Look, I've been playing tabletop games for most of my life. Started with Pathfinder in high school, moved to 5e when everyone else did.

I'm not new to this. But somehow, after all these years, I just realized I've been playing on hard mode.

Not mechanically. Socially.

Because for the longest time, I never had custom character art for my OC.

Here's the thing about D&D in 2025: everyone has professional character art except you.

I was playing this Aasimar Forge Cleric named Ember. She's got heterochromia (green and amber eyes), sick Kintsugi-style gold scars across her face, and a mechanical Damascus steel arm.

In my head? She looked like she walked out of a Final Fantasy game.

On Roll20? She was a red "E" in Comic Sans.

The visual disconnect is brutal. I'm describing this badass warrior-blacksmith with intricate details, and everyone's picturing... what?

Generic Female Cleric #3?

I tried using good ol' ChatGPT to create some stand-in art but it just felt kinda “off”, it wouldn’t get the details right after 30 minutes of prompting it and it would fix one thing then mess up another.

The final portrait just felt lifeless and slightly embarassing so I ended up sticking to my E.

Why are the tongs floating?😭

Why This Actually Matters for Gameplay

The Commission Speedrun Attempt (Any % Failure)

So I decided to finally get art. How hard could it be? I've modded Skyrim. I've built PCs. I can figure out art commissioning.

I also wanted to see what my players go through when they try to commission art.

Attempt 1: The Reddit Strat

Posted on r/hungryartists and r/artcommissions.

"Looking for artist for Aasimar Cleric, $80 budget, details in comments."

Inbox immediately floods with portfolios. We're talking 40+ messages in two hours.

Felt like launching a game on release day. Started checking portfolios. First red flag: three different artists had the same "original" piece.

Reverse image search revealed it's from an ArtStation account from 2017.

Went down the rabbit hole.

Out of 40 messages:

• 18 were straight-up stolen portfolios
• 8 were fully AI-generated
• 5 wanted full payment upfront through PayPal F&F
• 6 did not have any relevant dnd art in their portfolios
• 3 seemed legit but were way above budget ($250+)

Success rate: 0%

Attempt 2: The Fiverr Grind

Fine. I'll use a platform with buyer protection. Fiverr's search is like Steam's discovery queue - 90% shovelware.

"$5 DND CHARACTER ART PROFESSIONAL"

next to

"$500 Premium Fantasy Illustration."

Zero consistency.

I messaged around 30 artists but most of them just never got back to me, or said that they weren't doing commissions anymore.

Finally found someone with decent reviews.

Sent detailed references:

• "Mechanical arm is Damascus steel pattern, NOT chrome"
• "Scars are GOLD like Kintsugi, not regular scars"
• "Left eye green, right eye amber"

Waited. And waited. After TWO WEEKS of silence, I messaged again. Nothing.

But the good news is that I submitted a claim through paypal and at least got my money back.

Final Attempt : Social Media

Twitter/X artists? Either:

• Closed commissions
• Only draw in styles that don't match D&D at all
• Charge AAA game prices
• Haven't posted in 8 months

Instagram? The algorithm shows me everything except artists taking commissions. And cold DMing artists with 5000+ followers felt a bit intimidating at least for me.

The Hidden Boss: Commission Anxiety

Here's what nobody prepares you for - the mental load of commissioning.

You're not just buying art.

You're also :

• Playing detective to avoid scams
• Learning art terminology on the fly
• Managing a freelance project
• Negotiating prices without market knowledge
• Describing complex visuals with zero art vocabulary

Even as an artist myself, I struggled to communicate what I wanted when I was on the buyer side.

How do you convey "Kintsugi but make it battle scars" to a stranger on the internet?

The cognitive overhead is insane. I've spent less mental energy on actual work projects.

The Moment Everything Changed

Six months into the campaign. Everyone's updating character art for the new arc. I'm still rocking the same token.

DM asks if I need help with Roll20. "No, I just... don't have art yet."

Awkward silence.

That's when it hit me - I'd spent probably 20+ hours trying to commission a single character portrait.

Twenty hours I could've spent actually creating art myself.

I'm an artist. I create D&D portraits for other people all the time. But even I couldn't navigate this broken system as a buyer.

If I'm struggling this much, what about everyone else?

So I decided to fix it.

Building the Solution I Wished Existed

I built FondlyFramed from the ground up based on every single painful lesson I learned. No massive team, no corporation - just me, creating a system that actually works.

I created what I call the Guided Commission System, built to solve every pain point:

• I do all the art myself - No quality roulette, no style mismatches, no communication breakdowns
• The Ultimate Character Blueprint - I developed a structured form that translates your ideas into something I can visualize, even if you have zero art vocabulary
• Secure, transparent process - Clear pricing, secure payments, regular updates (because I've been ghosted too)
• Unlimited revisions included - Because I know how important getting every detail right is
• Heroic Money Back Guarentee - Just to help you jump in and feel safe commissioning from a stranger online

The blueprint was the breakthrough. Instead of expecting clients to write novels or know art terminology, it asks specific, clear questions that actually help me understand their vision.

Its free! (the blueprint, that is)

Creating Ember (Finally)

Of course, I could draw Ember perfectly - she's MY character. But here's what I wanted to test: Could my blueprint capture all the details I normally just keep in my head? Would it actually help organize the chaos of character visualization?

So I did something weird. I filled out my own blueprint for Ember as if I was a client, pretending I couldn't just draw her from memory.

