How do you go about doing Art Comissions?

I finally have a Drawing Tablet and a laptop. It crashes every time though, which is definitely a drag.
 
My Problems:
 
-Crap laptop  
-No experience with a pen tablet  
-No idea what drawing programs to install  
-No idea how art sites, such as Deviantart and Tumblr, go about art comissions.
 
Questions:  
-Do you name your own price?  
-Do people come to you for comissions, or do you have to find them?  
-What Art Programs can be installed on a laptop?  
-What kind of Computer, desktop or laptop, can be recommended for such things?
 
I’m really interested in doing this and Improve at it.
 
My other hobbies are fun, but I like variety. I’m a little good at making music, but not at making videos or recordings. I don’t that kind of equipment for that. I like Writing, but I honestly think it’s a real pain in the ass, but relaxing.

You have to get the hang of drawing with the tablet first, that’s important.
 
I use a laptop as well, I highly recommend Paint Tool Sai, that’s what I use. Some other programs you could use are Gimp, and Photoshop.
 
On DA and tumblr, you just tell people that you take commissions. Make a commission list with pictures that you’ve drawn and a price next to the picture. For example, a sketch would be the cheapest while a full blown colored/ shaded image with multiple characters and detailed background would cost more. I also recommend charging an additional price for each additional character.
 
You’re going to need a paypal account if you want real money, not the points thing on DA. You need to make that point clear that you only want cash. The people who have commissioned you send the money to your paypal account and that’s it. There is a fee that paypal takes out so keep that in mind.
 
You name your price on commissions, I’m currently thinking about raising my prices, so it’s ok to start off low.  
People should come to you for commissions.
 
Any computer is fine for most drawing programs.  
One more thing, to get a better feel of your tablet, start by drawing what you want on paper then scan it to your laptop and draw over that in your chosen art program. Eventually you’ll be able to draw with just the tablet. hope this helps.

At first, I thought the title said “Art Communism”.
 
☭

@Background Pony  
I got the same questions, but I have no tablet… but I have a desktop. I just use pencil and paper… and eventually a scanner.

First, check your tablet drivers. You can usually download these for free from the company website the tablet is from. Download the latest for your model. If that doesn’t work, try cleaning out your laptop of old programs or files you don’t use. You might have to upgrade if that doesn’t work.
 
Next, try taping a couple pieces of paper over your tablet. The pen should be able to read through two or three sheets and it’ll give the feeling of drawing in a notebook.
 
For programs, that depends on how you want to draw. Definitely go for something with layers. Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.net, all good choices. I believe Adobe has made their CS2 bundle free to use, so you can get (a really old version of) photoshop there. Also be open to try other types of drawing programs, like vector-based. I personally use a mix of Photoshop and Illustrator.
 
For commissions, your number one priority when starting out should be building a portfolio. Show us what we’d expect from you and give us a reason to want you to draw something for us. Give people examples and be sure to save every step of the way so you can show how much you can do: Sketching, Lineart, Coloring, Shading.
 
As for price, you can try to discuss it with each and every single potential client, but it’s probably better to get a list of simple concrete prices. There are many ways you could go about this, such as considering how long it takes you to draw a piece and then charge an average hourly wage. Like if something would take you 4 hours, charge 5 bucks an hour and it’s a $20 total. This won’t be the same for all your commissions; a lot will probably take you over this estimate. There are also a lot of other options or ways you can go with, so you may think on it. Your prices don’t have to be set in stone, you can change them any time if something doesn’t work.
 
Hope this helps.

@Background Pony  
I have no idea what you just said…