I Am Doing A Few Commissions

I get requests to make art all the time. Most of those requests are from folks who want free stuff. It's partly my fault, having a little impostor syndrome, mixed with lack of experience and a bit of always wanting to help a friend out. 

For a while, I was also getting requests for art that had nothing to do with my style or subject matter. I make line art with ink washes of robots and caricatures of people. When I get requests to do paintings of landscapes or true-to-life portraits, it's clear that person has no clue as to what I do. Just because a person makes art, doesn't mean we make all art. 

I've also been burned on a few art requests. Somebody promised to pay me for art, only to ghost me after the work is done.

I've decided to try doing commissions again, but this time better prepared. I've got a whole new process of steps and information that I share with potential clients to set expectations. If they agree to those terms, we can start making art. 

My rate is probably below industry standards, but high enough to make sure folks, who want commissions, are serious enough to not waste my time. I'm also requesting half up front.

You can find all the information, as well as, my current rates on my Commissions page. Ultimate, as my skills and confidence gets better, my rates will go up.

The dickdavid Swag Store is NOW OPEN

I've got a few things around the house that I'm making available for purchase, for anybody who wants to get on the ground floor of the dickdavid brand—before it takes off and becomes a multi-million dollar, iconic name, like Paul Smith, Disney, Hello Kitty or Pokemon.

If I can get enough traction on the shop, perhaps I will start selling prints or originals. I might even dabble in the world of NFTs. 

I'm not looking to make a fortune, or even a living on retail. It's more of a purge of my swag closet. 

Click here if you want to see what's available.

Spring 2021 Work

After rolling out of March of Robots, I've been keeping busy with a few commissions (to be shared later), a robot 'zine and a few Birthday Bots. 

Let's start with the robot 'zine. I decided to pull together the work that I had done for March of Robots 2021, and display them in a booklet. I wasn't sure what the end goal would be, either do a few and give them away or print a bunch and sell them. Turns out, the upfront cost of producing them, along with the high risk of not selling any, pushed me to rethink getting a bunch printed. I'll probably sell a digital pdf of the book for a few bucks. 

I've also done a few Birthday Bots. When we sign office birthday cards, I’ve tried to add a little sketch about the person being celebrated. Since COVID-19 and working from home, I haven’t been able to do that. So I decided to bring it back—virtually. Here are the latest ones:

Alexa

Brittany

Macy

Alicia

Finally, my wife and I had celebrated our 25th Anniversary. Even though we're both vaccinated, we still worried about getting out somewhere fancy to celebrate. Instead, we got takeout and watched an awesome movie. My wife got me a really fancy watch and all I gave her was this silly sketch of us on our wedding day. 

I’ve always been fond of this picture from our wedding. Not because it’s a great shot, but rather, it truly represents how I felt that day—hopeful, in love and ready to face the world and the future, with her. I’m grateful for every day since.