Quote Originally Posted by ladiestorm View Post
And what about those of us who are just starting out and don't have any 'commissioned' work? If someone is looking for references, and they like one of my maps.... wouldn't the work I've already done and posted on the site be enough of a reference?
Ladiestorm references aren't strictly necessary in order to land commissions. If they were then none of us could have landed our first commission They are helpful though, which is why the suggestion was made that Cartographers create a separate "commissions" portfolio containing references from past clients. If one hasn't yet done any commissioned pieces then this of course would not apply. You can and should direct potential clients to your portfolio, but there would not be any references yet since there would not have been any clients to give them.