Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm rarely in this forum so I'm a little late in saying "thank you" for posting this. While avatar artists are charging gold for their services, it is extremely important to keep one simple fact in mind: They're really not being paid at all. Gaia gold only goes so far; it doesn't help pay for new pens, pencils or other art supplies that we use to draw your portraits. It should be remembered that no matter how much gold you're paying for an avatar portrait, many times it's more a favor than anything else. We get no compensation for spending hours sketching, inking, cleaning and coloring your portraits save for non-existent money that we spend on clusters of pixels to adorn our little avatars. And outside of Gaia, who really cares if you "own" any of the items here? I simply can't envision impressing any non-Gaian of my ownership of fairy wings: something I took on dozens of commissions to obtain. Most people think I'm wasting my time. And sometimes I suspect that I am, too.

The reason for this is that a lot of people will request a portrait (sometimes rather rudely and in blatant disregard of the posted rules) and treat the entire thing very coldly. I often feel like a nameless street vendor, peddling my wares to anyone who walks by. The truth is, I know many avatar artists spend a great deal of time making sure they include every single item on the client's avatar, being careful to include all of his or her [occasionally lengthy] instructions and try to deliver the art in a decent amount of time. I don't know how many times I've PMed someone, rather happy with my work, and only received the trade in thanks. Many people don't even bother to title the trade. They feel they've done their part. The artist got their gold, didn't they? What the heck do they want my gratitude for?

It's easy to forget that there are real people (just like you) sitting at their computers and maneuvering their avatars around the forums. It'd be so simple for a shopkeeper to merely abandon Gaia and forget their list of commissions. Some of them do, but many don't. It may take awhile, but 90% of the time the portrait is delivered. We sacrifice our free time (and sometimes time that really ought to be spent doing school-related things) drawing these pictures for you. We set our lives aside to do something for a person we've never met and most likely never will. In return, we get Gaia gold. Now, I love Lanzer and all, but it's completely useless for anything if you aren't turning around and requesting art or some other service for yourself.

This brings me back to my previous point: Avatar artists are doing you a favor! At the very least, be polite. Thank the artist when they've finished your portrait; it's a way we know we're appreciated. No one is forcing me to spend time at Gaia, offering to help out in little ways and occasionally being forced to deal with a vagrant jerk. But I do. And I love drawing for people. I ask you not to make me hate it.