So I was told by a local artist about the great work that
they have received through sites like Guru and Odesk, so I tried them out.
I haven’t received any work through those
sites, but I have seen this attitude towards art which I find offensive.
It’s the “draw for free so I can decide if I
am going to hire you” attitude.
Forget
your portfolio, it's "draw my characters and then I will decide whether to hire
you."
I’m amazed by this attitude.
In what business do you go into and use their
services then decide if you are going to pay?
You order a sampler plate at a restaurant – you pay for it.
You go for a checkup – you pay for it.
Yet these people want me to work for a week
on the off chance that you are going to hire me?
I refuse to give anyone my time for
free.
And that’s what it boils down to,
the time of the artists – and professional artists should take a stand about
this.
It’s one thing when you have me doing
samples to see which of your comic books that you want me to draw, it’s another
thing when you want me to spend my time working on a cattle call – I put in
time on the chance that I might get hired.
I don’t care what type of job you work you want to get paid for your
time.
It is unfair to the artists to do
that, how many hours of labor did that company get?
Let’s say all the artists are a page a day
artists – the company asks for four pages, that four days of work.
Say they do that to seven artists, that’s 28
days of work – for free.
There is no way
to justify that behavior.
Anywhere someone
would ask people to work several days for free to see if they will get hired they
would be breaking state and local laws, but it’s alright to ask an artist to do
that after all, they’re only producing art.
We professional artists have to stand for our rights, if we all refused
to jump through that hoop, then companies wouldn’t think it was alright to have
us work for free.
So I was told by a local artist about the great work that
they have received through sites like Guru and Odesk, so I tried them out. I haven’t received any work through those
sites, but I have seen this attitude towards art which I find offensive. It’s the “draw for free so I can decide if I
am going to hire you” attitude. Forget
your portfolio, it's "draw my characters and then I will decide whether to hire
you." I’m amazed by this attitude. In what business do you go into and use their
services then decide if you are going to pay?
You order a sampler plate at a restaurant – you pay for it. You go for a checkup – you pay for it. Yet these people want me to work for a week
on the off chance that you are going to hire me? I refuse to give anyone my time for
free. And that’s what it boils down to,
the time of the artists – and professional artists should take a stand about
this. It’s one thing when you have me doing
samples to see which of your comic books that you want me to draw, it’s another
thing when you want me to spend my time working on a cattle call – I put in
time on the chance that I might get hired.
I don’t care what type of job you work you want to get paid for your
time. It is unfair to the artists to do
that, how many hours of labor did that company get? Let’s say all the artists are a page a day
artists – the company asks for four pages, that four days of work. Say they do that to seven artists, that’s 28
days of work – for free. There is no way
to justify that behavior. Anywhere someone
would ask people to work several days for free to see if they will get hired they
would be breaking state and local laws, but it’s alright to ask an artist to do
that after all, they’re only producing art.
We professional artists have to stand for our rights, if we all refused
to jump through that hoop, then companies wouldn’t think it was alright to have
us work for free.
