funnysnow

Top 10 Lies told to Naive Artists and Designers
- by Mark W. Lewis

1 "Do this one cheap (or free) and we'll make it up on the next one."
No reputable business person would first give away their work and time or merchandise on the hope of making it up later. Can you imagine what a plumber would say if you said "come in, provide and install the sink for free and next time we'll make it up when we need a sink." You would be laughed at! Also the likelyhood is that if something important came along, they wouldn't use you.

2 "We never pay a cent until we see the final product."
This is a croc, unless the person is leaving the door open to cheat you out of your pay. Virtually every profession requres a deposit or incremental payment during anything but the smallest project. Once you have a working relationship, you may work out another arrangement with a client. But a new client should not ask you to go beyond an initial meeting and, perhaps some preliminary sketches without pay on the job!

3 "Do this for us and you'll get great exposure! The jobs will just pour in!"
Baloney. Tell a plumber "Install this sink and my friend will see and you'll get lots of business!" Our plumber friend would say "You mean even if I do a good job I have to give my work away to get noticed? Then it isn't worth the notice." Also the guy would likely brag to everyone he knows about how this would normally cost (X) dollars, but brilliant businessman that he is he got if for free! If anyone calls, they'll expect the same or better deal.

4 On looking at sketches or concepts: "Well, we aren't sure if we want to use you yet, but leave your material here so I can talk to my partner/investor/wife/clergy."You can be sure that 15 minutes after you leave he will be on the phone to other designers, now with concepts in hand, asking for price quotes. When you call back you will be informed that your prices were too high and Joe Blow Design/Illustration will be doing the job. Why shouldn't they be cheaper? You just gave them hours of free consulting work! Until you have a deal, LEAVE NOTHING CREATIVE at the clients office.

5 "Well, the job isn't CANCELLED, just delayed. Keep the account open and we'll continue in a month or two."
Ummm, probably not. If something is hot, then not, it could be dead. It would be a mistake to *not* bill for work performed at this point and then let the chips fall where they may! Call in two months and someone else may be in that job. And guess what? They don't know you at all.....

6 "Contract? We don't need no stinking contact! Aren't we friends?"Yes, we are, until something goes wrong or is misunderstood, then you are the jerk in the suit and I am that idiot designer, then the contract is essential. That is, unless one doesn't care about being paid. Any reputable business uses paperwork to define relationships and you should too.

7 "Send me a bill after the work goes to press."
Why wait for an irrelevant deadline to send an invoice? You stand behind your work, right? You are honest, right? Why would you feel bound to this deadline? Once you deliver the work and it is accepted, BILL IT. This point may just be a delaying tactic so the job goes through the printer prior to any question of your being paid. If the guy waits for the job to be printed, and you do changes as necessary, then he can stiff you and not take a chance that he'll have to pay someone else for changes.

8 "The last guy did it for XXX dollars."
That is irrelevant. If the last guy was so good they wouldn't be talking to you, now would they? And what that guy charged means nothing to you, really. People who charge too little for their time go out of business (or self-destruct financially, or change occupations) and then someone else has to step in. Set a fair price and stick to it.

9 "Our budget is XXX dollars, firm."
Amazing, isn't it? This guy goes out to buy a car, and what, knows exactly what he is going to spend before even looking or researching? Not likely. A certain amount of work costs a certain amount of money. If they have less money (and you *can*) do less work and still take the job. But make sure they understand that you are doing less work if you take less money that you originally estimated. Give fewer comps, simplify, let them go elsewhere for services (like films) etc.

10 "We are having financial problems. Give us the work, we'll make some money and we'll pay you. Simple."
Yeah, except when the money comes, you can expect that you will be pretty low on the list to be paid. If someone reaches the point where they admit that the company is in trouble, then they are probably much worse off than they are admitting to. Even then, are you a bank? Are you qualified to check out their financials? If the company is strapped to the point where credit is a problem through credit agencies, banks etc. what business would you have extending credit to them. You have exactly ZERO pull once they have the work. Noble intentions or not, this is probably a losing bet. But if you are going to roll the dice, AT LEAST you should be getting additional money for waiting. The bank gets interest and so should you. That is probably why the person is approaching you; to get six months worth of free interest instead of paying bank rates for credit and then paying you with that money. Don't give away money.


