fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2815 ]

[ SECRET POST #2815 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2815 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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03.

[John Green]

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04.

(Hemlock Grove)

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07. [posted twice]

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08.

[Russell Edwards' Naming Jack the Ripper]

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09.

[Coronation Street]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 020 secrets from Secret Submission Post #402.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

100€ was expensive to me.

Unless the artist only spent an hour or 2 on the piece, that's not professional pricing though and really wouldn't cover revisions.

Use the experience as a lesson for next time, ask the next artist more questions and if you're not satisfied, be prepared to pay for revisions (some artists will do small revisions for free, I often will.)

Artists aren't perfect and sometimes we do bad pieces, but I know if someone paid me 100 I could only afford to spend a certain amount of time on that piece before it started costing ME money just to work in it. Sometimes clients are perfectly content with what I don't like though, that's the problem with art, it's subjective and that's why you have to really communicate with your artist to get what you want.

6 hours would still be a little less than three times minimum wage (of the United Kingdom), and if we're talking a fanartist their artwork is likely not professional quality.

Freelance artists actually require much more then minimun wage, I'm going based off of professional rates. And I know many professional artists who draw fanart (this includes people at Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar etc etc) so I don't understand that argument at all.

Professionals usually don't take freelance from the average fan, though.

Go tell that to Tom Bancroft or the several animation professionals that do take commissions from fans.

NAYRT

"Usually" means that most don't. It doesn't mean that none do. (Also, it depends on your fandom. None of the official artists for mine take commissions for anything related to the fandom; there's some sort of agreement with the company involved.)

I kind of disagree with the "usually" though, as many artists will take commissions from fans and have no problem with it. Especially artists who do convention runs, it's a pretty common thing for them to take commissions from fans, and some of them charge a pretty penny for it too.

If an artist is under a strict contract then of course they won't, but that doesn't even mean they won't draw for fans in general, just that they won't draw for that ones series.

You're wrong there - I know a lot of professional artists (my husband being one of them) and they take work that pays. It doesn't matter who the client is.

holy shit. I'd have to work for over 20 hours to make that kind of money at my job. And that's *before* tax withholdings.

How long does it take to make a quality piece that's in line with stuff you post that people like? (That's an honest question; I'm not an artist and I really don't know myself)

That varies from artist to artist, for me it can take anywhere from a day to a week for an average piece (or if I'm doing something of and on, a few weeks if it's really detailed.) Some people work faster then me though and it also depends on the work you're doing, animation and game stuff is typically faster paced then some illustrative work.

100 is really not a lot where I am from though, and I know artists that charge 100 an hour, and that's not even giving you a full piece. Most commission rates you see online are artists WAY undercharging because we typically give fans a cheaper rate, especially if it's just for something of personal use.

€100 is equal to about $120 USD. I make $7.50 an hour (just over minimum wage). I'd have to put in about 20 hours to make that money, and that is before tax withholdings.

I have no idea what the size and scope of OP's piece is, but from my point of view, that is a FUCKTON of money. So it's a little frustrating to hear people say it's "not really a lot" and act like you should get something mediocre for it. Obviously, the artist shouldn't have to put in an entire week for a piece that price - that would put them well under minimum wage (in the US at least; I'm not sure but minimum wage may be higher in the UK, so then it would be even worse). But if they spent a day or two on it? It should be worth the money paid.

Basically, no we don't know whether OP got ripped off or not, but please don't act like that's not a lot of money. It really, really is.

Edited 2014-09-19 05:20 (UTC)

HAHAHAHA so artists consider 50€/hour to be a normal wage? If they're paid less they're entitled to do shit work? Yeah most professionals (you know, people who actually studied and worked their ass off to get where they are) will never make that.

Love it when artists are so full of themselves that they consider themselves victims because they're not the highest paid people in the world.

This response is aggravating. I commented elsewhere but I am also an artist (as well as someone who commissions other artists). When people commission me, I understand they are expecting me to produce something equal to my existing body of work, whether is a sketch or a complete, multi-character piece with an ultra-detailed background, they want the piece to be of the same standard as the works I use to get commissions in the first place.

So many of the comments here are acting like it's wrong to expect consistency. Yeah, artists aren't machines, but if you're going to use your best work to garner customers, then you should deliver - if you need more time to put out something decent, ask for it. I would never give a client something substandard; it's insulting to them and it just makes me look bad.

€100 is not an insignificant amount of money, even if it isn't a lot. I hope other people considering commissioning artists understand that it is OK to not like the artwork that is produced, to ask for WIPs on detailed pieces, and to speak up as soon as you see a problem regardless of how popular someone is. Most artists want to make their customers happy and shouldn't take it personally.

I agree. The problem here is that OP didn't communicate with her artist.

Or that the artist didn't send sketches...

As apparently it's the way most fan-artists who draw commissions do.

LOL clearly I am in the wrong business. I sure wish I made that kind of money.

mte...

Yeah I have a really fucking cushy job, and I make nowhere near that even before taxes.

Plus, I'll eat a broom if the majority of fan artists pay proper taxes when they sell a commission.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2815 ]

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