# People who want commercial commissions



## Aaros (Mar 3, 2011)

Hey,
Earlier I made a thread about someone who asked me if they could use my commission in a commercial product, and I had an experience that, since then, has turned into a trend.

This person contacted me about using my commission in a commercial product, just by asking if they could without mentioning any kind of rights agreement or compensation, and when I brought up some kind of compensation agreement or selling the rights, at first they still seemed interested, but then dropped off contact with me quickly and stopped responding to my messages.

I had a similar experience a short time ago with someone who sent me a message saying they were working on a game project and were interested in commissioning me to use my art in their game. He asked me what my "going rate" for commissions was, which seems pretty ambiguous to me. either way, I sent him a nice message back saying that I'd need more information about where and how my art was going to be used in the game and what the specifics were and that I'd need to talk about the rights agreement and all that, and he immediately lost interest in the commission.

I have heard about people who try to exploit inexperienced artists, but I have a feeling that I might have encountered people like this personally now. It's just a hunch, but it seems like these might be people who are looking for cheap inexperienced artists to work for them, and then are scared away when the artist actually knows how to deal with rights and compensation, or at least asks about it.

So I thought I'd just share this: I think I may have had real life experiences with people looking to take advantage of artists who don't know about how commercial commissions work. I'd heard about them, but it's weird to actually see them. Food for thought, I guess.
Then again, I might be wrong. There's no way to tell for sure, but that's what it seems like to me.

Either way, I guess it shows that it's important for artists to be informed, and I'm glad that I was and that I was able to get advice on the matter.
I just wonder if there are other artists who didn't know better and went through on commission requests like these.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's true that artists should be careful and I have personal evidence of it. and also, thanks to those of you who are willing to give advice to other artists who don't know as much.


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## ThisisGabe (Mar 3, 2011)

My personal guess is these guys asked a buncha people at the same time and just went to the guy with the lowest rate after they heard a number they liked and then ignored the rest, including those with questions.


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## Taralack (Mar 3, 2011)

There was a whole debacle some time last year about some guy who wrote an article recommending people to hire freelance artists and designers because they're cheaper. The whole amateur artist community got up in arms about it; this feels like a subeffect of that >_>a


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## Valery91Thunder (Mar 4, 2011)

This really discourages the mainstream artists or people who are on their way to becoming one or that have studied years to be prepared for working on commercial uses and such.
My boyfriend is one of those artists and we both have read that article Toraneko quoted above. It really saddened us thinking that there are people willing to cheat to people who try to have a stable work with their passion only because this way they can pay less. >.<


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## FireFeathers (Mar 5, 2011)

Yeah, you get those a lot. It sucks, but that's where being very cautious about everything helps out best with.


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 5, 2011)

Toraneko said:


> There was a whole debacle some time last year about some guy who wrote an article recommending people to hire freelance artists and designers because they're cheaper. The whole amateur artist community got up in arms about it; this feels like a subeffect of that >_>a


 
Yes, and that person was 15. Why someone would want to enter and employment contract with a minor baffles me. People need to do their research. Not only that, but learn their rights. 

[yt]R2a8TRSgzZY[/yt]


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## Lobar (Mar 5, 2011)

Do we really need another discussion on why DA artists shouldn't feel entitled to five figures just because the commissioned work is to be used commercially?


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 5, 2011)

Uhh, what? There are A LOT of Professional artists on DA

http://ahbiasaaja.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://joejusko.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://matdixon.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://njoo.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://artgerm.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://blackeri.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://velinov.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://nelsondaniel.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://cuson.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://davidsdoodles.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://sooper-deviant.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://theaphex.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://arnistotle.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://udoncrew.deviantart.com/
http://yumedust.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://zhuzhu.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://jdillon82.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://eastmonkey.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://endling.deviantart.com/gallery/


Those are just a few.


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## Lobar (Mar 5, 2011)

You know what I meant.  You don't have to pull a Roose with the link spam.

If you don't have professional credentials, and don't do professional work for commercial projects on a regular basis, you're not being "exploited" by not getting the same pay.


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 5, 2011)

What are "professional credentials"? There is no need for a degree to be a professional artist.

Your argument is not sound because there are professionals that shouldn't be pros that still get a five figure salary according to people.
There are people who are not professional who don't get a five figure salary that can do better work than those that are.


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## Zydala (Mar 5, 2011)

Lobar said:


> If you don't have professional credentials, and don't do professional work for commercial projects on a regular basis, you're not being "exploited" by not getting the same pay.


 
That's... a really poor way of looking at it. :[ Where does one actually ever 'start' doing professional work then? Are they doomed to forever be just 'amateurs' and not get decent credit for their efforts?

I think anyone that you would deem 'professional' would tell you that your argument is kinda faulty and that's not how artist rights/rights to artwork actually work :\

The only artists there are, are ones aware of their rights, and ones that are not.


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## Aaros (Mar 5, 2011)

Even if you don't get paid as much as a professional, it's still important to come up with rights and compensation agreements. Maybe you aren't nearly as expensive as most pros, but at least you should protect the copyrights and come up with sensible agreements for your work. A free pass for a company to do whatever you want with your work without you having any control or compensation just seems like a very bad idea.


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## Zydala (Mar 6, 2011)

Aaromus said:


> Even if you don't get paid as much as a professional, it's still important to come up with rights and compensation agreements. Maybe you aren't nearly as expensive as most pros, but at least you should protect the copyrights and come up with sensible agreements for your work. A free pass for a company to do whatever you want with your work without you having any control or compensation just seems like a very bad idea.


 
Exactly. The amount of money wasn't even the issue at all in the post; actually there's no mention of any numbers being spoken of. It didn't even get to that point because the commissioners didn't even want to go through the proper means of settling a contract. That's pretty much the issue. Charge what you want, or take how much money you're offered, that's not the point. The point is that people who try to find artists who don't know their rights are exploitative and it's better to avoid them.


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## DesecratedFlame (Apr 11, 2011)

I have encountered people like that.  I am under the impression that they are scammers just looking to get some free comissions.


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## DesecratedFlame (Jan 1, 2023)

DesecratedFlame said:


> I have encountered people like that.  I am under the impression that they are scammers just looking to get some free comissions.


Nostalgia


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