A NOTE TO MY FELLOW ARTISTS AND CREATORS: Good afternoon everyone. Its not often that I get up on my soapbox, but something that is plaguing creative professionals has been brought to my attention at least a half dozen times in the past few days, so I thought I would say what I have to say. Weve all heard the term starving artist before. Sadly, this is a very real condition for many of us. What is even more sad than that is the fact that WE ARE TO BLAME. Its common practice in this industry for artists to bid on jobs, and most jobs usually go to the lowest bidder. Now, ask yourself this: If you needed open heart surgery, do you think you could get a bunch of doctors to line up and try to outbid one another for your business? And, even more importantly, would you actually want the lowest bidder to be the guy cutting you open? No. Heres the part that most of us have such a hard time getting through our heads: WHAT WE DO IS VALUABLE! One of my favorite stories to tell fellow artists is about the designer that created the Gulf Petroleum logo. While meeting with the President of the company, he sketched out what would be their logo in about fifteen minutes. The oil tycoon was ecstatic, telling him that it was absolutely perfect! Then he asked our designer how much he wanted for it. With no hesitation, the designer said $250,000.00 The oil man was shocked and asked how he could charge a quarter of a million dollars for something that only took him fifteen minutes. The designer explained to him You arent paying me for the fifteen minutes it took me to draw this. What you are paying me for is the years and years of school, study and experience that it takes someone like me to be able to draw it in fifteen minutes. Its an extreme example, but the moral rings true. Every time any of us take on a job for less than what our time is actually worth, not only are we selling ourselves short, but we are devaluing the entire industry! Ive been working professionally as an illustrator since the late 90s, mostly for a low wage working for one company or another. A year ago, I went into business for myself and am thriving because of one simple fact. I have placed a certain value on my work and I wont budge from it. Ive certainly lost a few jobs as a result, but are those kind of clients really worth keeping around? When people want quality, they will pay for it. So, the next time youre negotiating a job, stand your ground. If some art director, marketing manager or business owner starts haggling over the price with you, always remember one very important thing: You could go to school and learn how to do THEIR job if you wanted to, but the only person on the entire planet that could ever do what you do is you! CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION CAN NOT BE TAUGHT! It is a valuable commodity and should be treated as such. As more and more of us begin to understand that fact, we can unite and stand our ground together, and as a result, the value of the entire industry will rise with us. Creativity is stifled by competition. Its up to us to actively create the landscape of our own industry. Think about it. -John “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream.” -Willy Wonka
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 18:45:38 +0000
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