Sometimes, I receive emails from people asking to use my Phoenity icons commercially. Most of them are software developers and web designers. I remember the first time receiving such email, I was shocked, never even realised that I can actually sell icons. I was quite new in this icons design industry and had no idea how to reply. Somehow, I rejected the offer and start to think about this.
I'm not experienced in selling stuff online. I'm not sure how much should I charge for the icons. RM10 per icon? That would be RM400 for 40 icons! Wow. Ridiculous. I don't even take a minute to finish one icon. My icons are so simple that any experienced graphic designer can create them in a snap! It's just simply too ironical for me to sell such simplistic artwork. I laughed at it too. Besides, I don't like the term 'commercial'. I like free things, so I should give free things to the public as well. This explains why my Phoenity icons and artwork are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Till today, I still get such offers. And I've rejected them all. Am I a fool? I can earn money from this, for my education and personal requirements. I can use this money to buy all the stuff in my wish list, such as an iPod or a digital camera. My friends couldn't understand why I'm not gaining anything from this. Paypal buttons are nowhere to be seen and I don't provide any details for donations from other people. Yet, I'm still committed to designing more icons. As an aside, I design logos and web sites for my friends and other people too, free of charge.
I couldn't explain my reasons in words, specifically. I don't know how.