Fellow Artists--Don't Work For FREE. Options

[Fred Lang]

The following aren't my words--they're one of those unable-to-attribute things that The Internet spews out from time to time. I believe it started as a Craigslist posting, but again, it's The Internet, and thus full of inaccuracies and downright lies.

What it IS is a great set of things to think about when you're asked to draw for FREE or design for FREE or consult for FREE by someone who wants your hard work on their project, but doesn't want to pay you for it.

I'd have worded some of these differently, but you'll get the idea. Read on, fellow artists:

The Post
------------------------
Every day, there are more and more 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.

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.

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.

I guarantee that every single artist on this board is worth more than FREE.

Fred

[Gonzogoose]

I have steered clear of this topic because on other boards this has always escalated into a writer vs. artist argument regardless of the intent of the original posting. And it's one I feel is a bit justified as in indie comics the writers are always expected to pay and never get paid while the artists are always expected to get paid and never pay, or so it would seem.

Those types of conversations can never be resolved because, as others have stated here, there is no clear-cut answer to any of this. Different people are in different stages and have different goals, and therefore there can never be a blanket factual statement on how one should go about this crazy business of comics. And that applies whether you're talking pay or no pay, writer vs. artist, money vs. passion, or whatever. It's just not that black and white.

I do understand where you're coming from, Fred. Not from an artist's perspective, but from a letterer's perspective. Years ago I started lettering to save costs on my own projects. I surprisingly got pretty good very fast and was being offered work. At the time I was still in college or just getting out, and so it was just cool to be getting something. I would either do it for free or I'd charge like $5 a page back then. More times than not I did a TON of free work for various individuals and smaller publishers. For one, it was fun. For two, it got me exposure and therefore completed work I could use to get more work. And for three, it wasn't something I saw turning into a career.

As the years went on, I improved and started getting a LOT more work. So at some point I raised my rates (actually a few times) after talking with some pros and figuring out exactly what I should be charging. This hobby turned into one of the ways I paid my bills, and right now, along with flatting, is my only job. When it got to that point I determined I had to stop doing free work except for the occasional small project for my friends or on projects I just really wanted to be a part of (which honestly is how I got involved with New Comic Day - I asked to be a part of it and do it gladly each week).

So I COMPLETELY understand the need to get paid for my services as it's how I make a living. And EVERYONE would like to get paid to do what they love and make a living out of it. No one's going to fault anyone over that (unless they're some of the people I know, who think I'm wasting my life...). But at the same time, as you stated yourself, Fred, that article you posted was one of those blanket, black and white statements I mentioned above could never work.

One thing that really bothered me about this thread in the first place is because it discouraged someone from posting here in these forums to the point they requested a thread they started looking for collaborators to be deleted, and I haven't seen them posting here since. That's truly sad. I mentioned the writer argument above... some artists don't understand the fact that indie writers by and large do this for free and never see a dime from their efforts, yet have to spend tons of money to make projects happen. Those, like me, who have very limited funds, look for collaborators who don't mind going that route for back pay, percentage of ownership, whatever since we can't pay page rates like (believe me) we so wish we could. It's not that we don't value the artist's time or skills involved, or need/deserving to get paid, it's just that we can't. So it's either look for artists that will work with us, or never publish anything.

Regardless, as others here have said, you have to do what is right for you, what makes you happy, and it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about that. If you need to get paid or feel you deserve to get paid for your services then fine, do it. No problem with that. If you do this for a hobby, do it because it's fun, do it for exposure, you like the project, or whatever, fine, do it. No harm, no foul either way.

That's my take on it anyway.

[Fred Lang]

One thing that really bothered me about this thread in the first place is because it discouraged someone from posting here in these forums to the point they requested a thread they started looking for collaborators to be deleted, and I haven't seen them posting here since. That's truly sad.

I agree, and I've PMed that fellow and apologized for what must have been a jarring introduction to the community by yours truly. I hope he shows up again, I've pinky-sworn that I won't jump down his throat again if he's looking for folks to work with. Ugh, I hope he comes back. He didn't deserve my wrath as his intro to CR!