Interesting post on DA, about (not) working for free

[extremophile]

http://wen-m.deviantart.com/journal/11633153/

(from someone else)

I would like to know if this thing of almost twice more neurosurgeons than illustrators is really true or just something made up...

[drugmassacre]

this has been a hot topic around here for years...and eventually lead to the creatio and strict rule enforcing of our Classified section

the statistics he has are interesting, but i can't believe anything without proper citations

[Tyler]

While I'm skeptical of the author's statistics, I do agree with the overall message. There are far too many people out there offering "artist's dream opportunities" to participate in 'contests' and such like for a chance at maybe having your work appear on their website... with no pay.

To accept those offers does a disservice not only to oneself but to the entire professional illustration community.

[MartinRedmond]

I haven't read the whole thing but honestly, do you really think most people asking for illustrations have the income to afford it to begin with? You should check how serious their business is. Not saying it's right, just saying asking some clients to be serious might not even be worth the bother because they can't afford it anyway.

[faroukbaaaaa]

generally proffesional people know the score and pay up. Any suggestion of 'there is no money in it just yet BUT...' from a stranger has got to be bullshit.

I had a dude last year do some plumbing at my house for which he charged me the full price, he then asked that I completely illustrate a childrens book he was writing... he wasn't going to pay me one fuckin bean .... 'but hey Mick... you never know... if it sells then maybe...'

I told him rather than we split the proceeds when the book is published in never never land I would charge him a daily rate for my time... he thought that was unreasonable so i told him to fuck off.

The market place is swamped with mediocre artists (they do have a certificate validating their reasonable grades in 'chair drawing' class though) willing to work for nothing just to get their 'name out there'... the name is out there as a mediocre cheap alternative to a proffessional.

It burns me up i tells ya

More relelvent to the topic I have to say that I live in an apartment block consisting of 156 units, everyone in there currently is a neurosurgeon apart from me.

[HellboyOne]

More relelvent to the topic I have to say that I live in an apartment block consisting of 156 units, everyone in there currently is a neurosurgeon apart from me.

I call total bullshit on the neurosurgeon-to-illustrator ratio statistic. In this article, entitled (funny enough) Relative Shortage of Neurosurgeons in the U.S. Alarms the Medical Specialty, the number of neurosurgeons in the US in 2003 was 3,081. Now, I have no stats at all when it comes to illustrators, but I'm willing to bet there at least that many illustrators in Los Angeles alone.

[extremophile]

Ops, this topic had actual posts after me!

More relelvent to the topic I have to say that I live in an apartment block consisting of 156 units, everyone in there currently is a neurosurgeon apart from me.

I call total bullshit on the neurosurgeon-to-illustrator ratio statistic. In this article, entitled (funny enough) Relative Shortage of Neurosurgeons in the U.S. Alarms the Medical Specialty, the number of neurosurgeons in the US in 2003 was 3,081. Now, I have no stats at all when it comes to illustrators, but I'm willing to bet there at least that many illustrators in Los Angeles alone.

I second the laugh


...perhaps the guy who wrote the original post on DA lives somewhere where there are neurosurgeons not certified by conventional medical institutions of nation-wide acceptance, but by video courses on neurosurgery, kind of "become a neurosurgeon in 24 hours", "do it yourself: neurosurgery made easy - all with instruments you might already have in your kitchen or garage", "for dummies", and things like that.

Could also be a very bad projection made from a small sample at the campus of some medical school.