Last weekend, at Boston Comic Con, I commissioned my first sketch from an artist.
Now, the Con had some legendary artists in attendance, including Neal Adams, George Perez, Howard Chaykin, Lee Weeks, Mark Bagley, Michael Golden, James O'Barr, and dozens of others, including Tim Sale, who might be my favorite living artist in the industry right now.
Sadly, the greats like Adams, Perez, and Chaykin were so swamped by fans seeking autographs that they wouldn't have had time to draw a custom sketch for me, and I didn't have the hundreds of dollars it would have cost to commission them. Also, Howard Chaykin scared the $#@% out of me, but that's a story for another day.
However, tucked away in the periphery of Artists Alley with the smaller venders, I met a man named Greg Moutafis. Greg had a lot of prints and sketches on display, and I liked his work. I asked him if I could commission an original sketch of Black Canary and he said sure.
He was very gracious and accommodating. I paid in advance--I won't say how much I paid, but it didn't my bank--and returned an hour later to find this wonderful piece of art that was all for me!
Greg was incredibly nice. He said this was the first commissioned piece he was ever asked to draw at a convention. I even had to remind him to sign it before he handed it over. Thanks, Greg!