Best Way to Seek Artists

Henroid

I've been in a position of needing an artist (drawing, digital media) to commission for some business stuffs, but have no idea where to properly look.

It's a simple need; what website(s) operate as a reputable directory of artists, to sample their portfolio, see their rates and terms, etc?

I made the mistake of trying to put out social media calls and was flooded with bots, scam-artists, and otherwise suspicious or unfairly priced (by comparison) accounts.

Delzhand

Fiverr is probably the go-to for professional type work. But in my experience everyone always leads with their best work and there's usually a gap between their best and everything else, so make sure you flip through galleries.

Iruka

If its painting or illustraition, Artstation is a fine place to look. Use the filters to get at the sort of style you want and contact artists directly.

If its design, Dribbble still has a clean interface and a large talent pool.

I'd personally discourage you from using sites like fiver where artists essentially bid on projects, it drags the living wages of artists down and encourages overworking. If you do go that way, I would at least caution you to not go for the absolute cheapest option. Sites like fiver are also a bit more rampant with art theft (cutting up/tracing over other peoples work to make the process faster, and hoping no one notices) to keep their turn around fast and their prices down, so be wary of super cheap but somehow very high quality work.

see317

Visit your local art school, pickings are going to be a bit sparser with the pandemic, but there should still be someone around.
Leave a trail of small change down an alley way.
Position a large cardboard box with one end balanced on a stick, tie a long string to the stick and then hide in your artist-blind (a pile of rubbish or dumpster works ideally to hide you from the artist until it's too late).
Bait the trap with a burger (depending on location, a veggie burger may be required as some artists have stricter dietary requirements than others).
When the desperate artist approaches what appears to be a free meal, pull the stick to drop the box and trap them.
This is the most important part, as your artist may be frightened and easily startled. Approach quietly, making gentle "cooing" noises to calm them. Invite them to eat the food you've provided.

Once you capture your artist, politely request that they do an art for you. It may be necessary to further induce them with additional food, so come prepared. Gentle head scratches and soothing noises will also be appreciated by the artist.

ceres

...I'd probably try Iruka's way before resorting to mousetraps.

Henroid

Delzhand wrote: »

Fiverr is probably the go-to for professional type work. But in my experience everyone always leads with their best work and there's usually a gap between their best and everything else, so make sure you flip through galleries.

This one right here is turning up more distinct results for what I need. Thank you.

Delzhand

Iruka wrote: »

I'd personally discourage you from using sites like fiver where artists essentially bid on projects, it drags the living wages of artists down and encourages overworking.

I hadn't considered that. I was looking for character art in a very specific style, so it was less about cost and more about portfolio, but I imagine for commercial work that's probably a bigger issue. Come to think of it, I didn't even end up using fiverr, I found an artist on Etsy instead.