Q. Will you draw something for me for free? I'm sure you can just whip something off, real quick.

Please don't ask me to work for free. While I appreciate that there are many good causes and opportunities for "great exposure" out there, I have been having to cut down on my pro bono work so I can focus on paid work. 

Some people assume that because I tend to draw quickly, that I can just "whip something off" for them. Drawing to someone's spec, however, is not the same as just drawing for myself. It feels like WORK. Even when I'm doing it for a friend.

And yes, you may SAY that you won't be picky, that anything will be fine, but I've found that even though someone may say that anything I draw will be fine, it almost always isn't. :-) ("I -love- it, it's GREAT! But would it be at all possible for you to make this one small tweak....").

Plus when I draw for someone else, no matter how casual the circumstance, my art is still going to be representing my work. Now that I'm doing this for a living, I'm more conscious of what I post online. 

Thanks for understanding.

Last updated on May 13, 2016 by Debbie Ohi