I thought it was time to update the logo for Bad Cat Chris. I have some experience with design but not with illustration. I wish I was an illustrator. Years ago I found enjoyment in drawing funny cartoons. I thought the content was great but the art was terrible. I tried to learn to draw to no avail so I just let the idea of becoming a cartoonist fall away.

This time I wanted to find someone with talent to help me out. I heard about Fiverr several years ago but since I make no money on my blog I didn’t really have a need for professional services. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little money to improve the look of the site a bit. I also wanted the image of Chris to more resemble the real Chris.

My biggest obstacle was that I didn’t really know what I wanted. I decided to look at the artwork from several artists and see if someone struck a chord with me. I settled on alicialucdesign because the first picture that came up was a cute illustration of a dog that I thought was the right style and she also had beautiful cat illustration so I knew she could draw cats.

There are three levels of illustrations you can get from Fiver; basic, standard and premium.

• The basic, which is $10, includes “1 Figure, No Colour, High Resolution, Unlimited Revision, 2 Days delivery.”
• The standard is $20 and includes “1 Figure, Full Colour, High Resolution, Unlimited Revision, 2 Days delivery.
• The premium is $25 and includes “1 Figure, Full Colour, High Resolution, Background/Scene, Unlimited Revision, 2 Day delivery

I don’t know if these specifications are specific to the designer or to Fiverr, probably the designer. My first thought was to go with the premium but I had no idea what I wanted in the background. I was not even sure what I wanted in the foreground.

The order process was pretty easy except I hit a bit of a stumbling block. There was no way to type instructions for the job on the web page. Instead, there was a button for uploading the job specs. Since I had no specs, only basic instructions, I had to write them down in a text file and then upload that file. If I was designing the Fiverr website, would have put a text box for instructions and an upload button for additional materials.

Anyway, I gave her a link to the blog and another link to Chris’s tenth birthday post because there are many photos of Chris in that post. I asked her to create an illustration that resembles Chris. After that, Fiverr asked for money. The total was $22 which included a $2 service fee that I assume is Fiverr’s portion of the transaction.

A day or two later I received an email saying the order was complete. I downloaded it and was very impressed.



It was almost what I was looking for but not quite. The description says there is an unlimited number of revisions allowed, which, I think, is just asking for problems. I worked in a print shop so I know how much of a pain some customers can be. I didn’t want to be a pain. I’m sure one revision would not have been a big deal but I wasn’t really sure what it needed.

I accepted the image as is and gave a $10 tip. Fiverr added another $2 service fee to my tip which seemed wrong but I suppose they have credit card expenses they have to pay. I also left a five star review but used speech-to-text from my phone which never works right. After I left the review I noticed there were several errors making it difficult to read. I tried to change it but there is no way to edit your review. I’m a bit embarrassed but at least my last name is not displayed.

I considered the image for a while and then made some very minor changes myself. I increased his smile ever so slightly and added whiskers, horns, and a halo. I then added a background and put a mouse next to Chris with it’s tail under his foot.



All in all, I think $34 was a bargain for such quality work. What do you think about Fiverr? What about the art? Do you have any suggestions on improving the final image?