remember this?
Added 2025-06-12 16:34:15 +0000 UTCI usually don't go into detail about things like this, but I found this in my folders and wanted to share why I didn't finish this.
They disagreed on the terms we had discussed, but you might ask, "Why did you start drawing it?". I hadn't realised that I was being underpaid for creating a promotional comic for the company. In addition to the corrections, changes and constant additions they wanted. They wanted me to do all that work, but when I asked for an extra payment, they disagreed. They didn't want to pay me upfront; they said that it wasn't how they did things.
Initially, the payment wasn't to be made with money. They wanted to send me the toy they wanted to promote, but realised they couldn't ship to my country. They'd only send me cash based on how many people bought the product through my post. Instead, they wanted to pay me $200, as that was the same "value" as the toy. The price of the toy was around $400-500 at the time. The $200 price was after it was discounted.
They wanted a multiple-page comic for $200, and on a tight deadline. The fact that they didn't want to pay me upfront or agreed to pay extra for changes/additions.
Why did I draw it anyways? Because I was a starving artist who couldn't afford my medication anymore. However, I realised that I should be paid more and I deserved to be treated better. A company that made tens of millions of dollars per year didn't even want to pay me 0.005% of their yearly income.
Anyways, I'd rather stay broke and draw at my own pace and get commissioned by own mutuals/friends instead.
Comments
thank you, I appreciate it... my advice would be to keep it professional even though you feel like cussing them out? be stern and voice out your reasons on why you price things a certain way or how long your art process might take... most of the time, companies will take advantage of a freelance artist if they're desparate for payment... so when discussing rates, be clear with how much you want to get paid because some companies will never pay extra if they want you to make changes... if they disagree with your terms or rates and do not want to compromise or meet in the middle, then it's a red flag... if you're working in the company, you have to follow what they say to the T... but if they're hiring you outside the company, more power should be on the artist and it's teamwork... if they're not willing, leave...
nashtea
2025-06-13 12:47:30 +0000 UTCKudos for standing up for yourself!! That takes guts. Do you have any advice for other artists who might be approached by companies/people like these?
FruitfulRogue
2025-06-13 01:52:48 +0000 UTC
