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How to treat your customers, dear furry artists.
14 years ago
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Since many artists recently have been posting a nice 'How to'-chart about how to communicate with and treat (furry) artists,
I thought I could do this the other way round, as some sort of guideline for how to treat those who spend money on your art.
Now first of all, I'm sure many of you could just lean back and pick those with the best payment and perfect way of
describing what they want, but if you really offer commissions to anyone, and if someone picks it, AND if there is conclusion of a
purchase/sales contract, then please keep the following points in mind.
1. You sure are no mindless drawing robot and no one could expect you to bristle with inspiration 24/7.
BUT, if you offer commissions and let people pay in advance, it is a matter of morality to get things done as quick as possible.
And if an applicant gives you a detailled description, it's less personal inspiration but more 'drawing as been told', like a
construction worker bricking walls according to a plan.
Quintessence: You offer manpower, you get paid, you have to fulfill your part of the contract and get to work - and not wait until another
day because you are currently not in the mood for it. The moment you have the money, it is your job and duty!
2. If you feel your real life taking more and more free time, do not accpet more commissions than you can handle.
Again, especially when demanding payment in advance!
It is far off good morality getting hundrets of dollars within a few days and taking months for the first sketch to come up with.
3. Brief your customers.
It is not hours of work sending out mails to people and telling them about the status.
Again: If you got payed in advance, it is your duty, and not your customers' business to check on your status page
every week to get information about progress.
And also,a gain: If this seems too much work for you, don't keep on accepting further commissions to your already
towering pile of work.
4. Stay within order.
Offering Halloween commissions at the end of September and not getting them done until end of October because you
felt like doing the "Iron Artist" run inbetween is not okay!
Exceptions can be made, but that's the same as in the queue in front of the supermarket checkout counter: If someone wants
a picture as a birthday or wedding gift, ask the ones already in the queue if they are okay with a delay and don't assume
anyone who didn't set a specific date could wait for a year.
Besides, if someone gets the idea to a birthday-gift-picture two weeks before the birthday, it is their own fault if it won't get
done until then - if they are at the end of the queue and no one would let them go ahead.
5. Make a schedule of birthdays and conventions you plan attending or doing art for and offer 'independent' commissions only if
you feel you still have time for them - after cheking on what you have been planning for the conventions.
Is is not fair letting people wait for their picture because you need to squeeze even more commissions/works inbetween to make
more money at the con.
Failing at you personal planning is your own fault and in terms of trading, after receiving payment, your customers go FIRST!
6. Offering commissions for a rush of money - for a broken car or some other bill - is perfectly okay.
Still, the moment you get the money you are involved in a contract and you have to come up with your part within an appropriate
period of time. It is not okay to disregard customers who already payed you for those taking "emergeny commissions". If opening them at all,
either make absolutely clear that those pictures could take x weeks/months or do as everyone else does: Find another way to pay your bills.
Your customers waiting for months already are not responsible for what made you needing money and folks taking your emergency
commissions are no cheap bank to borrow money from. Again, as soon as you receive payment, it is a purchase/sales contract and
it is your duty to fulfill your part within an appropriate span of time.
To this point, that's all I can think of right now.
If anyone of you - my readers - feel the same about what I just wrote, re-post it and if think I forgot about some things worth mentioning, please tell me!
To the artists reading this: I'm not insulting anyone of you equally. There are many 'professionals' amongst you that do business as it should be done.
But should you feel addressed in some way, don't go right into bashing, but think about what made you feel adressed first!
Thank you.
- BlechFuchs aka CyberFox (aka Evil Twin Maxie ^^)
---
Since many artists recently have been posting a nice 'How to'-chart about how to communicate with and treat (furry) artists,
I thought I could do this the other way round, as some sort of guideline for how to treat those who spend money on your art.
Now first of all, I'm sure many of you could just lean back and pick those with the best payment and perfect way of
describing what they want, but if you really offer commissions to anyone, and if someone picks it, AND if there is conclusion of a
purchase/sales contract, then please keep the following points in mind.
1. You sure are no mindless drawing robot and no one could expect you to bristle with inspiration 24/7.
BUT, if you offer commissions and let people pay in advance, it is a matter of morality to get things done as quick as possible.
