Haven't had one of these in a while!
Here you can post your experience with commissioning cosplays and the like, or horror stories with terrible customers.
To start off
>Can you do a commission for me for free?
The absolute worst: "Your work looks sooo nice! I was hoping you could make me this for me. I'm looking to spend $50-$100." (This = complex thing with lots of fabric. I hate this more than "could you do a commission for free?" The tacky cheap polyester Chinese factory version of that character is $120. And I know you know that. It's so insulting. I don't expect people to know just how many hours it takes and how much good fabric is, but *obviously* good quality custom work is more expensive than cheap mass produced.)
Runner up: "Could you make this thing? I need it for a con in three days." NO. Saying you're willing to pay for express shipping does not make this a reasonable request.
Second runner up: "Could I get quotes for these five complex outfits?" That shit takes serious time, kid, and I'm 99.9999% sure you're wasting mine.
>have a friend who commissioned a wig from a popular commissioner
>doesn't give the commissioner a deadline because "i don't need it right away"
>okay.jpg
>months go by
>surprise, no wig yet
>friend starts bitching
>lol i thought you didn't need it right away?
>really what did you expect???
>more months pass, she's getting saltier and saltier
>the wig arrives
>it's . . . really beautiful, actually
>my friend loved it but she continued to curse the commissioner's name and wrote up a bad review anyway
>wat
Apparently "no deadline" really meant "lol jk send it to me in a few months or I'll get buttbothered~!"
The commissioner no doubt had time-sensitive projects and other obligations in their life (like a day job) that were more urgent than a wig project with no deadline.
>>9089444
>"Could I get quotes for these five complex outfits?" That shit takes serious time, kid, and I'm 99.9999% sure you're wasting mine.
This, so much. I've recently had quite a few people ask me if I could do a bunch of Overwatch stuff and most of those designs are complex and would be expensive as hell, not to mention very time consuming.
Other favorite is I've personally had someone tell me to make something worse or not as good of a job so I could do it for cheaper.
Bitch I have a personal standard and that's insulting as fuck to say to begin with.
>>9088707
>buy spartan suit from prop maker
>arrives after months with his insignia etched into parts of the armour
>keep it on as respect for the guy
>happy with the product and communication
>order a new helmet while he's got little on
>been 2 years
>message guy about it to see if everything is ok
>shows me a progress picture
>exact same one as last time we spoke
>"oh i already sent you that one"
get the feeling the helmet will never be done....
>>9089594
That's a really shitty move from your friend, and pretty dishonest if the wig when it arrived was done well.
My biggest annoyance is when someone posts a costumer's work and asks if someone can make it for cheaper. At least find a less specific picture! Sometimes I answer in hopes that they're not just buying those ones for deadline reasons or something… but they always end up wanting something like a ball gown for $100. Um… that's materials cost if you're lucky, go away! If you can't even get it from China for that price, why do you expect it to be custom made for that?
Also, people who ask if I can use cheaper fabrics to make the costume cheaper… um no, I refuse to make you a garment that's going to look like shit to save you a couple bucks. It's my reputation on the line and I'm not screwing it up because you're cheap.
>>9089444
>>9089632
Oh god, yes. I've had someone offer to pay me an extra $30 for me to make it that NIGHT and send it out the very next day for an "emergency" birthday party.
Or when people proceed with an order but then don't pay you. Then they come and email you a month later and ask where their shit went.
I've also had people ~*promise*~ to pay me later.
>Hey cousin you sew right could you make this fancy special edition Disney princess ballgown for my daughter's birthday party this weekend
Well no, but here's a similar costume on a children's costume website instead. I mean kids generally don't care about the quality of the costume as long as it's poofy and sparkly, right?
>Oh it's not for my daughter, it's for ME! Also I want it to be historically accurate and high quality
That actually sounds like a pretty cool project and I might be able to do it for next year, but the fabric and labour is going to be pretty expensive
>Um I need it this weekend! Also are you seriously saying you'd charge me for it? We're faaaaamily! You're even invited to come to the party and eat free cake!
