YCH stands for “Your Character Here”. It is a type of art commission where the artist draws a pose or scene first, leaves the character blank, and then sells that empty slot. Whoever buys it sends their own character, and the artist finishes the piece with that character in the pose.
The short version: the artist decides what the picture looks like, and you decide who is in it.
Why artists draw YCHs instead of normal commissions
A normal commission starts with a blank page and a conversation. The client describes what they want, the artist interprets it, and both sides spend time getting to a shared idea before a line is drawn.
A YCH inverts that. The artist draws the thing they already wanted to draw — a pose they find interesting, a composition they can light well, a scene they can finish quickly — and sells it to whoever wants their character in it. The design work is done once and sold once, but the uncertainty is gone. The artist knows exactly how long the piece will take.
For buyers, the trade is simple. You give up control over the pose, and in exchange you usually pay less and wait less than you would for a fully custom piece.
What the dashed figure means
On most YCH listings you will see a character drawn as a solid silhouette and another drawn as a dashed or empty outline. The dashed one is the slot. That is where your character goes.
If a listing has two dashed figures, it is usually selling two slots, or selling one slot to someone who wants two of their own characters in the piece. The listing should say which. If it does not, ask before bidding.
The four kinds of listing you will see
YCH auction
The most common. The artist sets a starting bid, people bid against each other, and the highest bidder when the clock runs out gets the slot. Prices can climb well past the start if the pose is popular.
Fixed price slot
No bidding. The artist names a price and the first person to claim it gets the slot. Often used when there are several identical slots available.
Adoptable
Not a slot at all. The artist has designed an original character and is selling the character itself — the design, the name if there is one, and the right to use it. You are not putting your character in; you are buying a new one.
Raffle
Everyone pays a small entry fee, and one entry is drawn to receive the slot. Cheaper to enter, but you probably will not win. Some sites ban these outright because they sit close to gambling.
What YCH prices actually look like
There is no standard rate, but the shape is predictable. A simple bust or headshot slot in flat colour usually starts in the $10 to $30 range. A full body with shading tends to start between $30 and $80. Detailed pieces with backgrounds, complex rendering or multiple characters start higher and often finish well above $150.
Two numbers matter as much as the starting bid:
- Autobuy — pay this and the auction ends immediately, the slot is yours. Useful if you actually want the piece rather than the thrill of bidding.
- Minimum increment — the smallest amount each new bid must add. It stops people outbidding each other by a cent at a time.
What you need before you bid
Have a character reference ready. This can be a proper reference sheet, or just two or three clear images that show your character’s colours, markings and any details that matter. If your character has an asymmetric marking, heterochromia, a specific horn shape, a prosthetic — say so explicitly. Artists work from what they can see.
Read the artist’s terms before bidding, not after. The things worth checking:
- How long delivery takes, and whether that is from payment or from your reference arriving
- Whether revisions are included, and how many
- What you may do with the finished piece — personal use, icons, commercial use
- Whether the artist will refuse certain character types or content
- What happens if you do not pay
How to avoid getting burned
The YCH world runs largely on trust, and most of it works. The problems cluster in a few places.
Check the delivery record, not the promise. An artist claiming a two-day turnaround means less than a visible history of completed pieces. On YCHive the delivery rate and turnaround on every artist card come from confirmed completed orders, not from what the artist says about themselves.
Never pay outside the agreed method. If someone asks for a PayPal friends-and-family transfer, you lose all buyer protection. Artists asking for this are sometimes just trying to dodge fees, but you are the one carrying the risk.
Keep the conversation on the platform. If the whole exchange happens in DMs and something goes wrong, there is no record anyone can look at.
Be careful with sniping. On sites without protection, a bid in the final seconds can take a slot you have been watching for days. Sites with anti-snipe extend the clock when a late bid lands, so the highest bidder wins rather than the fastest connection.
What YCH means if you are the artist
YCHs solve the two problems that make commissions exhausting: unpredictable scope and unpredictable income. You draw one thing well, and you sell it to the person who wants it most.
The pieces that resell best share a few traits. The pose reads clearly at thumbnail size. The character is generic enough to fit many body types — no fixed hair, no locked-in species where it can be avoided. And the composition leaves room for markings and colours to show.
A template you can recolour repeatedly is worth far more than a single perfect drawing, because you can sell it again to a different buyer next month.
Common questions
Is YCH the same as an adoptable?
No. A YCH puts your existing character into the artist’s pose. An adoptable is a new character the artist designed, which you buy outright.
Do I own the finished YCH?
You own the copy and normally may use it personally — icons, profiles, posting with credit. The artist usually keeps copyright and the right to display it in their portfolio. Commercial use is generally a separate arrangement. Check the terms.
Can I get a YCH of a canon character?
Many artists will not draw fanart of copyrighted characters for money, and some platforms ban it. Ask first.
What happens if I win and cannot pay?
You lose the slot, it usually passes to the next bidder, and you will likely be blocked from bidding again. Do not bid what you cannot pay within the artist’s stated window.
How long does a YCH take to arrive?
Most artists quote somewhere between a few days and a few weeks. The clock generally starts when payment clears and your reference arrives, not when the auction ends.
Where to find them
You can browse open YCH slots, adoptables, fixed-price commissions and raffles on YCHive, or look through the artist directory to find someone whose style suits your character before anything goes live.
If you are an artist, listing a slot is free and YCHive takes no commission on the sale — the buyer pays you directly.