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Hello everyone, I'm a Spanish artist who's been working freelance in Spain since I graduated with my MFA (equivalent more or less) four years ago. In Spain, "working freelance" in these times of Eurozone crisis means "getting hosed up the rear end" because no one wants to offer you any contract and even if they do, good luck getting them to include payment terms in the contract. Basically, this country's art industry has gone to poo poo and Spanish publishers are panicking because no one wants to buy glossy art books when the average citizen can't keep the lights on. I just finished a commission for an online children's book (I've published a couple kids' books already) and the client was very agreeable and gave me considerable artistic freedom with the commission. However, when I submitted the work and sent them the bill as per the contract they sent me a long email basically saying that what they wanted a month ago when I was first commissioned and what they wanted all this time throughout the commission is not what they want right now, and now I have to put more work into something that by all rights is finished. I've read the thread and unfortunately "gently caress you pay me" doesn't work in Spain where all the starving artists who haven't moved back in with their parents have starved to death already.  you asked me to draw this loving photo exactly in my style and now you want them all to be smiling and clapping?! people didnt smile in photos back then wtf Earlier this year I had a commission from one of my father's best clients for a triptych. I spent a month exclusively on this commission since the client promised to pay me 2.5k Euros. There was no contract because like I said my dad knew him for years and he paid whatever price for other commissions too because he's some rich Italian bastard. I sent him a digital copy of the triptych and he gave me the green light to go ahead and begin painting. The guy promptly disappeared from the face of the earth (but he still buys prints and poo poo in Spain wtf) and the finished triptych is collecting dust at my parents' house.  so pretty and so dusty... So I want to branch out and start working for North American companies or anywhere that's not here. I have no idea how or where to begin. My boyfriend has been a SA goon for over ten years and he says that SA has a good community of helpful rear end in a top hat frikis (that's Spanish for nerds) and this would be a good place to start, or at least get some information. My English is not so good so my bf helped me write this too but I manage whenever I do get a commission in English. I´m also not sure if this post belongs in this thread or another thread in CC. Thanks in advance! Bad Milk fucked around with this message at 13:30 on Nov 16, 2014 |
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Nov 16, 2014 13:27
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Thanks for the info, I took a look at the page and it looks this kind of poo poo happens everywhere! The problem in Spain is that the client offers YOU the contract and all the terms are theirs. This last commission I was able to get the client to raise the fee a little bit but that was one exception in four years. A major part of the problem is that if you try to renegotiate the contract they´ll stop talking to you, drop off the face of the earth, or tell you to gently caress off in a nice email. There´s always someone more desperate and more and more are working for free. When it comes to clients I have also noticed that there´s a big difference between office drones and people with a background in something creative. The former have no idea what the want and they keep changing their mind throughout the goddamn project but the latter know what they want, probably know your work, and know what to expect from you.
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Nov 17, 2014 18:33
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pipes! posted:Have you thought about searching for jobs outside of the country? Currency conversion is trivial nowadays, illustration is remote work, and you seem to have a great grasp of English. I know! I said so in my first post in this thread. My problem right now is that I don´t see the way of getting work outside my country. I´ve had some commissions from the US through a Spanish website but I want to stop dealing with Spanish poo poo. I have a deviantart and all that but I get drowned out with all the other artists. I get invited to conventions here and stuff and my prints sell at conventions in America but I need to get my name out there because this place is a black hole. I guess ¨lurking¨ here is a good idea? Thanks for the help.
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Nov 18, 2014 18:28
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I'm finishing up some contract work here in Spain and I'm looking to branch out overseas because Spanish publishers are generally incompetent and some haven't paid me yet for work I completed months ago. Most of my recent work has been children's illustration, so I'm looking for some American kid's book publishers that I can harass with my portfolio via email in the hope that I can finally work for a company that pays on time. Any pointers? I live in Spain and I'm not familiar with the American market or if this is really the proper way to solicit illustration work in America. Any advice would be appreciated really. Thanks!
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Jun 2, 2015 16:02
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