This Artist Offering "Free Portraits" Just Gave a Master Class in Trolling

We all know that one person who, after finding out you work in X industry, is always asking for free help or services that you otherwise receive compensation for on a daily basis. Artist @jonarton, who showcases a lot of his work on Instagram, has found an interesting way of getting back at folks like this by offering some free portraits.

I don't know who raised these people to be so brazenly forward in expecting you to do something for them for free, especially when they have no relation to you whatsoever and you're just meeting them for the first time, but there are some industries and occupations in which people feel more comfortable asking for free work.

For some reason, artists, illustrators, painters, etc., must give off this air that they've got nothing better to do with their lives than handling free commissions for strangers on the internet all day, because there are tons of "customers" who either want to pay them less than minimum wage for their work, or nothing at all.

But Jon, after getting a sizable following on Instagram and probably being fed up with the number of requests from randos asking for free drawings, decided to play a little trolling experiment on them.

And like any amazing prank, he set it up as something completely wholesome, with underlying tones of sarcasm. It, thankfully, lured a bunch of people who wanted something for free into his inbox.

As I’m now over 45k followers I thought it would only be right in giving you, the little people something back.
My DMs are full of free drawing requests so I thought, why not do a few more!
Nothing gives me more pleasure than offering a few down-and-out people who can’t afford a piece of art the opportunity to own something priceless. I imagine these stunning pieces will be passed down from generation to generation as one man's (me) example of selfless generosity. I don’t expect adoration or applause all I ask from you is a handful of likes, a few follows and maybe some comments such as “lol” and “this Jonarton guys real swell!”
Thank you all! 

I can only imagine the satisfaction that Jon received when this person, who knows that he's capable of crafting some amazing art, received this little doodle of Harry Styles. I'd like to think that the DM'er, who came off as kind of rude and a bit much, was confused at first.

Then, I hope it dawned on them, slowly, that they got played. And I hope that they appreciated that fact, because after all, they're asking a highly skilled and talented individual to provide their services for free.

For some requesters, Jon improved upon their original photos by adding a little more zazz and pep to them, like this woman who got a cute sun hanging above her head.

What I don't get is that he's clearly posting his roasts of these poor fools online, yet still seems to be receiving free drawing requests. I guess people don't take the time to check his Instagram feed before they ask.

The best is when people actually respond to Jon after they receive their work. "Backwards hat girl" at least seemed to take the troll drawing on the chin. I love that she had to clarify she wasn't whistling in her picture.

The best though, is when he goes out of his way to make the drawings extra hilarious. Like when he turned this girl asking for a free photo into a Conehead.

Now, of course I feel bad for a kid who's just trying to get his girlfriend a gift for her birthday. But, you know, maybe you should've saved up some money to get her a suitable present  instead of begging artists for free stuff online, if getting her something meant that much to you.

All right, I'm not going to lie, I kind of really like this doggy one. Maybe Jon has a soft spot for animals and decided not to mess with this little guy too much. I also have to say that I'm digging each of the comments he puts on these drawings too.

Sort of reminds me of this excellent scene from The Simpsons when the family's trying to get Bart to not be such a terror during family photo day. Just classic.

Out of all the comments though, this Michael Jackson one is probably the best, because I totally hear it in his voice every time I read it. Come on, read it to yourself three times, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Can you believe that some people actually got upset at their free drawing and tried to shame Jon into feeling bad about being "greedy" because he doesn't provide them with work without charging them?

How he turned the paper sideways was a pro move, as was making her expression especially awful/hilarious. I hope he makes this a recurring post. If you're into his work, you can check out his Instagram page here.