i'm tired of seeing this one-sided excuse of a debate happen. i'm not an artist, i'm a commissioner, so if you're not going to listen to the people who produce the majority of the content for this fandom then maybe you'll listen to me, one of the people who buys said content.

my artistic talent is very rudimentary at best. i can't produce the art i want of my characters and i won't be able to for the foreseeable future- any time i spend on art is purely a hobby. some time for me to relax and do stuff for myself. instead, i commission artists to make what i want. these are people who've spent hours of their time and loads of money honing their skills, learning and improving, so they can create those scenes i want of my character. they've spent money on materials, on classes, on tools for their craft. it's a long process. it's tiring and a lot of effort goes into art. it's a job, and while a lot of them are also part of the fandom they're still working. this is why artists deserve to be paid. most of them end up working for below minimum wage too simply because people aren't willing to pay or acknowledge it's a job.

another issue is people trying to befriend artists for free art, or having artist friends and doing the same. i have a lot of talented friends, and i pay the prices they ask. as their friend i understand this is how they make their living or extra cash so they get to do nice things. sometimes they're generous and will do me a free doodle or add in something for free when i commission them. this is the equivalent of going into a small shop and them giving you a free item; it's not something to be expected. it's disrespectful and devalues their work if you expect it. i'm not their friend for freebies; i'm friends because i love them. i want to see them paid for the work they do.

tl;dr nobody owes you art, art is a luxury item produced by people who see little profit, respect the people creating the fandom's content.