September, 2026

How to Order a Custom Watercolour Commission | NeeseDraws

A guide to choosing the right commission, providing your references and ordering a hand-painted watercolour artwork from NeeseDraws

Have you ever wanted to commission a custom watercolour painting but weren't sure which commission to choose, what information to provide, or how the process works?

Whether you are looking for a personalised watercolour portrait, an original character painting, an anime-inspired commission, a fantasy character artwork or a custom trainer-and-companion painting, the NeeseDraws commission shop is designed to make ordering a bespoke traditional artwork straightforward.

Every commission is individually drawn and painted by hand using traditional watercolour techniques. You choose the commission option that best fits your idea, provide your references and details, and I use that information to develop the finished artwork.

This guide explains the four commission options covered by this section of the NeeseDraws shop and how to decide which one is right for you.

Which NeeseDraws commission should I choose?

The best commission depends on what you want painted, rather than simply the style of artwork you prefer.

Choose the Custom Watercolour Character Commission if:

You want an original character painted
You want an anime-inspired or fantasy character
You want a fictional character or fan-created artwork
You want a character from a game, animation, manga or fantasy setting
You want a character portrait ranging from a headshot to a full-body composition
You want a more illustrative or expressive character artwork

Choose the Custom Watercolour Portrait if:

You want a realistic or semi-realistic watercolour interpretation
You want artwork based on photographs or close visual references
You are commissioning a portrait of yourself, a family member, partner, friend or another real person
You want a favourite fictional or popular-culture character interpreted in a more realistic or semi-realistic way
You are looking for a meaningful personalised artwork or handmade gift
You want a traditional fine-art painting in my own artistic style, rather than a digital or ultra-photorealistic reproduction

Choose the Custom Monster Trainer Watercolour Commission if:

You want a trainer character painted with their chosen companion creatures
You want a personalised trainer-and-team artwork
You want a half-body or full-body composition
You want an original hand-painted interpretation rather than a digital recreation

Choose the Backgrounds & Scenery Add-on if:

You want more than a simple background
You want your character placed inside a detailed environment
You want a landscape, room, architecture or fantasy setting
You want additional environmental storytelling, scenery or props

A simple colour wash, gradient, soft texture or atmospheric background is already included with the relevant commission and does not require the Backgrounds & Scenery add-on.

1. Custom Watercolour Character Commission

View the Custom Watercolour Character Commission →

Hand-painted fantasy, anime-inspired and original character artwork

The Custom Watercolour Character Commission is the most flexible of these commission options and is designed for bespoke character artwork.

It is suitable for original characters, fantasy characters, anime-inspired artwork, fictional characters and fan-created interpretations. Each commission is individually drawn and painted by NeeseDraws using traditional watercolour techniques.

The finished painting combines the expressive qualities of character illustration with the texture, colour and individuality of traditional fine art.

What can I choose?

The listing allows you to select the available options for:

Size
Number of characters
Portrait style / composition

Available compositions include:

Headshot — face, head and upper shoulders
Bust — head, shoulders and upper chest
Waist-up — head through approximately the waist
Full body — the complete character from head to toe

Available artwork sizes currently range from A4 to A1, giving you different amounts of space for character detail and composition.

If you are unsure which composition or size would work best for your idea, you can contact me before ordering and I can advise you.

What can I include in my commission request?

When ordering a custom character painting, you can provide information such as:

Character references
Sketches or character sheets
Reference photographs
Pose ideas
Facial expression
Clothing or costume
Hair and other important features
Colour preferences
Background ideas
Mood or atmosphere
Other details that are important to you

You do not need to create a professional art brief or know exactly how to describe everything in artistic terminology.

Your information gives me the starting point I need to interpret your idea as a finished painting.

What if I want a more detailed background?

A simple background is included with the portrait commission.

If you want the person placed within a more developed environment, such as a room, landscape or detailed setting, see the Backgrounds & Scenery Add-on below.

2. Custom Watercolour Portrait — Realistic & Semi-Realistic

View the Custom Watercolour Portrait →

A realistic or semi-realistic watercolour portrait, painted in my style

If you are looking for a realistic watercolour portrait or semi-realistic watercolour portrait, this commission is designed for artwork based on photographs or close visual references.

