# I'm new, am I good enough for comissions?



## JamalBlackson (Sep 26, 2016)

Hi guys, this is my very first post here, I was wondering if any of you guys think i have a chance to make a little money doing commissions, I have never done any, the few times anyone has asked me to draw anything ive done it for free. I usually just draw random OCs, usually humans, but I also really enjoy drawing anthro OCs too.  Here are 4 of my furry OCs and I was wondering what your guy's thoughts are. these are rough sketches, I color in Photoshop but it takes me a really long time so for now im just doing black and white. If anyone is interested or knows anyone that maybe wants an OC done or a fursona please let me know, I can do sketches like this for like 5 bucks a piece  (I hope that's a reasonable price).


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## Toby_Morpheus (Sep 26, 2016)

These are pretty good for sketches.
I'd say on principle, yeah.
I'd probably like to see what the best you have to offer could be first, though.
Just to get the best feel for your work.

Like full color, shading, backgrounds, etc.


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## JamalBlackson (Sep 26, 2016)

here are 4 of my most recent colored pics, 3 are OCs and the other one is sakura miku. I don't know what I should charge for color, it literally takes me like a week to color just 1 character, so like idk im thinking maybe 20 dollars? it definitely takes me at 6+ hours to color, I dont know if my coloring is worth $20 though, as far as backgrounds are concerned, can't do them, too inexperienced in that department and i rather have no background than a bad looking one so.


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## Toby_Morpheus (Sep 26, 2016)

I like these, too.
Especially the blue effect on Marika.

I'd say you're definitely good enough for commissions, though how much you should charge, I couldn't say.
I haven't bought a whole lot of art.
However, I'm certain there would be people who are willing to pay $20 for similar work.

Right now is downtime for the forum, so not a lot of people are on. So I suppose you may have to wait for an estimate from someone who regularly sells/buys artwork.

Other than that, welcome to FA and I hope you do well with your art.
I find it legitimately neat and I hope others will, too.


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## UBA (Oct 1, 2016)

Your coloring isn't bad, though I'd suggest working towards speeding up that process. Colours like that should only take 3 hours tops (that's a solid block of work with no breaks).

Also work on improving your background art skills. Maybe start with abstract shapes at least, but never leave it just a boring gray.

I would recommend offering an entry price of at least $10 for a loose sketch (more for increased refinement in the sketch). For a colored piece (including some sort of background) start at $50. Ask more for more challenging illustrations.

Also, allow your customers a certain amount of flexibility in requesting revisions. Not even the best artist can get a sketch right on the first try. For over X-number of revision passes start asking for reimbursement (you determine what you're comfortable with).

And don't expect to get clients right away and at a consistent rate. You'll need to be promoting yourself constantly in order to get enough  attention (it's a full on job in itself). Try cold calling potential clients as well (maybe offer discounts to get their attention), and don't be afraid of rejection because it'll happen a lot.

Lastly, treat communication with every potential client as a job interview and use proper grammar and punctuation. You'd be surprised how far professionalism in communication will get you.

Hope my perspective on the matter proves useful. Good luck!

-UBA


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## acommabeforedark (Oct 1, 2016)

Yea if coloring takes six hours, you might want to try a simpler method, or practice so you can get faster. Like for instance, even if you keep the colors flat, rather than doing more detailed paintings, I think it would still look good, and could potentially be more appealing to buyers than b&w art. Also, as said above, plain grey backgrounds aren't the most attractive. Even just picking a color that suits the content of the piece well, as you did in your sakura miku drawing, is better than leaving it grey/white. And practicing things like backgrounds/character interaction/different poses and angles could be useful too.


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## JamalBlackson (Oct 20, 2016)

thanks for the info guys, im not sure why im so slow coloring, i can do the sketches super fast but for some reason i just cant color quickly. thanks so much for the info!


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## cosmo-cat (Nov 10, 2016)

yo do you have a furaffinity or a deviantart or something?? i really like your art style


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## JamalBlackson (Nov 13, 2016)

cosmo-cat said:


> yo do you have a furaffinity or a deviantart or something?? i really like your art style



Userpage of foreveralonewizard -- Fur Affinity [dot] net yeah i did a color comission for someone, i charged 15 dollars for the color one, i guess idk i can charge like7 dollars for a sketch, let me know if ur interested


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## Yarik (Nov 13, 2016)

If you can speed up your coloring progress and get these done a lot quicker I'd think you can built on it. Your style is nice - you use good curved and athletic bodies. Most people love that and your shading supports said shapes.
But if you can only take one commission in one week you won't get anywhere with that. You need to do a ton of those to promote yourself and show what you can do. (Did you ever tr<y leather/latex/rubber suits? I honestly think your style would go sooo well with those and there are lots of people that love those outfits (and too less budget-artists that do them well)

But yeha, you got a good skill level already. Don't stop improving. Right now your priority should be to become quicker.


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