Doing art for free...

[grygon.livejournal.com]

Looking for advice here... recently I've opened myself to free art requests. The skill level is, not to toot my own horn, better than art I usually do for myself. Some people don't even bother to reply or acknowledge me once the artwork is done and posted.

What's up with that, and how would you continue?

I don't do art for ass-pats, and I've been taking these free requests as something to do to work on techniques and skill but at least a comment would be nice so I know they saw it. I mean, it was for them, specifically, so SOME appreciation would be nice, right?

Anyone been here, does this, and how did you handle it?

Comments

[oceandezignz.livejournal.com]

There are those who will jump for free art all the time. Jump and jump and in their greed they sometimes even forget to acknowledge the ones who gave them the free art in the first place. Pretty rude in my opinion.

But are you just posting it, or are sending them PMs/Notes to let them know as well? If its the latter, then they're just taking and running, and from there on I wouldn't do anymore art for them, should they go back for more. Also, you could try sticking to only giving watchers who have been following you from x-date (i.e from point of journal posting) a chance for the free art, so that way random passerbys can't just get freebies and forget you later on. Followers are more likely to comment and fave usually, so if you stick to them, then ignoring you is really going to look tacky.

But the truth is, you might just have to be prepared for those who won't acknowledge the art via comments or a fave, and move on.

[grygon.livejournal.com]

Yes, I always alert them however I can (some are f-locked and no email is provided, so the only way I have there is to go back to where they requested the artwork and reply again).

[thornwolf.livejournal.com]

Do art for yourself and stop doing it for other people if they're going to be ungrateful?

I dunno, that's what I would do. You can just as easily practice your skills by challenging yourself instead of having others ask you to draw their fursonas, which typically aren't that challenging.

Lame folks can't even acknowledge it though, but if that's going to be a trend I wouldn't cater to them anymore.

[lobotomysoup.livejournal.com]

I look at it as using them to try to draw something I normally wouldn't.

But then again I don't really pay attention if they do post or not.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

This kind of thing is why I VERY rarely take such requests, even though I enjoy doing them when I get thanked. I've pretty much taken to asking friends for things to draw, rather than opening it up to anybody.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

My theory is that when you devalue your own time spent and artwork, other people have no reason to value it either. I'm not saying you have to charge, just that it's a trend I've noticed - when you take away the value of your product, no one has to value your product.

[grygon.livejournal.com]

That's sad that people view free as having no value. :(

[bonegrind.livejournal.com]

maybe just do free art for yourself and your friends? or fanart.

[kriscynical.livejournal.com]

I never do free artwork because then everybody wants it/you become known as "the one who does free art". I draw what I want to draw in order to test out new techniques or practice things I'm not that good at... that way if it gets completely fucked up, nobody ever has to see it. lol

[blackberrypie.livejournal.com]

Yeah I get the same problem, so I decided to do nominee requests. Which worked well, that way the receiver didn't ask for it and gets the random surprised. I've had good results with that. :D

I'd say do trades to get random art as well, but its hit or miss with that. I get some trades back fast, sometimes never. @_@

[hollowzero.livejournal.com]

Can you explain how the nominee process is done? I'd love to know, it sounds great :)

[chrystena.livejournal.com]

I always thank people when they gift me art :)its awesome of them to do it for me and Im always grateful

[lincard.livejournal.com]

So much this! I have been fortunate of late to be gifted with several pieces done by some quite amazing artists. And pathetically grateful doesn't even begin to describe my reaction :-)

The fact that someone else finds you or your characters inspiring enough to want to spend time and effort in drawing them is very humbling. The least you can do is thank them.

[enchelynassa.livejournal.com]

I had a problem like this in exchange communities on lj. I think I had my chosens not acknowledge the work three times in a row, and that's when I stopped signing up. :I Do work for yourself, friends, or commissions. I think it's pretty (extremely) lame when people seem to ignore stuff drawn for them.

[grygon.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I was one of those lame people on the xchange comms years ago who wouldn't DO the assignment (I always thanked people tho!). A while ago I went back to all of them that I had failed to do art for and asked the comm how I could repent/get myself off the blacklist. I did what they asked, then left again. But I still feel like karma hates me for it, and with good reason. I should never had signed up without the time to really commit to it.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

I would stick to offering requests to people on your f-list or other inner circles.

Someone else, in this comm I believe, once suggested there was a free-art-whore-phonetree since complete strangers would pop up, ask for art and then disappear off the face of the planet once their art was done. I've seen some communication between these people that suggests that they indeed tip each other off as to people they can get free art from, and none of them seemed to have much in the way of polite manners. A lot of these people take the effort required for granted, getting free work in the most normal thing in the world for them.
Not a crowd I'd want to cater to.

