Hi!
As some of you might know, I am, along with a bunch of the people around, some graphic amateurs who sometime will make you a nice signature for a fee in-game. (or maybe free, if we are really nice to you.)
BUT!
We are no gods! By no means can we guess what you want, and being humans, we have real life matters as well. Making a signature takes time, and if you wish to have your commission done fast, efficiently and in YOUR taste, here are a few hints for you.
First:
-While some might ask a very low fee (When I first started, my signatures were 5M each), be generally prepared to pay roughly around 20M, or more.
-Know what you want. Some people came to me "hey make me a sig okaybye". We do not want that. Be as PRECISE as possible, offer an encyclopedia worth of details if necessary!
-However! Do not ask for the impossible! Do not, for instance, ask a render of a gundam made out of Freelancer ship (dramatic improbable example) or a girl with curly red hair, a lolipop in her mouth, wearing this clothing and that mascara and those shoes I saw in this magasine -NO, we can, at some extent, modify a render, but never create an entirely new one for you - few of us are capable, and anyway, you'd need to pay somewhere in the billions for anyone to accept doing this.
-Try to be clear in your descriptions. No 1337 speak. Think of what you want to say, re read twice.
Second:
-It is a good idea to make a search for renders yourself. Not only would you know what you will have in your signature will be something you want, but it will save CONSIDERABLE time to your signature maker.
-Try to bring a quality render from games. Good places, such as www.planetrenders.com, are excellent choice. Otherwise, try to choose a picture where the object is in front of a fairly easy to cut out background (ie: plain white background).
-Do not take a render where the background colour and the object you wishes to cut out are nearly of similar colour.
-Do not take a ridiculously small picture as a render. We are not magician, and yes, your picture will pixelate if we enlarge it. Less than on MS paint, but still will be ugly.
Third:
-Be polite to them. If they are slow, patiently ask for progress once in a while. They have a life too.
-Don't be offended if they refuse your commissions. This does (usually) not mean they hate you, but more probably because your order is above their skill, or maybe they estimate it too time consuming.
-Remember to pay as soon as possible! Frustrating a signature maker might mean you will -never- get anything else from any of us once you gain a reputation of "thief". Words spread, very fast.
when you're making a picture, write down some 'buzz-words' (sorry, I spent FAR too long in ad-land) that are one-word descriptions of the final result.
Then, do a google image search, and be prepared to spend at least an hour saving a bunch of images that you think are suitable. As, Yue said, its REALLY important the contrast between the foreground and background is as high possible, so the picture can be cut out in a coupla clicks.
Ideally, there would be no text overlying the image, cos thats a bit*h to try to remove.
The more artwork you provide, the faster it can be put together, and you'll prolly pay less too...
Also, keep a lookout for people on TV while looking for characters. While you're watching with the family and you see an actor/actress and a little voice in your head says "Hey, that looks kinda like my character ____.", remember it and look it up later. Easy stock, and a help to the sig maker if they have multiple images to choose from.