And if an applicant gives you a detailled description, it's less personal inspiration but more 'drawing as been told', like a
construction worker bricking walls according to a plan.
Quintessence: You offer manpower, you get paid, you have to fulfill your part of the contract and get to work - and not wait until another
day because you are currently not in the mood for it. The moment you have the money, it is your job and duty!
2. If you feel your real life taking more and more free time, do not accpet more commissions than you can handle.
Again, especially when demanding payment in advance!
It is far off good morality getting hundrets of dollars within a few days and taking months for the first sketch to come up with.
3. Brief your customers.
It is not hours of work sending out mails to people and telling them about the status.
Again: If you got payed in advance, it is your duty, and not your customers' business to check on your status page
every week to get information about progress.
And also,a gain: If this seems too much work for you, don't keep on accepting further commissions to your already
towering pile of work.
4. Stay within order.
Offering Halloween commissions at the end of September and not getting them done until end of October because you
felt like doing the "Iron Artist" run inbetween is not okay!
Exceptions can be made, but that's the same as in the queue in front of the supermarket checkout counter: If someone wants
a picture as a birthday or wedding gift, ask the ones already in the queue if they are okay with a delay and don't assume
anyone who didn't set a specific date could wait for a year.
Besides, if someone gets the idea to a birthday-gift-picture two weeks before the birthday, it is their own fault if it won't get
done until then - if they are at the end of the queue and no one would let them go ahead.
5. Make a schedule of birthdays and conventions you plan attending or doing art for and offer 'independent' commissions only if
you feel you still have time for them - after cheking on what you have been planning for the conventions.
Is is not fair letting people wait for their picture because you need to squeeze even more commissions/works inbetween to make
more money at the con.
Failing at you personal planning is your own fault and in terms of trading, after receiving payment, your customers go FIRST!
6. Offering commissions for a rush of money - for a broken car or some other bill - is perfectly okay.
Still, the moment you get the money you are involved in a contract and you have to come up with your part within an appropriate
period of time. It is not okay to disregard customers who already payed you for those taking "emergeny commissions". If opening them at all,
either make absolutely clear that those pictures could take x weeks/months or do as everyone else does: Find another way to pay your bills.
Your customers waiting for months already are not responsible for what made you needing money and folks taking your emergency
commissions are no cheap bank to borrow money from. Again, as soon as you receive payment, it is a purchase/sales contract and
it is your duty to fulfill your part within an appropriate span of time.
To this point, that's all I can think of right now.
If anyone of you - my readers - feel the same about what I just wrote, re-post it and if think I forgot about some things worth mentioning, please tell me!
To the artists reading this: I'm not insulting anyone of you equally. There are many 'professionals' amongst you that do business as it should be done.
But should you feel addressed in some way, don't go right into bashing, but think about what made you feel adressed first!
Thank you.
- BlechFuchs aka CyberFox (aka Evil Twin Maxie ^^)
The second money changes hands, it's a business arrangement and should be treated like one. If someone can't or won't communicate with the people that hired them and/or offer a refund when things aren't going according to plan, then they shouldn't be putting themselves on the market.
Life happens and sometimes people take on too much, but there's NEVER an excuse for ignoring your customers. Most people will be understanding when something pops up that will delay their picture, it's when weeks or months go by with no word from the artist that people get pissy.
Also, it's not all on the artist if the commissioner doesn't even try to get in contact with the artist. They're not perfect, things will happen. So it's really a two-way street.
However, even if one's art is not their primary job, if someone is going to accept commissions they should be expected to behave professionally. I get a summer job every year when it gets difficult to get hours at my primary job; should I slack off and show up late at my summer job merely because it's not my primary source of income?
It seems to me I'd have a hard time getting that job back next year when I need the money again if I did....
What amazes me is the number of commissioners that will continue to pay the minority of artists that have proven they aren't trustworthy or have obvious warning signs in their journals that they don't take commissions seriously.
And it's a shitty way of briefing people via journals. I (blechfuchs) am having about 1000 people on my watch list, that's about 120-150 Journals every 48 hours.
I usually nuke them because I simply don't have the time to scroll through the list and search for artists giving updates.
What's so hard about mailing lists or sending PMs to multiple recipients?
I had this thought too...