I am now opening up a single commission slot. I'm going to basically auction it off over the next two weeks and see what happens; I need the money because I may have to move out of my apartment soon. Biggest bidder gets the spot on January 15. I extended it because of the Christmas holidays.

So far, has the spot, requesting a half page inked at $15: $5 + $5 for a half page +5 to have it inked. If ya want the slot, you gotta outbid him.

Here's my baseline prices:

Quarter page (about 4 1/2" by 5 1/2"), finished pencil: $5
Examples: [link] , [link]

For every increase in size or detail, add $5:

* Upgrade to half page, lengthwise or width

Examples: [link] , [link]

* Upgrade from half page to full 8 1/2" by 11" (I rarely work this large, but I can. Smaller sizes help me work faster, and the only difference in level of detail is in the actual physical drawing. So if you want something to frame, pick this.)

Example: [link]

* Inked

Examples: [link] , [link]

* Colored / shaded with colored pencils and / or digitally

Examples: [link] , [link] , [link]

* Each additional character

Examples: [link] , [link]

* Added background

Examples: [link] , [link] , [link]

Each upgrade adds $5. Depends on how much ya wanna spend.

Comic book pages or sequences are possible, but considering the time spent, backgrounds involved, layout planning, character studies, word balloons, and the fact that you're really getting like 3-11 pics in one (11 meaning 11 panels on a comic book page), that starts at $40 just for "finished pencil". That's a lot of work for me, so prices go up quickly once that amount of work is needed. And expect to wait a LONG time for THAT to get done.

I will only work on one commission at a time. Otherwise, I feel overwhelmed and won't do any work.

Payment is accepted only via Paypal. It helps to keep things professional. I'll accept half the payment only when I can produce a basic mockup or thumbnail sketches that we can agree on, and the other half once the job is done. If you'd like, I can also send you the original drawing by mail for yes, another $5 for putting it inside a nice bubble wrap container for shipping.

- Zax

This just made my week:

While touring the newly opened Toonseum here in Pittsburgh, I decided to offer to draw something before I left. The folks there said "Sure, you can use the desk." This was the desk that Fantasia was composed on. I sat down and drew in my sketchbook for an hour right next to some Shazam! animation cels. Had to doublecheck to see if this was okay. Apparently, the folks at the Toonseum have themed art nights there, so this has suddenly become an uber-awesome spot for me.

Anyway, it was totally, TOTALLY cool to be drawing at Walt Disney's desk. Best artist vibe I have ever had. It would be like playing backyard football in your hometown NFL stadium, or acting out scenes on a Paramount Studios set.

If you're in town, go see the Toonseum. And if you plan to attend AnthroCon next year, these folks are stocked with tons of art books for comic drawing and such. And a decent variety of 'toon art is on exhibit in this tiny hall. My week went from suck to awesome in like... an hour.
- Zax

YOU WIN! goes on hiatus, and one commission spot will open soon!

The new winnah? Status: Waiting for his YOU WIN note to be returned.

To summarize, I picked people semi-randomly to do a drawing for them in a 3 hour time limit: 1 hour's drawing, 1 hour's inking, 1 hour's finishing once the pic is scanned. Basically both a thank you for randomly selected people who have followed my work, and as a test to see what I can do at speed. Considering the responses, I think I can do okay if I knuckle down and focus under a deadline.

Done so far:
[link] Jenny-girl transformation.
[link] A pic of his dino fursona.
[link] Muscled tigerwoman.
[link] Gee, I picked a werewolf. Imagine that!

I think this is going to be the last YOU WIN pic for a while, since I'll be opening up a single commission spot right after that. I'm going to basically auction it off and see what happens; I need the money because I may have to move out of my apartment soon.
Here's my baseline prices:

Quarter page (about 4 1/2" by 5 1/2"), finished pencil: $5
Examples: [link] , [link]

For every increase in size or detail, add $5:

* Upgrade to half page, lengthwise or width

Examples: [link] , [link]

* Upgrade from half page to full 8 1/2" by 11" (I rarely work this large, but I can. Smaller sizes help me work faster, and the only difference in level of detail is in the actual physical drawing. So if you want something to frame, pick this.)

Example: [link]

* Inked

Examples: [link] , [link]

* Colored / shaded with colored pencils and / or digitally

Examples: [link] , [link] , [link]

* Each additional character

Examples: [link] , [link]

* Added background

Examples: [link] , [link] , [link]

Each upgrade adds $5. Depends on how much ya wanna spend.

Comic book pages or sequences are possible, but considering the time spent, backgrounds involved, layout planning, character studies, word balloons, and the fact that you're really getting like 3-11 pics in one (11 meaning 11 panels on a comic book page), that starts at $40 just for "finished pencil". That's a lot of work for me, so prices go up quickly once that amount of work is needed. And expect to wait a LONG time for THAT to get done.

I will only work on one commission at a time. Otherwise, I feel overwhelmed and won't do any work.

Payment is accepted only via Paypal. It helps to keep things professional. I'll accept half the payment only when I can produce a basic mockup or thumbnail sketches that we can agree on, and the other half once the job is done. If you'd like, I can also send you the original by mail for yes, another $5 for putting it inside a nice bubble wrap container for shipping.

- Zax

Wanted to take a brief moment or two to thank people who have done things for me recently.

First up: Really nice of her to help with my 40th birthday and do a drawing for me. Always admired her work and her dedication to her broadness of artistic vision and its impacts, regardless of the controversial nature of some of it. Met her at AC in '06. Nice person up close. Friendly and engaging, even to fanboys like myself.

Next up: Met him last year at AC, and he attended the TF Jam with the rest of us. Class act: has his portfolio well organized and is open to improvements on previous work. Commissioned him to finish one of his blueline pieces, and it came out pretty darned good.

Finally: Thanks for being patient with improvements to the YOU WIN project. Drawing is something I only do when inspired to, so thanks for helping point out the improvements you'd like to see done, and yes, that's what I'll work on first. Hopefully tomorrow after I run around, bank, pay bills, and sleep most of the day. Graveyard shift makes everything harder.

As for the YOU WIN project, already got the next winnah picked out, and then I think I'm going to open up for one commission. If you'd like, I'll post baseline prices in my next journal post and start a bidding process for the commission.

Besides, I'm gonna need the money soon because I may need to move out of my apartment, and doing a commission will help.
- Zax

Well, my 40th birthday is tomorrow, and I think that instead of complaining and moaning about it, I think I want to list about the artists I wish I had a drawing commission from. I admire these guys and gals' work, and some of them are pretty cool people besides that.



Anyway, if you're not on this list...

This doesn't include photomanipulators, just those who draw. Couldn't bring myself to ask them for a commission, largely because that looks like far too much work for me to pay to have done. Plus, I'd want it to be of me, and I'd have to invest in a good digital camera and pose well to get the right TFy shot.

Or maybe a tablet. Always wanted one of those... Or a dA subscription... Or... There I go, dreaming again.

So! Contact me and maybe you can learn about me as a person. I love hearing from fans, and it DOES affect my work.

Oh, and if you're a furry female, or know one, come and get it; the Zax is lonely!
-Zax