1.- DON'T ASK IF WE WILL DRAW YOU
...for one thing, it's just rude, and also catches me as "attention seeking". Not only have I seen this with many other artists on social media, and had it happen a few times myself, it always seems that these people expect you to a.) draw them for free, and b.) have plenty of time to do so. Both are rude assumptions, because artists DO like to be paid (for some people it's either a job or a part time job), and we don't just have scads of time to draw followers on a whim. Not only might we be busy with art commissions or personal projects, we also have personal lives that are busy!! Is it flattering to be asked? Well, sure... But it's definitely more rude then flattering. So please stop asking!!
2. - DON'T ORDER SOMETHING AND THEN COMPLAIN THAT THE PRICE IS UNREASONABLE
Dudes and dudettes. Seriously. I've had this happen on a few occasions, and it just left me feeling really... awkward. Because I didn't know how to handle it. But I will say, it's not fair to jump all over an artist about pricing, especially when you knew what the price was before ordering commissions. My prices are already set so low that I always undersell, and I also don't charge shipping in the USA. So to ask me what my price is for an 8x10, to give me the OK and have me start an order, and then message me and tell me that my price is too high and is there anyway I could do this for free...? That's really demeaning and rude. I understand that we all have weeks where we need to pinch pennies. But to say that the order is OK and then ask me if I'll just give it to you after I already started the work is unfair to the artist.
3.- DON'T GIVE A GOOD REVIEW AND THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PRODUCT
I don't have an etsy account (yet) or anything where people can leave a public review about any work I sell. But one particular customer sticks in mind from a year ago. They ordered a custom 8x10, and mailed me a check, with which they included a letter saying that they thought the picture was "cute", but then at the end included a criticism that left me feeling really bad about the whole thing and I think I even completely deleted that picture from my computer files and all social media accounts, because I felt so bad about it. If you have a complaint (and it wasn't even a valid complaint... it was very nice picture) you should let the artist know, but I felt that by telling me first off that they thought it was cute and then ending with what the complaint, reading between the lines, felt to me like they didn't really like the picture at all. I probably shouldn't have taken it quite so personal... after all, some people out there WILL complain about everything... but it felt like a messy way to give me a review.
4.- DON'T ASK WHAT ART SUPPLIES WERE USED IN THE PICTURE WHEN IT'S STATED IN THE SAME POST... AND YOU JUST DIDN'T READ IT
I see this all the time. Especially on instagram. Artists will post a picture and include in their post or hastags the art tools they used for coloring. First comment on the picture will be, "OHMYGOSHTHAT'SSOAWESOME... What did you color that with??" And the tools they used are RIGHT. THERE. You just didn't read it!! Read the whole post before asking those kinds of questions. And, generally, most artists are friendly and will just smile and answer those kinds of questions anyway... But I have read some answers from ticked off artists that are just tired of answering the same question when the answer has already been stated a bazillion times. So make sure to read the whole post before you ask a question!!
5.- DON'T ASK US TO FEATURE YOU OR TO "FOLLOW FOR FOLLOW"
When you're an artist just starting out, especially, you want to be noticed by the artists you look up to. But some people have no couth, and will just pester and pester and PESTER people to death for a feature on their account. Or to ask "will you look at my work please???" Follow for follows are the worst... I don't follow everyone that asks me this. If I don't, it's most likely because I'm just not really into the type of art that you're doing, or because there were very vulgar things on your page. I have no problem with following a young person that's starting out in art and liking or commenting on something they worked very hard on, because I've been there and I know what a big ego-booster that can be! But to pester an artist to death is not cool. It will get you noticed... but it can also get you reported and blocked from said artist's account. So be cool about it! If you're worth noticing, most people will notice you without you asking. =-)
Off the top of my head, those are the first five things I think most artists might get frustrated by. One thought I could have included is when people comment on your work something like, "Wow! How did you learn to do that? Did you just copy it from a book?" Any type of art is a thing to be mastered. The picture or piece you are looking at has a lot of hard work behind it. Great things do not just happen overnight, nor are they "copied". The best advice I can still give to any aspiring artist is to just KEEP AT IT. If you keep at it, you'll get better!!
This past Monday was July 4th.So I'll end with this patriotic picture from one of my doll photo shoots. =-)
Do you agree with these five things? Have any of these happened to you, and if so how did you react to them? Is there something different you would add to the list?
-Stasia-Chan '16
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