"So then why post it at all?" you may ask... Well, this experience taught me a valuable lesson about the fundamental difference between how artists and writers approach their respective crafts...
While they seem virtually the same in many aspects (our mannerisms and impulses, the things that can cause artistic block, and just our general eccentricities), there is a cardinal difference that I didn't yet understand at the time. The way a writer "sees" a scene is completely different from how an artist sees it. As a writer, my job is to paint a picture in the reader's head; ergo, my descriptions of actions needs to be in-depth in order to convey them to my audience. By the same token however, descriptions of characters and scenes need not always be super literal because I count on the audience's imagination to fill in the gaps themselves. For an artist, these concepts are completely literal because the nature of their work necessitates it; there is no allowing for the audience to fill in the blanks in their mental picture because they're looking at an actual picture.
The problem that arose was twofold. First off, we were on a tight timetable. I was preparing to enlist at the time; by the time my commission came up, I had about a week to get it done... Second is the fact that I don't see things the way an artist does; the reference that I had in my head, as a writer, was not nearly detailed enough to translate into art. Details like exact height and exact fur patterns and hair length and style aren't as important to me as a writer, I'm more focused on building a character's identity and voice. The real sticking point ended up being Lina's hair; all I had really determined at the time was that she was supposed to have long, straight hair. My vision of her character was that Lina was the more aggressive of the two, in the case of their playtime anyway, which is why she is on top. However, because I don't think like an artist, the thought never occurred to me of how that would actually look. In this position, her hair would block off all the naughty bits, defeating the purpose of the picture completely. From my perspective, the fact that that position and angle would be blocked of by her hair is a complete non-factor because that obstruction wouldn't be present in the mental image of the scene when it's written out... So, while I struggled to come up with a solution to this that would fit with the character I had designed, the clock ran out...
I suppose I could have asked to have it finished, but the artist is a very busy person themselves so that seems kinda selfish to cut into the time taken out fer his current commissions to work on this forgotten one... Also, since then the story has been scrapped so this would have no relevance... Sorry, Lina, I guess you'll have to wait until I can find another place for you...
Anyway, the moral of the story is, when building a character from scratch for the purpose of art, have a solid, literal picture in your head of the characters and the positions.
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