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Hi. It’s me again.
Here to tell you to raise your commission prices because $50 for a fully painted portrait is straight theft y’all.
Here to tell you to raise your commission prices because $50 for a fully painted portrait is straight theft y’all.
Also if you can’t make ends meet with commissions alone that’s ok. I had a day job for years and did commissions as a side gig until I started getting bigger clients. Even now commissions aren’t my main source of income.
To make this job work you need to have multiple sources of income - I have royalties, client work, a shop, I teach, and commissions help fill the gaps.
I fully admit commissions in the beginning are terrifying. You don’t know if your skills are up to par, you feel bad even asking for money, and you are pouring hours into something that can barely cover groceries. At the very least start paying yourself an hourly minimum wage.
Jen Bartel gave some advice in a podcast where she basically said if you can’t say no to a project then you’re in a really bad spot. I still think about that often. I know Covid has made finding any side job harder, but there will be a post-Covid world.
Side note: If you are working with someone and they say your art isn’t worth what you are charging WHY ARE YOU WORKING WITH THEM?! Also if your fee is outside of someone’s budget there are no hurt feelings. Just say thank you for your interest and move 
on
on
To everyone hung up on $50 for a fully painted portrait, I want you to time yourself start to finish on your next piece. If you can get it done in 5-6 hours great. If you start pushing in to 10-20, well... you see my issue with the price.
So does your following size factor in to the amount of commission requests you have? Unfortunately, yes.
Does that mean you need to belittle yourself and devalue your work? No. That mindset is nasty to get rid of even as you grow. Knock that sh*t out! Be proud of what you do!
Does that mean you need to belittle yourself and devalue your work? No. That mindset is nasty to get rid of even as you grow. Knock that sh*t out! Be proud of what you do!
Gang I didn’t wake up with 20k followers one day. I know what it’s like to have under 500 or 100 followers and be taken advantage of for $10-15/piece. It’s a nightmare. It sent me in to a deep depression. Spend that time working on your portfolio, it’s worth it in the long run.
If this guy can get paid “big bucks,” so can you. https://twitter.com/newyorker/status/1338496762873585664
