How *NOT* to Hire an Artist- AKA *rageflail*

[wyn]

*rage*

Okay, being an artist who does not do commissions, I may be looked upon as an outsider to this in the respect that doesn't really effect me the way it does for those who do work for money. I do, however, have friends that work on commission and this pisses me right the hell off that there are douchebags such as this one who prowl about the different dA, elfwood and other art communities looking for an easy scam.

Okay, I'm being easy on the guy. What I'd really like to call him is a fucking elitist snob who thinks his shit doesn't stink and of which, has the right to scam artists off on their hard work only to line his own pocket with more money so that his life can be easier while the term "Starving Artist" is once more proved to be more often than not truthful.

But that's a mouthful.

Link to the original article is here.

Also, for those of you on my friends list who are newly working on commission, have thought about starting to work for commission or have been working on commission but not doing your research as to what you should be charging- aka, fair art rates- please, please, please read this article and beware that there are such scumbags on the prowl hoping to scam you out of your time and talent.

It's disheartening that there are as many people out there like this as there is, but the more people who know about this jerk, the better. Because if someone's going to be making fair use of your art and lining their own pockets with the money that would not be there were it not for your artwork to promote the project... well, I'm not saying you have to charge an arm and a leg for shit, but if you're doing it for a living, then yeah. What's fair is fair... or should be, at any rate.

Comments

[shadows-wolf06.livejournal.com]

Hmm, okay, here's the thing...

While I agree with you that artists should do research on acceptable fees and payment options, the fact of the matter is, this asshat is promoting poor business ethics (ie, "keep them in the dark,") and then trying to defend himself for doing so.

He's also trying to call an ace a spade and then getting frustrated when people aren't buying it.

I get the point of using lesser known artists, and honestly I think that it's kinda cool that more people are looking for them on different art groups and sites out there. That means that more people are getting a chance for exposure than ever before, and it's making it easier for people to get the breaks others work entire lifetimes to achieve.

However.

This should not be at the cost of swindling the artist. I know of several different friends that have been commissioned to do different pieces of work where they've put in 60+ hours and then had the person off and disappear, never to receive payment for the hard work that they've done.

That kind of shit pisses me off.

I'm not saying that all artists are created equal and newbies should be getting paid top dollar for their work... I realize that the more well-known the artist, the better paid they're going to be. It's kinda common sense, that one.

But I am saying that fair prices should be given all 'round and businesses should not be looking to fuck over the smaller man simply in the name of capitalism and good work ethics.

Fuck that noise.

::Edit::
After reading sydneyrodriguez's take on the whole deal, I gotta say I whole-heartedly agree with her. She's able to explain things in such a way that I'm unable to communicate nowadays, but it's pretty much exactly bang on to how I feel.