Today, my best friend Xenohybrida will talk about how she manages her commissions through a platform called VGen. I was recently asked how I managed my commissions and what are the best platforms to use. Since I only use one, I decided to interview several artists from different platforms and lay out all the important and basic details.

Who Are You, And What Do You Do?

I’m Aremis, but I’m known as Xenohybrida on the internet. I’m a freelance artist who likes to draw and do commissions for people. Likewise, I have a niche, and it is specifically doing sexy monsters. I do commissions on the VGen platform.

How Did You Start Doing Commissions?

I started through Facebook promoting myself with a specific target audience and category (monsters), and I was able to get a few clients in that time. So far it has been my main platform that has increased my income over the years.

Do We Need A Specific Platform To Make Commissions?

Not really, you can do it through emails, websites, social media, and a payment processor like PayPal. Different artists have their way, but I recommend having social media, a type of linktree link or card, and PayPal to start taking commissions.

How Did You Discover The Platform?

I discovered the platform through the VTuber community, many artists on X (Twitter) were sponsoring the platform, and its approach or niche focused on the diversity of art styles. So, decided to join. Thankfully, an artist gave me a code, and I was able to be part of them.

What Is VGen?

It’s similar to platforms that already exist such as Fiver or Artistree.io, but it is more focused on a specific public who wants to obtain art for their content creations like collecting the art of their Ocs, especially in the VTuber space. It is a lot more art-friendly community and more focused on personal projects rather than corporation-oriented.

Is VGen The Correct Platform For You?

I wouldn’t say correct, VGen is a new one I’m exploring. However, I would say the one that has brought more customers to the table has always been Facebook, and now with VGen it seems to be the newest platform I’m exploring to see how effectively they can increase my income and expand the exposure of my artworks in their market. So, if anything, it has to do more with luck and how you market to specific clients. 

How Do You Achieve Successful Transactions?

By providing good quality art, doing constant promotion, and having a visible price for people to see, so they can easily buy something since not everyone can do DMs.

What Do You Offer In Your Store?

I offer services like the normal commissions where I do character design, a surprise design where the client requests a concept (a piece with a vague idea provided by the client and I fulfill it with my magic), and adoptables, which in this case is on Ko-fi. On Etsy I have stickers, keychains, and prints of all kinds of different franchises.

What Type Of Payments It Accepts?

For example, the payment methods can be a credit card or debit card, but PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, and Android Pay availability will depend on the artist.

Does It Accept Tips or Donations?

It does let clients tip at the end of the commission, which also boosts the artwork and gets more exposure on the front page of the marketplace. Donations per se aren’t allowed, but for them, I do have specific pages where I can receive donations such as Twitch, Ko-Fi, and Patreon.

Do You Have A Section For Restrictions and TOS Of Your Services?

Yes, there is a policy page section where the artist can type the restrictions of their services and a “Terms and Conditions” in another section.

Do Requirements Need To Be Fulfill To Be Part Of VGen?

You can join the platform as a viewer but to become a seller you must receive an official code from a verified artist or from VGen itself, and comply with specific tasks. Once achieved, you are completely verified in the system and can provide your services, forms, and invoices to the clients with fewer restrictions. This is cool since previously I had to do these official documents manually through Google Forms and PayPal.

Does It Have A Tracking and Update Progress?

Yes, you can update the progress of each artwork within their platform, it is like an integrated workflow table with certain features such as marking the piece as “work in progress”, “waiting list”, “priority” and much more. You can also send automatic updates to the client through direct messages. I have mine integrated with Trello and Discord.

Does It Have The Ability To Keep Orders Organized?

 Yes, it has all that, including invoices, receipts, proposals, etc.

How Does It Work When It Comes To Selling Artworks?

It’s more like a service rather than selling a product, although it seems VGen is considering integrating the ability to sell products in the future. The way it works is that after the client fills the form, the artist gets notified of the order’s details and gives a price (unless the chosen service has an established price). Later on, the client will receive the artist’s proposal. Once accepted, the artist can start the commission.

Are There Any Extra Fees For Using The Platform?

Yes, VGen takes a %5 fee for each transaction from the artist, besides the payment’s processor fees, so always calculate your sale use taxes.

Does VGen Sell A Subscription To Promote Your Work?

There is no subscription to be bought to be promoted on the front page of the marketplace. The only way you can be promoted is if you are a verified user.

Does the Platform Have Its Community?

They have their social media and also their Discord community which is public.

Any Other Extra Stuff That We Should Know?

• No chargeback fees on VGen payments.
• You can offer discounts without any extra cost.
• Dispute and provide proof for chargeback claims.
• You can request 100% upfront payment or milestone payments.
• Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any 2FA security system setup.
• You can mediate conflicts, enforce your ToS, and send proposals.
• It has a rating system and reviews are only available for the artist only.
• It does accept NSFW artwork, and it’s blurred to unregistered adult users.
• VGen has its own public Discord community besides its social media pages.
• For now, the mobile app version doesn’t exist, so any notifications must be dealt with inside their page or through emails.
• I’m not sure how widget alerts or code buttons can be applied to your website, but it seems you can connect VGen through Discord and do other stuff.

Comparison Table Of The 3 Platforms

NOTE: This information can be inaccurate in the future if new regulations and policies change over time depending on the platforms. We are trying to provide the best information available with our experiences and knowledge.

If you want to see the other interviews about managing commissions in different platforms, check Xenohybrida Commissions with VGen, Moonfaun Commissions KoFi, and The Grey Sanctuary Commissions with Artistree.io.

Thank You For Reading!

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