Check it out here.

The process was eye-opening. The blueprint forced me to make decisions I'd been vague about:

• Which specific shade of green for her left eye? (Phthalo, not forest)
• Exact placement of the Kintsugi scars? (Network pattern across left cheek and forehead)
• How does the Damascus steel transition at her elbow? 

What shocked me was how much faster this was than my usual artistic process. Instead of sketching and re-sketching to "find" the character, I had a clear roadmap.

20 minutes of filling out the form replaced 20 hours of trial and error.

The blueprint had accidentally solved my own artist problem too - it wasn't just for clients, it was a better way to plan ANY character art.

So I put pencil to paper (well, stylus to tablet) and created Ember using nothing but the blueprint as my guide.

And for the first time in six months of playing her, she was finally real:

The Campaign-Changing Reveal

Updated my token without announcement. Just dropped Ember's portrait into Roll20.

The Discord call goes silent for a second. Then:

"YO WHAT THE F*** IS THAT YOUR CLERIC?" "The ARM though" "Wait she has GOLD SCARS?" "Why does she look like she could solo Tiamat"

Suddenly everyone remembers Ember's crafting abilities. The rogue starts asking about getting mechanical upgrades. The DM begins describing how NPCs react to her unique appearance.

My character went from background noise to main character energy in one session.

The Real Cost Analysis

Let's talk numbers

Traditional Commission Roulette:

• Hours spent: 20+
• Money risked on scams: $80
• Stress induced: Immeasurable
• Success rate: 0% ~ 25%
• Money Back Guarentee : Not Likely

FondlyFramed (me):

• Hours spent: 1 to 2 (filling out a straightforward blueprint)
• Money Risked: $0
• Stress: None
• Success rate: 100%
• Money Back Guarentee : if you dont like your first concept for any reason. (hence the $0 risked)

That's less than a collector's edition game.

Less than a decent set of metal dice.

Less than the PHB/DMG/MM combo.

For something you'll use every single session?

The math checks out.

What I Know Now That I Wish I Knew Then

Real talk for anyone in the same boat:

• The current commission system is fundamentally broken. It's not you. The whole thing is held together with Discord DMs and prayer.
• Scammers are incredibly sophisticated now. They have fake reviews, stolen portfolios, even fake social media histories. You're not paranoid - it's actually that bad.
• "Just find an artist" is boomer advice. Like telling someone to "just buy a house." The landscape has completely changed.
• Visual representation directly impacts gameplay enjoyment. It's not vanity. It's user experience.
• Paying for a solution is better than wasting time on a broken system. Your time has value. Your sanity has value.

Why I Built This

I built FondlyFramed because I lived this problem. Every frustration you've felt trying to get character art?

I've been there. The difference is, I had the unique position of being both an artist AND a frustrated player who could actually fix the problem.

Now I spend my days bringing characters to life without any of the BS that made it so painful for me - and for you.

Playing without character art is like playing on a CRT monitor. Sure, it works, but you're missing out on the full experience.

The traditional commission process is Dark Souls without checkpoints - unnecessarily punishing and full of ways to lose progress.

Your character deserves better than a token. You deserve better than commission anxiety.

Sometimes the right solution is admitting the current system sucks and building something that actually works.

Here's What Makes FondlyFramed Different

I built every part of this to solve the exact problems that made me rage-quit commissioning:

• Heroic Money-Back Guarantee - Commission with zero risk. If you're not thrilled with the concept after 2 weeks, full refund. No questions, no drama.
• Unlimited Revisions - Remember that "$30 for changes" BS? Yeah, I don't do that here. I'll revise until it's perfect.
• Bust Up, Half-Body, or Full-Body. Pick your size, know your price. That's it.
• Beginner-Friendly Process - Can't describe art to save your life? My Ultimate Character Blueprint translates your ideas into something I can actually draw.
• 2-Week Turnaround - Not "sometime eventually maybe." Two weeks. Set your calendar.
• Direct Communication - You're talking to me, the artist. Not a middleman, not a bot. Just me, Jan, who gets it.

After 300+ characters brought to life, I've got this down to a science. No anxiety, no detective work, no praying to RNGesus that you'll actually get your art.

Ready to Finally See Your Hero?

Fair warning: I only take ~15 commissions per month now because I refuse to rush these.

Your character has waited long enough to be more than a token.

P.S. - Ember's mechanical arm has started a whole subplot about ancient artificer technology. Sometimes good art literally creates story opportunities.

But wait... there's more?!

I've spent the last 3 months obsessing over one question: What would make me lose my mind if someone did it for MY character?

The answer changed everything.

FREE July 2025 Only : Living Motion Portraits

What if your character didn't just exist as a static portrait... what if they could breathe?

Every commission this month now also includes a Living Motion version of your finalized portrait:

• Subtle breathing movements
• Eyes that occasionally blink
• Hair that shifts in an unseen breeze
• Magic effects that actually shimmer
• Shadows that dance across their face

Not cartoon animation. Just enough movement to make your party go "WAIT, DID THAT JUST MOVE?"

Here's the thing: Once I get the word out about this, I'll be swamped.

These take serious time to create.

After next month, Living Motion becomes a $50 premium add-on.

But you? You're here before the crowd.

Consider this my thank-you for trusting me before everyone else catches on.

Your character has waited years to exist.

Now they can actually live.

P.P.S. - There might be millions of other artists who draw better than me. But trust me when I say this, you won't find anyone who will bring your character to life like this.