How (Not?) to Hire an Artist
On May 30, Flash game developer Christopher Gregorio posted a blog entitled How to hire an artist. The post triggered a bit of a firestorm on the online art scene, with one side alleging that his proposed methods exploit young artists by undervaluing their work, as well as gives off a bleak and untrusting tone. The other side responds that it is standard business procedure, and it’s only natural for a client to spring for the lowest bidder.
On August 9, game developer Jon Jones gave his take: be transparent with all elements of your project, pay in installments for projects taking longer than a few weeks, go for more experienced artists for major game elements while offering smaller projects like crates and barrels to younger artists.
My take: As an artist, I’ve enjoyed the company of commissioners with similar attitudes. Really, the entire relationship described here can happen in any artistic dealings, be it web design, illustration, or cartooning. I think the big argument here is the difference between hiring an artist and buying artwork. Is it a relationship between manager and employee or between client and merchant? One is a bit more egalitarian than the other.
Both sides are right in a way. Amateur artist communities like deviantART are sometimes good places to go for artists if you know where to look (look through artist galleries before contacting us,) and yes, newbies to the art scene will inevitably ask for lower pay if just to underbid their competition. That means that the next project will most likely be at a higher price; higher demand on any product will justify a higher price.
The timeline and payment parts really worry me though, mostly because Gregorio fails to consider failings on part of clients. I’ve had deadbeat clients before. In some cases, an artist may spend more time tweaking a design or an illustration on a client’s request than actually composing it, which is incompatible with inflexible schedules. In other cases, an incomplete website can sit stagnant for months, even years because clients simply won’t supply content to fill the pages. Again, strict timelines go completely out the window. Some clients simply don’t see a reason to pay for work perceived as unsatisfactory, no matter the labor that went into it.
In the end, just act as if you’re buying the services of an artist, not hiring an employee. No, no need to shower our crap with compliments, but we do take pride in our work, and expect others to do the same. Capitalism suggests that you will probably profit better from happy artists than cut-and-runs.