I'm sure you have plenty of friends who might take you up on your offer? Otherwise, ditch the free requests schtick and work on your own projects, much more rewarding than wasting your time on a bunch of complete ingrates, because yes, you do at least deserve a "thank you" for your efforts.

[hobokitten.livejournal.com]

Is it wrong that I get excited that people mention my Artwhore phone tree? XD

I just get this happy little image of one person surfing FA for any hint of free art then cartoonishly dashing for their phone.

[kiwihunter8.livejournal.com]

Instead of taking requests, consider making gifts for those you admire/or whose characters interest you. It really brightens people's day to recieve a gift, there's none of the annoying back and forth stuff like a client, and you will get the practice in you are aiming to get.

[the-lest.livejournal.com]

I always make a point of writing a nice comment when I get free art or art trade work, but I've noticed that a lot of people hardly even acknowlegde gift art which is disheartening. Like other people have said, maybe stick to just doing it for friends, or to doing trades.

[junoluver.livejournal.com]

This happens most every time I take requests, and I only take them from people on my locked friends list on LJ. Personally, yes, I think people should always take the time to thank and acknowledge the artwork, and I also agree with the first poster, sometimes they may not realize you did it if you don't send them a note (I know I'm busy enough that I can't keep up with my LJ friends page, let alone deviantART or any other art site).

I've found that, instead of offering to be a request artist, I get better practice and something more valuable out of being a "suggestion artist" who asks for ideas (links to original characters, mythical beasts, something new to draw), but doesn't promise anything. Then I pick from them the ideas that sound the most interesting or challenging, and work from there. If people complain, too bad! It's not like you owe them anything!

[animehoneybee.livejournal.com]

this. :3 if you put it up as asking for "suggestions" then no one can complain and you get the advantage of being able to screen out ones who seem to be mere "art whores". Plus, then you're less chained to finishing a pic, or take on something that's less than appealing :)

[valentinecrow.livejournal.com]

Yup - just gone through this too.

Not much you can do except not do free/request art from them again, or like someone else suggested only do freebies for people you are close(r) too. Gift art or trades. Hmm I wonder if there is an lj furry community for that...

[taasla.livejournal.com]

I did a 50 free sketches a few months back to get a better grip on anatomy and learning to just have fun.

A small percentage of people were actual watchers and people from my livejournal. The rest? Whoooaaa boy, I had never seen them before. It's amazing how fast everything filled up, too.

Only a fraction of them replied to my replies with their art in the journal. I don't really think I am going to do anything like that anymore. But I did use it as a good time to draw critters that I would have probably never thought of doing in the first place.

[grygon.livejournal.com]

Do what was suggested above and only do it for nominated people? 50 is a huge number. Wow.

[greenreaper.livejournal.com]

If you are looking for something, you should at least say what you're looking for when you make the offer. If you just say "offering free art for nothing", there are people who will take you at your word and give you precisely that in return.

If you're looking to develop, then you really need to do this, as people are unlikely to provide criticism of a gift.

[stormslegacy.livejournal.com]

I actually found that didn't work when I tried it a while back, the people that crit my work normally still did so and the people I drew for still left comments only...maybe 1 out of 2 or 3 drawings?

[alexds1.livejournal.com]

If you're doing free art to hone your skills, then focus on that and not on the feedback. Sometimes I don't even get feedback from people I do commissions for. If you're making art for free then don't be surprised if people might feel like it is okay to devalue it.

[sekhmet.livejournal.com]

thats a good point. But no feedback on a commission? Jeez!

[jaswinder.livejournal.com]

whenever i take free art requests i usually have the caveat that i'll only draw what requests pique my interest. this way i can just ignore the 500 requests for DRAW ME INTO DOG PERSON!!

or i'll make it into a meme/challenge thing, like making them pick a song that would be thematic to the drawing.

another time i had like 10 slots but i'd only take one character of any given species; ie once someone requested a fox everyone else was SOL. goddamn tricky furries got around this by requesting WOLVES JACKALS AND DOG BREEDS.

[raeraesama.livejournal.com]

Free art tends not to be valued or appreciated as much when it's expected. If I draw free art, it tends to be a surprise or a gift.

