Since I get questions about this a lot, and lately with increasing frequency for whatever reason... figured I'd clear this up a bit.
Commissions:
I very rarely take commissions, for a variety of reasons. If my job situation changes in the future, this may change as well, but for right now, I work full time and simply don't have the time, energy, or inclination for a "second job" of sorts when I get home. I'm a lazy soandso.
If I do open commissions once in a blue moon, it will usually only be for 3-5 slots at a time because again, lazy soandso. The information will usually be posted in this journal, or in some of the LJ communities I frequent (if you're looking for WoW art, the best ones to watch are wowladies or wow_fanart).
Otherwise yeah, just assume that they're closed unless you're a close friend or someone I talk to all the time or whatnot (then they're pretty much always open OOOH double standards look at me go!)
Trades:
That all said, I LOVE getting art of my characters! Gift art pretty much makes my whole dayweekyear and I enjoy it in any form.
Thus, trades I'm a bit more flexible on, with the agreement that you too will be flexible with time restraints. I'm not going to keep you hanging on for months and months, of course, but I work when the inspiration hits, pretty much. Forcing art yields shitty results from me.
Not quite sure how to put this delicately, but if you're interested in a trade with me, I like to get back what I put in. If you're expecting me to render you a complex, full-color piece and you're a beginner artist who's still very much practicing and hasn't gotten out of some of the learning stages yet... I'm gonna be less inclined to want to do a trade with you. Again, I try not to judge by skill levels since all of us started somewhere and my own stuff is far FAR from very good by a lot of standards, but please don't be offended if I don't have the time or inclination right then.
Additionally, I generally only do trades with people for fandoms or character themes I'm already interested in (Warcraft, nagas, some well-designed OCs, etc.). I don't draw fandoms or situations I'm unfamiliar or uncomfortable with, so.
Requests:
No.
(Also possible that I have been awake too long at this point.)
<3
Yeah, thanks.. i'll get right on that -_-
And you know what? Double standards are freaking awesome.
I never have the balls to ask for art trades, because, I dunno, I'm always afraid of someone laughing at my face and going "HAH! You think YOUR art is good enough to trade with MINE???" =____=
Well, okay I don't have manballs to begin with, but that's beside the point! Point is, I'd rather pay money that put my pride on the line. Hahaha.
...But... aaaaugh okay. I will man up and grow a pair. Since I can't hire you for a commission I'm going to have to take my road less travelled...
Would you, by any little chance, be any way interested in doing an art trade with me?
There, I said it. Kyaaa.