Redlines = better end result = more value for my commission money. I'm all for it.

i don't see how it'd be "unfair". if you need help, then get help! better to get the aid an opinion of another artist than to struggle through a piece and offer up what could be sub par work. as long as the other person isn't doing all the work for you.

I hardly think it's cheating a customer to try and get the best possible drawing for their money.

damn, beaten by the others.

redlines are just redlines. as long as this friend of yours isn't completely redrawing everything, inking, and coloring for you, and they're volunteering their help to you, who cares?

Art is all about sharing. One of my first commissions ever was of a subject I'm not great at, and a little help from a friend boosted my confidence and improved the picture a little. Friends shouldn't ask for money when you're asking them for help.

I say, if you feel insecure about it, don't ask for too much advice. By all means, a bit of a tweak in anatomy, but you can also discuss available references and ideas for your end product.

Definitely not! Asking for help or using references is never cheating. Sometimes we can't see the mistakes in a picture until someone else points it out to us. There's nothing wrong with this.

A redline is just advice, nobody has to give it unless they want to and it can help improve the artwork produced.

Conversely anyone who objects to an artist trying to make sure that the work is the very best they can do? Obviously doesn't have all their oars in the water.

TL;DR: Asking for redlines on commissions is fine, many artists do it, it's not cheating anyone.

I don't think it's unfair at all. In fact I got some redline help from a friend on a commission I'm doing right now! It makes the commission better and you learn something in the process!

As long as you notify the commissioner (and I doubt he or she would have a problem long as it looks good at the end), I see no issue.

What the others said. But I do think it's a bit of a cheat if they redline it for you and then you trace what they did line for line. Redlines are meant to be helpful guidelines to see where you can improve. [Not that you trace her lines line for line, you just didn't specify and I thought I'd mention. :)]

I think it's great, more practice for the artist and a better result for the commissioner! :D

Although one thing that may be a bit of trouble is style. I know people commission other artists because they have a really distinct style, and a redline from another artist might take away some of that.

I so just asked for redlines on a commission a few days back. I never thought that someone would actually care.

I don't see a problem with it, I mean if the artist is trying to improve a picture then the commissioner gets the results of that improvement.

Basically what everyone else has said, it's not like your cheating the commissioner, and as long as your friends don't mind giving you advice on how to improve your image, I don't see the problem. Frankly, I think it's great that you're trying to get advice on how to improve the image for commissioner.

Redlines provide much better communication than telling me "this looks off", and often for much less hassle too.

If it makes you feel better as a buyer to give me redlines so I can better make the commission you're paying for meet your specifications, redline away!

I see nothing wrong with it to tell the truth. I'd consider it a good thing...I'd be getting something even better for whatever I may have paid, and the artist can learn from it to. That's just my opinion though.

o_o No way. I would hope if the artist is unsure about the image they'd request one, personally!

Many professional artists in the art world bounce ideas off of each other (for free) before trying to present something to big-name companies. No artist lives under a rock, not asking for help and assistance when it can better the final product is creative suicide.

I personally wouldn't worry so much about 'reimbursing' people for a volunteer service. 9.8 out of 10 artists will see nothing wrong with it and do it for free.

AOK from me on this. :D I get redlines all the time if I feel it necessary.

It's actually a better idea to bounce ideas off of and get critiques from other artists, even on commissions. This way, in the end, the piece is better for it, and it does show that you, the artist, cares about giving your customer something higher quality and something that you actually put time and effort into.

Any time my friend Tammy is over, or I'm visiting her, I show her my WIP's, including commissions, and beg her for critiques and redlines, and she's done the same with me. And our works end up all the better for it.

~~Bee

I don't see the problem at all! You're asking for improvement, about how to make the commission better for your commissioner, I don't see why there should be any guilt or issues! I mean, the red lines are just pointing out where there's a few difficulties, right? They're not actually re-drawing the thing. So, I don't think you should see it as cheating or anything, especially if the friend has volunteered. (It might be polite to mention her in the completion of it though, as a "thanks for your help!" thing)