[grygon.livejournal.com]

In comments above someone suggested I only draw for nominees. So I like that idea- gifts/surprises from now on. :)

[leahtaur.livejournal.com]

I just made a journal a few weeks ago, offering requests. I got 30 or 40 replies (whoa! That's a lot for me, I'm not popular), but since I told them I'd only be doing one or two and that I wanted lots of ideas to choose from, this was fine. I made a point to choose 1) a person who asked nicely (so many didn't even ASK so much as blurt out a ref and nothing else), and 2) a person who I could see had already commissioned many other people in the past. Sorry, but some people use requests as a way to remain a cheapskate. I believe art should be compensated in some way, ideally, so if I'm doing something for free, I'd rather do it for someone who has already supported artists in the past.

Someone said here that doing requests devalues a person's art -- well, only if you do requests for everyone who wants them. :P I had to turn down someone requesting art because the mood to do freebies had left me, so they turned around and commissioned me instead. :3 Requests are a good way to gain a bit of exposure, you just have to be smart about how you do them (and not a doormat!)

[grygon.livejournal.com]

Yep, being a doormat stops here. :(

[sekhmet.livejournal.com]

Im going to echo a lot of replies here, but this is why I stopped doing this AND EVEN art trades( Some people just never did their half of the trade or dissapeared off of the internet. That shits just rude. )

Do gift art for friends, they'Ll appreciate it for sure.

[grygon.livejournal.com]

Roger that! :)

?

[spiffystuff.livejournal.com]

So... why are you doing art for free?

It's OKAY if you want asspats affirmation for doing it. If that's what moves you to do art, that's fine. (there are of course, good ways of going about this and obnoxious ones - doing requests would be a decent one)

Are you sure the person in question saw the art? I don't know where you post it, but if you just posted it and expect them to notice, without a direct email or comment that definitely goes to them, then they might not have seen it.

If someone doesn't show proper appreciation for a gift then simply, don't give them any more gifts.

If it's just to work on technical prowess then who cares?

***
Looking at the other responses - I have not really had this problem myself, and I have done a few "freebies" recently in order to have originals to sell at cons and get out of my own head. I think a major difference was that I offered very limited freebies (5 at a time), also kind of as a "reward" to people watching me - they filled up very fast and so there would be no word-spreading to people who did not at least watch me on FA.
However even if one of the people hadn't said thank you when I was done, I'd still have been perfectly happy cuz I'd have my art and my sale.

Re: ?

[synnabar.livejournal.com]

"Are you sure the person in question saw the art? I don't know where you post it, but if you just posted it and expect them to notice, without a direct email or comment that definitely goes to them, then they might not have seen it."

Yes, this! I have gotten gift art but not noticed it until quite a while later, because I didn't check the particular art archive it was posted on, or the email went into spam, or I've just been offline. I am always very grateful and happy and humbled to receive art, but I'm not always around to see it!

However, I don't see anything wrong with contacting the recipient some other way and asking if they got it... and if they liked it, if you want to! (I know you're not looking for asspats, but it would be kind of them to let you know they appreciated it) I know that's an extra step, but there's nothing wrong in asking, if you have the time and inclination to do so.

[theassassinnox.livejournal.com]

I think it's rather rude of them. I always make sure to check in with artists when I am having projects done (though I am rarely lucky enough to stumble onto free art...I think it's only happened once?)

The feedback is just as important as the piece. I run into this with my projects as well. Nothing is quite so discouraging as finishing a mascot head that you spent considerable time on and put lot of yourself into, to receive a, "looks good, thanks."

I guess I don't have anything productive to say here other than you are being reasonable.
*laughs* If you ever want to make me some free art, I'll be glad to give you the feedback you deserve.

[grygon.livejournal.com]

Awe, that's sweet of you. Email me- if your idea inspires me I might: grygon@gmail.com

[stormslegacy.livejournal.com]

Eh, there's always bad apples, and I have personally found that offering free art often attracts the less-savory people in the community: http://community.livejournal.com/artists_beware/286659.html
That said, it's interesting to note most of the art whores watch eachother and not actual artists, so limiting it to watchers has a pretty good effect. I've seen others limit it to those who have previously commissioned them, which I think is a fantastic idea. I'm not at the level yet where tons of people have my art so I don't do that yet.

I do free art once in a while because I like to warm up with sketches and these are almost always imperfect. Having someone ask me for something puts me out of my comfort zone and makes me draw things I normally wouldn't, which is likely not something I would do if just making gift art for friends.

[grygon.livejournal.com]

Oh i Like the idea of limiting it to commissioners too... some one above suggested only doing freebies for nominees. I think i'll add "past commissioners" to that as well.