So you’ve decided you want a custom fantasy portrait. Maybe it’s for your DnD character. Maybe it’s a gift for someone you love. Maybe you just saw something on your feed and thought, “I want that for me.”
And then the second thought hit: okay, but how does this actually work?
If you’ve never commissioned art before, the whole process can feel like a black box. You send a message, money changes hands, and, somehow, weeks later, a finished piece of art appears. But what happens in between? What are you supposed to do? What are we doing? When do you get to see things? What if something goes wrong?
This post is the answer to all of that. Here’s exactly what happens, step by step, from the moment you first reach out to the moment your portrait lands in your inbox.
Step 1: You pick a commission type
Everything starts on our website. We have different commission options, bust portraits, half-body, full-body, couple portraits, party portraits, creatures, and landscapes, each with its own listing, price, and examples of what you’ll get.
Your first job is the easiest one: figure out which one fits what you want. Not sure? Look at the examples. If you want a profile picture, a bust is usually a good choice. If you want to see your character from head to toe with all their gear, you probably want full-body. If you want your whole DnD party on one canvas, that’s a party commission.
And if you’re still not sure, just message us first and ask. We’d rather help you pick the right one than have you order the wrong thing and feel awkward about it later.
Step 2: You place your order on Etsy
Once you’ve picked the commission type, the listing will take you to our Etsy shop, where the actual order happens.
We use Etsy for all payments because it’s secure, familiar, and handles everything cleanly, no awkward back-and-forth about invoices, no wire transfers, no weird payment apps. You check out the way you would on any Etsy order, and your payment is protected by Etsy’s secure payment system the entire time.
The moment your order goes through, we get notified, and the clock starts. This is the beginning of your place in our queue.
Step 3: We reach out to you
Within 24 hours of your order, usually much sooner, you’ll get a message from us. This is where the real work begins.
We’ll introduce ourselves, thank you for trusting us with your character, and then start asking questions. Who is this person? What do they look like? What’s the vibe? Do you have any reference images?
If you already sent us a description with your order, great, we’ll read it carefully and come back with follow-up questions. If you didn’t, no problem. We’ll send you a short questionnaire that walks you through everything we need to know.
This is the most important step in the whole process. The more clearly we understand your character at this stage, the better the final portrait will be. Take your time here. Answer the questions thoughtfully. Send the references. Tell us the weird little details you think don’t matter, sometimes those are the most important ones.
Step 4: We create your first version
Once we have everything we need, the description, the references, the details, the vibe, we start working. Because we keep our commission slots limited on purpose (so nobody has to wait forever), you won’t be stuck in a long queue. Most first versions are ready within 2 to 5 days, depending on the commission type you chose and its complexity.
Here’s something that makes us different: we don’t send sketches. By the time we start painting, we already know exactly what you want. Pose, background, face, outfit, weapons, mood, all of it is locked in during our conversation before we ever touch the canvas. That’s why the first version you see isn’t a rough draft. It’s a nearly finished portrait that’s already very close to what you asked for.
When it’s ready, we send it to you. This is the moment you see your character for the first time.
Step 5: Revisions and final touches
After you see the first version, let us know what you think. This is when we fine-tune the piece until it feels exactly right.
And we mean exactly right. Revisions aren’t just for tweaking colors or small details, we can change a lot at this stage if something isn’t quite landing. Different hand or leg position. Adjusted armor size. Wider hips. A different piece of clothing. New details on the outfit. Something was added to the character’s hands. A different pose for the cat in the background. Different elements in the setting around them. If it’s part of the portrait, it can be revised.
The first version is already very close to what you asked for, because we talked through everything in detail before we started painting. But “close” isn’t the same as “perfect,” and this stage exists so we can close that gap together. Every commission comes with a set number of revisions included, and we’ll let you know the specifics when we start working together.
You don’t need to be shy about feedback. This is literally what this stage is for. Please tell us what you want changed, and we’ll handle it.
Step 6: You get your files
Once everything is approved and you’re happy with the final result, we deliver your high-resolution files. You get them as digital downloads, perfect for profile pictures, printing, framing, using in your character sheet, or sharing with your DnD party.
And here’s something we love to offer that most people don’t even think to ask about. We’re happy to send extra versions of the files beyond the finished piece. Need your character on a transparent background so you can use them as a sticker, token, or overlay - easy. Need the background by itself, without the character? We can do that too. Commissioning a couple or a party portrait? We can send you the full illustration AND each character separately, so you can use them however you want.
Just ask. We don’t charge extra for this. It’s part of making sure you get the most out of your commission.
This is our favorite part. There’s nothing like knowing that a character someone’s been playing for months, or someone they love, is now hanging on a wall or sitting proudly on a character sheet. From this point on, the portrait is yours. Use it, enjoy it, show it off. That’s what it’s for.
One small thing from us
Honestly? Nothing makes our week like hearing that a client loves what we made for them. When you send us a “thank you, I love it” message after getting your files, that’s the reason we do this. We mean that.
And if you really do love your portrait, if it turned out the way you hoped, if you’re going to frame it, if you already sent it to three friends, we have one small favor to ask. Leaving us a review means more than we can properly explain. Reviews help other people find us, they help us keep doing what we love, and they help us know what’s working. They’re also the single biggest thing you can do to support a small art business like ours.
It doesn’t have to be long. Even a few honest sentences make a real difference.
If your portrait made you happy, please tell us. Tell the world. We’ll be grateful for it.
How long does the whole thing take?
This is one of the most common questions we get, and the honest answer is: it depends. It depends on how complex the commission is, how many characters it has, where you are in our queue, and how quickly we can move through the back-and-forth together.
Specific turnaround times are listed on each commission type, and we always give you a realistic estimate when we start working together.
If you have a deadline, a birthday, an anniversary, a baby shower, or the last session of a campaign, tell us at the very beginning, ideally before you place the order. Share the date with us, and we’ll tell you exactly how much lead time we need from you to make it happen comfortably. Usually, the answer is “sooner than you’d think,” but it depends on the piece. We’d rather tell you honestly than promise something and stress about it later.
About rush orders
During busier periods, when our queue is fuller than usual, we sometimes offer a rush option for an additional fee.
We want to be completely transparent about how this works, because we think it matters. A rush fee isn’t about caring more about clients who pay more. Every single commission we take on gets the same attention, the same care, and the same effort to make it great, that’s non-negotiable. We don’t have a “premium queue” and a “regular queue” where some clients get treated better than others.
The rush fee actually covers the real cost of rearranging our workflow to prioritize a piece that wasn’t originally scheduled. It means moving other work around, staying up a little later, saying no to other commissions during that window. It’s not a shortcut, it’s extra time and extra effort, and the fee reflects that.
The good news is that most of the time, rush fees aren’t necessary. If you plan ahead and talk to us early, we can usually fit your timeline into our normal process without any extra cost. The rush option is there for emergencies, not for everyday orders.
And one more thing: we don’t always accept rush orders. Sometimes our queue is full even for the extra-effort slots. If that’s the case, we’ll tell you honestly rather than take your money and overpromise.
What if you change your mind?
Life happens. Sometimes people order a commission and then realize they need to adjust it, delay it, or cancel it. If that happens, just talk to us. We’re human. As long as we haven’t started painting yet, we can usually work something out. Once we’re deeper in the process, options narrow, but we’ll always do our best to be fair.
The short version
If all of this feels like a lot, here’s the whole process in one sentence: you order, we talk, we paint, you tell us what to tweak, and we deliver.
That’s it. That’s the entire thing.
The rest is just us caring about getting it right.
