whore. 
*this image isn't available for public viewing outside of this bulletin, because I have Arca's modern AU tab on private lol
enjoy it while you can

Coughs- ah yes it's been a while since my last service review. I haven't been commissioning much artist outside of Skeb due to a shift in priorities, nevertheless I felt writing service reviews was quite entertaining, and I want to continue it as a series of bulletins. Hence, after some thought I decided to write one on an old commission... plus personal thoughts (!)

Usual disclaimer and background on my reviews: the values I seek after from artists are (1) creativity, (2) communication [sense of closeness & response to feedback] and (3) time management [turnaround time, transparency in waitlist].
(1) Creativity includes the artist' personal take on my characters and how they portray the characters' worldview. Basically, able to expand my prompt with their own ideas rather than be told to draw exactly the way I want.
(2) Communication includes hospitality expected of a business (professionalism) yet not too stiff, and openness to feedback.
(3) Time management includes how the artist manages their waitlist and how transparent they are with their work time. Simply put, it can include how often they update their worklist so that clients are able to estimate their work speed and progress. This does NOT mean faster artist are better.

These are simply my standards. Other people may have different things they look for when commissioning artists (one person I know actually looks to befriend the artist they commission. I don't.)

NaOH_21 -- or otherwise known as Nao -- is one of the artist that, if given the chance, I would commission every time they open commissions.

They are absolutely a pleasure to work with. I approached Nao twice, both to commission my dearest Arca (original lore and modern AU) and they delivered. Well, actually my memory fails me because it's been some time and I don't remember the details of our exchange BUT I can say that they managed to expand my prompts better than I imagine. I have a habit of giving specific instructions the first time I commission someone new -- for Nao, I asked them to continue this sketch done by another artist. The result has its own flair rather than just a continuation of the original sketch. I was pleased with this, so I approached Nao a second time to another piece (shown above; it's whore Arca). This time my references were more vague (around two for mood and one for outfit) for the overall theme of "Arca with a mob character in a bar". Nao took their interpretation of the references and delivered a gorgeous sultry piece.

The entire communication process was delightful. Nao showed interest in my character (this is case by case basis, I know. Different artists like different characters and this will not be universal; but it is my service review) and was cooperative when given feedback (for example, the sketch for modern AU Arca initially had wine, and I pointed champagne would be more bar-like).

The last one, time management, is actually the only reason I didn't write a service review sooner. Nao has a timely turnaround time, however I found that if you managed to land in their waitlist, you could be waiting for months without prior notice. Getting on the August waitlist could end up in December or January. This may be common practice for some artist, however as a client I tend to avoid long waitlists due to it potentially messing up my financials -- and/or I'd end up commissioning another artist the idea I saved for the artist I'm on waitlist. [Does this sound like a me problem? Probably. I stand by my point though]

Still though, Nao is highly skilled and if you don't mind long waitlists I would recommend Nao as an artist to commission!

2023.11.07