I used to try to price things very cheaply, until I realized that there was no such things as "too cheap" to some people. Now I charge up the ass for costumes and actually get way more business, and far less stupid questions because the poorfags looking to pay nothing skip over me the second they see the quotes on my page. Some may consider my prices a "rip off", but people pay them and I'm not making them to be nice to people, I'm doing it to make money, so I give zero fucks.
>>9089846
Omg, I would tell that bitch to fuck off so quick. My friends used to pull this shit with me all the time.
>oh, but anon, I don't have much money, can't you just be a good friend? I said I would pay for the materials, I don't understand the big deal.
>Selling custom fandom-inspired clothing for $120
>"Hi I really like your product but it's kind of expensive so I wanted to make one myself! Can you tell me where you got your fabric and give me step by step instructions?"
>Give a vague answer. This person is obviously too cheap to buy from me anyway. "Well, nobody manufactures small quantities of this fabric type in these fandom colors, so I have to custom dye the stuff from this seller and applique it together."
>A day goes by while this person clearly tallies up the material and time costs that goes into this
>"Oh haha oopsies this sounds pretty hard can you give me a quote for x character I'm super duper interested!"
>Never reply
>my mother messages me asking to make her pic related
>she's a fat 40yo drug addict
>wants it by the end of July, was mid June when she messaged me.
>dont even bother replying
>calls me a week later demanding to know if it will be done in time
>refuse
>im upto my eyeballs in final year uni studies.
> I dont even have time to make cosplays for myself this year, let alone any for her
>she cracks the shits, tells me I could do it in a week if I tried, thats what I'm studing fashion for isnt it?
>finally tell her I'll do it but not until after I finish all my assessments.
>pray to god she forgets about it so I don't actually have to make it.
I do art but it still fills me with despair when I see someone go "So how does this commission thing work?? xD" Art commissions are fairly straightforward but when I'm baby's first commission I can't help but fear everything will go wrong.
>>9089821
What is with those people? Do they think we have fabric warehouses in our homes? I don't actually have five yards of cherry red satin sitting around, just waiting to make you something in one day.
I've just had a couple people say they want to order then not pay deposits. Dealings have been especially obnoxious for me recently. (Because it's summer?) People mention a facebook commissioners group - is that open membership? I've not been able to find it on google and it might be a slight improvement over how I'm booking jobs now.
>>9090104
I do art too, and I've only done a few commissions, but I had one turn out thus:
>person has a general idea for a commission
>discuss what the person wants
>they say "use your talent, I'll be happy with whatever you come up with"
>I want something specific so I make some sketches
>they say "yeah that one would be terrific, do that"
>I do it
>they're disappointed in it
>I offer to redo it but they say "no that's ok" and pay me for it anyway
>I guess I should just be happy that I got the $ but it still bothers me that they didn't like it
>person is a work friend so I am reminded of it just about every day when I see them
on the one hand, this was before I knew about progress pics. on the other hand, the thing they didn't like was basically the last thing I did on it, so I don't know that progress pics would have made a difference.
>>9090043
Holy shit anon
I had commissioned a rather "popular" or "e-famous" cosplay from someone on tumblr.
that was the worst mistake I have ever done.
I have e-mailed them the details and told them I wanted it done within a year just before a convention. So I thought it would be more than enough time to get the cosplay done.
it was a bit complex since i commissioned them to make one of jolyne's outfits from jjba stone ocean.
Now skip a little more over a year and constant e-mails an messages over tumblr just to check on progress. It was fucking hell they said it would be done but it would be a week after they said it was done so i had to message them again, and I hated to be that person to pester someone, but it was just downright disheartening.
