Finally got my first commission piece done after 3 years of drawing

I started digital art back in 2021 just for fun, mostly doing fan art in my bedroom in Portland. Last month a friend asked me to draw their cat for a birthday gift and I actually got paid $50 for it. I finished it this morning after tweaking the fur texture for like 2 hours. Has anyone else had a random request turn into a paid gig out of nowhere?

3 comments

3 Comments

bell.jessica6d ago

Wait, three years drawing total or three years on this one piece? $50 for a cat portrait that took multiple days seems a bit low, but hey, that first paid gig feels amazing no matter what. @pat_harris is totally right about the snowball effect too. People love seeing custom art and once word gets out you'll have friends of friends reaching out. Just don't let the excitement make you forget to charge more next time. I've seen too many artists get stuck at friend prices for years because they never raised them after that first job.

pat_harris6d ago

I've had that exact thing happen with the "random request turned into paid gig" bit. Yeah, a friend asked me to make a sign for their small business once, and before I knew it I had three other people asking for the same thing. The thing about those unexpected jobs is they can really snowball if you handle them right, so keep that in mind. Maybe set a clear price from the start for the next one, because people will keep coming back once they know you're good at something...

blair_torres706d ago

Oh man, I totally get that! Charging $40 for my first pet portrait led to five more right away.