Be polite. Being rude will not get a thing done for you with an artist in the real world. I don't care how many pets you gave them, I don't care if you "need" your request done by a specific date, and I don't care that you couldn't be bothered to read the entire rule section because the shop had just opened and you wanted to get a spot before it closed. Artists are people, and people appreciate good manners. Which brings me to my next point.
Artists are people, not machines. Now, some people spend five minutes on MS Paint scribbles, then wonder why no one will pay for their art. Others spend days on requests, and charge next to nothing, considering the time it takes. And still others feel forced to shut down their shops for good because their customers can't learn to keep their mouths shut and stop pestering. We all have real lives: you, me, everyone. When you think of bothering an artist, please try to take a walk in their shoes first. Would you want someone pestering you when you are honestly doing the best you can to get their work done? Art is a fickle thing. The talent seems to come and go. Sometimes, artists go through blocks and have a tough time getting their thoughts onto paper. Sometimes, requests seem to just draw themselves. But as a customer, the polite, decent, and respectful thing to do is to mind your own business and be patient.
Speak intelligently. Probably the biggest cause of customer outrage because of a wrongly-drawn design, chatspeak is also a pet peeve of many of our more literate members. It makes you sound stupid, immature, and irresponsible. If you think you're cool by omitting basic punctuation and capitalization and shortening words, you are most certainly not. Now, how does chatspeak cause a misinterpretation of a design? Well, if the artist can't understand what you're saying, then how do you expect them to do your request?
Wait your turn. Look through Bouquetblu's Jelly Baby thread. Seriously, just look. How many forms do you see that were submitted when her shop title read "Closed" or when the slots were already filled? Probably many more than were actually taken. It's just plain sad when a private art shop thread needs mini-moderators to keep things in check, but curiously enough, that was exactly what happened with Blu's. If you're not entirely new to CS you may also recall a certain WonderWolfess' art shop. Now, WonderWolfess is extremely talented, definitely one of the best canine artists I have ever seen on CS, and it was very charitable of her to create an art shop to begin with, considering that on her DeviantART account she charges real money for her art. Blu and Wolfie have very different styles, but there is one thing they have in common: very, very high demand. So high, in fact, that people can't seem to wait their turn. Blu frequents the Artist Rant thread, and I know she has her fair share of horror stories about how impatient and rude people can be. Wolfie no longer has an art shop because for her, the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back came in the form of someone who had the nerve to post their form and even change her title so it said "Open" in their reply. That scenario is not just rude, it is incredibly demeaning to the artist. Did this person honestly think Wolfie was stupid enough not to notice a simple title change? Apparently this is the case, or the person wouldn't have tried it to begin with.
This next one was added by Wendigo, and I think she makes an excellent point, so this is going here, too:
Commission =/= Friendship: Never assume that the artist you are commissioning wants to be your friend simply because you pay them. Some artists would rather keep contact with you strictly professional and business related. They're not interested in you contacting them to chat about your day or you sending them a link to a Youtube video you found funny. Most artists really don't care to get to know you deeper other than what you're paying. It sounds cold, but a business relationship is much different than a friendly relationship.
And for the love of God, don't contact an artist and ask for their offsite personal contact information (e-mail, instant message, etc) so you can chat with them. You have absolutely no reason to require that information.
This point was suggested by Liongirl Mew. Thank you very much!
Don't minimod unless asked. Some customers seem to think the artist will appreciate them more if they act as vigilantes on the thread. This is not the case. If it isn't your thread and the artist hasn't specifically asked you to patrol it for them, it's not a good idea to do so. You are not the artist, so you do not know specifically what the artist is looking for in forms, or whether another customer has asked a legitimate question or has a legitimate complaint. If you feel that someone is being excessively rude on an artist's thread, the right thing to do is report the post so a moderator can handle it. It is not your responsibility to uphold the artist's rules. Many times a well-meaning customer will enforce rules incorrectly, which only leads to confusion for the other customers and more work for the artist, as they have to go back and correct any misinformation. The best thing you can do if you see someone breaking an artist's rules on a thread is to PM the artist and notify them, or, again, report the post and let a moderator handle it.
This suggestion was added by Mella~No! I can't believe I forgot it in my initial writing; it's important!
Pay properly. I don't know how many times I've seen cases of improper payment -- in friends' art shops, the Artist Rant Thread, and even in my own shop. If an artist asks for wishlist pets only in exchange for their art, it is your responsibility to offer only what they prefer. Unless an artist has something in their thread (which I have seen fairly often) about working out an alternate payment if their art is too expensive to afford, the artist only wants the payment they have listed on their thread, and nothing else will work. Posting a form anyway with improper payment will get you nowhere but (possibly) the artist's blacklist as it is spammy and annoying.
In addition, if you have posted correct payment and your order is accepted, it is your responsibility to carry through with the payment. Some customers place art payments in a specific pet group so they will not lose track of the pets they've promised. If you have a hard time remembering what you've offered to each artist, you can name your pets specifically for the artist (i.e. "Art Payment for Tris") or place them in groups. Many artists require payment only after the art has been completed. In this way, payment works based on an honor system--the customer's responsibility is to pay the artist what is owed to them after having received their art. Unfortunately, I have seen these artists taken advantage of many a time by a customer who refuses to pay. Taking, copying, saving, or redistributing unpaid artwork is ART THEFT! Even if a customer gets away with not paying an artist once, it is likely another artist will not be tricked in the same way--artists communicate actively and pay attention to each others' blacklists. If one artist has had trouble with a given customer, the others will be wary.
More helpful info added by Wendigo. :3
Posting up a form and saying "this is for when you're open!" or asking "can you make this when you're open?" defeats the purpose of closing a shop. wth.
Frequent commissioner =/= extra benefits: Again, unless clearly stated, don't make up exceptions for yourself. It doesn't matter if you've ordered 1 picture, 5 pictures, or even 500 pictures, if the artist says one request at a time or no pre-orders, don't pretend you can break those rules because you've ordered frequently at that shop and then act shocked when the artist says no. This goes hand-in-hand with Commission =/= Friendship.
I hope at least a few of you took the time to read all this, because some people here really need to learn to be more decent toward artists. They are doing you a favor by investing their time into drawing for you and they deserve your full respect. Time and time again, I've seen amazingly talented people set foot into these forums armed with rules, examples, and all manner of art shop paraphernalia, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and ready to do their best for the community, only to be chased away by idiots who can't manage to follow rules and treat others kindly.
Now, I am not trying to persecute any particular individuals; the one case I did cite was to provide an example. I just hope that maybe someone, somewhere, will get something from this and treat artists a little more fairly in the future.
EDIT: Wow, stickeyed! o_O I'm so honored that this thread is important enough for that.
Also, a wonderful stamp, by SkySmoke:
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[url=http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=131409][img]http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac51/SkySmokeHowrse/ArtStamp.jpg[/img][/url]
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[img]http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac51/SkySmokeHowrse/ArtStamp.jpg[/img]
Another stamp, this one by jet. Thank you!
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[url=http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=131409][img]http://i45.tinypic.com/2pslsgy.gif[/img][/url]
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[img]http://i45.tinypic.com/2pslsgy.gif[/img]
A button, by me, using this button maker.
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[url=http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=131409][IMG]http://i852.photobucket.com/albums/ab87/trisomee/respectartists.png[/IMG][/url]
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[IMG]http://i852.photobucket.com/albums/ab87/trisomee/respectartists.png[/IMG]
Put these in your signature to show your support!
