"Test" images by potential employers

[Line]

I wanted to get an opinion on how you view those 'test' art things some potential
employers have you do. I don't understand those things, I hate them. Why go through
all the trouble to make a portfolio (no matter how good or how bad it is it still takes
time and effort to make) so you can show it to someone and say "here it is, this is what
I can do for you" only to later be asked to make some 'test' art.

I never did any of that myself, but a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a well known rpg
publisher and they said they like my stuff but they wanted me to make some images
for them so they could and I quote "determine what genre you are most interested
in working on as well as showing us what style(s) you are interested in using". So
basically they wanted me to work for them, they just wanted to see what kind of
product I would fit in best, as if my fantasy/horror filled portfolio wasn't already an indicator
of that. The only reason I did this was because I was interested in working on some
of the stuff they make because I like the themes and products.

So, I sent the art by the time of the deadline, and no response. No response! Every
other company I have ever sent art to contacted me to acknowledge that they received
the art and tell me when I will get paid, even companies to whom I just sent a portfolio
contact me to say they liked my portfolio or not, and these dudes who acted like they
wanted to hire me and had me do 'test' art, haven't responded. Not even a comment
on whether they changed their minds or anything.

My questions. 1)How do other artists feel about this 'test' art 2)How do you usually
tackle something like this and 3)Will I be doing good by flooding every single art forum
with warnings about this particular company's way of 'work' and how they bust artists'
nerves while trying to take advantage?

And just to avoid any confusion, I am not angry or bitter for not being hired, which seems
to be the case. I am furious for being tricked and for having spent time on this instead
of training, improving my portfolio, making a sandwich or finishing other paid projects a little ahead of
schedule. I spent time on these people (as I am sure other artists did) an I didn't even
get a "sorry your stuff sucks" response, which would have been better than no response at all.

I hope I haven't broken any forum rules here.

[Mirana]

Here's a similar thread (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=121692) from March.

Testing can be viable in some situations, but you need to be selective in which ones. If the employer approached YOU then I think theres no reason for them to be asking for additional work without pay. In the future, you might polietly give them a rate for "test" work (which shouldn't be a problem if you're one of the artists they're seriously considering).

Keep an eye on the companies that request this sort of thing. Start-ups in comics, small-time gaming (rpg or mods), and book authors tend to be the worst of the bunch...usually not intentionally, but just because they don't know how hiring an artist works.

I also would not do excessive test work (one image vs several) without pay, and anything sent should be low-rez and watermarked.

[Ebony-chan]

Here's the thing Line I myself never ever do art test (for free it's always paid) enspecially if the employer comes to me and shows interest in my work. Then I make it clear that I am to be paid for the rights to the image if it is used later on down the line.

This is just me I know every artists is different on how they work.If you do an art test always watermark it and send a low res like Mirana said. I myself can't afford to work for free. But like I said every artists is different.

[Line]

I thank you for your opinions and strategy. I always avoided doing this sort of
thing for anyone but this is a well known company so I figured "what the heck".

I don't like doing any work for free, I even charge friends for the 'tattoo drawing'
but charging for a test thing seems weird, I think I'll do it the next time some
art director asks for a test image, if they don't like it then I won't do it.

This business is tough enough without having to put up with this stuff, did this
kinda thing HAVE to be in this business? It's like a big joke. Well, more experience
for us I guess. :)

[Ebony-chan]

Well the thing is being a freelance artist is just like being in business for yourself. You have to be able to figure out what you can and can't afford to do. I've had many companies come to me and ask me to do art tests and i do tell them upfront how I work.

That I do charge for art test and if they want full useage of the image they do have to pay for for that to.Some clients either go for it or they don't go for it it's up to them. if they do chose to work with you great if they don't oh well. But always make it clear upfront on how you work and never send any sample work off without a watermark and without making it low res.

I mean think about it when you go into a business to pay something to buy food,clothes and supplies. They don't give it to you for free you have to pay. Same thing here at least from my point of view. =)

Oh conceptart also has alot of info here that could save you alot of time and money if you read it.

[Ebony-chan]

My friend gave me this and now I'm passing it on to everyone here. =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE

[magnut]

Line,

I hate doing test pieces for clients. It's free work for people who don't know how to determine what they want, or how to see that your portfolio shows the requisite talent and skill to be art-directable enough to do the job they need done.

In other words, clients who don't know what the hell they want until they see it, will keep asking for all this 'test' work to be done until they finally see something that will *suddenly* be close to what they think they imagined their job to look like... they think. They hope.
Let's go inside the mind of what I believe to be a typical "employer" who requires free 'test' work from artists as a substitute for their own decision-making responsibility:
No, wait. Better get more 'test' work done, because we still don't quite think we got the look of the fingernails & toenails, the elbows and the assholes just right yet. I better get the artist to make more 'test' pieces until I'm able to see that they can do every single aspect of my job correctly, as I don't have the ability to art-direct anyone properly.

