what the?!?....

Hahaha this is crazy but right after I put the last post up I got a message from a role playing-gaming company. it wasn't about the post but it was saying they liked my stuff and would be willing to "give me a shot once and a while," (doing images for them) in the message he stated that gaming industry is a rough industry to work, they don't pay well and they don't send the checks owed to there free lancers in a timely manner!!!
what kind of a crazy introduction is that?!?!? "Hi,I'm so&so...we don't pay well and you have to keep bugging us to get the little bit of money owed you..."
he then went on to say that most people work out of passion for games and asked me "what reason do you have for working in the game industry?" I sent a message back and I don't think he is going to contact me again... In my Message back I stated that I like the Images assigned to me by the gaming industry, they are really cool concepts most of the time. I then went on to ask why they payed so little, and I stated that they should send there checks out to the artist in a more timely manner, and this would benefit all parties involved. The Illustrators would get there money, and the company would gain a good reputation with everyone for sending the money out on time. sending there checks out would also attract new and possibly better illustrators... So I think I lost a client...I'll let you know if he ever writes back

This is starting to Piss me off!!!

Artists, illustrators, graphic designers, web designers: what to tell people who keep thinking what you do isn't worth a penny:

Hey I found this site the other day and thought it was amazing, here is the link to the blog...I'm also going to copy it and put it below so you can reed it... or go to this link if you want to see the original


http://www.webcomicsinc.com/forum/topics/rules-for-engaging-an-artist

You have my permission to copy and use the "Don't work for free" logo in this post any damn way you want or please.

(Yeah, it's quick and dirty; you get what you pay for.)

RULES FOR ENGAGING AN ARTIST

If you are/considering becoming an artist/graphic designer, or if you're considering hiring some1 for their artistic abilities, you've gotta read...

"Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking "artists" for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they're NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are "seeking artists", let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don't know any. Otherwise, you wouldn't be posting on craigslist to find them.
And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the "opportunity" to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him "a few bucks" for "materials". What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered "yes" to ANY of the above, you're obviously insane. If you answered "no", then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a "great opportunity" for an artist to have his work seen on your car/'zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a "great opportunity" for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a "student" or "beginner" in an attempt to get work for free. It's ignorant and insulting. They may be "students", but that does not mean they don't deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a "student" once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it's one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their "portfolio". They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It's not compensation. It's their right, and it's a given.

4. Stop thinking that you're giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need "experience". But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the "experience" they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother's house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to "submit work for consideration". They may even be posing as some sort of "contest". These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the "contest", or be "chosen" for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or "spec", work. It's risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit [link].

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are "spec" gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you're accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

If you do need portfolio padding, use your skills for a good cause - design a poster for a non-profit organization. Make a website for your local community theater. There are so many opportunities for pro bono work that will actually benefit someone.

Pass this on to every artistically-inclined person you know! Copy the text or just send them the link to the original post."

Writers of the future 25

hello everyone, so I went on an adventure the other week. I flew to hollywood stayed in a supper nice hotel, went to a sweet illustrator workshop with some of the most amazing illustrators in the science fiction field, met some amazing people, signed a bunch of books, and got an award to boot! sadly I didn't take a camera... but the photographer did!!..but she hasn't sent me the disk yet... BUT!... my sister had a camera and got some sweet pictures of the awards event and put them up on her blog so check her blog out (the link is below).. as soon as I get my pictures I will put some of them up and some videos probably, until then look at my sisters pics.

http://benannie05.blogspot.com

ok..the link isn't working..again... so click on the benannie link on my friends and family link part over on the left, or copy and past the address, sorry I'm not supper computer savvy ;)

oh! and also check out the blog of Galaxy press they have alot of cool things up there about the workshop last week
the address is

http://wotfblog.galaxypress.com/

you can also get there by clicking on my link to the left L. Ron Hubbard, then on there site click on the blog.

Writers of the Future Vol. 25

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Vol. 25... short stories from the yearly winners selected from around the world are published in the annual Writers of the Future anthology.
Each anthology contains the best new science fiction and fantasy short stories from up-and-coming writers... I was assigned to Illustrate the story,"After the final sunset again" I can't tell you about the story only that it involves a Phoenix, sorry... so check it out, should be hitting bookstores around September.

This image is for L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the future Vol. 25...The full color image is better i feel, I'll put it up when I get it shrunk down a little so it don't take so long to upload.

I just uploaded a bunch of sketches to my web site here are a few of them I thought were fun... I usually doodle in my sketch book when work is going slow during the day I doodle with a pen mostly and sometimes it is hard to get the pen to scan good.. so some of the detail is lost with the sketches but i think you can get the general idea.

I decided to paint another image with people wearing hoodies, there was a time when I was in school that in every assignment i painted a hooded figure, hoodies are sweet!....that class was media experimentation we could paint any subject we wanted and the only requirement was to use the specified painting technique... good times good times... now I paint 100% digitally..usually.. every once in a while I'll pull out the traditional paints just for fun.

Society of Illustrators link

well that didnt work try this link haha :)

Try the link to the Society of Illustrators over in the Cool Illustrators links on the side of my blog ->

hi everybody. I made it into the society of illustrators student compition again this year! its the third year in a row for me so I was very exited! this will also be the last year because I am now graduated and no longer a student.(I guess ill have to try to be a profesonal now).. the peice that made it into the show this year was one of the last peces i completed as a student, and was an experimental poster based on the idea of little red ridding hood, it didnt fit in with the rest of the posters I had been working on because it wasn't music inspired, but it was a fun little "side road" with the poster kick i was on for the last year of my schooling. here is the link so you can go to the Society web site and check it out along with the other sweet student work that made it into the show this year.

http://www.soicompetitions.org/?section=gallery&competition_id=30&entry_cat_id=31&eclid=96

I had an idea for this image quite a while ago.. and the other day when i was looking though my old sketchbooks and i found this thumbnail sketch, so i had to paint it.. the idea behind it was a zombie trying to get into a window and leaving a hand print...