Now, this list wasn't meant to make anyone crazy or paranoid, but is designed to inject some reality into the fantasy.

You are GOING to be dealing with people who are unlike yourself. Their motivations are their own and their attitudes are probably different than yours. There are going to be demands, problems, issues and all the hassles that go with practically ANY work/job/money situation. Too many times I see the sad example of someone walking in to a situation with noble intentions and then getting royally screwed, because what they see as an opportunity and a labor of love, the other party sees as something else entirely, not at all romantic or idealized, but raw and simple.

How can you deal with this stuff and still do good creative work? Good question. THIS is why an education is important. You learn, out of the line of fire, how to deal with the art at it's own level and also how to deal with the crap that surrounds it. You may have tough teachers and think that it can't be worse, but wait until a business person has a hundred grand riding on your art! Then you will know what "demanding" means. You will then thank all those tough teachers for building up the calluses that enable you to enjoy the job rather than just feeling like it is all a big waste of time!

In the end, working commercially, being a terrific artist is about 25% of the task. If that is the only part of the task that you are interested in, do yourself a favor. Don't turn "pro."

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

BaiMaYi

Wow...this is good stuff, designers should read it.

Anm's Small Things:
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

djchris

Very true...also for web design and development.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
: Asia Solution Kenetics
Visit us at:
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
.

Our Non-Profit Initiatives

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


Personal Links

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Frieve

sadly I heard this in number 3...
>.<

zenite

hey me also. i was reading the things den tell to myself: which idiot fall for these lies. den i realise i was in number 3...:cry3:

getting pay dirt cheap for my job which includes: mechanical drawings/design/machining, web design, flash animation, graphics design

hard to find someone who can do mechanical and web design out there, and i am being paid peanuts for this! the reason: its the working exp. that is more important, not the money (wth, then pay me more if its not impt to u).
being naive, i take up the job right away.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
|
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
|
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

nivleK1985

Great info. This can be generalize for most trades as well.

Thumbs up
:rock:

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


Prized possession:-
NDSLite - Pink
Pokemon Pearl
Nintendogs

They will be going with me to South Africa on 18th June till 2nd July~

genzo2106

this is solid info...applies to almost all type of trades man!!!

Life is full of ups and downs. But one has to learn how to stand up on his own and continue his path to attaining enlightment...:mellow3: :mellow3:

My articles at HELIUM:mellow3:

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

zednineteen

agree.. asp the contract wan! my dad nearly got cheated becos of "friends"

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

view me or add me

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

TDS

i agree fully this usually happens alot...

UniComic Studio
Job: Animator/ Secondary Student
Name: T.D.S/ Reph / Rephriz
Age:17
Number: 98250351 (SMS before call)(for valid reasons to place this up)

dun prank call me
or else ... u wun live to see the light which i mean it...

Looking for any interested participant who wishes to make their own manga.

Only Singaporean (For Meetup Reasons)

huey

yes, shit like this happens all the time. but there will still be people willing to take on these jobs and knowingly get cheated because in this field, experience counts a lot. Without the experience, how do you move on to get better jobs? If companies can afford to hire a pro why should they hire a fresh grad at the same rate, and if a fresh grad doesn't lower his rate or deal with the unfair terms, how's he gonna get his foot in the door and compete with all the other fresh grads flooding the market. It's a vicious cycle and I don't think the situation will get better in the near future.

starshine

thanks for this!
(: hahaha, really insightful and i needed it.

stelart

quite true

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

welcome to
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

MehMeh

This is great stuff. Everyone shd read..especially designers who just graduated.

Please visit The Mehs bloggie:
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

princesstaqinah

LOL!

People that don't know me thinks I'm shy.
People that do know me wish I were.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

boyusflare

some might think this is really nothing to fear about, but i think those are really valuable points.i've always been a too-kind type of person. i will be more cautious now when i enter the buisness industry nx time

all art STEALERS should rot in HELL!

my new website :
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


Deviantart:
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

neez

great stuff for all who dun wanna be cheated..=x

bored.genius?

kazenosuke

realli good piece of information!i think these will help alot of pple