r/FictoHideout

Here's my Douma shrine! I had to redo and replace some things on my Douma shrine such as the little mini picture of my OC/Self-insert Neon that hangs over the bottom shelf since it was coming undone. I also made a new mini cardboard cutout stand of Neon and Douma and placed it on the bottom shelf as well! 🫶❤️🪷

Here's the perfume, It's the official one that I got in the mail a few days ago! ❤️🪷 Have a wonderful day together with your partners everyone! 🩷🥖❤️🪷💚🐈🩷🍬

Coconut and Junko love sleeping with me, but Chisa sleeps in a different bed.

Why is the girl who says she’s damn SHARING with Rafe & Sam, the one who keeps harassing me and sending me death threats AND saying that Rafe and Sam will never love me, only her? Like girl you’re sharing, but you don’t seem like it…
And she’s sending this shit to my friends because I have my message requests off.

This psycho even went as far as to FAKE screenshots of ME harassing her. Which I would never do to anyone.

And when my friend asked if she could screen record the conversation to prove that it’s real, she just blocked. 💀

This is an adult too btw.
This double has really put me through hell. This is the same girl that I stood up for when people bullied her for shipping with Rafe and Sam in the Uncharted group.

She has been self shipping with Rafe since like around 2020 but recently added Sam right around when she started copying everything else about my relationship.

I’m tired of this stalker. I’m tired of this person putting on this face of “I’m sharing UWU so I’m nice! The non-sharing one is harassing me!”
Like genuinely I thought this person was nice when I stood up for her.

Like genuinely f*ck off.

Never thought I'd make a post like this... But with the new toxic yume community there's now a space for a dupe of mine to make posts telling me to off myself. On top of that they encourage each to harass and abuse doubles. Judging by the downvotes I'm getting I can be 100% sure they know this account. At some point it becomes dangerous for me to be here, doesn't it? My mental health is still pretty fragile. What do I even do in this situation 😭

Art commissions are a popular way to feel closer to one’s partner–whether you struggle to draw yourself, or you enjoy a variety of styles, it’s never a bad thing to support independent illustrators!

However, I do understand that with the personal nature of our requests, working one on one with a person can be daunting–so for those who are socially anxious or shy, I would just like to give you a baseline to think about. At the end of the day, artists are typically just trying to make ends meet through their skill and passion for the craft–so long as your request is within their specifications, and boundaries, I promise you it is just a job, and they won’t judge. In order to gather and maintain a clientele, they need to be professional, so that is how most interactions will go–you may even be surprised by how warm the reception can be, especially as yumeshipping becomes more common.

If you do happen to get unlucky with bad attitudes, scams, or Gen AI passed off as their own, blacklist them, spread the word, and rest assured they won’t end up with many clients that way!

Typically, the process goes like this: 

1-You find an artist whose style and price range suits your needs

2-You send them a message with the general overview of your idea, preferably with references, and they will tell you whether or not they’re suitable for the job

3-Once the request is accepted, you send them the payment upfront

4-Depending on their terms, they make you a sketch and ask if there are any revisions to be made.

5-After you confirm that the sketch is acceptable, they proceed to lineart, where changes can no longer be made.

6-Finally, they will finish with colour and rendering–the updates per stage depends entirely on the artist and complexity of the piece

7-If you are on a third party platform, you leave them a review and enjoy your beautiful new piece of artwork!

Additionally, some artists offer less polished options for a cheaper price, such as sketches, only lineart, or flat colour (without shading or complex rendering). Chibis or bust up are also generally a cheaper option.

💖**　**Artist Terms & Etiquette 💖

It’s important to thoroughly read an artist’s terms and specifications before opening a request; check their portfolio thoroughly, DOs and DON’Ts, pricing, and process to make sure they’re the right fit.

-Many advertise OC x Canon or Yume/Selfship as a selling point, but this isn’t necessarily a requirement for them to accept the work or be cordial about it. 

-Be aware that not all artists allow revisions, and some have a limit on them even during the sketching phase!

-Generally, you can also assume that the artist will use the work as part of their portfolio unless you specificially request it to be kept private, which may or may not cost a small fee

-It’s best to message them only when you have a clear idea and guideline for what you want upfront–even in the sketching stage, there are changes too major to be made without a hefty price increase

-Try to bring as many references as you can so everything is concise and accurate to your vision

-It’s generally good form to keep emails/notifications on or check the platform you communicate on often to stay on top of updates to ensure the process goes smoothly

-Sometimes life happens or artists get busy–while every freelancer wants to deliver fast and quality work, sometimes art takes time, or they have too many clients at once. So long as they keep in touch, it never hurts to have a bit of patience if updates are slow–especially if they’re an in demand artist.

-The work is yours in the end to edit, repost, and reprint however you’d like, but it’s generally good etiquette to credit them when sharing!

Lastly, a note about tipping: this is entirely personal preference and shouldn’t be a demand; I dislike tipping culture in general, but sometimes if it’s an artist that is very low priced and I feel is or undervaluing their work, or went above and beyond with a lot of revisions, I try to leave at least a few extra euros for them!

