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What it means to be a costume artist
11 years ago
I thought i would share a journal 
posted a day ago.
You can find the original post here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6173150/
Im not venting or anything, trust me, I just wanted to share a post that i thought was helpful information to get to know what a costume artist goes through :)
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We *all* make this shit up as we go along, even the pros. Over time, we streamline that process, but we're still making shit up.
We don't get things like raises/promotions. We have to fight and justify raising prices every time we realize we're not actually machines capable of working at peak efficiency 100% of the time, but tend to quote for the best case scenario. When we do raise prices so we're making what we would if we worked a regular job instead, we're met with scorn and backlash.
We don't get a HR department to deal with harassment, and we don't get a PR agent to handle our public face. We (well most of us, some of us have gotten so overwhelmed we've taken on some help) have to answer every email with the utmost professionalism, even when people are being pushy, inconsiderate, or just plain rude, lest we irk the furry drama mill and become labeled as difficult to work with. We are public figures, and there are people looking for any reason to tear us down.
Also, we don't get to blame delays on other people's mistakes in most cases. We don't get to take sick days, we don't get paid OT, and we have almost no recompense for any mistakes, recasts, or underestimated time to build. Health insurance? That's funny! We are expected to function like a company of one person, without the benefits.
We are distant and not the most eager to open up to people, because that usually ends in someone schmoozing for discounts or people trying to steal our 'trademark techniques' (see above about making shit up). This attitude doesn't come from feeling elitist, it comes from feeling like we have a motherfucking target on our backs. But we're labeled as 'popufur bitches' and treated like we think we're better than everyone else. If only people knew how isolated most of us feel.
WE ARE REGULAR PEOPLE TOO. We have bills to pay, and pets to feed, and sometimes medical expenses and *gasp* a lot of us would like to buy houses/cars/retire eventually. When we are stiffed a payment because someone can't prioritize their own finances, we often are left scrambling to make our own ends meet. Some of us have help from a partner/spouse, and we're lucky to have it. Some of us don't, and rely solely on this income to survive. A missed payment on the part of a customer could mean waiting to buy groceries for an artist. That whole 'starving artist' allegory is a thing for a reason.
Your email about your totally amazing costume idea might actually be interesting, but for us answering emails is work we don't get paid to do! Most of us are not going to want to read through walls of text and be expected to reply regularly, especially before we've received any money from you. As much as we love costumes (honestly, would we put up with all this shit if we didn't?), it's still work. You think an accountant wants to sit and talk about your finances on their free time? Maybe if you pay them... it's called 'consultation', and we should be fucking charging for it.
Did I mention we make this shit up as we go along, and that we're not machines? We handmake virtually every component, and most are custom to the individual project we're working on (particularly bodysuit patterns). We may have a formula we follow, but your individual patterns with your colors and markings, and your weirdly specific tail and ear shapes, those we built just for you.
Often we're working from physically incompatible reference art (I don't know how many times I've gotten terribly misleading concept art with a portly DTD), and we have to make your meat puppet fit inside these costumes. Sometimes we may need to edit the fit for you! Or adjust/add markings that aren't quite right. We are not machines, and we're making this shit up as we go along for you.
Oh, and we're making these costumes to fit someone who we've never seen in person's DTD in most occasions, or at least to the measurements the customer provides. If the measurements are improperly taken, or the DTD is made poorly or improperly, and the fit isn't perfect, it reflects on us in a negative way. People ALWAYS assume it's the artist's fault, and very rarely stop to wonder if perhaps the commissioner's poor ability to follow instructions is to blame. Mistakes/errors are easy to make on both sides, but generally what happens first is public bitching about our incompetence/lack of ability and THEN maybe, if we're lucky, we will get the opportunity to fix an error. IF we even hear about it ourselves at all.
Handmade things are inherently on the fragile side! Most of us put a lot of thought into choosing materials that are as durable as reasonably possible, while also maintaining your materials budget. This does NOT mean these costumes are indestructible! Paint will chip and fade with abuse and time, seams WILL pop or wear out occasionally, or thread ends will come unknotted. Fur requires proper maintenance, or it will crimp/mat. Claws can come off, foam can fail, resin can warp. These costumes will not transform you into a different being, and they will make you hot and sweaty because you're essentially wearing a couch, complete with cushions for a lot of them.
Through all of this, we're condescended to often by family, friends, or the like for 'not having a real job'. Some of us have a better support circle than others, but a lot of us aren't taken seriously because we choose to do this, rather than sit in a cubicle crunching numbers for some corporation. It's demoralizing having someone who works an entry level job ask you if you found a 'real job' yet. I think we have a much more real job than most.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
posted a day ago.You can find the original post here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6173150/
Im not venting or anything, trust me, I just wanted to share a post that i thought was helpful information to get to know what a costume artist goes through :)
________________________________________________________________________________________________
We *all* make this shit up as we go along, even the pros. Over time, we streamline that process, but we're still making shit up.
We don't get things like raises/promotions. We have to fight and justify raising prices every time we realize we're not actually machines capable of working at peak efficiency 100% of the time, but tend to quote for the best case scenario. When we do raise prices so we're making what we would if we worked a regular job instead, we're met with scorn and backlash.
We don't get a HR department to deal with harassment, and we don't get a PR agent to handle our public face. We (well most of us, some of us have gotten so overwhelmed we've taken on some help) have to answer every email with the utmost professionalism, even when people are being pushy, inconsiderate, or just plain rude, lest we irk the furry drama mill and become labeled as difficult to work with. We are public figures, and there are people looking for any reason to tear us down.
