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Matt,
I feel like I know a little something about this issue (unlike most issues I propound upon) and I have a specific recommendation.
There is a big, big difference between sitting by the fireplace sketching a horse, and taking another person's money for work that you have promised.
The good news is we can accustom ourselves to this sort of pressure. And in my opinion everyone, young or old, should go about the business of inoculating ones self to it.
In order to accept and manage the pressure and expectations of a commission, you should first build up your immunity by successfully meeting small, then incrementally larger, challenges.
Facing a major league curve ball, although I hate to admit it, is probably beyond my capacity. However, professional baseball players do it successfully every day of the summer. There success has it's foundation on the sand lot, little league, Babe Ruth league, semi pro and so on. Each with greater expectations than the next.
You can and should, in measured ways, begin to put yourself into stressful situations. Create some situation, albeit comparatively small, that brings about an expectation of your talent and skills. Even if you do a sketch of a friend for free (which is not a bad way to start), involve the friend such that they know what you are doing and that you plan to present the sketch to them at some point. What you have created is an expectation of your ability. You will be surprised what stress this little exercise can produce. The stress won
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Mike McCarty
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