I eventually got my cosplay, but way past the date I had told them. It didn't even fit me right and the heart pieace on the chest was just tacky and clunky looking. They fucking hot glued it to the top! and not only that, but the square pieces on the legs were poorly made and hot glues to the pants as well. I had to get my friend to help alter it for me because the pants would show my butt.
needless to say I am not ever commissioning them again that was a waste of $200
the only good side was how the patterned the cosplay, but the overall quality of it was below average considering that their cosplays looked rather good on them.
>>9090104
I've decided not to advertise that I do commissions because I've heard too many horror stories of people wanting complex pieces done for next to nothing or I've had people ask me for really elaborate sketches only to back out when I name a price. I've had two successful commissions so far. Both times the people contacted me directly and didn't try to haggle with me after I named a price. They also paid in advance/before I sent them the final product. I know a lot of people will flake out at the last minute or try to say the drawing is wrong so they have the picture for free.
I don't get why people expect things for free or super cheap (for art or cosplay) as if we're not busting our asses and taking time out of our day to make them something unique. The worst.
>>9090170
Name and shame, anon.
>>9090114
It's fun doing commissions, but I completely understand your dilemma, especially when the type of commission doesn't have a good spot for progress shots so you just hope for the best.
Also, is upgrading to a business account on Paypal worth it? I've been trying to look up how to do it and if there's anything I need to watch out for, but I'm getting way too many conflicting messages.
One person will say it's done with ease and you don't really have to do anything to get it, the other will say it's a big process and that you'll need a business bank account as well.
>>9090187
I know their instagram is monchicitanuki
I quickly unfollowed form tumblr after i got my commission so idk wat their url is anymore.
I should've known better after hearing some not so good stuff about them when my bf told the stuff that cgl has said about them.
>>9090197
Diff anon, but wow her? I'm sorry that happened to you anon that freaking sucks.
>>9090200
I was so disappointed , I would never recommend her to anyone ever.
I'll find pics to show you what i mean if i can find them
>>9090205
Here's showing the backside
>>9090210
And here's the front
>>9090216
Well I gave them my exact measurements and what not so I would understand a bit of it being loose.
But luckily for me my friend was able to fix it up and take it in for me. Here's a pic of it after the alteration.
>>9090224
Much better improvement. Still the lines/webbing they could've done so much better with and just the top patterning in general too.
>>9090230
I completely agree with you on that. After that fix my, major complaints with the squares on the pants, they were hot glued on and i could just imagine it behing hell to wash/clean them. They were just pieces of foam with glitter on them;poorly constructed, and same with the heart butterfly piece.
>>9090197
yeah you should've listened to him
she's notorious for half assing her commissions and not sending them out on time
>>9090246
it was a bit late when I heard the news unfortunately, so there wasn't much I could do. I barely lurked cgl at the time, so I didn't know any better either.
>>9090253
yeah I understand, it's not your fault
I'm sorry you're hard earned money went to that rat
I don't do commissions. My brother's pretty successful with his, and so I quietly do all the hard stuff for him.
Customers are too stressful: the last time I tried doing a commission, he wanted a ton of cast-resin detail work and some sewing for under fifty dollars in a month, nothing upfront. I told him I couldn't do it.
>>9089594
"no deadline" doesn't mean "just send it to me some time in the next 10 years". Unless there something said beforehand on how long it can take, several months does sound unreasonable.
>>9090267
It depends on what else the commissioner was doing. If they were swamped with other commissions and work, the "no deadline" commission is going at the end of all that.
Even if you're no in a hurry to receive your stuff, you shouldn't expect to receive it within a few months.
>>9090267
8 months or whatever it took isn't 10 years. I work on non deadline things in the buffer time between deadline projects, and unless it's simple you're probably not going to get it for 6-10 months. If you expect your "non deadline" item in 3 months or less, that's a deadline, and you need to say so. There are reasonable odds the commissioner is booked for that whole time period and couldn't have it done by then.
>>9090393
I feel like some commissioners need to manage their time better.