Also, we don't get to blame delays on other people's mistakes in most cases. We don't get to take sick days, we don't get paid OT, and we have almost no recompense for any mistakes, recasts, or underestimated time to build. Health insurance? That's funny! We are expected to function like a company of one person, without the benefits.
We are distant and not the most eager to open up to people, because that usually ends in someone schmoozing for discounts or people trying to steal our 'trademark techniques' (see above about making shit up). This attitude doesn't come from feeling elitist, it comes from feeling like we have a motherfucking target on our backs. But we're labeled as 'popufur bitches' and treated like we think we're better than everyone else. If only people knew how isolated most of us feel.
WE ARE REGULAR PEOPLE TOO. We have bills to pay, and pets to feed, and sometimes medical expenses and *gasp* a lot of us would like to buy houses/cars/retire eventually. When we are stiffed a payment because someone can't prioritize their own finances, we often are left scrambling to make our own ends meet. Some of us have help from a partner/spouse, and we're lucky to have it. Some of us don't, and rely solely on this income to survive. A missed payment on the part of a customer could mean waiting to buy groceries for an artist. That whole 'starving artist' allegory is a thing for a reason.
Your email about your totally amazing costume idea might actually be interesting, but for us answering emails is work we don't get paid to do! Most of us are not going to want to read through walls of text and be expected to reply regularly, especially before we've received any money from you. As much as we love costumes (honestly, would we put up with all this shit if we didn't?), it's still work. You think an accountant wants to sit and talk about your finances on their free time? Maybe if you pay them... it's called 'consultation', and we should be fucking charging for it.
Did I mention we make this shit up as we go along, and that we're not machines? We handmake virtually every component, and most are custom to the individual project we're working on (particularly bodysuit patterns). We may have a formula we follow, but your individual patterns with your colors and markings, and your weirdly specific tail and ear shapes, those we built just for you.
Often we're working from physically incompatible reference art (I don't know how many times I've gotten terribly misleading concept art with a portly DTD), and we have to make your meat puppet fit inside these costumes. Sometimes we may need to edit the fit for you! Or adjust/add markings that aren't quite right. We are not machines, and we're making this shit up as we go along for you.
Oh, and we're making these costumes to fit someone who we've never seen in person's DTD in most occasions, or at least to the measurements the customer provides. If the measurements are improperly taken, or the DTD is made poorly or improperly, and the fit isn't perfect, it reflects on us in a negative way. People ALWAYS assume it's the artist's fault, and very rarely stop to wonder if perhaps the commissioner's poor ability to follow instructions is to blame. Mistakes/errors are easy to make on both sides, but generally what happens first is public bitching about our incompetence/lack of ability and THEN maybe, if we're lucky, we will get the opportunity to fix an error. IF we even hear about it ourselves at all.
Handmade things are inherently on the fragile side! Most of us put a lot of thought into choosing materials that are as durable as reasonably possible, while also maintaining your materials budget. This does NOT mean these costumes are indestructible! Paint will chip and fade with abuse and time, seams WILL pop or wear out occasionally, or thread ends will come unknotted. Fur requires proper maintenance, or it will crimp/mat. Claws can come off, foam can fail, resin can warp. These costumes will not transform you into a different being, and they will make you hot and sweaty because you're essentially wearing a couch, complete with cushions for a lot of them.
Through all of this, we're condescended to often by family, friends, or the like for 'not having a real job'. Some of us have a better support circle than others, but a lot of us aren't taken seriously because we choose to do this, rather than sit in a cubicle crunching numbers for some corporation. It's demoralizing having someone who works an entry level job ask you if you found a 'real job' yet. I think we have a much more real job than most.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
you are so lucky that you are able to make a living off what you do.
There needs to be a like button on this.
I know this isn't your journal, but I strongly believe that this can be turned into some sort of panel, no matter what convention it is.
Even the anime people commission people for their cosplay costumes and those artists have to go through very similar situations.
Eris... I really wanted to commission you because I love your style. But rather than try to haggle with you over price and what not,
I thought I'd let some of your other fans (particularly, the ones with more money than my self) commission you without any problem.
I commissioned someone local to me, met up with him in person to make sure measurements were to "his" specifications, and have
only sent him the random text message 3 or 4 times since April. He's run into a few delays (not going into details). And instead of an
argument because I won't have my suit for Furpocalypse, I was sincere with him and asked him if he needed a little help or anything.
I told him that I'm not backing out of my commission, but to just forget about it for now. He's super stressed with what he's going
through and just to be nice to him, I told him to take his time. I just hope the other people ahead of me in the commission slots are
as understanding and give him a chance to catch up with everything. AND I DID THIS BEFORE EVER READING THIS JOURNAL!!!
Eris (because I don't know your real name), I hope everyone takes this to heart and remembers that when we point fingers at people,
there's at LEAST three more pointing back at us, and we should take a moment to think before blaming the artist, and ask the artist
if there's anything "productive" that we as commissioners can do... Not just have a cow and whine and complain. I wish you the best!
*hugs*
Customers really need to be more patient with artists sometimes. We're trying! We really are! You say we haven't given you an update in a couple days, it's because it takes us a couple days of straight nonstop sewing to get your bodysuit up to where we CAN photograph it and send it to you, without you wondering why it doesn't look like a suit yet.
I have so much respect for costume makers, especially after doing it myself.
I hope everyone can take some of these points with them, and be better makers, or customers from it. Thank you Eris for posting this! :D