View Full Version : Questions for Commissioners

07-11-2012, 01:20 AM
Sorry if this is the wrong place >.< I never can tell where to ask..but since this has to do with commissioners..i thought here.

I wanted to ask if it would annoy or upset you if say if the person wanting the commission says they will buy all the fabric,hooks,etc and send them to you? (Fears I know of this would be they either dont get the right stuff,get stuff you never worked with,or wrong colors.)

I was thinking of doing this for my Len cosplay since its simple but I can't really sew and its just three colors but im hesitant to ask cause I dont know how ppl feel about this. I know alot of commissioners want 30%-80% of the final cost up front for materials so that would cut out of the cost by alittle or more than half? Say I ask for my Len outfit and someone quoted me $150 but if i buy the materials which was 50% of the cost I'd get it for $75+shipping? <--thats a example I know ppl wouldnt do it for that much LOL..

Looking forward to your answers! also if this question upsets you I am srry :blubber:

07-11-2012, 01:06 PM
Well as long as you don't send them crappy/cheap material and expect miracles it should be ok as long as you send them promptly and don't wait a month to send the materials.

07-11-2012, 02:40 PM
I think since its the material YOU want to use, this shouldn't be a problem..
I actually DID this. I sent out the material for gloves I needed, and they only charged me labor and shipping (plus one other fabric I needed but did not have). I feel if you know exactly what material you want it dont in, then sending them it (AT YOUR OWN COST, do not expect the commissioner to pay the shiping to them) is a much better way to know it's being made out of the material you want.

07-11-2012, 03:06 PM
Thanks you two :) Now I feel better in asking. Will save me some money on things.

07-11-2012, 04:05 PM
It depends on the commissioner.

Most of the time I don't mind. I give specifics on what to buy or not to buy. I also ask where and what it is they want to use. Part of commissioning me is the knowledge I bring with fabrics. I have had people supply before. Even when I do wig commissions, it's the same. I've done them with supplied wigs with specifics given.

07-11-2012, 08:02 PM
Yeah, it does depend on the commissioner. My policy on my website states very clearly that it's totally cool by me: any commission that sends their own fabric only gets charged for labor. Depending on the costume, this could be half the total cost, or it could be that materials are only a tiny fraction and they're going to get socked with the labor anyway. But policy-wise, I'm okay with it.

Of course, there is the "don't send crappy fabric" addendum to that. I've done freelance work for a costume shop here in town, and the owner always hands me the absolute worst fabrics for the job and expects me to wave my magic wand and do miracles. Most of that is because she isn't a trained seamstress and doesn't know the differences in fabrics, no matter how often I try to educate. So if you're going to send your own materials, and it's okay by the commissioner's policy, at least try to touch base with them to be sure that the stuff you have your eye on is going to be easy to work with, or at the very least appropriate for the costume. It's not going to end well for either party if a lot of additional interfacing, underpinning, or structural work needs to be done to make the fabric do something it wasn't meant to do. Like using stretch lycra for a cape and then asking me why it sags and puckers. -_-

07-11-2012, 10:32 PM
I wouldn't mind it if my client sent me the materials either, it would save me some time. I always try to ask if there's a material preference that the client prefers overs another or whether or not they want it shiny or not and so on.

Most commissioners have been cosplaying for years, so over time, they've learned what to use and what not to use.

As for labor costs, it varies by commissioner. some do this for extra money to fund their cosplays some do it to expand their portfolio, some do it as a full time job. So, I don't see "$75" as unreasonable, if you look at it as $10/hour. It does take a bit of time to either pick out a pattern or more time to draft up your own, then it takes time to measure out the fabric, cut it out according to the pattern, sew it up, put it on the dress form, finalize/serge any edges and seams, make sure everything fits the measurements that was given, so on and so forth. Something even as simple as Len can take up to 7 hours if not more.

07-11-2012, 11:46 PM
@dizzylizzy O.o I didn't think about it for wigs..thanks..that is pretty cool now that i think about it. but aint matching the colors of a wig sent to you like hard?

@capsulecorp Good idea making sure you see eye to eye with the commissioner is a must

@mykaios Im glad you don't mind :) was afraid stuff like this upset some commissioners and srry for the bad example >.< was just trying to make it sound easy.