Do you ask for changes if an artist makes a mistake on your commission? Are you more or less inclined to say something if it's a small fix? What about big fixes such as moving a limb or two? What about total redraws?

I think small, yet important, details like eye color should always be correct. Or if your character has freckles that the artist left off. Things like that take less than 10 mins to fix so I don't mind asking for changes on those.

I've noticed that a lot of artists I've commissioned this year (almost 90%) don't show WIP shots. I'm kind of scratching my head as to why this is. Is it not common practice anymore to be given a chance to ask for changes before the artist is too deep into the piece? I can understand it for artists who don't charge that much for their work because they're already working for so little and shouldn't have to jump through hoops. However, artists that charge more realistically should always provide progress shots.

(the rest of this is kind of a rant on the artists I'm disappointed by)

I was very excited to commission someone on deviantart because I could finally afford their art at the same time they opened slots. I was over the moon. Until I got the art. There were mistakes EVERYWHERE. Unfortunately in their guidelines they stated that you can't ask for more than 3 fixes even though they don't provide you with WIP shots. I chose the 3 most important things I wanted to have changed, but even after the fixes I was still so disappointed and felt like I wasted a lot of money. It was like they didn't even pay attention to the references I gave them. I noticed that out of the batch of 10+ commission slots they had opened that they only ever posted 2 completed pieces to deviantart. My only thoughts on that are that they only posted the very best work out of those 10+. I honestly felt misled because the examples they provided in their shop weren't accurately representing the quality of art I had received.

Another thing is going weeks/months without hearing from artists. I commissioned an icon from someone on deviantart and it took almost 4 months to receive it with maybe 2 messages in between. The only reason I even got those 2 messages is because I was the one to reach out in the first place. When people are paying over 25$ for a 50x50 pixel icon you should really send updates every 2-3 weeks at the least. This was an artist that I considered an idol so I was really disappointed to experience how she handled her business.

I've also experienced artists that totally ignore the personality of my character. I provide plenty of information on them so when I receive the art and they're making an expression that doesn't look anything like the one I requested then yes I'm going to be unhappy :( If my character is super happy and energetic don't give me a piece of them looking indifferent/annoyed..

Idk guys I just had to rant a little, but I also wanted to know how you might handle a commission that didn't go as planned.

I noticed that I never do ask for fixes. I am somewhat easy to please so I kind of always go along with it. Usually buy because I love how the artists draws and stuff. (Though I have not had the luck to be able to build the funds to buy anything as of late.)

As an artist, well, I do show wip shots for full bodies, and more as of late than in the past, but never for head shots and I am not sure I always show them for quads either. I am probably part of the problem. I just end up painting with no sketch below a lot of the times and literally have nothing to show. But my painting style is adaptive and can change anything at all even in the final stage and do state that I do not mind redoing the whole thing so idk.

I should've clarified that it's not really the lack of wips that gets me. It's the lack of wips coupled with the artist ignoring specific notes that I put in the commission form. If an artist doesn't show me a progress shot, but they followed the notes I made on my character then there isn't a problem c: you're probably fine!

I think I'm easy to please too, but big mistakes like getting my characters personality wrong is just like...what were they looking at when they started drawing this D: that might be mean of me to say but as an artist I feel like I pay great attention to the additional notes or instructions that people include in their commission form. It seems like I only ever have this problem with big deviantart artists which is just strange to me..

Can't say that I ever commissioned anyone directly on deviant so I am not familiar with them. If anything people always seem to make mistakes about are my OCs eye color. Like not the shade and stuff or a very similar color. Or the fancy highlights make it mystical and stuff. But the exact opposite color is used. xD I find that mysterious. Weirdest are the sex changes although I do mention the OC's sex.

I've never heard of the sex change thing! I don't think to mention the sex of my characters when commissioning someone, but then again I just have quads and no humans. I think eye color is a common mistake. Every so often someone commissioning me will be sure to point out which reference has the best portrayal of their true eye color. It's such an easy fix too so I don't think it's a hassle to ask for a small subtle change if the artist does get it wrong c:

Yeah the only time I've ever asked for a change was when someone drew my OC as a female when I clearly said they were male.

I wanted to ask a few times but I didn't in the end. And sex changes are common with humans. Have a file of them.

I haven't really commissioned anyone lately. When I did, for what I see as a significant amount of money ($15), the artist paid lots of attention to the references, asked me when they were unsure of a detail and showed me a WIP. In my opinion, that's the least people should do as commission artists... you may be popular and rich, but you're still a service provider with a customer to please.

Now to answer the actual question... I have a hard time speaking up about anything, including commissions. Might be more inclined to commission a high-end artist if I knew they'd get everything right, but since I see so many making basic design mistakes and don't trust myself to ask for changes...

(Just a comment about something I see people do a lot that I don't like - mirroring stuff in a design. This is kind of understandable with very complicated markings when you don't have a ref for the other side, but... The reference will have, say, an eyepatch on the right eye. Then the person makes their drawing face the other way and switches eyes with the eyepatch. Come on, don't do that...)