you are not charging enough for your commissions
I know why--the fandom/online economy includes a lot of our friends who are also super broke, so it feels like a dick move to charge them more than 20 bucks
but your shit is worth so much more than that.
ESPECIALLY if you're doing any rendering. ESPECIALLY if that rendering includes color.
Sketches should be messy--if your shit isn't scribbly spagetti, what you have should be charged as lineart, because that's what it is. It just may not be 'final line'. Labeling it as a 'sketch' fucks with everyone's perspective of what a sketch should look like, how much detail it should have and how much effort it should take to make it.
The gap between what ppl charge for full line, even messy line, here in online circles and what ppl charge 'in the industry' ie for commercial use in magazines or TV ads or websites, is massive.
I'm talking full body line of one character, no rendering, being easily 300, and a full render with color reaching into 3k or higher, depending on the amount of detail.
I know its scary to raise your rates, viscerally I know that, but we are hurting each other by asking for so little for so much. It skews everyone's perception of what art by demand is worth, and reinforces that you can't possibly make a living wage doing art you love.
If you're in highschool, fine, charge 25 bucks for finished work, but if you're an adult being commissioned by other adults, raise your prices.
Art is a luxury item, made on demand, and not everyone can afford that. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be paid what you're worth. Yes, even if its fanart.
And if you're a fan of an artist who raises their prices; support them. Gas them up. Save up to commission them. Please.
