February 1, 2007

• taken from http://rulzdemol.deviantart.com/journal/11642359/#journal

  ON THE SUBJECT OF HIRING AN ARTIST

  Every
  day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking “artists” for
  everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs.
  More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative
  service.

  But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

  To
  those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you
  know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you
  need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

  More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

  And this is not really a surprise.

  In
  this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are
  professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified
  mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

  So,
  given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it
  make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you
  look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his
  compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as
  you drive down the street?

  Would you offer a neurosurgeon the
  “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing
  that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for
  “materials”. What a deal!)

  Would you be able to seriously even
  CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people
  see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting
  you?

  If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously
  insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real
  world.

  But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live
  out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose
  abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

  Graphic
  artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such,
  to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than
  professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a
  bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes
  you look like a twit.

  A few things you need to know;

  1.
  It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on
  your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity”
  for YOU to have their work there.

  2. It is not clever to seek a
  “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s
  ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean
  they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student”
  once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay,
  because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes,
  your proposition it JUST as stupid.

  3. The chance to have their
  name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether
  it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the
  right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those
  things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation.
  It’s their right, and it’s a given.

  4. Stop thinking that you’re
  giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly
  ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the
  real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing
  these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

  5.
  Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving
  their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience
  they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type
  of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume
  anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience”
  they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house
  when they were seventeen?

  If you your company or gig was worth
  listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services
  it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you
  is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower
  themselves to deal with.

  6. (This one is FOR the artists out
  there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for
  consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”.
  These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by
  many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig,
  and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who
  works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have
  no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or
  even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own.
  You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who
  win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is
  speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam
  at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on
  this subject, please visit [link].

  So to
  artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor,
  ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you.
  Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural
  on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them. Say NO
  to free art.

  And for those who are looking for someone to do
  work for free…please wake up and join the real world. The only thing
  you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a
  clue.

  If you agree with the above important information, please
  pass it along. The more people know, the faster we can correct this
  problem.

  • 11:21 am
  • 2 Comments