Warbird Kid wrote:
p51 wrote:
people just don't want to pay you to do it.
I know that story all too well. "I won't pay you, but it would be great exposure for you!" I can't tell you how many times I've been hit with that one.
I would say you and me both, but that'd also apply to almost any commercial artist that ever lived. Yeah, I fell for that when I was in my teens, a few times, but I wised up real fast, (as I bet, you did, too).
A co-worker recently asked for advice for their kid who did actually have some skills. I said, "Yeah, tell 'em to go to school for something else, because they'll
never make a living at it because nobody ever wants to pay for the stuff they need."
They really should teach in art schools how to handle where nobody wants to pay you for your work (and yet they want the finished product).
Requests for free work only
EVER lead to one thing:
Requests for more free work from others.I'm in my 40s, and have been published more times than I could possibly count, and I still get the 'exposure' shtick from people who want my work but don't wanna pay for it. I tell them all the same thing-
"Yeah, I have all the exposure I'd ever need. In fact, I've been turning down work over the last couple of years due to the time I'm devoting to other longterm projects. I'm curious, do you also ask roofers or plumbers to do work for free, too?" The end of that sure sets people back!
It's funny, that so many people are just shocked and dismayed when you even bring up payment. People really don't see design and illustration as something they even
should have to pay for. I know it's the same for musicians, too, but I contend it's more so for artists as they have supplies and it takes longer to paint/draw something than it does to sing a song.
It's awful when on a job, your co-workers find out you can draw. Suddenly, you're being told (and never, EVER asked) to draw/paint whatever insane comes into their heads. Since the Army (where I was ordered to do cartoons/illustrations on several occasions), I have told every employer that
yes, I can draw, but
NO, I'm not drawing for the company unless I'm paid my commercial rates. That shuts them down cold for the most part.
Didn't stop a co-worker who saw my stuff online recently from coming up and saying she liked my work and then declaring that I would (again, never asking) be doing the birthday cards for people form then on. I slowly stood up and said, "No, I'm really not, unless someone wants to pay me my commercial rate, which would be about [insert an actually reasonable amount here]."
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And I can totally pay my bills with exposure.
