Robert Atkins's Blog, page 25

Arashikage Photo commission and Commission Updates!

So grand prize for my longest running commission goes to my now good friend Kris. I say good friend because he's been very patient, and over the last 4 years we've been in contact about this commission and other GI JOE related stuff. And yes, you read that correctly...4 years.

Arashikage Commission - 636


There's a lot that went into why this took so long, and I won't bore you with it. But it's hands down my longest standing commission, with a lot of start and stop along the way. Right now most of my commissions are a year or two at the most out, and I'm working feverishly catching up on them.

So now on the Commission Update part of my post!
For the most part I've worked on commissions in the order that they came in. The only exception to that is when I go to a convention and I do sketches at the show. The way I've viewed it is that conventions are a break from my deadline work and anything I have at home. It's a chance for people to come to the show in that city and get a chance to get a sketch from me. I can't get to everyone's sketches at the shows I do. So I give everyone who asked for a sketch the choice. Either we skip the sketch and we try it again next year, or I take the commission home and mail it to them when it's done.

Some want the sketch, and are fine with me taking it home. As soon as I go home, I have my deadline schedule that always takes priority, and I fit in commissions and surplus convention sketches as I have time.

I've always been upfront with people that if they want a refund on the commission (when they've paid upfront) I'm always willing to send it asap and take them off the list. I'm not out to sit on anyone's money or take advantage. In fact, in many instances someone has paid for a commission during my last years prices, and since then my commission rates have increased, but I'm doing the quality of art I can produce currently for last year's price.

So ultimately its up to how long someone wants to or is willing to wait, and I don't begrudge anyone for that being a long or short time. I obviously get paid for commissions, but it's not my main source of income. I don't do commissions for the big pay day, I do them because I appreciate that people want an original piece of my art. I do my best to make them affordable for the time I put into them, and it's often much less than my deadline project rates.

That said, I can certainly appreciate that when someone is on a list for a commission, they expect and deserve communication, and to see something produced in a reasonable time (reasonable obviously being subjective to that person and my schedule). I get that.

I'm in the process of doing inventory of all the commissions, convention sketches and/or blank covers that I have, and people want from me. I'm putting them exactly in the order I received them and will do them in that order. The only 2 exceptions to that are on a deadline due to the nature of the commission, and they've agreed to pay my deadline rates to increase production time.

If anyone is done waiting and wants off my list and would like to request a refund (again if applicable) or if they just want off my list (if they haven't paid upfront), again I can take you off, no hard feelings. I hope we can work something out in the future.

After all these current commissions are done and caught up, I will be doing all future commissions through Mike Alexander MGA (More Great Art). You can email him directly here (mga1wars@aol.com)  to request rates and my availability.

Or check out his Comic Art Fans gallery, with examples of my work and other artists that he represents.

I will open my commission list to 3 spots. Then the list will close. My turn around time will be guaranteed within the month. Mike will handle that transaction and hopefully that will help me be more organized going forward so we don't run into this problem again. Also any pre-orders for upcoming conventions will be done through Mike as well. So if you email me, I will simply answer and forward your email to Mike to work out the details.

More than anything, I want to say how much I appreciate your interest in my work and those of you that have been willing to wait (sometimes years) to get a commission piece from me. With every piece I do everything possible to make it the best artwork that I can, and worth your wait.

IF you have questions on your current commission please email me and we can work out the details.

Thanks,
Robert

Thor....

This is another head and torso sketch from a recent convention. While these aren't full body sketches, I generally draw them larger so they still fill up the entire 9x12 drawing space. I dig drawing this version of Thor, it's been one of the best Marvel costume redesigns in the last 10 years.

THOR - 635


You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
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For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Baroness again....

Another fun Baroness piece from the show. I've got a few more Baroness drawings for the IDW Limited books, as well as some owed commissions pieces. Don't worry I've got you on my list ;)

Again the art is done on 9x12, inked with a brush pen and copic multiliners.