❤️ Communication

-For those who struggle with the personal or social anxiety aspect of it, here’s what I’ve always done: 
Open with a greeting, the general request if you are unsure what category it would fall under (i.e, half body vs bust), and whether this is possible for them/they are available. It’s good to be polite, and just ask if anything is unclear! Most artists are more than happy to answer your questions, as it ensures the best possible outcome for both of you.

-You don’t necessarily have to specify about your relationship, the details, or the reason for the request—they don’t need to know, per se, but you can elaborate if you wish to. I typically am shy and just ask for “two characters xyz” or OC x Canon if I must, though obviously it is just me and my husband. 

-Regarding references, there are many ways you can do this. It depends on what you’re looking for, but I like to either put everything in a zipped folder with each image labeled as its purpose (i.e,) Character A, Character B, Background, etc. if it’s a less complicated piece. 

-If there are many little details, I make a Google Document with each photo and a note beneath it signifying what it’s for, as well as a general overview for mood, poses, preferred colouring, and even a little bit of context for what I want included if it’s relevant, but it’s entirely down to personal preference. Just be clear in what you want! Artists can generally work with vague ideas, but photos work better than text as it’s a visual medium we are trying to manage here!

-When asking for revisions, I tend to write out in bullet points what I want changed, and sometimes even draw over the current image to illustrate more clearly what I want. I am a very particular client, though; text usually suffices, but I do find that artists do well with visual cues for more accurate changes. Additionally*, don’t feel bad about asking for changes.* I know it can be nerve wracking, but you are paying in the end–so long as you are polite, still within the stage where things can be adjusted, and not asking for a huge overhaul of everything, they will understand!

🧡 Types of Requests

-Custom

 Most artists will already offer slots or types of illustrations, such as “two characters half body” in whatever pose and background you prefer, with the details to be worked out once you open a request. These are generally the ones that allow for the most revisions and creative freedom.

-YCH (your character here)

 A given pose by the artist with your preferences in characters, colour pallete, and sometimes background modifications. Pretty self explanatory!

-Skeb Style Commissions/”Surprise Me!”

On Skeb itself: I have little experience with these, but to my knowledge it’s a system where you give your character references alongside a prompt for the artist and deposit an amount of whatever you wish to pay; an artist may pick up your request at their discretion, and draw it as detailed as they feel is equal to the price given.

“Surprise Me!” types: It’s similar in concept, though not limited to just the Skeb site; typically you input a sum of money, a prompt, and the artist will interpret it at they see fit.

Do note that price may vary depending on complexity. An artist’s base prices are for the generic categorizing of bust, half body, full body, and levels of background detail. It’s of utmost importance to ensure before finalizing anything that the price is acceptable for your request and that you will have the money upfront.

💛 Finding Trustworthy Artists 💛

As freelance work becomes more popular, there are many places to choose from!

Vgen 

Vgen is the go to these days, as its verification system is quite involved to protect against AI and scammers; additionally, it most fairly compensates its artists out of the various mainstream platforms. It’s very smooth to use in my opinion, so it would be my top recommendation.

Communities & Word of Mouth

There are plenty of artists around our communities as well! It doesn’t ever hurt to support local talent, especially if you want someone who will understand. I would say, however, it’s generally a bit iffy to outright ask if someone does commissions or even art trades–only inquire if they explicitly state they are accepting requests or advertising.

As a side note, plenty of folks here could probably offer their own recommedations as well, as to trustworthy artists.

Social Media

Many artists have personal or art accounts where they share their portfolio and advertise commissions on Instagram, Twitter, and sometimes tumblr; sometimes they’re tagged as emergency commissions and shared around, though if you don’t follow a lot of illustrators or fandom folks it’s probably less likely to stumble upon them. 

There are also mutliple subs for freelancers offering their services on Reddit, but I cannot attest to the quality.

Fiverr

I’ve used fiverr quite often, though I strongly dislike the steep cut they take and added feeds; it is still worth mentioning, however, as there are some great and efficient artists here–just be sure to vet for those with good reviews and consistency

Skeb

I’m unsure about Skeb as I’ve never used it, but I wanted to put a note about it for those who are interested in the ‘pay what you want’ model–at the cost of creative control, and obviously, quality in respect to the amount of money offered. I do think, however, it’s a niche worth considering if you prefer the style of Japanese artists and don’t mind a gamble.

Etsy

Worth a mention as it is another possible avenue where artists advertise, but it’s a little more difficult to verify, and Gen AI seems very prevalent here in recent years.

🤍 Closing 🤍

A last note I want to make is that scams are increasingly common, especially with the rise of Gen AI. Most artists are not trying to scam you, but it’s best to stick to platforms with a third party witness in case of potential bad actors. Usually it’s pretty obvious as they’re too pushy, offering a price that seems too good to be true, being shady about proof of progress updates, or asked for the money then ghosted you. 
If you are commissioning an artist not tied to a source with a protective mechanism in place, be sure at least that they have an active and solid looking social media, consistent portfolio, and good ratings from word of mouth or otherwise in plain sight!

With that said, the bottom line is every artist is different, each with unique terms, process, and systems–I at the least hope I could cover the basics and take the anxiety of the equation for those who struggle with it. It’s a very wide field nowadays, so I’m certain with a bit of digging and luck you’ll find the right fit.