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I Don't Work for Free.

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  • I Don't Work for Free.

    Well my first full blown SC in that they are trying to completely rip me off for my time and work.

    It's the same group of people from this thread here: http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=94793

    I also go on to explain in that thread why those types of "clients" are very bad news for artists and why you should actually steer clear of them at all costs.

    Anyway, I did end up selling the rights of the image they wanted to these people, of course at a $25 discount of what I had originally asked for. I figured since the image was already finished and no further work was required I was basically getting free money so I agreed to the lower price.

    They get their image; they are happy.

    Now, these people want me to make them a NEW image for a shirt design. They emailed me an idea of what they wanted for a shirt. (an already done design on a different shirt but they wanted mine to be similar) I look at the image and reply to them quoting them a price of $200 based on the high resolution and the detail complexity that was going to be included. It was also of something that was a little bit out of my comfort zone (but doable) so I also priced accordingly. I'm mostly an animal/fantasy/nature type artist so things like man made architecture/cityscapes/vehicles are things I tend to stay away from.

    For the time, effort and work I put into my art I think that price is fair. I came into this knowing that I was not going to back down from my $200 price because I can easily make up the loss on Fur Affinity fairly quickly. (Fur Affinity commissioners rock!) They didn't think so.

    Once I got online today I checked my email and they sent me a reply stating they didn't understand why my quoted price was so high because the other image I sold them was priced "much more fairly" (that's because it was an already made image) and that they wanted an explanation. Keep in mind that I have sent these people links to my Fur Affinity page that clearly shows my commissions journal on my front page, and the list of what I offer and their corresponding prices. I also have several links that that same journal as well as a visual commissions price guide link that you can click on that shows an image graph of my prices and examples. You have to be purposely not wanting to see my prices to miss them on my page there.

    At this point I completely see that they want to completely rip me off for my hard work and pay me as little as they can get away with. With what I'm sure they are willing to pay me I'd be working at maybe $2 an hour. Basically sweatshop wages for my art.

    Good thing I'm self-employed! Because if I wasn't I wouldn't have been able to send this as a response:

    My response below:
    "Here is a visual image of my commissions price chart guide. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/8916873/

    The reason why (image) was cheaper is because that image was already made and I was only selling you the rights to use the image. Any new from scratch images will have to cost my full commission prices for the corresponding detail and complexity as shown in my chart. My customers on Fur Affinity have been more than happy to pay over $300 dollars for full background commissions.

    I think $200 for the shirt is fair for the quality I do and the hours I put into my work. I was making about $300 every two weeks working at my old minimum wage job and my more detailed art takes about that long if not longer to finish. If that price won't work for you then I'm afraid you will have to find someone else to do your shirt designs. I will not go any lower than that price. If that can't work for you then I understand fully if you prefer to find someone else."


    At this point I don't even want to do anything else for them and if they are as big of cheapskates as I think they are then I won't be dealing with them for much longer. I will not go lower than $200. Bye bye!

    The funny thing is after I got the email I checked my Fur Affinity and a happy commissioner now wants two ref sheets from me. If they want 3 pose ref sheets that almost makes up that $200 right there!

    (Edit: In less than 12 hours I have already made up the $200 exactly in other commissions)
    Last edited by TheTigress; 01-16-2013, 06:05 AM.
    My Fur Affinity Page:https://www.furaffinity.net/user/thetigress/
    My Weasyl Page: https://www.weasyl.com/profile/thetigress

  • #2
    Quoth TheTigress View Post
    ...and that they wanted an explanation.
    "Because I said so"

    Comment


    • #3
      I tried clicking on the link, but I was forbidden (forbode?).

      Comment


      • #4
        Sure, because "rights for existing picture" is the exact same thing as "custom commission." really, it is. Once again, people have absolutely no concept of how much work goes into something they don't do for themselves.

        Idiots. $200 is more than fair for your work.




        (And Rooth is so getting smacked when I see him. He gets the best commissions. )
        "If your day is filled with firefighting, you need to start taking the matches away from the toddlers…” - HM

        Comment


        • #5
          People who aren't mechanics have no issues paying a trained mechanic to work on their car.

          People who aren't electricians have no issues paying a trained electrician to work on their house wiring.

          People who aren't computer literate have no issues paying a trained computer literate to fix their PC.




          So, why do people who aren't artists react so aggressively cheap when forced to hire a trained artist and pay them?
          - They say nothing good happens at 2AM, they're right, I happen at 2AM.

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth Crossbow View Post
            Sure, because "rights for existing picture" is the exact same thing as "custom commission." really, it is. Once again, people have absolutely no concept of how much work goes into something they don't do for themselves.

            Idiots. $200 is more than fair for your work.




            (And Rooth is so getting smacked when I see him. He gets the best commissions. )
            It feels good that another person agrees that my prices are fair. I still keep in contact with my high school art teacher (my good buddy and mentor) and he supports me all the way. He even specifically told me not to deal with the idiots and to show them the door if they don't want to pay what you are worth.

