Hi Everybody !
Been some days with some problems in my tiny adventure called life. But I am not here to tell you about these, but to tell you a tiny not funny story.
(All the images are my own creation and so I own the rights of them)
Let's go simple.
This is a painting I did for a guy from Iceland as a test for his book project... not the best I've ever done but it s something.
He asked for strong story-telling on his characters. The main one would be a troll or something like this (even tho' in the end the troll was the guy) that had to be horrible, but still be nice and an innocent girl, wtf.
After I presented it he proposed to me 20 dollars per illustration... And just to make it clear, 20 dollars is even far from being a joke. But that wasn't even the end: after I shown this illustration he even wanted iterations.
BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!
After that, as the beautiful cherry over the ice cream he said that the quality of the painting was too low for his standards.
In the end, the best of all... he never paid for this very first (and fucking last) one.
Faith in humanity lost.
I even remember that since it would be a long-term project, I put an extra effort on this.
...I drew few different propositions for the style of the character and even these were rejected (before they said the disrespectful budget they had in mind).
Just think about this: each artwork, to be done properly and beautifully should take around 10 to 20 hours. let s say 15. At 20 dollars each artwork (and without counting the whole administrative time an artist has such as replying e-mails and answering questions), it would mean 1,5 dollars the hour of work.
I don't know what you think, but I want to believe I am worth way more than that.
So remember: always make yourself worth and sometimes you just have to say fuck off no.
Be brave my fellow artists! Value yourself as you deserve!!
Bye!
Lesson learned: Always get the money up front.
Yes, I hear similar stories a lot. Artists have to stand for their work and value themselves accordingly, while at the same time taking advantage of opportunities where the reward is not solely financial. It is a delicate balance, but those who can keep it properly will progress in the end of the day. Good luck in your future endeavors!
As an artist i 've experienced more or less those situations, clients don't want to pay and they try to trick you by saying that they will give you a lot of exposure...The only advise i can give is send a lot of sketches first, let him decide what he likes, send him some more, take the money and then finish the artwork. Don't put too much effort from the start, clients tend to change their minds a lot. I love your artwork , good luck and keep up the good work:)
indeed, this is a lesson i rapidly learned... now I ask for half of the budget or I send watermarks everywhere... it s kinda working pretty much lately =)
Thanks a lot guys!
$20 per illustration for images of that quality is insane. Some people just expect artists to work for pennies / don't consider it "real work" or something. Or they're just cheap bastards.
Indeed, I think it s really unfair, but hey! At least after that work some really good clients came by! =)
Commission jobs, scope it first. Submit a written proposal for the client, incorporating any written material they have submitted to you.
At this point it is a process of clarification and reiterative. NO artwork, not even a preliminary sketch is ever submitted for the project. Your existing portfolio stands for the quality of your work, and your references from past clients.
If the "client" baulks at this point, then you know you have trouble. Politely thank them for contacting you, and wish them well for their project. End of story.
Should the clarification of proposed project reach a point of mutual understanding, then and only then do you do a project costing, revise it, ensuring a profit margin. A starting point is, you have your hourly rate. Take your estimated hours for the project and multiply by 2.5. That is a starting point for your costing proposal.
Now, before you submit that, you also split the costing up, with a nonrefundable deposit, 30-50%, and then milestone payments. Also additional to this costing proposal, are the terms and conditions for the number of variations, and the number of revisions for a chosen variation. Anything outside of that is then charged extra. You state in your terms what these are.
So then bundle all of that together and send it back to your potential client. You will soon find out if you have some one serious, or a dreamer.
I learnt all of this the hard way myself.
I feel for you, good job on rejecting that low ball insult. As a performer, I have had my fair share of these. Don't fret over it, sad but true, many will try to take advantage of others.
You're not the first and certainly won't be the last to fall prey to the 'book project'. Fact is, if he knew what he was doing he would be pitching his idea to a publisher first, but really his story is crap so a publisher wouldn't touch it. Secondly he couldn't afford a well established and published artist (no offence but we all have to start somewhere) so that's where he feels you will do it for the love. You are very talented, take it as a lesson (same happened to me many times) and be very upfront about your charges next time and even take a first instalment (maybe half) to make the client commit. Value your work and good clients will come. All the best
Yes, the book-project-manager is often much less interested when I ask for an up front deposit :) There's a lot of self-righteous dilettantes out there that start things they can't pay for.
Hopefully you bring in the $20 with the post on Steemit. ;)
Hahaha indeed! Thanks to the whaleshares I did <3
Doesn't look too shabby to me. Already $85. Nice work.
precisely.. the whaleshares actually gave me that money, lately there s noone else that upvote my posts =)
Well, I try to upvote your posts when I see them. I still want you to draw me something when I am able to pay for it one day. ;-)
Its really great work, sorry you got the wrong side of the stick for the payout. Theres always the 'do this for free, it will be good for you' that come and gets us. I feel your pain, and again, beautiful work ! :-)
Oh thanks a lot, but yes, these kind of clients are everywhere... at least every hit is a lesson ;)
Nice work, @anritco!
I have a friend who is an artist and he experienced the same attitude for his work. Just move on, that kind of people don't deserve your time.
And it's one human of 7 billion so don't lose your faith in humanity yet 😀
hahaha it s just a say, i am not really losing my faith in humanity, just in this particular guy :P
Wow, that really sucks a lot. Such a shame, the illustrations are great. It is so tricky to communicate reasonable expectations, selling your stuff, getting a decent pay for your effort and handle some ass-hole customers out there. I have a similar story where I made this picture for a customer (who had paid me in a different job). When I refused to send him the originals he refused to send any money. I used the Swedish law and sued him, but then it turned out he was a bluffer using false identity. So my tip for everyone doing illustrations for commission - check people if possible and don't send originals before you get paid. Hope this post give you something back!