Hmmm... I wonder if part of it is the perception of 'the artist.' After all, most artists not only do work for comission/pay/whatever, but also do work for practice and simply "for the Hell of it." Perhaps a lot of people see the 'for the Hell of it' and think "Well, this person is doing work for the Hell of it -anyway-, so... maybe I can ask if they'll do some work for -me- 'for the Hell of it' and free."
I've seen folks take up a 'freebie' project simply because it's interesting, or because they want to be nice to the person asking for one reason or another. That's all well and fine (and certainly says positive things about the artist to me), but I think people lose sight of the fact that the artist is only doing that -particular- thing because they want to. So your "Hey, I'm making this cosplay outfit because I want to" might become "Hey, she must like making cosplay outfits, so she'll enjoy making one for ______ as well."
'course, don't forget us 'other professions' too. I can't count how many times I've been asked (and sometimes, been -expected-) to provide 'computer help' for people. I work with computers, yes. And they're a bit of a hobby, yes. But there are days when I get home and don't want to even -touch- my own computer. IT folk, mechanics, people -do- ask us for 'the freebies' as well, and we sometimes get sick of dealing with the subjects of our professions just like anyone else... ;)
I think the biggest difference is people recognizing how much effort artists put into their craft. Others may not see beyond 'natural ability,' ("She can draw so well because... she just can, right?") or may see it as being a 'part' of the artist and take the effort for granted.
At least, that's what I've picked up from being one of those 'other people' and hanging around 'artsy folk.' ;) Hopefully I'm not too off base... I think most reasonable people will back off a bit/be more understanding once they realize the effort involved, but sadly not everyone's reasonable.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-02-01 11:18 pm (UTC)I've seen folks take up a 'freebie' project simply because it's interesting, or because they want to be nice to the person asking for one reason or another. That's all well and fine (and certainly says positive things about the artist to me), but I think people lose sight of the fact that the artist is only doing that -particular- thing because they want to. So your "Hey, I'm making this cosplay outfit because I want to" might become "Hey, she must like making cosplay outfits, so she'll enjoy making one for ______ as well."
'course, don't forget us 'other professions' too. I can't count how many times I've been asked (and sometimes, been -expected-) to provide 'computer help' for people. I work with computers, yes. And they're a bit of a hobby, yes. But there are days when I get home and don't want to even -touch- my own computer. IT folk, mechanics, people -do- ask us for 'the freebies' as well, and we sometimes get sick of dealing with the subjects of our professions just like anyone else... ;)
I think the biggest difference is people recognizing how much effort artists put into their craft. Others may not see beyond 'natural ability,' ("She can draw so well because... she just can, right?") or may see it as being a 'part' of the artist and take the effort for granted.
At least, that's what I've picked up from being one of those 'other people' and hanging around 'artsy folk.' ;) Hopefully I'm not too off base... I think most reasonable people will back off a bit/be more understanding once they realize the effort involved, but sadly not everyone's reasonable.