1st Commission WIP Thread

[damonjynx]

Hi Folks,

I thought I'd create this WIP thread here for the maps of my first commission as there are several different types of maps.

The Legal Stuff: Edit** The images in this thread are copyright of The Design Mechanism. All images are low-res jpegs, full res versions will be posted in the finished maps forum after publication.

The fun stuff. So the commission is 5 by half page maps for a title to be released shortly. The maps are to be done in my "Crypt of the Witch King" style as per my One Page Dungeon entry.

Here is the first map I'm working on. Which is a tower with caves on a promontory. The grid is rubbish and will be deleted. Also, I'm not happy with the wall on the far right but it's late and time for bed! I imported the hand drawn, scanned jpegs and essentially traced them adding my own touches here and there.

### Latest WIP ###
WIP Lighthouse.jpg

Any suggestions, critiques are always welcome.

Cheers,

[Meshon]

Looking good so far. Is this going to be coloured?

And congratulations on the commission!

Cheers,
Meshon

[tilt]

congrats on the commision - nice work so far, simple and clean

[ThomasR]

Congrats on the commission Damon !

[damonjynx]

Thanks Guys,

I'm being paid a flat rate per map and as the maps are fairly straight forward the rate is not high. Based on how long this map has taken me so far, not including a couple of false starts, my hourly rate is going to be...well let's just say, it'll work out to way less than the minimum wage in pretty much any country you could name! But, it is my first commission and I'm using it to a) get a foot in the door with this publisher who may give me ongoing work and b) as a learning experience to get my work flows rights for any future work. So, as far as the $$ side is concerned I'm not that bothered.

I think I'll probably enlarge the caverns, they're a bit too small IMO as well as the other jobs.

For the cliffs, I've got to mark a high tide line, can you stroke a path in PS with a line or only a brush?

Looking good so far. Is this going to be coloured?

And congratulations on the commission!

Cheers,
Meshon

Hi Meshon, the pieces are to be B&W only. The adventures are very much in the 1st/2nd Edition D&D module style and the art is to reflect that.

Cheers,

Jim

[Meshon]

Thanks Guys,

I'm being paid a flat rate per map and as the maps are fairly straight forward the rate is not high. Based on how long this map has taken me so far, not including a couple of false starts, my hourly rate is going to be...well let's just say, it'll work out to way less than the minimum wage in pretty much any country you could name!

This sounds so familiar! You're not doing the maps "for exposure" which is good. I've got (only) a few commissions under my belt and the most recent one is the first time I negotiated in the slightest. There is something to be said for getting experience along with a rate of pay that might start out on the lower side. I hope you figure out some of the flow stuff, my speed still feels really slow so I'm trying to remember that it might take quite a few maps before I really get rolling!

Best of luck!
Meshon

[ThomasR]

Thanks Guys,

I'm being paid a flat rate per map and as the maps are fairly straight forward the rate is not high. Based on how long this map has taken me so far, not including a couple of false starts, my hourly rate is going to be...well let's just say, it'll work out to way less than the minimum wage in pretty much any country you could name! But, it is my first commission and I'm using it to a) get a foot in the door with this publisher who may give me ongoing work and b) as a learning experience to get my work flows rights for any future work. So, as far as the $$ side is concerned I'm not that bothered.

We all went through this grinder for our first commish. My first wasn't well paid and I spent 84 hours working on it. Let's say my hourly rate could have bought me a coffee. It improves

[Straf]

Hi Folks,

I thought I'd create this WIP thread here for the maps of my first commission as there are several different types of maps.

The Legal Stuff: Edit** The images in this thread are copyright of The Design Mechanism. All images are low-res jpegs, full res versions will be posted in the finished maps forum after publication.

The fun stuff. So the commission is 5 by half page maps for a title to be released shortly. The maps are to be done in my "Crypt of the Witch King" style as per my One Page Dungeon entry.

Here is the first map I'm working on. Which is a tower with caves on a promontory. The grid is rubbish and will be deleted. Also, I'm not happy with the wall on the far right but it's late and time for bed! I imported the hand drawn, scanned jpegs and essentially traced them adding my own touches here and there.

### Latest WIP ###
WIP Lighthouse.jpg

Any suggestions, critiques are always welcome.

Cheers,

Congratulations damonjynx. It's very hard to gauge an hourly rate vs flat rate. My first freelance work (not map or art related) was priced based on how long it would take me, not how much time it would save the client. In the end I charged far less than I should have. We live and learn though. I'm negotiating with another client now who wants to pay me a lump sum up front for a certain number of pieces of work, each with a flat rate regardless of complexity.

This sounds so familiar! You're not doing the maps "for exposure" which is good. I've got (only) a few commissions under my belt and the most recent one is the first time I negotiated in the slightest. There is something to be said for getting experience along with a rate of pay that might start out on the lower side. I hope you figure out some of the flow stuff, my speed still feels really slow so I'm trying to remember that it might take quite a few maps before I really get rolling!

Best of luck!
Meshon

I read an amusing 'for exposure' dialogue thing about someone contacting a hitman.

"Can you kill this guy?"
"It'll be fifty thousand? Half now, half when the job's done."
"Can't you do it for free and I'll give you a great review on my blog? You'll get free exposure and potentially lots of business from my readers."
"It's fifty thousand, take it or leave it."
"You suck at murdering people anyway!"

We all went through this grinder for our first commish. My first wasn't well paid and I spent 84 hours working on it. Let's say my hourly rate could have bought me a coffee. It improves

It depends on the coffee - a polystyrene cup of instant Nescafe is a world away from a freshly brewed Kopi Luwak

[damonjynx]

@Straf, your little anecdote and coffee line gave me a good chuckle. You're a funny bugger (in Australia, when used that way, bugger is a term of endearment not an insult - just saying)

Re the other comments, I'm just glad it's not my full time job, if it were I'd be destitute! But seriously, it doesn't help that I suffer from self-doubt/second guess myself as to the quality of the work (which I'm sure we all do) and probably overthink it to some extent as well. I just have to try and remember that the client should get what the client pays for, a quality map commensurate with the pay - any 'added value' stuff, i.e. additional levels of detail and so on, are a bonus to the client, not mandatory. So far I am really enjoying the experience and I'm sure the work flow will get to a point that strikes a nice balance between $$ & time the more experienced I get. What I need to do between commissions is practice by downloading CC licensed maps and "Jynx" them...

[Straf]

Haha damonjynx it's the same here, although it is also used to mean 'odd' as in "he's a bit of a funny bugger, the way he wears those duffel coats in summer" or even 'fussy' as in "she's a funny bugger with her tea". It's actually quite versatile when I think about it.