Risk and Choice: clients and artists face both

So yesterday I wrote about how to get crappy art. I wrote it from the perspective of the curmudgeonly crankypants artist that lives inside me (somewhere very near my gall bladder).

It got many cries of, “Yes!” from artists everywhere. Apparently I struck a chord.

How about the flip side? What about the client perspective?

What happens when some well-intentioned human just needs some art and they feel kinda stupid about art in the first place? Maybe they try to bone up on design principles so they don’t feel like they’re gonna get taken advantage of and charged a ridiculous rate – all for a funny red kitty on their business card.

So they show their sister the red kitty illustration they charged on their credit card. They kinda like it, but they’re more concerned about how other people will like it. After all, it’s gonna be printed on 1,000 business cards. Sister Scrapbook says, “I don’t like his nose. Can’t there be an outline on the nose?”

When presented with this request, the Artist Formerly Known as Nice gets incredibly self-important and curt.

“I can put an outline on it, but it will look terrible. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the style. I’ll do it, but it’ll be an extra $XXX.”

Woa. What just happened? Client said, “outline” and the artist kinda said, “Screw You.”

Is the sister wrong? Is the client wrong? Is the artist wrong? Who exactly is wrong here?

The problem is, no one is wrong. At this point, there is no wrong, there is only opinion. If twelve people see that red kitty with an outline on the nose, six people will say, “Spot on with that nose.” Three people will say, “Hey, awesome. So what’s good here? The pasta? I’m gonna have a red wine, who’s with me?” Two people will say, “What’s the name of that artist? I need some work done myself!” and one person will say, “Why is the dolphin red?”

So here we are at a place where someone (meaning just one person) has to decide when the red kitty illustration is done. Who should that be?

It’s not really about art anymore, it’s about risk.

If the client decides, they have to take a risk that their clients will love, like, or not care about the red kitty on their business cards.

If the artist decides, they take a risk that if people hate it, the client will not hire them again and tell other people not to hire them.

There is no risk for the twelve people and Sister Scrapbook. None.

So if you’re a client and you commission an artist for an illustration, animation, or design you are taking a risk. That’s business. That’s the way the world works. You get in an airplane and take a risk that the pilot is healthy, licensed, and not extremely sleepy or drunk. You eat at your favorite restaurant and take a risk that the cooks washed their hands. You could stand outside the bathroom and do hand checks, but don’t you have better things to do?

You hire the best artist you can find and let them create. You go with your gut. Ultimately, the final choice is yours. That’s the best you can do.

As artists, we also have risks and choices with our clients. We bitch and complain to our compatriots about difficult clients, but essentially we have three choices in the face of “stupid” changes:

1. Educate. Explain. Convince.
2. Just shut up and do the damn thing. Take the money.
3. Call it done and refuse to change a goddam thing. Hand it over. Accept payment for hours worked.

The first one is hardest and takes time that you don’t necessarily get paid for. The second one sucks the soul out of your ass and makes you hate your work. The third is idealistic but you get to keep your soul inside your ass.

People have risks. People have choices.

I’m working on a project right now where I started out doing number 1 on the choice list. Now I’m at number 2 because they made a choice not to be educated. Yes, it’s sucking my soul out of my ass. I’m letting the passengers tell me my course heading. I’m letting the customers check my hands outside the bathroom. Yes, I’m just going to take the money. No, I probably won’t be proud of the final product.

In the end, I’m here to serve my client’s needs. That could mean, “Shut up and fly the plane where I tell you.”

It could mean, “Thanks for getting me here safely. I must have slept the whole way.”

If you’re a client, the best thing you can do is be upfront about what kind of flight it’s going to be. If you’re going to try and navigate, say so. If you’d rather watch the inflight movie, that’s cool. Just tell the flight attendant and you won’t be disturbed. But you do have to make a choice.

If you’re an artist, try and ask what kind of flight is needed before you pull away from the gate. At least you’ll fly better and enjoy the view. There’s another trip coming up soon.

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