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Ask a Pro
Ask a Pro is a collection of illustration related questions answered by top art directors, designers, editors, artist representatives and other professionals in the commercial illustration industry.
If you have a suggestion for a question or know someone who might be a good candidate to answer a couple questions
Contributors
How do you justify getting paid for what you do?
(more questions)
The best way to answer this question is an explanation of my hobbies. I play guitar,
practice martial arts, do house repairs, camp, watch a lot of movies, and am insanely
critical about music. I don't get paid to do these things yet there are people
all over the world who make money off of something I consider a hobby. If I were
to ask any of these people the same question they would have just as hard a time
answering as most illustrators do.
The simple answer is because there is a need for it. Just as my martial arts
instructor fills my need to throw punches, and System of a Down fills my need
to rock out! To try to justify it further than that almost undermines the amount
of time spent perfecting and learning the skills.
I actually feel that the idea that we might not get paid is completely unjustifiable.
In fact, we all should be getting paid a lot more. I would suggest to all the
illustrators out there that they should walk away from any projects that do
not pay a legitimate amount of money and which will allow them to have the high
standard of living that they deserve. We must all work together to educate prospective
clients as to the value of the work we put into their products and licenses.
Otherwise it is a hobby. Hobbies are things we do for ourselves without the
expectation of payment, not for others as freebies to make their lives easier
and more profitable.
Michael Grills (more answers by this person)
Freelance Illustrator
Michael Grills Illustration and Artwork
http://www.illustrationandartwork.com