This is a rare opportunity to commission a premium piece of art, with a few important conditions.
I am working on a project which requires the making of several new original pieces of art, with the entire process being filmed from start to finish. I have free rein to draw/paint whatever I like, but rather than making my own random choices it occurred to me that this might be an opportunity to take requests for some of the pieces.
1. These pieces must not feature copyrighted characters.
I realize this condition may be a dealbreaker right off the bat for many of you Marvel/DC superhero fans, which I completely understand—maybe one of these days I will make time to draw those commissions, too—but what I am offering here is not a typical convention-style commission. These will be complete, gallery-worthy illustrations and are priced accordingly. With that in mind, if you can see something beyond Zatanna and Harley Quinn, the creative possibilities are limitless and I assure you the resulting artwork will be inspired.
The subject matter can be almost anything, so long as it is in the public domain or broad enough of a description as to not infringe on anyone’s copyright. I tend toward fantasy/magic/natural beauty/monsters and maidens/etc. but I am open to all suggestions, including sci-fi/aliens/robots/historical figures/animals/landscapes/superheroes/pin-ups—anything and everything, so long as I can do something entirely original with it. Artful nudity and sensual beauty is also welcome, pornography is not. Love, not lust.
I am a big fan of classic fairy tales, children’s stories, and folklore, so that is a rich vein as well—Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio—the works of Aesop, Grimm, Anderson, Lang, MacDonald—all the greats. With Halloween not far off, there are witches, ghosts, ghouls, and all things spooky. Even the classic monsters are fair game—Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy, the Werewolf, etc.—just not the Universal versions.
There are countless public domain comic book and literary characters out there to choose from if you want to be specific, but also just the character-types would work nicely. For example, the subject could simply be a beautiful woman/fairy queen/enchantress/alien/pirate princess/mermaid/jungle girl/etc. You might even mention one of the greats as a reference if it would help set the tone, such as “something along the lines of a Frazetta girl or a George Petty pin-up”.
There actually is room for classic copyrighted comic book characters, too, so long as they can be made original, either by simply leaving off the name/title or omitting a specific detail (which I can add after the fact to “complete” the character). For example:
Red Sonja in her trademark chainmail bikini? No. A red-headed barbarian queen? Yes!
Shanna the She-Devil? No. Jungle girl? Yes!
Conan the Barbarian wielding an axe? No. A dark-haired barbarian wielding and axe? Yes!
Poison Ivy? No. An enchanting nymph? Yes!
Gandalf? No. Merlin? Yes!
Marvel’s Thor? No. Thor? Yes!
You get the picture.
And while we’re at it, there’s all of Arthurian legend, Robin Hood, Norse mythology, Greek mythology, and on and on and on.
I like having creative options, so feel free to list as many choices for the character/subject as interests you and we can narrow it down together.
2. Each piece may take from one month up to six months from the time of payment to be completed.
This is a project requiring a lot of production. As a result I will be completing the pieces in whatever order is most suitable for the project and not necessarily in the order the requests were received. Please do not make a request if you are not prepared to wait up to six months.
3. The price
As I mentioned above, these pieces will not be sketches or loose “convention-style” commissions. They will be finished illustrations done in a variety of media depending on the subject matter and what the piece calls for. Essentially, this is a made-to-order gallery show. Also, please note that the art will be published at a later date, as either part of a portfolio collection, interior page, or book cover. As I mentioned, the making of each of these pieces will be filmed from start to finish (a first for me) and I will send you the final film project as either a digital download or physical disc once it is completed (please note that there will be a substantial wait for the film to accommodate the production process).
With all of that in mind, the price per piece is $5000 including shipping to anywhere in the world. While I am asking that payment be made in advance to secure your request, please note that your complete satisfaction is guaranteed: Upon completion, I will send you high-quality photographs and/or scans of the completed piece and if after reviewing you wish to decline taking delivery for any reason, I will refund your full purchase price, no questions asked and no hard feelings—art is a very personal thing. The artwork will then be made available for purchase to the general public and/or sold for commercial use.
4. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
All artwork will be copyright © Joshua Middleton. I retain full ownership and all rights to the image. You are purchasing the original piece of art only and no other ownership, reproduction, or distribution rights.
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With all of that out of the way, if you have a request that fits the above criteria and would like one of these pieces of art, please contact me. Once your commission is accepted, I will send an invoice/payment link via Square and the work can begin.
NOTE: I am taking a very short list for this round, but there may be more opportunities (and different price points) next year. I will post any updates here as always.
Thank you very much for your interest!