Sage Advice from Silver

February 1st, 2013 | Posted in General

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWXYoD7wfOs[/youtube]

Recently I reposted something I’d wrote about how working on “spec” is a really bad thing, both for you and for other artists trying to make a living. My buddy Stephen Silver, a very well known and successful animation artist and illustrator, posted this highly energetic and right-on-target rant about why working for free, for “exposure”, or otherwise for anything except a living wage, is bad for the profession. He’s passionate about it, for good reason.

Comments

  1. Bill Karis says:

    I will be using the line, “just 10 minutes?….. with 40 years of experience”….

    • Tom says:

      That’s something Sergio Aragones tells people when they complain about him charging for a sketch at a Comic-Con, considering they see he draws it so fast. He says it took him over 60 years to do that sketch. 10 minutes to draw it, and the other 59 plus years to be able to.

  2. Bill Dunn says:

    This is an excellent piece by Silver. He nailed it. And its not a rant: it’s good, practical advice that should be played in every art school, artist convention, workshop and art gathering. Until everyone puts there foot down and agrees that artists cannot afford to be ripped off, this will continue. The significant statement for me is when he said that it is not a 10 or 15 minute sketch. It took 40 years plus 10 minutes to get where he could do that illustration. Thanks for posting this, Tom.

  3. jailerjoe says:

    “Hell’s Studio” EXCELLENT!

  4. Russ Cook says:

    Bam! there it is! Many thanks for posting – couldn’t agree more. Love your blog, btw.

  5. Alex Hallatt says:

    Nice…. I’m going to repost that. Thanks, Tom.

  6. Yeah, he really hit it. As long as people are willing to work on speculation, and/or bargain basement rates, this will never stop.

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