Need some advice

It may feel awkward but you would be best to just ask them politely if they are intending to pay for the work you're doing for them? If they say they can't afford to I would pack the heads up and send them back. You may like to have the work for your portfolio, but you would be wasting your materials and time to carry out any work for her. That's not being rude and is probably the best way to handle the situation without having to pull her up about the other dolls she has been purchasing.

 

It's better to be up front about it as soon as possible rather than waiting. Your friend could be under the impression that you're willing to do the work for free. If you're not willing to work for free for your portfolio boost and your friend isn't willing/can't pay, then you won't be very happy with the outcome. Even if you develop a good portfolio. If they've sent you multiple heads, it really sounds like they might think you're willing to work for free. It might be best to just ask straight out if they intended on paying for your service. If they say no, then just tell your friend that you just don't do free face-ups. If you've already started on a few heads, just think about whether you're going to demand payment for those as well or just let it go.

 

Definitely say something now. If they are under the wrong impression that you're happy to work for free, then they won't feel bad sending you dozens of dolls and demanding your service. If they think you've volunteered to do it to boost your portofolio, they may assume you just wanted practice and are doing you a favor. They might be being greedy, or they might just have misunderstood you. It's better to clear the air now, and it's okay to request payment upfront or 'remind' them that you'll send finished photos (of the first doll) and that payment will be due at that time before you sen it back or start the next. They may have every intention of paying you fairly when the work is done, but you need to know before you spend all that time and waste materials if they aren't.

 

I'm agreeing with the others here, and before you go any further, you should ask about payment. Friend or not, you are still offering a service, and if you agreed on a price, discounted or not, they should honor their end of the arrangement. I'm guessing from what you wrote that a price was agreed on anyway, and it isn't outside the realm of reasonable expectations for an artist to seek payment before they start.

 

Yes, and if it is a genuine case of misunderstanding and/or miscommunication, and she is someone whose friendship you truly value and don't wish to lose, then you could finish one of the faceups you've already started for her as a gesture of friendship.

When you return the finished head along with any other blank heads she has given you, make sure she clearly understands that any other/future dolls she wants faceuped will need to be paid for, at her "special friend discount" of course. Lol, no harm in gently reminding her that she is getting a good discount on your services.

I would also suggest limiting her to no more than two or three heads at a time, and make it clear that she won't get any finished heads back until they are paid for in full. After all, if you are offering your services to the doll community as a faceup artist for hire, you will need to have some slots (time) available to be able to work on your full price commissions. It doesn't hurt to explain this to her as well.

It's also perfectly reasonable to request a partial payment up front. Research tells us that people are supposedly more likely to follow through with the rest of the payment when they have already paid a substantial amount as a down payment.