Initially I was going to send particular people a note about this but then I began to realize just how many people that would involve and I don't see where getting a copy+paste letter is really all that nice. The simplest way to explain it is that, due to circumstances out of my control, my iMac is no longer even remotely functional. This has me now borrowing my sister's MacBook to use the net and work on art or writing. I've lost not only all of the files that were on my computer but also my backups on my external drive. Fortunately, I did not lose either my base station or my wacom. So I still have the net at home AND I can still work. I'm very grateful. I'm very depressed about some of the stuff that I lost. Much of it could never be replaced. I've also had a major setback to the progress on my book. I only had some very rough stuff backed up to a promo CD. Essentially, I have to start over. I also lost quite a bit of final illustration art which my sister and I had been doing. Due to the time constraints of my project I simply cannot afford to take the time to redo that myself. Which also brings me to the fact that I cannot afford to buy a new computer or replace Photoshop right now. (Dona has Photoshop Elements which is a nice make-do kind of thing but I am already missing the full version.)

I'd like to ask if there is anyone who would want to commission me for any art or writing. I can't take the time to do anything that doesn't pay but I'd be very willing to work cheaply if the request was reasonable. Mature content is not out of the question depending on what it is. If you're interested you can send me a note with the details and I'll get back to you asap. If anyone has suggestions or advice on how to go about doing commissions please don't hesitate to leave me a comment in reply to this. I never did any artwork for payment before and good advice on that would be worth as much to me as actually getting a commission.

My basic impression right now is that I might be able to squeeze in about three hours in a day toward working on any commission. I think 10 USD an hour is a fair price to ask for anything that is simple and doesn't require significant development. If you want something that would obviously be quite time-consuming then I think 20 USD an hour is fair because this could lock me into something that will downplay my availability to potential future clients and hurt business over an extended period of time. This price would be the same for either writing or art. I should really charge a lot more than that for my writing but it's hard to be proud of your background and skill when you need money. When you write me about your project I will give you an estimate of the time I expect it would take me and then I need a 50% payment in advance when we agree on the job. I will NOT miss a deadline without a very good reason and with the supply of this reason will also come a full refund. Work will begin on any project the day AFTER we agree on it. This is because I may need additional time to research before beginning and I will also give you that day to supply me with any extra instructions you might realize are necessary. There will be no charge for the time I spend doing any necessary research. There will be no revised price for receiving instructions to revise the concept as long as such necessary revisions can be accomplished in the same amount of time as I originally estimated. If such revision does cause me to decide the price must be changed I will not ask for any extra security deposit but I will explain the difference in the final payment price. If you wish to back out at that point I am warning you in advance that I will not provide a refund of that security deposit. This is your fault if you didn't consider such a significant difference in the scale of the original assignment and the revised assignment and then know you could not afford anything bigger but went ahead and asked me for it after an agreement had been made. (I'm not an idiot.) I believe everything up to that point is very considerate of someone who does not mean to try to take advantage of me. Anyone else, I really hope to impress you with my willingness to cooperate with you to achieve the vision you have for my work.

Disclaimer: There are certain things that I won't do. Don't ask me because it's a waste of our time. I will not portray in text or visually any act that is grossly and unnecessarily violent. I will not portray any interaction between characters that seems to promote some kind of abuse. I will not describe or portray any content that could be used as propaganda for religious or political purposes. I will not provide you with any services that I feel may be intended as an aid to commit some kind of fraud. I will not knowingly infringe on any trademark or copyright and if I find out that you tricked me into doing so I will take legal action against you. I will not ghost anything for you to be promoted as your own work. If I find out that you tricked me into this I will sue you. I will not do work for you that has any future commercial application without a full explanation of the extended usage and negotiating new terms that might be necessary. These commissions are considered to be for private use and exhibition. You may not display or publish them anywhere for profit without my knowledge. You may not display or publish them anywhere without crediting me. No work done by me may be used for ANY kind of advertising whatsoever, including becoming a derivative work! It doesn't matter if it would benefit me or not. I will not negotiate this term. You may share, publish, and display anything I do for you as long as you do so free of charge and properly credit me. I am, however, open to being contacted for collaborative works which may modify some of these terms. If it is partly your work I will accept that my conditions may be irrelevant or unnecessary. Unless a special situation calls for something unusual, all of these commissions are limited to products or services that can be rendered digitally and delivered over the internet. I will not ship you anything or do traditional work for you unless I make a special exception based on a purely subjective case-by-case decision.

Tips: Preparing relevant resources such as references, background, and profiles of characters will probably significantly improve your satisfaction with the result. Clear and comprehensive explanation of any concepts or elements that cannot be researched is really necessary to an expectation that I can actually render them. Knowing current exchange rates will reduce the shock of price quotes. Properly calibrating your monitor will greatly increase the consistency between what I see on my screen and what you see on yours. Any prints made from your file afterwards will not have optimum quality unless I am informed of this intention so that I can prepare the file for printing. If you prefer to discuss your project in person and have me take notes that you can approve before I start I am available for chatting/voice-chatting via skype. You can make an appointment with me in your note and I will agree to meet you at a convenient time and discuss the project for at least an hour unless you don't desire an appointment that long.

Preferences: I will admittedly be far more enthusiastic about any assignment that is more fantasy-oriented, more surreal, or more uncommon. I vastly prefer portrayals of characters who do not fit mainstream definitions of cool. For instance, I intensely dislike anti-heroes but adore anti-villains. I'm also very fond of protagonists like children, outcasts, underdogs, and very dynamic characters that change throughout a story. As a special note, I will be extremely resistant to the idea of portraying women as submissive or inferior without that being absolutely essential to a character who is part of an overall plot that does not support that idea. Wonder Woman being tied up by her sorority friends only to break free as an illustration that weakness is an attitude is going to be far preferable to a pretty, terrified topless girl tied to a pole in some jungle waiting to be rescued by a tanned hunk and then fainting in his arms. So far preferable to that you will probably not be able to convince me to do the latter without some very effective explanation. For example, Conan in Robert E. Howard's works often has that situation but Conan is generally very respectful of women and has the utmost admiration and infatuation for women who are notably stronger and more independent. I can stomach that. Other than these notes I am very open to being given projects that have nothing to do with my preferences simply because I enjoy collaborating with people and this is largely the reason why I never charged before. Despite my bad situation with so much lost I am actually very excited as I write this. I look forward to doing this with anyone who is interested and I promise to do my best with each commission.

If you are someone who I owe a great deal to as a mentor, previous collaborator, or supportive friend please don't be surprised if I give you a discount. I am not so desperate for money that I have forgotten proper gratitude.