How Long Does Character Art Take? Check the Whole Schedule
A first concept and a finished gift are different milestones. Put the queue, feedback, final file and optional print on the same calendar.
Jan
4 min read
Your campaign ends next month. You want the portrait ready for the last session, preferably before everyone is packing dice into bags and pretending they are not emotional. “About two weeks” sounds fine until you ask which two weeks.
A commission timeline needs a starting point and an ending point. Ask whether the estimate includes the queue, a first concept, your feedback, revisions and final files. If you need a physical gift, printing and shipping belong on the calendar too.
Find out when work can start
Time on a waitlist is different from time spent making your portrait. An open enquiry, a place in the queue and an accepted commission are different states. Do not treat submitting a form as a confirmed start date.
Ask for the next useful milestone: when your request can be accepted, when the brief must be ready, or when the first preview is expected. If the answer depends on a place opening, you have an availability estimate rather than a booked delivery date.
Separate the first concept from the final file
A concept is the point where you can evaluate the proposed portrait. The approved final image comes after any agreed refinement. Calling both of those things “delivery” makes planning harder than it needs to be.
At FramedFantasy, the initial concept is for private evaluation. The current terms set out that stage and the review window. Read them before the concept arrives and tell me if you will be unavailable, rather than assuming the clock waits until you open a message.
Decide the fixed details before creation
You do not need to have every button designed. You do need to flag the facts that define the portrait: the character, crop, weapon, outfit, companions, pose and any important background. Separate those from areas where you want the artist’s judgment.
I work on every commission with my team of vetted, paid artists, and you talk to me throughout. Give me your hard deadline at the start. That lets us discuss the request as it is, rather than discovering a birthday after the portrait is underway.
Our included refinement covers the agreed brief. A different pose, major outfit redesign or new major element can require a new quote and a revised schedule. “Unlimited refinement” does not make every new idea part of the original job.
Build a deadline sheet you can actually use
| Milestone | Record this | Confirm this |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait needed | The occasion and exact date | Digital reveal or physical object? |
| Commission accepted | The agreed start or availability date | Is queue time included? |
| First concept | The current expected date | When and how must you respond? |
| Feedback and refinement | Your availability and fixed details | What happens if the scope changes? |
| Final files | The agreed handoff | Do you need another person to prepare the layout? |
| Optional print | The printer’s own production and shipping estimate | Is there time to inspect the result before the event? |
For example, suppose your hypothetical party gift needs to be on the table on November 20. Write November 20 as the arrival date, not the date to send final art to a printer. Ask the printer for its schedule, then ask the artist whether the earlier file deadline is feasible.
Leave room for review. A birthday does not move because a missed attachment, changed pose or shipping delay did. If the schedule cannot support a finished physical gift, agree a different reveal rather than promising something you cannot yet deliver.
Send one clear timing question
“I need an approved digital portrait by [date], for [occasion]. My brief is ready, and I can review messages on [days]. Can you accept this scope in time, when should I expect the concept, and what could change the final date?”
If you are already commissioning and a milestone passes, ask for the current stage, the next update and a revised estimate. Avoid guessing at the cause from silence or a progress percentage. A specific answer helps you decide what to do next.
Start with the current commission page for availability. If your character details are still scattered across campaign notes, gather them with the description template before asking for a date.
