Goodbye

[Gwendolyn Clare]

Oh man, I didn't even see this one yet when I wrote the word "sleazy" in the other self-promotion thread. Anyone out there want to do custom work for free? Because that's not insulting to people who want to illustrate professionally! While we're at it, let's find some random med school students to ask for free exams from.

[izanobu]

No offense, Jennifer, but no actual professional will work for free unless it is a project they feel strongly about (ie they know the person they are working for and want to do a favor, or it is for charity etc).

I will kindly point you at this clip from an interview with Harlan Ellison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE
I think it properly explains how many of us feel about being asked to work for free.

[Gwendolyn Clare]

Jennifer,

With regards to payment, I would point out that everyone here has won or is hoping to win a contest where the monetary value of winning is in the thousands of dollars, so I think it's safe to say that everyone here would rather get paid for their work. Also, self-pubbed illustrations don't hold any greater weight on a resume than simply putting up an online portfolio, unless by some miracle the project becomes wildly popular. Regardless, the fact that you're asking for unpaid commissions is just the cherry on top, not the real problem.

On another thread, we have been questioning the appropriateness of people creating an account for the sole purpose of soliciting work (paid or unpaid) from regular forum members. This is a forum primarily for discussing the WotF and IotF contests. If a regular forum member posts about an unrelated project, that's a perfectly appropriate digression from the main topic, since we know each other and are to some degree invested in each other's careers. If a total stranger with no interest in WotF/IotF posts about an unrelated project, it's an intrusion.

[izanobu]

I don't think I'm bringing down anyone. On the contrary, I'm telling people that they should get paid for their work and that they are worth something. I am completely unsurprised you are able to find people to work for nothing, however. As Harlan says, the world is full of amateurs who don't think twice about giving away their hard work. And as Gwen pointed out, "exposure" means very little unless the project were to get hugely popular (ie selling thousands upon thousands of copies, which would just make it even more sad for the unpaid people since they would never see a penny).