In recent times, you can now hire your favourite Japanese artists, whom you have been following on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Pixiv, to draw your favourite character. These artists usually share links to their Skeb or Pixiv Request pages. From here, you can order directly to the artist, asking them to draw for you. But between Skeb and Pixiv Request, which service is better? Here, we’ll explore both options and explain the pros and cons of each service.

What is Skeb and Pixiv Request?

A Brief Explanation of Skeb and Pixiv Request

Skeb and Pixiv Request are freelancing platforms that allow creators to sell their creative services to the world. They are similar to Fiverr, one of the most popular freelance platforms, where creators can provide services to anyone. However, Skeb and Pixiv Request are sorts of gachapon: You can’t give feedback, request changes, or see work-in-progress art. Both Skeb & Pixiv Request don’t allow you to talk directly with the artist via a third-party platform or even on their own platform.

The main idea is that you, as the client, will provide an idea within the limited number of characters available per request. Your idea must be short and to the point but detailed enough for the artist to understand what you want. The artist then has a certain amount of time to deliver the request when they agree to your price & idea.

This system helps solve issues where an artist may have clients who run away with their sketches without paying or where an artist goes missing and can’t be contacted. As the client, you pay the exact amount you want based on the fee to the platform first. The platform acts as a third party that pays the artist when they accept and finish the request.

Both platforms are mainly for Japanese artists to open their services to the global world and offer auto-translation. However, Pixiv Request allows non-Japanese artists to provide their services.

Why Choose Skeb or Pixiv Request Then?

It can be hard to communicate with your favourite Japanese artists to request specific artwork, especially if you don’t know Japanese. Even if you do know the language, it’s difficult to pay them if you don’t have access to the local payment method available in Japan. However, both Skeb and Pixiv Request make it easier to connect with artists as they accept global payments, including PayPal and debit/credit cards that support VISA, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.

These platforms have helped me connect with my favourite artists and discover new ones with unique art styles. Since both platforms are linked to my X and Pixiv accounts, it’s easy to sort and find potential artists. Unlike the conventional method where you need to find the right artist and ask them if they are open for work or search through a freelance platform where you may see unrelated work, you can just connect via these platforms.

Now, let’s discuss the positive and negative aspects of using these services and determine which platform is most suitable for you.

Positive Side

Both Provide Automatic Machine Translation & International Payment

One main point why you even consider using both of these platforms in the first place is due to its machine translation that allows you to convey your request that you want to the artists & also the easiness of using your own debit/credit, local payment, and even PayPal.

Let’s talk about the machine translation first. Skeb’s machine translation is powered by DeepL, a professional translation service that uses AI to provide accurate translations. Users can rely on DeepL to translate their requests as closely as possible to the original text. Google Translate and Bing Translate are also available, but DeepL is more reliable.

Here’s one of my requests, as an example. I can’t read Japanese text, so I usually just re-translate the same text again to either DeepL personal & Google Translate. Surprisingly, it’s quite similar to my original text. If you translate it back using DeepL, it’s quite a close match, but if you try to translate it using Google Translate, it’s a bit weird.

Pixiv Request’s machine translation is not clearly stated on their website, but translations do appear depending on the user’s preference.

Aside from the translation aspect, the other positive side is that both of them provide the global payment that we all use which is either VISA or Mastercard. For Skeb specifically, even if you don’t have a credit/debit card, you can use your local payment if it supports Alipay+. For Indonesian readers, you should be able to use your local DANA account, which let you pay using your DANA balance or your payment card. Transacting using a local bank card such as the JAGO Bank VISA debit card is available too, although some cards isn’t. For example, I can’t use my BCA credit/debit card and even my BTPN Jenius credit card for Skeb.

For Pixiv Request, they let you use your debit/credit card and PayPal. Yes, Pixiv Request has more limited options. However, their PayPal option is a good thing, because sometimes, I have some PayPal balance left. Rather than taking it out, it’s better to just use it. 

It’s important to note that both platforms only use Japanese Yen for transactions, so you should check the current exchange rate when using a debit card, Alipay+/local payment, or PayPal.

Skeb Is More User & Mobile Friendly

Skeb provide a good & simple website that is easy to use and you can open it on your PC or even mobile devices. It’s quite a nice experience to use Skeb website as it’s quite straight forward. If you’re unsure what to do, you can check all of the artists’ previous works on the main page. With a little scrolling you can also see other works that the artists has created, other clients, and even the artists that just opened their first skeb request. Too much information? just use the search bar and search your favorite artists or any wordt you want. Navigating the website is really quick and easy.

