Back in January 2023 on my Instagram account, after posting various watercolor paintings, I got a request from someone for a commission. The request read:
“Where are you located I’ll like you to draw a picture of my son’s pet for him I went through your page and I think I just fell in love with your art work I want you to draw a picture of his pet with his name written below the drawing…”
I talked with them a bit and they sent me a photo of a dog. They kept asking for my PayPal account info to send the money.
I did a first test watercolor painting to see if I could even manage it. It came out OK but the dog’s face didn’t feel right to me. The Instagram user said they loved it and kept asking for my personal info. I said I would do a PayPal invoice and asked them to let me know what address to send the invoice to. They stopped responding, and while I prepared to do a second painting, I never moved forward with it due to that lack of response.
Just now, in April, I received a fresh request for a commission from an entirely different account. Their request had nearly exactly the same wording as the January one. It read:
“I’ll like you to draw a picture of my son’s pet for him went through your page and I think I just fell in love with your art work I want you to draw a picture of his pet which will have his name written below the drawing.”
As you can see, they are nearly the exact same request.
When I pointed that out to the person, they stopped responding to me.
I recommend that artists be cautious. I know it’s exciting to get a commission request, but make sure it is wholly valid. Don’t give out any personal information. Offer to send THEM an invoice to document the process, and have them be the ones to provide details. Always use a safe transaction system for the payment.
Ask with questions!