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[Sappho]

Hi all! I've been trying to save up for a scanner for a long time. So far I've been digitizing my work using a camera and photoshop to clean it up, but now my camera is busted. Trouble is, I just lost my job so I can't afford to buy anything new right now. I don't need an expensive scanner, but the one I have my eye on costs about $100 (just over 2000 kc).

I'm considering doing a fundraiser to try to earn some of the money. The idea would be I would draw something on request for each person who makes a donation - just a few dollars is plenty. I can do cartoon drawings, comic strips, pencil sketches, crayon drawings, watercolors (though this takes time), and various other types of things. Some of my older stuff is viewable via the links in my signature, but this is very limited. My skills have improved dramatically and my style has become more varied and interesting. I'll try to get a friend to scan in a few things as samples over the next couple days, certainly before I ask anyone to trust my skill enough to pay me for it.

For $1-4 I'd send something in digital form (using the new scanner, which I think I will buy and hope I can scrape together the money soon). For $5 I'd send a hard copy through international mail (from Prague) as well as sending a digital version. For $20 I would do a watercolor and send both digital and hard copy.

My question is, would anyone be interested in this? Does it seem viable as a way to pay for my new tool, assuming I post the offer on several (intelligent) online forums? I know that it's tough out there to make a living as an artist (I'm actually a teacher but as I said, I just lost my job, am still looking for a new one). I don't expect that I will be able to pay my bills with art, but it would be a huge relief to be able to buy a scanner and have it pay for itself one way or another.

Thanks for your honest feedback, guys. As a show of good faith, I'll start taking requests now and start drawing them immediately (though of course it would take a short while to actually get them on the computer) and only ask for money if I get enough interest to make it worthwhile.

EDIT: I almost forgot, I can also mimic the styles of other artists (not perfectly, but fairly well I think) for comic strips. A few examples are here: http://imaginaryinterviews.thecomicseries.com/comics/first/

[olemars]

Do you have a practical way to receive said donations?

Sorry to hear about the job situation.

[Sappho]

Paypal would work fine for me. Direct bank transfers (wire transfers) are the standard in this country, and that would be fine with me as well, but I don't think most people on the web are interested in having their bank details shared with a stranger on the other side of the world.

Thanks for the condolences. I have a few interviews lined up, though there is a lot of competition. Wish me luck...

[Sappho]

So no interest whatsoever then? Damn. Maybe I'll try again when I have some actual samples of work to show and people aren't basing my skill on those old comics. And I guess maybe I should try the general forum - I don't think so many people read this one.

But I'll still take requests if anyone wants to make them. No obligation to donate unless I actually send you something (you can confirm before I do this of course).

[Shook]

Oh right, i totally forgot about this. I meant to make a request earlier, but i've had a lot on mind lately.

Anyways, tell you what; if you were to draw my most recent character, Ampersand, in whatever style you prefer, i'd be willing to pay you $10 in advance (i know it's not much, but i'm not super rich myself). I only want a digital copy, so you don't have to bother mailing anything. In case you're interested and are having problems with the head, here's a couple of references.



He's almost always smiling like that. No need to hurry with the digitizing, i have time. Good luck with the job situation!

[Sappho]

Super, I'll get right on it. If I can find a scanner, it should be ready within a day or two.

[Shook]

Awesome. So, how am i supposed to transfer the monitos? I have PayPal myself, i just need an email to transfer to.