Comments on: (Spec) Worked Over with a Rubber Hose

By: Ray Frenden

Ray Frenden — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:01:01 +0000

I hope someone has said no to spec as a result. If that happens once, awesome.

By: Cyn

Cyn — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:49:53 +0000

Thanks for sharing this post, Ray. You handled the situation well. And you’re empowering lots of artists, so thank you:)

By: alanbernard

alanbernard — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:12:33 +0000

Thanks for leading the line Ray. I sometimes feel I ned to accept spec work but then after a while I realized that it’s really hurting a lot of people out there and decided to put a stop to it. I don’t get as much design work tho, but the web design work that I do covers it.

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:48:38 +0000

Pro-bono work for a charity isn’t spec. :)

By: Kat

Kat — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:43:58 +0000

Hi Ray. I guess it’s not the right time to email you about a pro bono job? Check your email anyway :)

By: Hunter

Hunter — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:21:00 +0000

I’ll start charging after I put out my anthology that I um..couldn’t pay you to be in, lol!
-Hunter

By: Ray Frenden

Ray Frenden — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:59:47 +0000

I gotcha, ISO.

Jean-Paul, finger painting sounds great! Heh.

Rick, Threadless is a bit of a unique animal in some respects, but we largely agree. I can’t fathom why this generation of illustrators seems so intent to follow each other off the proverbial cliff.

Hunter, you deserve to get paid!

By: Hunter

Hunter — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:46:43 +0000

This is something I should look into as I’m constantly being asked to draw/paint stuff for people at work and no one’s really paid me for it.
-Hunter

By: Rick Reese

Rick Reese — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:02:34 +0000

Thank you for explaining to this person that spec work is unacceptable…with contest sites like Threadless etc etc all the rage with my students I feel like I’m constantly having to explain how these things are not benefitting illustrators in the long run. I’ll make sure and send them all to read this. Nicely done, and you were not insulting at all…

By: Jean-Paul

Jean-Paul — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:16:38 +0000

I have recently invested in a beret and string of garlic. I mounted a pose model to my old pimp stick and will work for free. Promise not to disappoint…. finger-painting is a speciality!

By: iso

iso — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:48:30 +0000

*They* not *did*

By: iso

iso — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:46:55 +0000

Holy moly: http://www.crowdspring.com/
Did should have called it SpecWork.com

By: Ray Frenden

Ray Frenden — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:34:34 +0000

Thanks, guys. I promise that I’m not the patron saint of patience, by an stretch. Sometimes, though, you can’t help but be struck by the notion that the level of discourse is so low, you’d break your back to stoop to it.

By: Mike S

Mike S — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:01:15 +0000

You tell ‘em Ray.

By: Luke

Luke — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:20:38 +0000

What a moron, he is obviously the person wanting the job done, he speaks unprofessionally, and with little-to-no grammar and his emails are full of spelling mistakes, and then to belittle you and put words in your mouth..

I admire your professional mindset Ray, I certainly wouldn’t have kept it with that person.

By: Ray Frenden

Ray Frenden — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:24:11 +0000

Heh; I got the point.

The assumption that the ~$6k of equipment and software it takes to complete their work shouldn’t be factored into their price drives me up a wall more than the others.

“If you’d prefer a cocktail napkin sketch…”

By: Charlie

Charlie — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:20:10 +0000

Wow, next time I might want to proof what I wrote instead of hitting send. Sorry ’bout that.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:18:11 +0000

Well, we all start out with the naive belief that most people understand that artists actually work at what they do. That artists put in in time, effort, money for equipment, experience, etc., much less might have a talent of some value. The sad reality is most people I NO idea what an artist does. It must be fun and effortless, because we all did it as children and those who continued to create into the adulthood were “naturally” talented (therefore it comes easy) or lazy bums. Neither deserving much monetary reward. But hey, I wouldn’t trade it fer nuthin’. I’m wired for it.

By: Ray Frenden

Ray Frenden — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:12:45 +0000

@Charlie, commies, indeed!

The unfortunate truth is that there’s nary one of us who hasn’t been duped into spec (usually early in our career).

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:52:13 +0000

recently i had some one have me do spec work, only they didn’t tell me it was spec work until i was 30 hours into the project. They decided to use one of the other designers they had working on it, who also probably didn’t know it was spec work.

me- ‘if i had known this was a design contest i wouldn’t of done anything for you’

them- ‘well i’m glad i didn’t tell you then’

unfortunately it was charity work so i didn’t have any paper work to protect me from this sort of waste of time.

By: James

James — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:45:06 +0000

But Ray… He practically did all the work for you, doing all that “art direction” and all.

All you had to do was a “quickdoodle.”

In color.

(What a weasel! Run away!!!!!!)

By: Robert Cook

Robert Cook — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:08:14 +0000

I have to wonder if this guy will ever see the light of day, professionally…he’s defensive, thin-skinned, childish, and illiterate. Well, even if he becomes successful, one can see that he’s someone to avoid even now; just think how miserable he’ll be to work for if he achieves any success.

By: Miguel

Miguel — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:29:35 +0000

On a side note, I also think that part of the problem is that it is too easy to be unprofessional (please read rude) when writing at the computer. People too often don’t think that there are real people reading on the other end, it’s a bit as if they only see the machine in front of them.
If it had been the case that the conversation was face to face I bet (or at least would hope) the other guy would have been (a little) more professional.
His attitude only showed his immaturity.

Nevertheless, no matter how much rationalization I can come up with, people like this always get to me and I find it very hard to brush it off.
I wish thick skin was something one could learn. I can only hope it gets easier in time.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:51:12 +0000

I mean, c’mon, Ray. Yer drawing all day, instead of doing real work, so why don’t you do one of those drawings for me and maybe you’ll get some money and lotsa people will see your work and you’ll be in the big leagues in no time – thanks to me.

Artists can be sooo ungrateful. Commies.

By: inlikealion

inlikealion — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:40:30 +0000

‘You don’t consider me an “Arrtist”? But I’ve got the eye patch, the swindler’s spirit, and everything!’

Ray, I appreciate that you kept it cool, logical, and professional, genuinely attempting to educate someone who helps proliferate spec against young illustrators.

I feel that it is usually young artists, who haven’t had spec explained to them, that fall for/into spec work. I don’t think many ever consciously do it after being fully informed of its detriments. Would you agree, or have you met pro-spec artists who understand the argument but continue to do spec work?