the purpose for the work and how you’re going to utilise it(i.e. illustration as an avatar, to share it on social media, or just for private enjoyment), and if I am allowed to display my work on my own social media and website. You are free to tell me if I need to add a note from you. For example, crediting the commissioner, linking to their social media profile, or adding a written message or a promotion. If you say nothing on this matter, I will just credit the commissioner by their name or Twitter handle.
Once I read your letter, I will respond that I have acknowledged your request! I might ask questions furthering on some specifics or unresolved details, or we could give each other suggestions. I’m open to discuss matters via voice call on Google Meets, too! I will also state my projected price for the commission, and the link in which to make the payment. Work is not starting work until I get payment, and I give refunds only if I haven’t started the work process yet.
Things to keep in mind when making a commission
- Prices must be in USD, or its monetary equivalent in EUR. If you’d like to pay in EUR, I will show its equivalent going by the conversion rate of the day of payment.
- I have the right to refuse the commissioned work if its nature serves to harmful ends such as promoting biggotry, targets a group based on their ethnicity, sexuality or gender identity. Or if for whatever reason I am not comfortable with it.
- I can make NSFW content, but the details of that I want to negotiate in private. I may have reservations over posting it on my own social media or website. Commissioner must be at least 18 years of age to order NSFW content. Other than that, I would love to draw porn!
- I’d be willing to do minor revisions and corrections when making a work(such as lineart and colouring, or keyframes on video) free of charge and to take suggestions, because customer satisfaction to me is important. Usually I like making different colour variations for any work. But if the client asks me to do major corrections(like big changes of lineart or draw new and different figures entirely), I will demand an additional price for my effort.
- I own the rights to the work and I will assume automatically that I am allowed to use it for my own self-promotion and to share it on social media. If the client wants to keep their work strictly private, or wants to share my work to a select group of people/social media, they must state so in advance.
- You can’t masquerade my work as your own, and you can’t receive royalties from it. Not unless we have made a mutual business agreement for doing so.
- Clients must pay in advance before work begins. Once work begins, I do not give refunds.
I offer services in five different categories: Illustrations, comics, graphic design, 2D animation, and video editing.
1. Illustrations!
For convenience and speed I make most of my illustrations by digital tablet. However, I also love draw using traditional ink on paper for lineart and colouring digitally, and the use of whichever method is up for the client (although the transition from traditional to digital would take more time and resources thus I will ask for a payment increase). People might prefer this “analogue” mode of drawing for its organic feeling and authenticity. My love is for drawing cartoons and cartoony styles, preferring simple and expressive faces, anime-like body anatomy, and stories and characters set in the real world or history. But I also draw art in any genre of fiction, including fantasy and science fiction, and do realistic portraits with other tools(like pencil, watercolour). We can also try to emulate any other existing “style” that you prefer, and adapting to different styles is something I’ve done a great deal of, business-wise.
I do commissions based on the number of principal characters featured. Think of a principal character as a lead actor in a movie: They have a unique identity, and they exude a great prominence or detail. They are heroes, villains and supporting characters. The prices below are based on a single principal character, and the price may be increased depending on the number of principal characters added.
Characters that do not have an established identity such as extras, crowds of people etc. do not count as principal characters but are “part of the scenery”. I just call them “extras“. Including them in the background of a scene does not affect the price unless they exhert an unusual amount of effort to illustrate. Prices below are for full body shots, but if they are framed up close(the bust or the head), I will reduce the price accordingly. These are guidelines, and no price is fixed! If you want me to illustrate a character I’m not familiar with, I will ask you to provide references in your commmission.
Phase 01 – Sketch ($20)
Quick and dirty sketch made only for conceptual or referential purposes. I can draw these traditionally with graphite pencil or pen, or digitally. I tend to add some rudimentary shading for free. +$10 per additional character, or very detailed background.
Phase 02 – Lineart ($35)
Detailed black-and-white outlines drawn with ink on paper or digitally. Good basis for further colouring! Also includes filling all black spaces and possibly some slight grey or colour shading. +$15 per additional character or detailed background.
Phase 03 – Flat colours ($60)
Digital outlines with digital colouring. It may include some key highlights or shadows. +$20 per additional character. +$20 if scanned from traditional ink.
Phase 04 – Detailed shading ($100)
As above but with detailed digital highlights, shadows, and some atmospheric lighting. This category also includes realistic portraits of people and animals. +$60 per additional character. +$40 if scanned from traditional ink.
Phase 05 – Scene ($200)
A “scene” is basically a shaded character in a detailed background. The background becomes an important component of the image which the characters interact with in some direct or indirect sense. +$60 per additional character. +$60 when scanned from traditional ink.
2. Comics!
Comic page ($100-300)
A comic page entails multiple frames of drawings based on a script and having variable levels of detail and colouring. Price depends on how “complex” the art style is, ranging from as little as $100 for simple and black-and-white art, to $300 for magnificently detailed and coloured artwork. If comics are drawn with traditional ink on paper, and are then scanned coloured digitally, add $50 per page..
3. Graphic design!
Logos and posters ($150-700)
Including logos, posters, diagrams, podcast art and much more, my graphic design in various forms and purposes varies in price, with a general guideline that logo designs for companies cost around $250. Poster design is $150 with provided utilisable images and minimal input, or up to $700 depending on the amount of extra design and hand-drawn elements, while product packaging and books of standard cost more and are negotiable.
4. 2D animation, hand-drawn and flash ($35/hour)
My baseline experience tells me that 60 seconds of animation, with two characters and five scene changes, could take anywhere from 20 to 120 hours depending on the level of detail. Includes basic cutting and sequencing and sound design.
5. Video editing, motion graphics and special effects ($35/hour)
Video editing includes everything from basic cutting and sequencing, to motion graphics, infographics, elements with hand-drawn animation, flash animation, special effects and other embellishments. Also includes sound design.
Other things!
My other fields include basic 3D modelling and animation, web development, photography and game development! Basically anyhing that revolves around graphic design, and for any of these assignments prices vary upon the content demanded and are negotiable.
Got any ideas? Head on to the About page and shoot us an email!