{"id":646,"date":"2025-10-28T19:13:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T23:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/?p=646"},"modified":"2025-10-28T19:24:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T23:24:14","slug":"dont-take-that-art-gig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/28\/dont-take-that-art-gig\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Take That Art Gig"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This one goes out to the artists trying to make it in the professional world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t take that gig.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Let me elaborate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Artists, no matter where you are in your career, no matter how desperately you need a paycheck, you must understand what your labor is worth, and you must set a floor for how cheaply you\u2019re willing to sell your labor.<\/span><\/p>\n

This means sitting down and doing the math. Figure out how much money you need to survive. Figure out how long it takes you to do the work you do. Come up with a base rate: the absolute lowest rate you can bear to take for your art.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then, hold fast. Never accept work below that rate.<\/span><\/p>\n

If a client can\u2019t meet that rate, you tell them no. You say it kindly but firmly. <\/span>Unfortunately I\u2019ll have to pass on the project, but I appreciate you thinking of me. Best of luck!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

You Are Not Cheap Labor<\/h3>\n

This is hard advice to give, especially when artists are just starting out, because we\u2019re all tempted by the lure of a professional gig. When you\u2019ve never been paid for your art, even one dollar seems like a step in the right direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

It makes sense to start off with low expectations when you\u2019re starting out. Take modestly paying jobs because you don\u2019t have a lot of skill or experience, and as your skill and experience increase, you raise your rates.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a trap.<\/strong> When you accept a low rate, your clients aren\u2019t thinking to themselves that they\u2019re getting a really good deal. They\u2019re thinking that you\u2019re cheap labor, and you\u2019re always going to be cheap labor. The next time they come back to you with a gig, they will expect to pay you what they paid you last time, regardless of how you\u2019ve improved.<\/span><\/p>\n

You may still be tempted to accept a low rate because you know the client. Perhaps they\u2019re a relative, friend, or an industry professional that you respect. Your work still has value. Don\u2019t give it away for free or for less than it\u2019s worth. <\/span><\/p>\n

I have found that whenever I betray my own principles and accept a low rate, the client is often more difficult to work with than my clients that pay more. I used to puzzle over this, and then it finally hit me:<\/span><\/p>\n

People know slave labor when they see it. They know when they\u2019ve got you over a barrel. Taking a low rate signals to clients that you\u2019re desperate for work. You took their low rate because you can\u2019t do any better. It gives them a sense of superiority. You\u2019re cheap, so they don\u2019t have to respect you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s not quite this malicious. A tight budget can also be an indicator of a stressful project. When there\u2019s not enough money to get things done, everyone is on edge, and that stress is going to trickle down to you. <\/span><\/p>\n

No job is worth your abuse and exploitation, especially when it barely pays!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/p>\n

So what’s tempting you? What are you hoping to get out of this low-paying gig?<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you hoping for professional credits on your resume?<\/b><\/p>\n

Credits don\u2019t matter. In the arts, there is one question: are you good? The quality of your work is the thing that will ultimately make or break you. You don\u2019t need to take low-paying jobs to get good. It\u2019s not about who you work for, it\u2019s about the time you spend developing your craft.<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides, if the client doesn\u2019t have the resources to pay you a respectable rate, how good could this project be? A cheap, low-quality project isn\u2019t going to look good on your resume.<\/span><\/p>\n

Did the client promise you exposure?<\/b><\/p>\n

This is not your project. It\u2019s the client\u2019s project. The client is the one who\u2019s going to get credit for it. They are going to do absolutely nothing to help you get the next gig, because all they care about is finishing this one. And when it\u2019s done, they\u2019ll be focused on lifting their own profile. Not yours. You are not their responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you think this will be a valuable learning experience?<\/b><\/p>\n

A client paying you pennies or nothing at all for your labor has nothing of value to teach you. They have no idea what they\u2019re doing. That\u2019s why they think it\u2019s acceptable to pay you so little. You are better off investing in a class.<\/span><\/p>\n

Red Flags Through Rose-Colored Lenses<\/h3>\n

I find that we in the arts often approach projects with best-case scenarios in mind. We create a fantasy in our heads of the potential, all the opportunities for things to go our way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Optimism is great, but you are a professional, and for the sake of your career, you must consider worst-case scenarios<\/strong><\/em>. You must imagine what a project may look like if everything goes <\/span>wrong<\/i><\/strong> because more often than not, an artist\u2019s dream job turns out to be a nightmare. And then you must ask yourself what is the lowest price that would make the nightmare worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, you\u2019re new, you want to be a competitive candidate for the high-paying art gigs but you don\u2019t have much of a portfolio, and I\u2019ve just told you to turn down all the low-paying jobs that might give you the time of day.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a budding professional artist to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make your own stuff!<\/b><\/h1>\n

When I was in your shoes, desperate for good work but all I could attract were the low-paying ones, I made a decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

I would consider myself <\/span>my<\/i> <\/strong>best client<\/strong>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I launched myself on projects I was excited about. I gave myself a reasonable work schedule. And when I spent money on my projects, I was investing in myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

So now, whenever a client approached me with work, I asked myself:<\/span><\/p>\n

Is what they\u2019re paying worth more than the time I\u2019m spending on my own projects?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