>>9090436
Why, what would you do if you had a ton of deadlines + this "no deadline" commission?
>>9090043
Is your mom planning on going to see SS by any chance
>>9090436
If you're good at what you do, it's very easy to be booked out more than three months in advance. It's not a "time management" problem, it's "I've already filled those hours with other paid work" issue. There are some especially good commissioners/people with uncommon skills who can fill their commission schedule a year in advance. If someone isn't taking any more deadline orders for the next 4 months, it's nonsensical to expect a non-deadline order to be finished faster than that.
>>9090267
If someone has no deadline, and I get work that does have a deadline, I'm going to work on that first. If they contact me with a deadline, I'll work on it then if I can fit it in, but no deadline means it's getting worked in when I can, as soon as I can.
How do I find someone who makes cosplay? I only need a pretty simple piece, the crop top Joseph Joestar wears in Part 2, but it needs to be form fitting, like in the show. I've not cosplayed before, and I'm making my own Nathan Drake one since it's pretty simple, just working on the leather shoulder holster, but clothing is something I could never get the hang of.
>>9089676
>two years
>still waiting
Dude, get your money back.
>Commissioned something from Limebarb when they were at their peak in popularity
> DMC4 Devil Trigger Dante
>Just Helmet, Boots, Gloves, chest (not cape just shiny jesus chest)
>Got old DMC coat and pants from Ebay I got a friend to pimp out
>She says she will make most of it in latex and itl be amazing but $2400US
>New to cosu and really want to make friends.
>Offers payment plan where I can pay it off over a year and a bit.
>Almost all my pay goes into this for a year cause student
>Set deadline for 16 months time.
>Regular contact here and there when im paying
>No contact around deadline
>3 Months after deadline we have contact, "sorry will have it out to you in 2 months im training new people"
>Tried contacting
>No contact
>6 Months later "hey your order was shipped yesterday"
>1 month and no costume
>Contact again
>Get email a few weeks later
> "sorry still working on it I fired that employee"
> No contact for I shit you not, almost a year
>Finally get email after calling up and filing ombudsmen report
> "Sorry but I couldn't do it, company is falling through and im using my money to keep it afloat"
>I can make your cosplay in a week, uhmm no im not 20 anymore.
> Refund you over a year or two
> Or give you partial refund and a voucher for my etsy"
> Her Etsy is full of those fucking furry hats with ears
> 1 year later finally received all money back
> MFW people bring up commissions
>>9091015
>6 Months later "hey your order was shipped yesterday"
>1 month and no costume
>Contact again
>Get email a few weeks later
>"sorry still working on it I fired that employee"
??????????
Why can't people just be upfront? If you didn't ship it, don't fucking say you did.
Anyway, sorry that happened to you, man.
>>9091015
>Limebarb
That's all I needed to see to know exactly how this would go down. Sorry, Anon.
>>9091015
from the site
>>9091098
hi same anon that commissioned her. What kind of deets were you interested in?
Because most of my experience was what I explained.
Does anyone have a list of decent commissioners that do mens costumes well?
Pricy is fine, as long as they are legit. Feel free to self post.
>>9091191
What are you looking to have done? Armor is really different than a suit.
>>9090987
Easier said than done xD
>>9091447
Both but for different projects.
For some reason crafting armor is easier to wrap my head around than sewing, though, so some of it I can do on my own.
I commisioned a costume ones and, well
>usually friends to help with a cosplay, not this year
>can`t make it myself, it`s complicated for me (cloak, top, belt and boot covers)
>friend found this seamstress
>she mostly did complicated larp costumes, elf robes and so on
>just two weeks before con but I thought, at least I can ask
>sure anon, I can make it easily!
