WHatever you do, do NOT make the colors of the font some god-awful color that forces the user to highlight just to read the damn thing. Too many artists on here have that very thing in their profiles and even in the journals themselves,

NEVER ever going to do that

1. It's tricky, I know. I have always liked the 'start cheap' philosophy. Make some cheap stuff, or even free, for two very specific reasons: To know how long it will take you, and to have examples for later so people know what to expect. If at any point you realize that you want more than $5 for working on something for four hours, bump that price up. If you get more work than you can handle, bump that price up. Eventually you'll find a comfort zone.

2. Your commission credits are fine, but I highly recommend adding them to your image in some fashion. Also, make absolutely certain you mark your copyright.. This gives you reproduction rights, so a commissioner can't sell prints of your creation without proper consent.

Also, please remember this: You cannot copyright a character. You can trademark a character, but you can only copyright an image. Use thewords "Character creaded by", "Commissioned by" or "Concept by" instead. This is a common mistake, one that a good lawyer may screw you with in the future. Trust me on this one.

Putting someone else's name with that copyright symbol is just a bad move. Give them due props, but protect your ass.

3. Want to know how I learned about copyright law? Working for a web design startup. My knowledge is way too out of date, though. Someone else can likely provide a simple content-management doo-dad.