Unlike the more stylised Custom Watercolour Character Commission, this option allows me to take the subject closer to a realistic appearance while still keeping the distinctive qualities of my own traditional watercolour style.

This commission can be used for real people or fictional characters. You might commission a portrait of yourself, a family member, a couple or someone important to you, or you might want a favourite character from anime, games, film or another part of popular culture interpreted in a more realistic way.

The aim is not to create an ultra-photorealistic reproduction. Instead, I use your photographs or references as the foundation and reinterpret the subject as an original, hand-painted watercolour artwork in my own artistic style.

Each portrait is individually drawn and painted by hand using traditional watercolour techniques.

What photographs or references should I provide?

Your reference material is an important part of the commission. For portraits of real people, clear photographs showing the person you would like painted are ideal.

You can also provide additional references or explain any details that are important to you, such as:

Preferred expression
Clothing
Hair
Colour preferences
General mood
Particularly important features
Details you would like included or changed

If you have several photographs and are unsure which would work best, you can provide them and explain what you would like me to take from each reference. I can then use my artistic judgement to create a cohesive final composition.

3. Custom Monster Trainer Watercolour Commission

View the Custom Monster Trainer Watercolour Commission →

A personalised trainer and companion-creature watercolour painting

The Custom Monster Trainer Watercolour Commission is designed for customers who want a personalised painting featuring a trainer character alongside their chosen companion creatures.

You can commission artwork of yourself, a loved one or an original trainer character and have them illustrated with their chosen team.

The artwork is individually painted by hand in traditional watercolour on high-quality watercolour paper.

What can I choose?

The listing currently allows you to select:

Artwork size
Portrait style
Number of monsters

The available compositions include half-body and full-body options, with A4 and A3 artwork available through the listing.

The available combinations are deliberately structured around the artwork size. Traditional watercolour has physical limitations that digital artwork does not, and a smaller painting cannot comfortably accommodate the same number of subjects and details as a larger one.

Sketch revisions

This commission includes up to two sketch revisions before painting begins, allowing the composition to be reviewed at the appropriate stage before the final watercolour painting is created.

If your idea requires additional characters, more companion creatures, a larger artwork or a significantly more complex composition than the listed options allow, please contact me before purchasing.

4. Backgrounds & Scenery Add-on

View the Backgrounds & Scenery Add-on →

Add a fully developed environment to your custom artwork

A simple background is already included with the relevant commission listings, so you do not need to purchase this add-on just to have a background.

The Backgrounds & Scenery Add-on is for customers who want a much more developed environment surrounding their subject.

Examples include:

Landscapes
Outdoor environments
Rooms and interiors
Fantasy settings
Architecture
Detailed scenery
Themed environments
Storytelling elements
Complex props and environmental details

A developed background can turn a character portrait into a more complete scene, giving the painting additional atmosphere, context and storytelling.

What is already included?

You do not need the add-on for a simple treatment such as:

A colour wash
A gradient
A soft texture
An atmospheric effect
Another minimal background treatment appropriate to the composition

These are already included with the relevant standard commission.

What size can I order?

The Backgrounds & Scenery Add-on is currently available for commissioned artwork from A4 to A0.

Complex backgrounds are not currently offered for A5 commissions because the smaller format does not provide enough room for intricate environmental detail to be shown effectively.

Your ideas, my artistic interpretation

One of the most enjoyable parts of commissioning a painting is being able to bring your own ideas, memories and interests into the artwork.

You are very welcome to tell me about the things that are meaningful to you — favourite characters, colours, places, memories, symbols, objects, interests or other details that you would love to see reflected in the painting.

I like to take these ideas as creative ingredients and then use my artistic judgement to bring them together into a cohesive traditional watercolour artwork.

This means the finished painting does not necessarily need to show every idea literally. Depending on the composition, some elements may be emphasised, simplified, combined, subtly incorporated or left out if they do not work naturally within the overall artwork.

For example, if you have ten different things that are meaningful to you, we might choose a few of those ideas as the main visual elements while allowing others to influence the colours, atmosphere or smaller details of the painting.

The aim is to create something that feels personal to you while still looking like a considered piece of artwork, rather than trying to fit every idea into one image.

