Its occurred to me that people will pay good money for art. I thought to myself about it and decided that to boost my art and make a little side profit I could start a $2 commission thingy. By giving me $2 I will draw a character in my style. Fully coloured and detailed shading. Although i haven't actually done or bothered to do this I was just wondering about DD's view on commissions.

Extra money could really help towards those copic markers I really need.

DD doesn't mind if people do commissions, etc.

Shouldn't this go in networking and community?

Well its about art and judging by an admin not moving it i would say no.
But then again im probibly wrong anyway.

Good luck with that.

Rendering something in your own style is not much of a draw for most people. For the average person, a style isn't something to get attached to much. People might be willing to pay for commission work on the basis that they have something in mind that fits the style you work in, but the draw for them is that they want the image they have in mind rather than the style at that point. Despite what you might think, and this applies especially on a site like drunkduck, deviantart, etc. where the majority of the community is already made up of amateur artists, commissions are not especially a big market. Most people trade fan art and the like, but they're not usually going to pay someone else to just render their character in a new style.

If you want to begin making money on creating artwork, you're better off learning the ropes of the fields like graphic design or illustration and creating a portfolio of work to display your conceptual and artistic abilities. What people look for in an illustrator is the ability to bring a different perspective and way of thinking in addition to a personal style. Some folks just want you to draw what they tell you, but those are usually younger folks who haven't learned to trust their artists enough yet.

Either that or you can go the route of fine art and begin creating a professional body of work to display in the hopes that someone will be interested in purchasing it. However, my experience is that this route is difficult to make a consistent living off of and that sales in fine art are rare. Most fine artists wind up getting a job doing something else like teaching or graphic design in order to support themselves.

A quick, relatively easy way to earn a little money ( though I seriously hesitate to mention it. ) is to create a stock portfolio. Things like microstock can sell quite well and aren't too much of a serious threat to the profession because they're only the components of a design instead of a full illustration. They have to be something that the people buying them couldn't replicate themselves in 5 minutes, without spending an excess of time on it yourself, but if you can manage that and create a sizable portfolio, then you can make a bit of money despite the low download fees you earn.

And that post was what i was hoping for.

Ill take that on board.

same
Well its about art and judging by an admin not moving it i would say no.
But then again im probibly wrong anyway.

Well, in this thread you were just asking about DD's position on it. A thread where you're actually advertising the commissions would go in net/comm. Usually commission threads have samples and such. :] $2 seems a bit cheap as well and might actually drive people away, don't price yourself too low or it will look like you don't value your own work.

I've seen several people offer $5 avatars, signature banners, or livejournal userpics as commissions. You'll still have to have something to offer that people will want to buy.

Yeah $2 is a bit cheap but its not because i dont value my work. Its just affordability really. Also i wouldnt really charge too much for something like that.

I'd try upping the price. 5 bucks seems reasonable, as long as you're professional about it. (finish the colors, straight lines, that kind of stuff)

I actually do a lot of art commissions on the side to pay off my bills :D($5 - $15 per colored image, sometimes more depending on the size/detail). Like the poster above me mentioned, if you're very professional, flexible and most importantly, friendly, there are TONS of people out there who will pay for your services ^^.

Honestly, I think commissions are only profitable if you're famous enough.

alwinbot
Honestly, I think commissions are only profitable if you're famous enough.

Good point.