depression, advice journal 21,22,and 23

hey all,
I just want to take the time to apologise for the long absence, I have had a lot of problems myself, severe depression, a whole heap of family problems, everything really, that just meant I wasnt stable at all.
I couldnt even get up out of bed most days let alone talk to anyone, my laptop pretty much stayed dusty all the time. anyway I am back hopefully for good but its getting better.
I never touched the advice stuff, so it just built up, so over the next week or so I will be answering all the 19 problems you have sent me.
thanks and again sorry

Advice journal 21
I have done trades and requests in the past and the people were pleased with them. So I've been considering opening commissions on DA for short poetry and calligraphy work to help pay for a huge dentist bill. Many of my pieces are open to critiques and feedback and because I mentally downplay my efforts The problem is just me not knowing what would be a fair price to advertise my work.

Or is there a more efficient method to assess my skills or gain more feedback to make a price calculation?

My response
Thats a good idea, first rule of comissions, scout out the competition, who is charging what, its a tough thing because you cant overcharge because no one will buy. but you cant undercharge because people can take advantage of that too.
look around, and make sure you are fair, making people wait ages for a commission is one way to drive people away. I would suggest doing commissions on a trial basis at first and asking people what they would be prepared to pay, its no use saying prices with no customers, also check out specific groups that advertise for people that need comissions,
sorry for the wait and hope it helps.



Advice journal 22
i have a few problems:

1. i am a da addict and i spend a lot of time on it. so i end up rushing my school work in the end and my parents are upset that i use the computer a lot. how do i manage to still be active and help out other deviants on da while focusing on my schoolwork?

2. i am picking up a few new art genres but starting out is quite hard and time consuming. how can i say motivated and also, how do i get out of this phase?

3. i have a friend so is better than me at everything, studies, sports, looks, etc. and i feel quite demoralised. how do i improve myself in my studies? i seem to study more than her and she always studies right before the exam in school but she always seems to do better than me.

My response
I had this problem when I first started with DA the key is to limit, go on DA for a certain amount of hours a day. I began with 2 hours in the morning and three in the afternoon and no more. I stuck to this because as much as you love DA your schoolwork is more important, it can and probably will effect your future so you cant afford to mess it up. if need me even ask your parents to turn off the internet after a certain time, or surrend your laptop to them at a certain time to avoid the temptation.
you can still be active, just not so active that you forget everything else

start a new genre at a time, dont pick three up at once, you lose the focus of one. I find its nice to look at artists and talk to them, get them to help you. its going to be time consuming because its something you havent done before so there isnt an easy to get past the hard part just keep at it. my first drawing were awful but practice is the key to most things.

I hate to say it but wherever you go there will be people like her, there is nothing you can do about it. some people have better memories enabling them to learn at a faster pace. I advise you to stop comparing yourself to her, it will only make you feel bad. focus on your studies in your own way and I am sure that there is something that you are better at. but if you keep comparing yourself to her that you will lose self esteem and begin to copy her, every person learns in different ways and you may be studious and she not. just focus on the best way to study for you.


Advice journal 23
One of my friends said that he was doing a dare, and he had to ask me out. I thought it was actually a dare so I rejected him... I didn't know he was being serious and he was pretty upset the next time I saw him. I don't know what to do because all my other friends were there, and they obviously thought that I understood it was for real. Please, please, please, I really need some advice here!

My response
you need to tell him. his pride would have taken a beating at a public rejection, explain to him that you honestly thought it was a dare and leave him alone to get his bearings. He probably will need his pride healed and talk to you the friend who told you about the dare, did they know or was it a planned joke. you need to be honest with him, and who knows he might ask you out again


right that is all the advice I had typed up so I will post more tomorrow, and again I really am sorry for all the hassle, it really was not my intention to be gone this long but I needed to heal again and cover my scars.