Working for free
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For the past summer I have been doing free dog portraits twice a week. They take a lot of time and I love doing them. People are very thankful and in return I ask for a shoutout. Unfortunately they have become monotonous and I want to continue to breathe life into it. I know I am 16 and I dont have many followers but maybe a 20-30 dollar fee would be nice. Go to my Instagram account and maybe judge if it is worth it.
https://instagram.com/thesketchmasterstudios?igshid=8x0ujmti1yt0
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It all depends on what you consider to have the most value. Personally I would very rarely chose to work for free and I wouldn't consider a shout out to have much value. If the paintings don't take more than 2-4 hours then I would say that 20-30 is fair at this stage if you enjoy doing them, however if you are spending a larger amount of time on them, then it may be best to put that energy elsewhere. Focus on spending the time learning animal anatomy, color theory and inking as those are the areas it seems you have an interest in and it will be a valuable part of your art foundation. Explore other artists who you have an interest in and do some master studies or explore their art process, i'm sure that it will prove more valuable to you in the long run than being concerned about instagram followers or low paid commissions
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@Ari-Sorokin You can always ask for the money, and see if anyone bites. In the meantime, you can do dog portraits or any other art you want in your own time - you don't need clients, either free or paying, to practice.
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Once you work for free people expect you to work for free.
Your time and talent are worth something. if you don't wish to deal with money, build an amazon wish list of various priced items and tell people if they are satisfied go to the wish list.
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@jimsz what does this have to do with amazon
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@Gary-Wilkinson what payment service
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Honestly, the only time I work for free is when I sketch an engagement portrait for my friends when they get engaged, or when I do pro-bono work for my church. It's a gift I'm happy to give. But right now, you're doing what's called "getting paid in experience" and that's kind of selling yourself short. It's not about how many followers you have. Doing portraits is a service, and you can be sure that people know they're getting something good for free. There's not necessarily any guarantee that your customers will give you a shoutout...what if they don't? Setting up a Venmo or PayPal and charging a little at first is a good start.
One thing non-artists don't seem to realize is that, yes we enjoy making art, but it is something that takes up our time and resources. People would never dream of not paying a mechanic or doctor or plumber...but if they can get away with getting "free" art from artists, they will unforunately. So charging will help you breathe new life in and also show that you are worth getting paid.
Website: laurenpetiti.myportfolio.com
Instagram: @laurenpetiti"So the man who really loves God could...paint his pictures, even if no man ever saw them. He knows God looks upon them." - Francis Shaffer.
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@Ari-Sorokin said in Working for free:
@jimsz what does this have to do with amazon
if the original poster does not want to ask for a fee for whatever reason, you can create a wish-list on amazon for people to buy you something instead of them paying you. Online gamers and twitch casters use this all the time.
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@Ari-Sorokin Definitely start with some fee. Your work is quite impressive for your age. Keep it up!
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@Ari-Sorokin your work is so good! I believe it's even worth more than 20-30 bucks. Unless it's Disney or some other large entity, don't work for exposure or shout out. if you're scared of charging $20-$30, start with $5 and build up from there. Let people know that you mean business.
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@lpetiti very inspiring words. What dog you do your commissions on, paypal or Venmo?
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@Ari-Sorokin I usually use Venmo