Baroness - 634

Click on the image to enlarge!
You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
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For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Watchmen Comedian...

This was a sketch done recently at the St. Louis Comic Con. It's actually part of a Watchmen Jam piece that's turning out pretty awesome. Including artists Freddie Williams II and Phil Jimenez so far! I can't wait to see the whole thing done. 
Drawing the Comedian from that group is right up my alley, and was a lot of fun to do.

Watchmen Jam - Comedian - 633





Here's the larger piece so far:



You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
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For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Scrap Iron - More GIJOE....

Here's a recent commission wrapped up, This was done at the recent convention. I took it home and added the flak explosions in the sky. There was one originally, but adding them kind of balanced it out and filled the space well. I might be making this into a print as well. It's been awhile since I drew Scrap Iron at all.  The art is done on 9x12, inked with copic multiliners and a kuretake brush pen. 
Scrap Iron - 632


You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
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For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Eternal Warrior - Valiant Comics...

Here's another Valiant Comics sketch I got to do recently. Being able to draw Ninjak and Eternal Warrior both was a blast. I'd love to take a crack at XO Manowar soon too! This sketch was for Travis who I roomed with at Baltimore Comic Con recently.

Eternal Warrior - 631




You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
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For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Beachhead - GI JOE....

Here's another Beachhead commission done, I've had a lot of requests for this character. Some people had a request in and pulled out since the wait for a commission from me was too much for them. I totally understand that, and it doesn't bother me. It's just the nature of my work and schedule right now. At the same time, this has happened a few times where if people could have just waited a bit longer, I would have gotten to their character. Instead it's going to someone else.
So this was for a great girl I met at Heroes Con this last year, and I got this wrapped up for her to pic up at Baltimore Comic Con. It was awesome to see how excited she was about the GI Joe property. She also got a commission from Tom Feister, after a long wait, at the same show. So double score for her!!! 

Beachhead - 630

You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
INTOCK TRADES


For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Snake Eyes vs Spider-man!...

Here's a fun example of doing these blank comic cover sketches. Often I'll get asked to draw a character on a book, (generally a GI JOE character) but they have nothing to do with the book itself. So someone wanted a Snake Eyes drawing done on a Spiderman book. Just a head and torso sketch. 
I kind of don't get that, why not just get a Snake Eyes done on a piece of illustration board, unless they have something connecting them to the book itself. So in this case I took the initiative to include Spidey somehow, and Snake Eyes' reflective visor gave me the perfect chance to do this. It's subtle, its a little thing, but for me it makes the sketch sooo much more fun putting it in context with the title of the book!


Snake Eyes vs Spiderman - 629


You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
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For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Snake Eyes....

Here's another Snake Eyes from a recent con. Typical head and shoulder shot that I do at conventions now. Doing my best to catch up on old con sketches and commissions. I've been incredibly busy with the GI JOE Battleground game. Apparently I'm becoming a "go-to" guy for the game's character art. The number of characters I'm being asked to do a week has tripled.....sooo that's keeping me pretty busy at the moment.

Can't wait to show it all off for you Joe fans!

SnakeEyes - 628

Man, I love drawing this guy.

You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
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For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

New Joes...

This was a fun commission for a long time friend, Charles Nowlin. He has a toy store, Outer Rim Collectibles, and he sets up at many of the comic conventions that I attend throughout the year. He's bought a number of my covers, and got this commission from me that's been a very long time coming. Him and his wife Karen have a sketchbook with them drawn as GI JOE characters they've created.

It's a cool way to really incorporate yourself into a property that you love. Neat idea. Karen is a sniper called headshot, and Charles is her spotter, a.k.a Spot.

So here you go.

Spot and Headshot - 628

You can check out all the collected trades I've worked on and some of my art/sketch books here at AMAZING discounts!
INTOCK TRADES


For Comments and Questions you can email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com