Okay, now that we've got all these 'test' pieces, you know what? We're thinking that after seeing this big collection of all this free work we got out of the artists, we've decided now that we like the third free piece of artwork that we received weeks ago. Yep, all the subsequent free pieces of 'test' artwork was just to eliminate all the bad ideas, to 'weed out' all the other bad options before we decided to pick this third 'test' piece we got.

I'll tell this guy who did all this free 'test' work that he's been awarded this job with the shitty pay rate that I've set. Too bad all that free 'test' work I had him do really doesn't apply to any aspect of the actual job, so all that work he did can't be used at all.

I don't need to contact all the other people who did free work for me. They'll get the hint that they didn't get the job. Screw'em, I don't have the time to deal with all these whining people who will complain to me that they did all this free work for nothing.

Uh huh. Right...

This happens more than you might think. My experience has been that this his more the norm than not.

Personal example: I was approached by a video game company to do a bunch of storyboards for a video game cinematic. The boss was such a nice guy, and it seemed as if this was just a formality, to get this 'test' over with, and then the job was mine. I did all these storyboards, and the 'test' job got bigger and bigger, until it was clear as the bell that was hitting me upside my head that I was producing a job for free.

I know better, and even I fell into this trap yet again. You want to be helpful to a new employer, that way you can insure that job becomes yours. I wanted to please this person so much that I was willing to do 'above and beyond' work for him on this 'test' job.

I was extremely lucky, as this employer had a conscience, and paid me for all this work I did. Unfortunately, I never got a call back from him to complete this job, and I don't know why. I did get an email from him about a year later asking me if I were willing to storyboard a horror movie, and after talking about price and schedule, I agreed.

He never called back.

Some clients mean well, and they'll still be insecure enough to think they need a 'test' job from you to determine what their direction is on a job. Or they're ignorant of what they want, and they'll waste your time doing work that they may or may not call you back about.

More and more - mostly, I personally believe - there are these "clients" (note the quotations) who simply want to bleed ideas from the artist, without paying for it. They're unscrupulous. They're looking to cheat you. They will never pay you. You will always be screwed by people like this.

So watch your backside. Be discerning as for whom you will do this free work.

D E A L I N G___W I T H___S T E R E O T Y P E S

Let's face it. Some companies in a certain field of endeavor will always try to fuck you over, out of indifference or by design. It has been my experience (both observing and participating) that RPG & MMORPG companies are rife with employers who have no compunction toward expecting you to do free artwork. This whole industry is geared towards making money only for the owner of said RPG or MMORPG, and NOT for the creative people who contribute to the final product.

Part of their stereotypical behavior is when they don't contact you again for any kind of resolution about a job opportunity, especially after they made that initial contact with you telling you they loved your work and they'd like you to do a job for them. Some are maliciously indifferent to you, others are simply amateurs who don't realize what good professional conduct is.

They will pay you crap rates. They will not pay you anything until you've done however much free 'test' work for them that they require of you. They will likely pay hefty fees for a famous cover illustrator, but that's about it. The rest of the money will go into their own pockets.

You should already know this. Everyone should already know this.

When I was a teenager, I took a bus from Sacramento to San Diego alone. Very late at night, I had a layover at the downtown L.A. bus station for a couple hours. Like an idiot, I decided to take a stroll outside the bus station, to see the neighborhood. Three people attacked me and tried to take my wallet. I fought them off, made it back to the bus station, and I told the security guard what happened.

He saiid, "That's what you get for being a fucking moron. Stay inside next time."

If you know the dog has a tendency to bite you, don't go near it. If you know you shouldn't insult the drunken Hell's Angels bikers because they will beat you and kill you for their own entertainment, then don't do it. And if you know that companies (like the RPGs & MMORPGs) have such reputations as being abusive to artists, then you put your valuable time and talent at risk when you consider doing work for them.

Because if you're desperate enough to make the choice to waste your time doing all this free artwork in the guise of doing a 'test' (which is generally bullshit), then well... that's what you get!

Here's an irony: the more discerning you are with the kinds of jobs you're looking for, the more you might be convinced that doing the occasional test here and there is a good investment of your time in the attempt to get a job.

Nothing wrong with that. People get jobs like this on a regular basis.

However, establish boundaries. If you're going to do this, only do no more than one or two pieces. Any more, and you should know you're being taken advantage of. More to the point, you should know you're the one who's allowing yourself to be taken advantage of.

I'm one of the loud voices, lamenting crap "job" offers here on ConceptArt. It only has a limited effect, as most of these false "employers" don't care what you say, and some silly-minded people here react as if calling the bad "job" offers out somehow scares off the legitimate employers, which is really just specious bullshit.

Sometimes the more you complain, the more you enter the realm of 'diminishing returns'. People will listen to you or not.

Use your good sense. Be bold, but be cautious.

Good luck!