A Proposition

My next Big Purchase is making louder demands for attention, but it's also raising doubts. I really need to get a working copy of DigiCel, an animation line testing program, in order to get any further with my attempt to re-learn paper animation. I've got the 'student' copy, which was billed as fully operational but with a watermark – I didn't know until after downloading it that the watermark is actually a big block of opaque text that makes actually seeing the animation almost impossible. To get rid of it I need to purchase the 'key,' which runs at about $300 or so, last I checked. Normally this wouldn't be too big an impediment as I've been working steadily for more than a year, and after rent and groceries my expenses are practically nil, but I've got two (possibly three, if I find myself moving south of the border) other things poised to make a large dent in my bank account this year and an extra $300 seems more and more like something to avoid.

SO. Here's the thing. I'm going to do some sort of Animation Fundraiser ... but what? I was thinking of putting together a 'sketchbook' as numerous internet artists have done which I can then sell copies of at a fixed price. However, most of my artwork (and almost all my best artwork) is fan art; I don't know what the copyright regulations might be on that but the idea frightens me. I was also considering opening up for commissions, but my upcoming period of voluntary unemployment needs to be devoted to the production of a portfolio, and I'm already behind on gift art, so there's the guilt factor as well.

What's a poor girl to do?