Dead City Radio

This page is focused on illustration, which has been the majority of my work since 2017. If you're looking to commission me for web development, graphic design, comics, or some other form of creative production, then grab your wallet and skip down to the contact section.

Base Rate

As of 2020 my starting rate is $150 for a single full-body shaded character with minimal or no background and $75 per part for transformation sequences, with a three part minimum. I charge more per character, per body part, for high detail, for a detailed background, etc. Jeans and a t-shirt will be cheaper than a suit of armor; down-to-the-rivet cybernetics will be pricey.

To generate a quote I read your pitch and, usually very quickly, some part of my mind comes back with a number. It tends to be somewhere between $150 and $250 for single-character single-image work.

For a range of prices and detail levels, see examples.

Prices are USD.

Subject Matter

I'm a leftist transgender body-positive bio-punk. If you're familiar with my work you already have a good sense of what I'm willing to draw. I retain right of refusal with all commissions, and I may charge more for private content, or for content I'm uncomfortable with.

I will not draw:

It's a short list. The list of stuff I won't post is longer, but broadly speaking outside of the above if you want to pay me to draw for you within the context established on this website, I'm probably willing to turn your money and my time into art.

Examples

Most of the pieces below were commissioned. A couple of the busts weren't, and are posted here as examples.

High End

High effort work that is quoted accordingly. I don't get a lot of clients with an open wallet, but when I do I savor the experience, and it shows. High end pieces are upward of $200.

Single-Character / Single-Body

AKA "pinups" or "cheesecake." My bread and butter, starting at around $150.

Sequences & Ref Sheets

I can produce transformation sequences as individual images or as composites like the examples below. Sequences start at $75/part with a three part minimum; ref sheets are quoted based on level of desired detail and number of drawings.

Busts

For my purposes, Busts are partial-character pieces. They start around $120.

Doodles

Every so often I'll do doodles for Ko-Fis on Twitter, usually to meet some kind of fundraising goal. When I'm doing this you can get doodles - quick, low-quality drawings - in exchange for a donation. Past donations have ranged from $3 to $50; with the bigger donations I'll scan the doodle and do a bit of cleanup. Doodle pitches are short, rarely more than a sentence, and the art takes only a few minutes to visualize and produce.

Payment Methods

If I agree to take your commission and we've agreed on the price I'll give you my payment info, via email or social media DM.

Paypal is preferred; you can send money or I can send an invoice - you can pay an invoice without creating a Paypal account. I can also do Cash App and Ko-Fi, though I strongly prefer Paypal.

I usually ask for the full amount to start work; I can also do installments. Halves or thirds works well with my production process. If we agree to installments then work is done only for agreed increments; I don't start the next step until the milestone payment is received.

Revisions

You approve thumbnails, pencils/rough lines, and inks and flats. My quote assumes minor, and progressively fewer, adjustments at each stage. I've found that doing things this way results in a final product that doesn't require further tweaks. If there are too many major revisions after thumbnails, or if there are multiple rounds of changes requested at each stage, I'll ask for more money.

Turnaround Time

Once I start production a piece usually takes less than a week from start to finish. My workload varies quite a bit and can depend on client availability; factoring in communication time, approval loops, and other fuzziness, it's been my experience that 2-3 weeks is about average. Big projects take longer; high detail projects take longer.

If you need work by a specific date, and that date is closer than I'm comfortable with, I may charge more.

Deliverables

A finished commission takes the form of a high-resolution PNG or JPEG and a smaller "web res" version for ease of sharing. I try to keep deliverable sizes at acceptable print res (300+ dpi) and at a file size that'll fit in a gmail inbox (max 25 megs). Once you've got the finals you can do whatever you'd like with them; I reserve the right to share them on art sites and social media, and to use them for portfolio purposes. If you'd prefer your commission to be private or anonymous you'll need to clarify that early in the process - otherwise I'll credit you by whatever social media handle you initiate contact with.

Guidelines

Your commission pitch should be short and to the point. Please don't ask me to read anything longer than a paragraph per image; 200-250 words max. Reference is fantastic - links to ref sheets, or hair styles, or outfits - they're not required but they do help, and if you have a very specific vision they'll help a lot.

Contact

If you have a DA or FA account you can shoot me a note. You can @ me on Twitter and DM me if we're mutuals; I keep the ability to DM me unprompted turned off there to avoid chasers, harassment, etc. If we happen to be in the same Discord server you can DM me that way.

Or you can email me at contact at deadcityradio dot org. It's a filterable wildcard; if your email lands in my inbox I'll reply from a different address.

I look forward to hearing from you!