>we choose fabric and she took my measurements, everything is fine
>first(and last) fitting, it looks good considering
>day before con, it`s not ready and awful
>late for con because she`s making alterations, less awful but still awful
>only good part was leggins I bought
> Details on a cloak not even
>also, bid black spot on yellow underside from paint
>cuffs not even sewn
>boot covers falling apart
>belt looks nothing like what it supposed to be
After the con I gave it back to her so she can actually make it. Never get it back, never paid for it too.
Sorry for broken english
>>9092045
She shouldn't have agreed to take it on in the first place considering the time limit, but NEVER ask for a commission that close to a con. It's plain rude to expect someone to be able to make you a full outfit in just a couple of weeks.
Even if they can and they agree, it's still rude. You should've just sucked it up and gone in normie clothes.
>shame on you for your laziness
>>9090107
It's called Cosplay Commissions on Facebook, it's "closed" so you can see it but can only apply to join, a mod has to approve you. There are also many cosplay sales groups that commissioners can join, the largest of which is called Cosplay For Sale!, but that group requires commissioners to get approved by the mods (they require feedback and WIP pics, it's easy)
>>9092050
Eh, I'd say the blame's mostly on her for accepting it. You should know your own limits. Even if you're not completely sure you can make it right on time, don't accept, because that affects someone else.
>>9092050
A couple weeks is super short notice but not impossible. I've done it once or twice, and I'm happy to take your money if it's something I can do without interfering with other pending orders. There's a really big difference between something like Belle's blue dress on very short notice and something like D.va's suit on very short notice. It's entirely on the commissioner if they say they can do it and can't.
This feels like a good place to ask.
For pieces that have arm gauntlets that need to be bendable (and/or include armored hand pieces that need to be flexible), what material do you use? I've been using eva for the main armor, but I'm getting to the gauntlets and I have no idea what to use on such small finger pieces. Worbla maybe?
Also, off topic (I've read a few mention you do art commissions) but does anyone know a good realism artist that takes commissions? I'd be willing to spend up to $500, but I prefer non-digital (I'll take digital if necessary).
>>9092050
I always take commissions right before the con.Literally my favorite time to do it. I get to charge the ever living shit out of desperate people then work non stop to finish it in time.
Did a full outfit with 6 days until the con. Got about 12 hours of sleep between the 6 days. Outfit looked great and got a sweet commission price (and a tip which was shocking). Don't know if I can keep this shit up for ever, but for now its a great job.
>>9092050
I was going to, but how is it rude? I mean, if you can`t do it so be it.
We made harder stuff in less time
>>9092136
Personally, I use foam. Just get thinner more malleable stuff.
I need advice. I did a commission for a local girl and she sent me only a few reference pictures of the character, of which I'm not super familiar with. Fast forward a year, the girl discovered that the back of the "cape" thing is inaccurate because she didn't provide me a picture of the back (I have in my TOS that the customer is responsible for providing all ref pics), and she's gained a ton of weight. I did offer free lifetime repairs because she is a local, but I didn't agree to make her a whole new costume. I don't know what to tell her, because she thinks we're "friends" because we are in the same community and I don't want her to smear my name.
>>9092245
I'd remake the cape (if she wants) since, while it is her fault, it's probably a relatively easy fix.
The gaining weight thing is her own damn problem though.
>>9092245
I would consider fixing the cape, but her gaining weight is her own problem. Unless she pays for you to re-do everything.
>>9092245
Depending on how much of a pain it would be to change the cape, I'd do that to keep a good rapport, but as far as weight gain, not your problem. Tell her she has to pay for that.
>>9091166
other shit shows
>tfw furries post plush requests for their 'sona
>only have $50! My 'sona is simple.
>some sort of fucking snake/fox thing with 5 different colors
>>9092557
hmm well other than that, a lot of people don't seem to like her because she has "Same face" syndrome when posing for pictures and in my opinion, the make-up she does for cosplays makes me wanna gag. They cosplay whatever is popular at the time so I'm sure ,you'll see their cosplays posted on some sort of thread here
I don't know what she is like personally other than commissioning her, so that's all I can really say about them.
