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Meeting one of your favorite artist.....and they end up being a jerk.
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82 posts in this topic

2 hours ago, RBerman said:

In general, there's little upside for celebrities (including comic book artists) to mingle with their fans. The fans love the work, and that causes them subconsciously to elevate the artist in general to a pedestal that no one can live up to in general. Real life can only disappoint, in any encounter longer than a couple of minutes.

Scarlett Johansson in a bikini?

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22 hours ago, Dr_Strange said:

Sigh. ?You really think so ? And you automatically assume that myself and the 3 others were being difficult patrons ? Nice

Sorry, didn't mean to give the impression I was coming down on one side or the other, not knowing the story from both sides.  I just thought the resulting piece was funny.

I changed the last sentence of my post to "Anyways, there's a long history in fine art of artists building insults into pieces they created for patrons they perceived to be difficult", so as not to indicate that I believed you were being difficult.

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2 hours ago, tth2 said:

Sorry, didn't mean to give the impression I was coming down on one side or the other, not knowing the story from both sides.  I just thought the resulting piece was funny.

I changed the last sentence of my post to "Anyways, there's a long history in fine art of artists building insults into pieces they created for patrons they perceived to be difficult", so as not to indicate that I believed you were being difficult.

What was interesting about this situation was the supposed “Big Bad Byrne” heard about this and offered up a commission at no charge.  

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I totally understand your frustration, $700 is a chunk of change. I'm not trying to make excuses for the artist who may well have just been a jerk, but I wanted to suggest some possibilities that might change your perspective as it sounds like you're a big fan of his and I would hate for this experience to ruin your enjoyment of his work.

* If he still actively works in the industry, he probably sees commissions as a side thing and the assignments as his "real" job and worries that taking too much direction on a commission will make it take up time that will interfere with his deadlines. Not saying you would do that, but I could see the artist worrying about that. I've heard of artists getting in trouble with editors because they missed deadlines but the editor saw on social media that they were taking commissions or doing cons.

* If it is someone who is a veteran in the industry, they may feel they've earned the right to do it however they want it. I realize that sounds arrogant, but I also get it.

* As others have mentioned, a lot of creative types aren't necessarily "people persons" or maybe he was having a bad day.

* Maybe he took on more work than he could handle and saw an "out" with your commission when you asked to talk. Not the most professional behavior, but it happens.

When I get commissions I have learned to ask the artist up front how they prefer to approach things. I used to think letting them do whatever they want was what they'd prefer (beyond just, for example, asking for a particular character) but many artists prefer more direction, for various reasons including a greater likelihood of a happier customer.

And hey, if the experience ended up with you getting a free Byrne commission, that's a win!

Anyway, sorry it went down badly and I hope you have better experiences in the future.

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1 hour ago, christosgage said:

* If he still actively works in the industry, he probably sees commissions as a side thing and the assignments as his "real" job and worries that taking too much direction on a commission will make it take up time that will interfere with his deadlines. Not saying you would do that, but I could see the artist worrying about that. I've heard of artists getting in trouble with editors because they missed deadlines but the editor saw on social media that they were taking commissions or doing cons.

I hope this doesn't happen, but it probably does. It shouldn't. Regardless of whether the check is signed by Jeanette Kahn or Tom DeFalco or Joe Schmoe from Hoboken, a craftsman who accepts (and indeed requires) payment in advance of services rendered should feel morally obligated to deliver the work in a reasonable time frame, and not to prioritize other customers or consider them more a "real job."

Sometimes circumstances will necessitate a delay; anyone working with an artist expects this to happen sometimes. But the onus is on the artist to reach out and say, "I haven't forgotten you" to the client, not make the client feel like a pest who has to ask, "Are you still there? Did you forget me?" The artists themselves have been known to get stiffed, so surely they can understand how nobody else wants to be in that position.

 

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Agreed that it shouldn't happen, and I don't think anyone intentionally makes it happen. But there's a lot that can occur unpredictably. The unfortunate part is, even if it's on the publishing side - say, a -script is a week late - and the artist no longer has the time in his schedule to do the commission, he's going to prioritize the publisher, because the odds of getting steady work from the publisher are greater than getting a monthly book's worth of commissions from a collector. And you're right, the professional thing to do is contact the commissioner and say something unforeseen came up and request more time (or offer a refund), but an artist who feels overwhelmed might just want an out. Especially if it's a situation like they accepted the commission and then suddenly got offered a monthly book.

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17 minutes ago, christosgage said:

Agreed that it shouldn't happen, and I don't think anyone intentionally makes it happen. But there's a lot that can occur unpredictably. The unfortunate part is, even if it's on the publishing side - say, a --script is a week late - and the artist no longer has the time in his schedule to do the commission, he's going to prioritize the publisher, because the odds of getting steady work from the publisher are greater than getting a monthly book's worth of commissions from a collector. And you're right, the professional thing to do is contact the commissioner and say something unforeseen came up and request more time (or offer a refund), but an artist who feels overwhelmed might just want an out. Especially if it's a situation like they accepted the commission and then suddenly got offered a monthly book.

"Dear Bill, I took your commission because I foresaw open time in my schedule to do it. But I just got offered a large job on an ongoing series with a tight start date. I need to take this work, so I can't do your commission right now. I want to do a good job for you and not just rush out substandard work to fulfill the letter of my obligation to you. Would you like a refund, or would you like me to hold your deposit and get back to you in (insert estimate in months) to revisit the situation?"

I would imagine most people who commission art would say, "Keep the money; thanks for the communication; get back with me in X months."

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On 2/7/2020 at 10:29 PM, tth2 said:

I didn't, but that's hilarious! lolI would gladly pay $537 for a personalized insult like that!

Anyways, there's a long history in fine art of artists building insults into pieces they created for patrons they perceived to be difficult.

I have an excellent example of that, happened just last year.  Will probably be posting about it soon.

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3 hours ago, thethedew said:

I have an excellent example of that, happened just last year.  Will probably be posting about it soon.

You can’t just post that and leave us hanging....

I would love to see some of the Tim Vigil commissions from the 90s where he would “add on” to any character he was tired of drawing. 

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On 2/9/2020 at 10:29 AM, Blastaar said:

What was interesting about this situation was the supposed “Big Bad Byrne” heard about this and offered up a commission at no charge.  

Anyone know what the resulting Byrne piece was?

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23 hours ago, AndyFish said:

But on the other hand, there are a LOT of guys who just seem to be too big for their own britches, plain social misfits or outright sociopaths.   One of them, who is mentioned in this very thread above, was also someone who's work I really liked.   I ran into him at a show we were both guests at, introduce myself and tell him one of the reasons I'm working full time in comics is because I was inspired by his work.  He looks me up and down and says "Yeah so?   Have you bought anything from my table?" and he walks away.

That's...cruel

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