If the answer was no, I declined the job.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was already working for free, for myself. That knocked out unpaid work completely. I also had a full-time job. It didn\u2019t pay much, but it did make my free time even more valuable, since it competed with my job. Now, for a freelance gig to be potentially interesting, the hourly rate needed to be worth giving up my free time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits to Focusing on Your Own Projects<\/b><\/h3>\n

Make Something You\u2019re Passionate About<\/b><\/p>\n

I believe strongly that when you love what you\u2019re making, that love is visible in the work. Likewise, I believe when you don\u2019t really care about what you\u2019re making or even worse, hate what you\u2019re making, then those feelings bring down the quality of the work. When you\u2019re making art you\u2019re invested in not for money but for sheer passion, you make stronger, more interesting art that catches eyes, wins awards, and leads to respectable job offers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Work at Your Own Pace<\/b><\/p>\n

It is hard to do good work under stressful deadlines. When you\u2019ve got hard deadlines, the priority isn\u2019t doing quality work, it\u2019s finishing the work. It is common for a working artist to finish a job and afterward wish they\u2019d had more time to develop the idea and polish it. <\/span><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re working for yourself, you can take your time to make the work the very best it can be. <\/span><\/p>\n

Develop Your Skills in a Low-Stakes Environment<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the many benefits to taking a job is to develop new professional skills that will level up your career. However, many studios are fast-paced, stressful environments. Everyone is rushing to meet deadlines and stay under budget. In this sort of environment, training of new employees is often neglected. It\u2019s normal for new employees to be thrown into the deep end and pressure is high to get the work done with minimal supervision. This isn\u2019t always out of malice. It\u2019s usually because there\u2019s simply no downtime in the schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n

When your time is yours and no one knows what you\u2019re working on (thus they can’t judge you), you can truly focus on experimenting and learning with every project. There is no pressure, no one looking over your shoulder, so you can afford to try new things, make mistakes, learn from them, and improve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Show Studios What You\u2019re Made Of<\/b><\/p>\n

There is no better way to tell clients and studios what kind of creator you are than personal work. You want to tell studios why they should hire <\/span>you<\/i><\/strong> specifically. If you\u2019re working on another client\u2019s project, you are executing <\/span>their<\/i><\/strong> vision. Someone else is setting rules you have to adhere to. However, many productions are looking for a missing puzzle piece, someone who approaches art in a new and unique way. They want to see the way <\/span>you<\/i><\/strong> communicate and solve creative problems. Making your own stuff is an excellent opportunity to show studios how you think, how you see the world, and the stories you want to tell.<\/span><\/p>\n

It Belongs to YOU<\/b><\/p>\n

In commercial art industries, you\u2019re often working on someone else\u2019s idea, someone else\u2019s vision. They\u2019re calling the shots and at the end of the day, they own whatever you make. When you\u2019re working on your own projects, you\u2019re the one in charge, and you own the end result. That also means you can do what you like with it. You control the medium and how it’s distributed. You control whether it gets made at all! We are in a time when studios are thirsting after intellectual property. They may offer big contracts for your idea, but that doesn’t mean they want to share the wealth fairly. Beware giving your ideas away too easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

You Are Your Best Client<\/b><\/p>\n

We think of full-time jobs as secure, stable places. You get benefits like health insurance and a steady paycheck. You don\u2019t have to worry about work drying up unexpectedly, leaving you without income. However, these days in particular, no full-time job comes with guaranteed security. Many entertainment jobs are now temporary. Once the product is released and the production ends, workers are laid off. Productions are canceled unexpectedly at any stage of completion. Studios can just decide to cut jobs and there\u2019s no promise that they will ever replace those jobs. <\/span><\/p>\n

When you make your own stuff, you\u2019re your boss. Your boss is as invested in your career as you are. You\u2019re not going to fire yourself. You aren\u2019t going to lock years of your work away behind NDAs you can\u2019t break. You are your boss\u2019s priority, something that will never be true when you work for someone else! And even when paying work gets lean, you will still have a creative outlet in your projects. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Pen Is in Your Hands<\/h3>\n

I could also add that we artists work in a field that prizes entrepreneurial spirit. Art industries often reward creatives that make opportunities for themselves, whether that means producing a short film, launching an indie game, publishing a book, or starting a studio. It seems a little backward that the industry waits to hire people after they\u2019ve gone ahead and made the thing they wanted to be hired to work on, but that\u2019s how it is. To get work, you must already be doing the work.<\/span><\/p>\n

But more than that, this is a lesson in not waiting for someone else to give you permission to do what you love. This is <\/span>your<\/i><\/strong> life. No one can give you permission to live it. There is freedom in making the art you want to see in the world on your terms, completely unrestrained by gatekeepers and deadlines. Going this route may in fact be the key to doing work that you love.<\/span><\/p>\n

So go, be free, and the next time you hear an artist thinking about taking a low-paying or no-paying job, tell them what I told you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t take that gig.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Make something, instead.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This one goes out to the artists trying to make it in the professional world. Don\u2019t take that gig. Let me elaborate. Artists, no matter where you are in your career, no matter how desperately you need a paycheck, you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,8],"tags":[55,54],"class_list":["post-646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation","category-illustration","tag-creative-life","tag-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":650,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646\/revisions\/650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilahmagruder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}