SuperApe!

[Dobbinsky]

A guy offered to pay me $120 for this in color, and then told me he had hired someone else before I finished it!

Sheesh!

[therafalee]

$120 is a lot for something so simple like this.

When I do commissions I only start working after I get half of the payment on my Paypal, and only submit full size resolution to the commissioner after the second half.

[Stewart Vernon]

This is why you kind of have to ask for something up front. Most of my contract work has been as a Technical Writer/Illustrator... I used to do work for some companies who would start a project, then drop it part way through and they would really drag their feet OR not want to pay when they dropped a project.

I had to amend our contract at that point to where I wouldn't start a job for them unless they paid half up front. If they paid half up front and then wanted to cancel the project not because of my work, I kept the deposit and delivered to them the work in its current state. If we finished the project, then I invoiced them for the remaining balance.

This kept them on their toes about not jumping the gun to involve me in dicey projects... and also encouraged them to finish what they started once they had me on the clock.

I haven't done any commission comic art at this point that I charged for... just some free stuff for friends because I wanted to... but depending on the project I would definitely have to ask for 20-50% up front before I would start any meaningful work because of just this sort of thing.

[Dobbinsky]

I had only done the pencils when I found out I wasn't getting the job. There was to be a background as well, but I never found out what it was. Finished piece was to be in color and shaded as well.

I inked it to show here.

I don't get enough Freelance yet to be picky, I have to take chances sometimes. This is the first time I haven't gotten paid.

Learning experience!