If you have lots of ideas and are not sure how they could work together, that is absolutely fine. You can contact me before ordering and tell me what you have in mind, and we can work out which elements would translate best into a cohesive watercolour composition.

See how I create my traditional watercolour artwork

How long does a commission take?

My Standard Commission waiting time is currently around three weeks, although this depends on my workload and schedule at the time you place your order.

Because every commission is painted individually by hand, my available capacity can change.

Need your commission sooner?

Rush production options are available when my schedule allows.

Priority and Premium Priority places are limited. They are intended for customers who would like to pay for their commission to be moved ahead in my production schedule so that I can create it sooner.

These commissions are still made with the same care and attention as every other painting. Paying for priority does not mean that the artwork is rushed through carelessly; it means that I reorganise my workload to give that commission priority within the available production schedule.

The available priority options are shown at checkout.

If you can see a Priority or Premium Priority option at checkout, it means that option is currently available.

If the option is not available, I have reached the number of priority commissions I can accommodate at that time.

Have a specific deadline?

If you need a commission for a particular birthday, Christmas, anniversary or other occasion, please contact me before ordering.

Tell me the date you need the artwork for, and I can let you know whether the current schedule makes that deadline possible.

I would rather give you an honest answer before you order than promise a deadline that I cannot realistically meet.

What happens after I place my commission order?

Once your order and commission information have been received, I review the details and reference material you have provided.

If something important needs clarification, I will contact you.

You do not need to have every artistic decision worked out perfectly before ordering. The purpose of providing references and information is to give me a clear understanding of what you would like me to create.

Depending on the commission you've selected, the process may include:

1. Choose your commission

Select the commission listing that best matches what you want painted.

2. Select your options

Choose the available size, number of subjects, composition and other options shown on the relevant product page.

3. Provide your ideas and references

Tell me about your concept and provide the photographs, character references or other material I need to understand your idea.

4. Commission development

I develop the composition using your brief, references and the options you selected.

Where your particular commission includes a sketch approval stage, you will have the specified opportunity to request revisions at that stage.

5. Traditional watercolour painting

Once the composition has been approved where applicable, I create the finished artwork by hand using traditional watercolour techniques.

There is no mass production or digital generation involved: your commissioned artwork is individually created for you.

6. Completion and dispatch

Once the painting is complete, it is carefully packaged and prepared for dispatch.

Commission artwork is sent using tracked delivery, and tracking information is provided once the artwork has been dispatched.

Production time is not the same as delivery time

When ordering a commissioned artwork, it is important to understand the difference between production and shipping.

Production time is the time required for me to create your artwork.

Dispatch is when your completed artwork is handed to the postal service.

Delivery time is the time taken by the postal service after dispatch.

These are separate stages.

A Priority or Premium Priority commission refers to the time allocated to creating your artwork, not a faster postal service.

Once your artwork has been completed, it is dispatched in the normal way. Postal delivery then takes place independently of the painting process and is outside my control, so I cannot guarantee a specific arrival date.

If you are ordering a commission for a particular occasion or gift, I recommend planning ahead and contacting me before ordering if you need advice about the available timeframe.

What if I don't know which commission to choose?

That's completely fine.

The commission shop is designed to give you clear options, but not every idea will fit neatly into a product dropdown.

If you're deciding between a custom character commission, realistic watercolour portrait, monster trainer commission or a background/scenery add-on, you can contact me before purchasing.

Tell me:

What you would like painted
Who or what you want included
The style you have in mind
Any reference images you have
The approximate composition you want
Any important background or scenery ideas
Any deadline you are working towards

I'll then be able to advise you on which commission option is most appropriate.

Ready to commission a traditional watercolour painting?

Whether you are looking for a custom watercolour portrait, an anime-inspired character commission, a fantasy character painting, a personalised trainer artwork or a more elaborate illustrated scene, each NeeseDraws commission is created individually by hand.

Choose the commission that best matches your idea, provide your references and let me turn your concept into an original traditional watercolour artwork.

Explore the commission options

Custom Watercolour Character Commission →

Custom Watercolour Portrait — Realistic & Semi-Realistic →

Custom Monster Trainer Watercolour Commission →

Backgrounds & Scenery — Commission Add-on →

Not sure which one is right for you? Contact NeeseDraws →

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