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angry artist things : rage against the system
16 years ago
General
Right now I'm an angry angry artist.
I live in Asia, on a tiny island off the tip of Malaysia. We are an almost first world country but not quite. We suffer from just about no natural disasters; they just can't reach us and we are out of the ring of fire. We import just about everything into our country, including water; we're just not big enough to be self sufficient. And we are home to some of the worst bosses in the world.
More so if you are in the art industry.
For the longest time, art was considered more or less a waste of time. It brought in little money and did little good to the economy. More of a luxury than a commodity. When the country first started out, it was all about the lawyers and the doctors and the engineers. I mean well, we have to get a country off it's feet, yes? Just recently, the government has taken an interest in this art thing, what with the sudden influx of CGI movies and lovely 3D animations. And what with the amount of money the entertainment industry makes, they are VERY interested.
Several problems though.
- No one respects artists. Why, you wonder. I wish I knew. Sometimes I think it has to do with a lack of art in our culture and the older generation simply doesn't know how to treat an artist.
- Many people assume our work is easy. If only I could count the times people have said to me, 'It can't be that hard, really, it's just drawing.' Or, 'It's just clicking a few buttons.'
- Many people assume one doesn't have to study to be able to art and is thus a lazy man's subject. Of course they have no idea that art is anything but lazy and artists spend a lifetime learning technique and keeping their skills up to par.
- Ok I'm not sure how this works out in other countries but here, artists especially, are not entitled to overtime pay. I've worked from 8.30am to 10pm and have had friends who've worked till 3am and through the weekends without any compensation. I think something's a little off here. I should add that this working overtime without pay is a commonly accepted practice so arguing against it will only get you shown to the door. Again if people would be kind enough to let me know how it works in their country, that'd be nice.
I guess these are just a few of the issues on my head at the moment. Please pardon me if I sound disjointed or anything but I'm really tired and I take up extra drawing classes after work on Mondays.
I think I'm done for now.
Just gonna.. put my commission list here as usual.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3409084/ Icons Set One. US$3-4.50 each, depending on complexity.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3409089/ Icons Set Two. US$5-6.50 each, depending on complexity.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3409093/ Icons Set Three. US$6.50-7+ each, depending on complexity.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3411750/ Headshot Sketches. US$3 each.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3424057/ Basic Character Fullbody Sketch. US$5-6.50 each.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3424060/ Basic Character Fullbody Colour Dump. US$6.50-7.50 each.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3424065/ Basic Character Lineart. US$8 each.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3424069/ Basic Character Flat Colours. US$12+ each.
Will be introducing new icons soon, once I get out of my job and um... let me know if there's anything you'd like!
Current Commission List
1.
a_fluffy_wolf Flat chara x 1
2.
hollenheist Icons from various sets x 6 waiting for info and refs
I live in Asia, on a tiny island off the tip of Malaysia. We are an almost first world country but not quite. We suffer from just about no natural disasters; they just can't reach us and we are out of the ring of fire. We import just about everything into our country, including water; we're just not big enough to be self sufficient. And we are home to some of the worst bosses in the world.
More so if you are in the art industry.
For the longest time, art was considered more or less a waste of time. It brought in little money and did little good to the economy. More of a luxury than a commodity. When the country first started out, it was all about the lawyers and the doctors and the engineers. I mean well, we have to get a country off it's feet, yes? Just recently, the government has taken an interest in this art thing, what with the sudden influx of CGI movies and lovely 3D animations. And what with the amount of money the entertainment industry makes, they are VERY interested.
Several problems though.
- No one respects artists. Why, you wonder. I wish I knew. Sometimes I think it has to do with a lack of art in our culture and the older generation simply doesn't know how to treat an artist.
- Many people assume our work is easy. If only I could count the times people have said to me, 'It can't be that hard, really, it's just drawing.' Or, 'It's just clicking a few buttons.'
- Many people assume one doesn't have to study to be able to art and is thus a lazy man's subject. Of course they have no idea that art is anything but lazy and artists spend a lifetime learning technique and keeping their skills up to par.
- Ok I'm not sure how this works out in other countries but here, artists especially, are not entitled to overtime pay. I've worked from 8.30am to 10pm and have had friends who've worked till 3am and through the weekends without any compensation. I think something's a little off here. I should add that this working overtime without pay is a commonly accepted practice so arguing against it will only get you shown to the door. Again if people would be kind enough to let me know how it works in their country, that'd be nice.
I guess these are just a few of the issues on my head at the moment. Please pardon me if I sound disjointed or anything but I'm really tired and I take up extra drawing classes after work on Mondays.
I think I'm done for now.
Just gonna.. put my commission list here as usual.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3409084/ Icons Set One. US$3-4.50 each, depending on complexity.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3409089/ Icons Set Two. US$5-6.50 each, depending on complexity.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3409093/ Icons Set Three. US$6.50-7+ each, depending on complexity.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3411750/ Headshot Sketches. US$3 each.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3424057/ Basic Character Fullbody Sketch. US$5-6.50 each.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3424060/ Basic Character Fullbody Colour Dump. US$6.50-7.50 each.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3424065/ Basic Character Lineart. US$8 each.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3424069/ Basic Character Flat Colours. US$12+ each.
Will be introducing new icons soon, once I get out of my job and um... let me know if there's anything you'd like!
Current Commission List
1.
a_fluffy_wolf Flat chara x 1 2.
hollenheist Icons from various sets x 6 waiting for info and refs
lizardbeth
~lizardbeth
the overtime thing boggles my mind. In the US, a lot of the time artists aren't paid necessarily by the hour but by the project (i.e. "I want 3 illustrations for my magazine, we'll pay you x amount). It's then up to the artist to determine if that amount is worth the amount of time, supplies, etc. Before anything happens, a contract is written to say what is getting done, for how much, and what rights to said art the buyer gets (do they get reproduction rights? can they put it on t-shirts? How long can they put it on t-shirts? can the artist resell the original? etcetcetc). If anything is added down the line (buyer wants a 4th illustration, or he wants to put it on coffee mugs in addition to t-shirts), the contract must be added to and an additional fee is charged.
lizardbeth
~lizardbeth
...but a lot of the rest is very familiar. I've encountered the first 3 things on that list more than once (even from my own parents).
buttburner
~buttburner
OP
Over here, we get paid on a monthly basis, rarely on a project basis unless you're a freelancer. My current work day starts at 8.30am and ends at 6pm, if I'm lucky. Often it crosses the 6pm mark and into the 7-8pm range, ocassionally hitting the 10pm zone. Haven't been unfortunate enough to be made to work into the wee hours yet though. Right now, based on the hourly calculations, I make $1.2k a month after tax which is about $6 an hour for a 9.5 hour day. The hourly wage becomes downright miserable when oh say... it becomes a 12 hour day. :(
Toraneko
~toraneko
seriously, 6 bucks an hour? that's under minimum wage in Aus, you could earn $12-15 working at McDonald's.
nicoya
~nicoya
Yeah, those complaints are pretty much universal for art workers everywhere in the world.
blainthepain
~blainthepain
ya no respect for artists