            And Rooth is awesome! He gets a lot of really nice commissioned work and he was a great client to work with.

            Quoth Argabarga View Post
            People who aren't mechanics have no issues paying a trained mechanic to work on their car.

            People who aren't electricians have no issues paying a trained electrician to work on their house wiring.

            People who aren't computer literate have no issues paying a trained computer literate to fix their PC.




            So, why do people who aren't artists react so aggressively cheap when forced to hire a trained artist and pay them?
            This! Definitely this!
            My Fur Affinity Page:https://www.furaffinity.net/user/thetigress/
            My Weasyl Page: https://www.weasyl.com/profile/thetigress

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth Argabarga View Post
              People who aren't mechanics have no issues paying a trained mechanic to work on their car. ----<snip>----

              So, why do people who aren't artists react so aggressively cheap when forced to hire a trained artist and pay them?
              Because they don't see art being something that requires training. Far too many of them have seen the talented doodler in school and think "They're never going to make something out of that skill so they should be happy that I'm willing to pay them...well anything."

              They don't realize that there is a difference between the talented doodler and the talented doodler who decides to peruse that talent and actually spend the time and effort to refine it.

              The other factor is with the examples you gave (mechanic, electrician, PC Tech) and the fact that you either are working under someone and thus are drawing an hourly wage or working for salary -or- you are running your own shop and are charging rates that are comparable to other people in your industry.

              The concept of working for commission is...alien to them and they can't wrap their heads that your stuff is worth "X", that other people are happy that your stuff costs them "X" and that since you're making a living on this, "X" *is* already as low as you can go and still put beans on the table.

              Personally I think Tigress's work is worth what she is charging. I went to her page and could not help but to be impressed. I've seen people charge twice as much for quality that was half of what she is offering.
              I never lost my faith in humanity. Can't lose what you never had right?

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth emax4 View Post
                I tried clicking on the link, but I was forbidden (forbode?).
                It's fixed now. Thanks for letting me know because I might not have caught that.
                My Fur Affinity Page:https://www.furaffinity.net/user/thetigress/
                My Weasyl Page: https://www.weasyl.com/profile/thetigress

                Comment


                • #9
                  I think there's a tendency as well to see anyone making "art" as just having a hobby, not even an occupation.... so they don't even understand that it's for profit, much less in poor taste to haggle down to peanuts when an artist makes it clear what they're willing to do.
                  - They say nothing good happens at 2AM, they're right, I happen at 2AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I remember once when somebody asked for a sample of what I could do for free (I design websites) I sent them a blank sheet of paper!!

                    For some strange reason they never got back to me.
                    Robert
                    Peterborough Cambridgeshire

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth Argabarga View Post
                      So, why do people who aren't artists react so aggressively cheap when forced to hire a trained artist and pay them?
                      There is a fairly large group of people out there who feel that a career in the arts - artists, musicians, singers, dancers, actors, sculptors, poets, writers, etc. - isn't really a job, that it's done solely as a hobby or diversion. They believe that what an artist, musician, etc does isn't really 'goods and services'.

                      Those people are wrong, of course. But that's how they see it.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        ^ !!!!

                        I recently had to give someone I consider a friend a talking to. She commissioned me to do a very labor intensive project and then didn't understand why the price was so high. It was nearly 100 hours of work!
                        https://purplefish-quilting.square.site/

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Quoth Argabarga View Post
                          People who aren't mechanics have no issues paying a trained mechanic to work on their car.

                          People who aren't electricians have no issues paying a trained electrician to work on their house wiring.

                          People who aren't computer literate have no issues paying a trained computer literate to fix their PC.




                          So, why do people who aren't artists react so aggressively cheap when forced to hire a trained artist and pay them?
                          To be fair... no that's not the term I want... honest? yeah let's go with that.

                          To be honest, as this site shows, there's no shortage of people who do have issues paying the mechanic, electrician/IT guy to fix up their stuff. It's just a smaller subset than those who see Art work as not serious work. Those types of people just have no concept that they aren't just paying for the work, they're paying for the knowledge that the work is right.

                          As the slightly paraphrased saying goes, "It'll cost you 100$. 1$ to tap the part with a hammer. 99$ to know what part to tap and how hard to tap it."

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            UPDATE!

                            This morning I checked my inbox and I had a reply from them saying that they are going to go ahead with the $200 price, along with adding a simple logo design to the shirt. (The logo is really simple so it won't be much extra work at all)

                            Looks like they were trying to test me to see how little they could get away with paying me but when they found out I wasn't going to back down they had to open their wallets a little more. Apparently I must have been their only artist choice and had no other backups so they really need me.

                            Shirt design will now commence as previously planned.
                            My Fur Affinity Page:https://www.furaffinity.net/user/thetigress/
                            My Weasyl Page: https://www.weasyl.com/profile/thetigress

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Way to go! Nice to see they woke up.
                              "If your day is filled with firefighting, you need to start taking the matches away from the toddlers…” - HM

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