I have personally dealt with desperate artists and designers hunting down clients for commission, and it was not a very comfortable experience, I'll tell you that.
There was this one time when I posted a character turnaround for a Sonic OC I had just created where I mentioned it would be very useful as a reference whenever I commission 3D artists for a model of the character. That was just me regularly tweeting my art and merely mentioning the word commission, not saying that I would do so.
However, the comments started coming.
There's nothing more annoying than somebody trying to sell you a service when you didn't even request it in the first place. The doesn't happen only on Twitter! It happened to me quite a few times on LinkedIn, where I present myself a bit more professionally and not quite as much as a Sonic Artist.
Just recently, a stranger connected with me on LinkedIn simply to DM me with a generic sales pitch that they probably send to multiple people at a time. They didn't even put in the effort of referring to me by my name!
Not only this will not generate any sales, but it will also scare potential customers away and stain your reputation. Yet I still see several artists, designers and service providers, in general, making the exact same mistake!
What is being desperate?
By definition, being "desperate" means being hopeless and certain that a situation is so bad that it's impossible to deal with it. An invasion by the army of the demon lord would be a very good example of a cause of despair because it's such a massive event that it just cannot be dealt with.
However, seems like the word assumes different meanings in different contexts. In romance, for instance, a desperate person is the one that's always bugging you, always pressuring you, always trying their hardest to interact or get something from you, suffocating you. Sometimes they even beg you to do things, such as going on dates with them.
When we're desperately trying to do something though, such as escaping from a toxic home, or fixing an issue, it feels like a life or death situation. This NEEDS to be done, this NEEDS to be addressed at all costs!
All of these could be descriptions of being desperate, although when we are talking about commissions or providing services, I feel like the latter scenario is more fitting. After all, commissions are a source of income for many, and money is necessary to survive. In a way, it is a life or death situation.
An artist wants clients so badly that they're willing to do anything to get them, to take "desperate measures". On the other hand, some artists can also take some approaches that can seem desperate even though that's not their intention. Also, some being aware of how coming across as desperate is bad for their image, attempt to disguise their desperate measures so they look less desperate.
To be fair to the artists, it is understandable why one would get desperate. As I mentioned, it is a situation of life and death in a way. We never know how dire of a financial situation people are going through and how badly they need to work to achieve whatever goal they have, even if it's as basic as pure survival.
Also, the idea of having no clients can be so anxiety-inducing that artists take desperate measures not just to acquire a consumer-base, but mainly to relieve that unbearable anxious feeling, to feel safe and secure.
The Issues
One of the problems with that is that the clients have nothing to do with whatever crisis the artist is going through. Most of them don't care, and it's not exactly their fault. Everyone's life is worrisome in some level or capacity, and since nobody will do that worrying for us, we have to do it ourselves. That already takes enough time and energy from us, so doing the same for everyone else is impossible.
Strangers are also less likely to be concerned about your well-being simply because of the fact that they don't know you. People are more prone to support and take care of the ones they care about: their families, closest friends, teammates and so on. That is because there is a connection among them, and they also benefit from having their peers doing well.
Especially when we're talking about providing services (which is exactly what commissions are) and professionalism, clients are looking for people to solve their problems. They're not trying to solve the problems of the people they're paying for. Although that's very clear with bigger clients such as companies, a person willing to spend some money to get their OC drawn in a style they enjoy can also be considered a client looking for a solution.
Being desperate also works similarly to how it does in romance. Going all out with potential clients, pressuring them to commission you and constantly asking them when they'll be working with you when they already told you they're not sure yet is suffocating! It creates a stressful situation for your potential commissioner and it will most likely scare them away! After all, they want to feel good about commissioning someone!
This can also lead to the client assuming that working with you will not be a very pleasant experience. If only getting a quote is stressful, imagine the back and forth they would have with you throughout the entire process of the commission. You can't really blame them.
Your despair in getting commission work could also lead some potential clients to doubt you and your ability to get good drawings done for them. Well, at least it makes sure that nobody else is looking for you for commissions, which means they don't have much of a reason to look for you either. Sure, if your drawings have a style people like, that wouldn't be the case, but even then it can take a while for you to build an audience that is willing to give you money for you to draw for them. If you're just starting, it can take a while before you have people regularly inquiring you about commissions.
In the end, when working on personal commissions, most of the time, if not always, the clients will reach out to you, not you will be reaching out to them. People don't need drawings of their OCs done by other artists, they pay for it because they want it and they like it. They commission an artist because they have a style they enjoy and would love to see their characters depicted by that artist. You reaching out to them asking if they want to commission you more often than not comes across as annoying.
What to do about it?
For starters, don't reach out to people asking if they want to commission you. Let them reach out to you. If somebody tweeted something along the lines of "I am looking for an artist to commission this", then absolutely reply and say that you're available and would love to work with them. If they didn't explicitly say they want to commission someone, don't even bother selling your service. Sounds basic, but lots of people do it, usually when they're shooting in every direction and seeing what they can hit.
What you can do instead is publicly advertise that you are open for commissions in a non-intrusive way. You can have a pinned tweet on Twitter saying that you're accepting commissions and include your price sheet and other information. You can also include "Commissions Open" in your Twitter nickname, so people can know right away. You could even plug it on whatever art you post as a reply, although I would be careful with that. If you do it too much, you might come across as desperate.
If you're just starting out, focus on creating a bit of a following first. You don't have to be a popular artist, but if nobody knows you or appreciates your art, chances are you will not get any commissions, even (especially) if you beg for it. Draw stuff you enjoy, post it online and let it reach people. Eventually, you will have an audience that enjoys what you do and will pay you to draw their characters.
You need to show what you can offer in order to have people commissioning you. Do you have a cool, unique style that people like? Do you offer a service that not many people do, such as 3D character models ready for VR chat? Are you good at drawing large illustrations or depicting characters interacting with other characters in a very appealing way? What is it that you can offer potential clients that will get them to commission you?
When somebody reaches out to you, be honest and transparent with them about your rates. Don't lower your prices just to close a deal! For personal commissions, you can give a discount if you really want to work on a commission for a specific person if you like the project but keep it to a minimum. Most importantly, give them space and time to decide rather or not they want to commission you! If they don't feel comfortable with you or if they feel pressured by you, they will leave and never come back.
Speaking of honesty, if you're going through a tough moment in your life or have an emergency that requires some extra money that you can make with commissions, be transparent and honest about it! Usually, people are willing to help you out if you're really in need. It's not like they're giving you free money anyways, they're getting a cool drawing in return. Now, if you lie about it just to get more commissions, your reputation will be ruined when people find out (they will), so don't exploit it!
You could get help from some friends to spread the word! If you have cool friends that have a bit more of a following, that could be a good way of increasing your following a bit and prospecting potential clients! It's usually better when they do it spontaneously, but if you really need it, it doesn't hurt to ask.
Finally, consider commissioning some people yourself! They will post the commission they did for you on social media, and that will give you some exposure! Plus, you're supporting another fellow artist and maybe even becoming friends with them, further including yourself in the community. Give it a shot!
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