So I need to take another look at this $10-weekly commission set idea. The original concept was that for $10, I would draw something for a commissioner, keep it simple, and I wouldn't spend more than an hour, hour-and-a-half on it. The specific "themes" of each week were my way of capping the commissions so nothing would get so complicated that it took more than an hour.

I'm not a tightwad--it's just that I only have so much time in a week, and working for 3 hours for $10 is not particularly satisfying. (Plus, I'm putting the money from these commissions directly toward gender therapy and hormones.)

The problem is that for more complex characters and themes, the drawings get harder, and I'm now actually averaging about 3 hours per drawing. Not cost effective, and a bit frustrating.

I'm worried about raising rates, though, because there are color artists who do the same but for only slightly more. And, let's be honest, who would want a pencil drawing when they could get a colored piece fr the same price?

Possible Solutions:
1.) Eliminate the criteria, raise the rates. Regular commissions, rates of at least $20. (Problematic in terms of competitive pricing)
2.) Institute stricter criteria to eliminate the things that slow me down. Hyper, wings, etc. (Problematic in terms of losing people who like those things)
3.) Reduce the pictures to "Sketches" instead of lined and shaded drawings. (Same problem as 1.)

I don't know--what do you all think? Because I can't afford to keep spending this much time for so little money.