Submitting a request is also quite straight forward, just open any artists Skeb profile and click “New Request” then you can filled in the details of your request.

After you fill in the necessary information for your request, you will receive a confirmation of the request details and payment method. If you are using a card that supports additional verification, the website will prompt you to fill in the necessary details. This is a good thing as it provides extra safety.

Pixiv Request Artist is Quite Diverse

The major part of Pixiv Request is that it hosted by Pixiv platform! So if you are a Pixiv user, Pixiv Request is a great way to see if your favourite artists are open for any requests. 

I have a lot of artists that I follow on Pixiv. Whenever I want to check if any of them are currently accepting requests, I can just open the “following” section. This way, I can easily see if they are available and also check their recent works. It’s really convenient for me . Sometimes I forget what kind of art they create, so this feature helps me quickly skim through their work without visiting each of their profiles. Skeb doesn’t have this feature. All you can see is their account name, which means you have to open their Skeb profile or account directly to see what they’re all about.

Drawback Side

The Limited Amount of Character That Can be Written When Requesting a Services

To be honest, the major concern of both platforms is their character limit. Usually, it’s around 1000 characters. Adding extra words using links are strictly forbidden by the platform. The machine translation won’t translate the words within the link either. If you want to use either of these platforms, you need to write the request in a short, concise, and easy-to-understand manner to get the desired request. You can’t communicate or see work in progress from the artist itself.

In my case, sometimes I need to specify certain traits of my character. It can take almost half of the limit I can use. Later, I would need to describe the character’s situation and add a URL. I have to utilize almost all the available characters within a single request. Honestly, I want to add more detail to get a more precise result. So, most of the time, I need to rewrite it again and again after doing a quick translation.

However, the positive side of this drawback is that it’s quite addictive. You will always be surprised by the result. It makes you want to request more from the same artist or different artists to see different results.

Skeb Search Function is Hit & Miss

Although Skeb’s main website is user-friendly and mobile-friendly, its search function isn’t always accurate. Sometimes it grabs words in both Japanese and English translation, which can lead to unrelated search results. The same applies when searching for an artist’s name; it can also be hit or miss.

For instance, when I search for a “furry” word, it’s hard to know which artist is available to draw furry. Sometimes, the result is not what we want to see, even when using the safe mode. The search system also doesn’t allow the user to choose what they are searching for. For example, when searching for an artist’s name using the word “cat”, I can find an artist who does not draw cats, but their X name contains the word “cat” due to translation or the account @name containing a word that includes “cat”.

Pixiv Request Isn’t Straight Forward

There are two major issues that you may encounter with Pixiv Request. First, Pixiv Request is not available on Pixiv’s mobile app. You will need to access it on a PC or mobile browser. Second, the website can be quite heavy, which may cause some lag when scrolling.

Additionally, You can’t search for an artist or a keyword directly in Pixiv Request. The only way to find available artists is to either use the normal Pixiv search function or a random tag provided by the system.

If you want to request adult content in Pixiv Request, it is important to note that this option may not be available in your region. For example, the user who lives in Indonesia can only request all-age art due to the regional rules. However, you can change your region to Japan. Keep in mind that this will change the language of the UI to Japanese. Make sure that you have your browser’s auto-translation feature enabled.

Lastly, the payment method lacks an additional payment verification. It means any payments made to Pixiv won’t be noticed until they show on your card’s transaction history.

Conclusion

In the end, the decision of where to request your favourite artists lies in the artists themselves. On which platform are they available? That will be your first question. If they are available on both platforms, it shouldn’t be a major issue for you.

Choosing the best platform can be difficult as it boils down to your personal preference. But if you’re on a budget and don’t want to spend more than 3000 yen, Skeb might be a good place. The minimum cost there is just 500 yen. Moreover, you could get the PSD file as well, which usually is not available in that price range. Also, Skeb is ideal if you want to order “adult content”. There isn’t much of a hassle to do that on Skeb in the first place. You can just find an artist who is willing to do R18 content and check the R18 option on your request. 

Personally, I have been favouring Skeb as my go-to website because of how simple and easy it is to use. Skeb makes it easy for me to find an artist who is willing to draw the “niche” art I want them to draw. It makes me use the service more often as there will always be new stuff being shared publicly from other requesters too. But whenever my favourite artists are available there, I usually rely on Pixiv Request instead. This is especially true for artists who do not have an X account or are non-Japanese.

I hope this overview of both Skeb and Pixiv Request can help you choose where to start your request. May the God of RNG bless you with a good result on your request, whichever platform you choose.

The Indonesian Anime Times | by Cakra Bhirawa