7 Things I've Learned from Loving an Artist

Is there any better couple than an artist and a writer? It’s essentially a dream combination for love. He fell in love with my words while I fell in love with his images.

Admittedly, I know a lot of artists, but I had never understood the depth of an artist’s struggle until I fell deeply in love with a man who creates digital art, graphic design (logos, business cards, etc.), and hand-drawn artwork. We’re not just talking about the struggle of being “massively underpaid” either — we’re talking about aspects a lot of people may not have even considered.

People are never going to be perfect, but they say odd things that might not feel all that odd or off the wall when spoken. Artists experience this and more when sharing their work with the world. Take a moment to step into the artist’s perspective with me as I summarize the seven top things I have noticed artists have to struggle with regarding potential customers and viewers of their art.

1. Don’t ask, “Did you draw these yourself?”

My partner sells prints of his digital artwork once a month at a Nerdy Flea Market and has been asked on multiple occasions if he drew the prints he is selling. In other situations, people have actually commented on his art page asking, “Did you draw all of these?” Well, not to be the bearer of obvious news, but it’s fair to assume that the person selling the artwork or running the art page more than likely created them himself. Asking the obvious is a bit tedious.

2. Approaching an artist with a request followed by remarks to “use your creativity” or “I’m open to ideas” is not going to work out for either of you.

You think you want to see the artist go crazy with their own take on your desired image or art, but you don’t. I promise. You may only have a vague idea but at the very least, provide those vague ideas to your working artist! 99% of the time when a customer tells my partner to use his imagination or take liberties with the designs, they come back at his completed project with, “Actually, I was thinking…”

Just don’t do that. You don’t have to describe in vivid detail what you want, but you should have a general direction with your request. It adds more work time to the artist and more costs and wait time for you. Be as specific and clear as possible!

3. Critiquing an artist’s work is great — but don’t share uneducated, judgmental remarks.

My artist love created several personal art pieces for me with characters from my favorite game, Skyrim. I loved them so much that I shared them with Facebook pages regarding the game since not a lot of new content or merchandise comes out anymore. Naturally, people had to make some remarks like, “That body type isn’t even realistic.”

Well, neither are dragons, George, but artists draw them anyway.

Art takes its own liberties. It comes from imagination. If you want realistic art, look for a realistic artist. If you see a piece of art that isn’t “realistic” your comment is uneducated and unnecessary. The artist does not always intend to be realistic. You aren’t helping the artist by saying things like this — you’re really just being annoying.

Plus, if you hate unrealistic artwork so much, maybe you should draw it better.

4. Don’t insult an artist by offering free advertising as payment for services.

People actually do this. I couldn’t believe it, but yes, on more than one occasion I have heard my partner get frustrated with requests for artwork and payment being offered in the form of “free advertising.”

“I’ll share your page name bro, I’ll tag you in some posts. I have thousands of Instagram followers so it’s worth your time. You’ll make money off of me.”

Tell you what. Go to work for a day and, instead of an hourly pay rate, ask the corporate office to tell everyone how great you did. Then go buy groceries with that.

Artists aren’t overwhelmed by your big social media following and they are certainly not going to cater to your thousands of followers. If you want the work done, pay the money, or don’t bother asking.

As far as payment goes…

5. Respect the artist’s pricing. Don’t ghost them if you don’t like it — just be honest.

I have known artists who charge $100 for a full-body character while others charge $50. Perhaps the artist who hand-draws and personally ships the piece to you in a frame requires $250 because of the cost of materials. Each artist utilizes different equipment, time, and skill sets and bases their pricing on that. If you can’t afford it, that’s fine, and they understand that. But never, ever expect an artist to change their price because you want their work for half the cost. You’re allowed to shop around with inquiries to different artists!

And if you cannot afford to pay that price, just tell the artist it is out of your price range. My partner has never been told he is out of a client’s price range and felt upset about it after. What does frustrate him is being left hanging after the price is discussed. You’ve left him wondering if he needs to make time for your art sooner rather than later, or if you’re going to come back at all. Just be decent and reject the price cordially

6. If you are friends with or family of an artist, those “family favors” and “friend discounts” can be frustrating.

Typically speaking, families and friend groups tend to have one major artist in the bunch, and everyone wants to run to the artist for favors.

“Can you Photoshop this picture to look like me?”

“Do you mind drawing and printing a t-shirt with customized artwork of your nephew Brody?”

“Just give me a quick doodle of all the grandkids for Christmas.”

“Well, I know you charge x dollars, but can you maybe hook me up with the best friend discount?”

Why do you expect someone you care about to use his or her talent, skill, time, effort, and resources for free?

Just because the artist loves you doesn’t make that artist immune to the potential losses here. I have lost many hours of time with my partner due to these tasks and favors that he feels too guilty to reject.

Sure, you might get artwork for Mother’s Day or a birthday, but the artist gets to create it out of his or her own desire and not yours. It’s something they want to enjoy. Allow them to do that. Their work is worth a lot.

Leading me to the final piece of advice…

7. Please do not forget how difficult creating art can be.

While my partner makes the artwork look easy, I have watched his torment over something not coming out right. I’ve watched his mood change as he hyper-focuses on the issue with the piece and agonizes because everything he tries isn’t working.

“I had this perfect image in my head but no matter what I do, it’s not translating to the tablet.”

I have seen him waste expensive paper and suffer crashed/corrupt files that lost hours of progress. I have reassured him of great turnouts on pieces he disliked and confidently shared his work in the hopes that others could share their enjoyment of his work, too.

He doesn’t create for the sake of making everyone happy, but he likes to know his work doesn’t go unnoticed. Recognize the work that went into the piece when you see it. Just because the art turns out amazing and you know the artist loves drawing doesn’t mean it came without emotional repercussions.

Overall, interacting with an artist requires the same amount of respect as speaking with a lawyer. They are the masters of their creations and they know their worth. Treat your artist as a worthy human being and you will inspire better art, better working relationships, and more confidence in the artist. It’s a win for everyone involved.