Happy New Year! I think your far too tough on yourself. There are artists on FA offering commissions who's work is nowhere near the standard of yours! xD
I would be interested in headshots, busts. Would be prepared to pay $10-$15
:3 Hope that helps.

XD Perhaps I am a little tough, but on the other hand, you're just baring witness to the shiney (sometimes not so shiney) finished product. I'm the one who goes through it from start to rocky finish, and I see all the errors I still missed.

I don't think I'm TOO hard- rather, I set realistic goals for myself, and I know I'm not quite there yet. I want to be, but the extra distance will require more time, hard work, and education than I already have in my possession at this moment. I'm looking forward to the end of 2010, and seeing where my art will me then! :3

Headshots and busts, you say? Woot! *jots down notes* Thank you so much for the feedback! AND HAPPY NEW YEAR (for the FOURTH time XD).

Most people price themselves based on how much detail, and how much you are expected to draw. I am an artist myself, and I too have things I need to work on as well.

I would suggest, starting your prices based on sketches, linearts, flat coloring, and shaded coloring. Sketches and line arts are obviously going to be cheaper. When you get into coloring as well as backgrounds and extra characters, you should charge just a little more.

At start however, I'd reccomend offering somewhat on the cheaper side and only a small limited number of comissions. Don't overwhelm yourself! Until you decide that you want to continue offering more comissions, and you feel popular enough to add onto your prices.

Lets see...

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2963718/ is your doodle page. I'd suggest offering the sketches for $5, the headshots for $7-9 Busts at $10-12 Full body at $12-15 Your feral work, like the cute fox in that doodle sketch with the pink background could probably be sold around $10 for flat color and the Zraya and Jilly that you drew for $15-20.

Of course, you can always add +$5 for second characters or backgrounds depending on how comfortable you're with it.

That however, should only be a starting offer. If the character is complex, or if it is a difficult mix of creatures that you are not sure about, then feel free to add a little more onto your prices. Remember, you're being paid for your time and your talent. Make sure to judge how much you believe your art is worth, and how much it might be worth to the person you're drawing it for. The reason I saw to start it out a little lower, is to attract comissioners, as well as to judge if you are happy with what you have gotten for the work, or if you end up believing that it is worth more.

Good luck, however. If you do open it up I might come and see you about a feral work like that cute fox you did on the doodle page~

Eghads, such an EXTRAORDINARY reply. :3 Let me start off by thanking you for taking the time to write this all out, browse through my gallery for examples, and really explain your reasoning.

That pricing sounds very reasonable. And I agree with starting off small (both pricing wise AND commitment wise), just to "test the waters" as it were. While all this is, essentially, a means of creating a little extra income, in the end, I want this to be a fun experience, not stressful. Perhaps something like two or three at a time shouldn't (hopefully) be too much of a burden. And I know some people have, when starting out, made a "super bargain" offer, just to gain interested customers. Alexds1 on DA made a wonderful tutorial on general commission information to keep in mind, among which noting that "starting out, [one] may want to start low to attract customers", so I think that'll be the approach I eventually take.

As it stands, I'm not completely comfortable with "my style" (whatever that is XD), my consistency or my skill to really put a figure on how much I think anything I do might be worth. But I think I'd like to try out with a few just to see what it feels like, and what I can create given the pressure and circumstance.

Thank you again, for such a phenomenal response! :3 XD And if/when I DO get them opened, I'd be honored to do business with you. :3

I wouldn't call it phenominal. I'm just long winded I think~

For now I'd still suggest keep your commitment low until you are certain that this is something you want to do. Some artists don't do comissions just based on the fact that it can be too stressful for them, or their lack of time to cater to other people. It certianly can be a fun experience, if not sometimes challenging. I realised I knew how to draw things that I had never even tried before, and they're turning out relitively well.

My style fluctuates as well, and I had a hard time pricing my own work. That's why I said to see if you are satisfied with what you recieved for the work you put into your first couple of commissions. Sometimes, you might feel like you didn't get enough for the work, and that is when you know you should probably raise your prices a tad.

As an artist you will have to challenge yourself, and this might be a challenge to test yourself and see if you can envision what others see, and show it back to them. That's a lot of what art is, being able to show people what you see in the best way you know how. I'm sure with what talent that you already posess, it won't be too hard to attract some comissioners. It might take a little while to built up a following, but i'm sure after some time you will. ^-^

In any case, good luck with your decision, and keep everyone posted if you do~