Centaurs Rock! Our Favorite Art Commission of the Week

One of our favorite commissions to come through ArtCorgi lately is this husband and wife commission made by Carlos Rosario, depicting the couple as centaurs (in Denitsa Trandeva’s fabulous anime style). We don’t know if it’s their expressions, the cherry blossom petals fluttering in the wind, or just the fact that they’re centaurs, but this piece makes us smile every time we see it- and we’re SO glad Carlos decided to take a walk on the wild side and commission something more creative than the standard straightforward portrait.

The Inspiration Behind This Piece

We asked Carlos what inspired this piece. His answer:

My wife and I always thought it was funny that Alex Rodriguez had a commissioned painting of himself as a centaur – and I knew a gift like this would make her laugh.

Tips for Commissioning Creative, Fun Art

We also asked Carlos for his advice on commissioning creative, memorable art:

If I were to give advice, it would be to think of something that makes you laugh, love, feel humbled, or any other type of emotion. I think inside jokes and/or personal stories depicted in a medium you couldn’t otherwise create yourself are fun to see come to life. Especially if you frame the jokes or stories in a theme personal to you such as a favorite movie, book, cartoon, time period, historical event, or even mythology.

A Word from The Artist

We also asked Denitsa to tell us a bit more about her experience with this piece, commissions in general, and her artistic background.

For how long have you been doing commissions?

I’ve had the idea of taking commissions for a long time, but since i had some problems with my bank account, I didn’t really have the opportunity until year and a half ago when I finally got my PayPal account. So roughly two years. ^^

Had you drawn centaurs before?

I only have doodled centaurs. I have never really finished a piece featuring them so this was a nice chance!

What is the most creative commission request you have received?

Once I had the chance to create some fairy/wisp characters a customer of mine included in his book. I had to build them from only the description he included in his book and we both enjoyed the final result!

Is there a particular type of commission that you enjoy doing most?

I feel most comfortable with cell shades because I’ve been doing them the longest, but soft shades are also a nice break-out of my current style. I enjoy doing both.

When drawing just for yourself, is there a certain subject, setting, design, or character that you turn to over and over again?

I don’t have much time to draw for myself, because of my job and university, but when I do, it’s either fan art of a current game/movie/series I’m into- or all sorts of animals. Drawing animals relaxes me and I have to say animals are my favorite thing to draw! The next is human expressions. ^^

What advice would you give to potential clients with regard to presenting creative commission premises (i.e. something beyond just straightforward portraits)?

I’d be happy to know any history the commissioned characters have (if they are original characters ). It really helps a lot knowing the relationship between them. Writing your feelings about the piece you have in mind helps the artist a lot. So don’t be shy to give more information about the piece, so we both can be sure the final result will be satisfying. (: