[DOF] Exposure Won't Feed

Exposure Won’t Feed The Artist: A Lesson About Respecting The Artist and The Art.

Things artists’ are tired of hearing:

1. “It’s too expensive.”

Yes, I know, but so is the art materials, the art lessons (if they ever took up one), and the amount of time spent on practicing. A 30-second clip consist of about weeks to month of work, so no, it is not too expensive. Also, stop suggesting that you pay with exposure currency, there is such thing called as commission. Artists are people, art is their hobby AND way of income, so, it’s a no, exposure won’t feed them.

2. “I can remove the watermark or signature, because I bought it.”

Hmm, let me think, still a no. Buying of the artwork doesn’t give you a right to remove any evidence that it is their work because it is a way to make their art well known. Second, rejecting the statement of the people that say “Did you make the art?” is not enough. Give credit to your creatives.

3. “I can draw the same thing.”

Great! Now why are you whining and continuously bugging about free art? This is a common statement from people when they know that art needs to be paid, a shocker, right?! They use this as a defense to not pay for art and compare the artist’s amount of work and practice to their capabilities.

So how can you help and appreciate more?

1. Compliment their art.

2. Respect their art styles.

3. Remove the thinking that art is just a hobby.

4. Give importance to art as a career and how it can expand overtime.

5. Stop the exposure currency, really.

6. If you’re a friend or a family, stop pushing the relationship to exchange for free art.

I don’t have to explain every single one of my points because it is self-explanatory. Be considerate of their art and the artist himself. It is very discouraging to get belittled, definitely when it is your passion and your work as well. I named this post as "Exposure Won't Feed" because the payment through exposure is the most common problem and mindset of those who would like to request art.

So to my artists, do you agree with this? I would like to know if you’ve experienced something similar to the most common things your co-artists are so sick of hearing. How about with others? Have you said something similar? I hope not. Comment down below and remember, there's always room for improvement. Respect your artists!