Industry pushed me to quit.. ;-;

[Lolly]

I'm not sure where to put this, so feel free to move it. o3o

I've officially quit commissions and any future positions. So basically, the entire industry except Icepets.
There are way too many rude customers out there now, and you need to know what you're doing to artists.

I've had people asking for refunds after it's done and paid for, I've had people tell me it's not 'my style' and I've had people muck me around; not even bothering to get back into contact after it's been made. Thanks.
So here's a breakdown of how long I spend making graphics:
Avatars - Between 5-15 Minutes.
People that ask for complex avatars.. Add another 30 minutes.
Banners - Between 1-3 Hours.
I have days where nothing works.
Layouts - Between 1-2 Days.
24/7, minus 9 hours sleep.

So this is under minimum wage, right?
$6 for a banner that can take up to 3 hours
I'm told to change it.
Add another 30 minutes.
You want a refund?
Sweet, can I have 3 hours of my life back? No? No refund.
You won't reply?
Fine, I'll spend the next 2 weeks mailing you everyday.

Honestly, it's just taken all my passion away. The thought of graphics makes me cringe.
All I can think of is everyone's complaints.. because honestly.. Over 50% of commissions this year have been people complaining.
What the heck happened to this industry?
When did all the buyers start to tear into artists.. It's you that is making us leave. You're the reason there aren't as many of us around.
I'm totally sick of being treated like this, so I did quit. All my passion was sucked out of me and I cannot see me ever opening up photoshop again.

It literally sends me to tears now.So to all the buyers out there, watch what you say!!

Has anyone else been feeling this way? >.>

[que]

I've quit commissions, too!

I agree, @Lolly. I admit that a lot of the issues I brought on myself... but a majority were not, and made me HATE doing pet site art.
(I ended up providing mediocre service to even my best clients because of stress from others).

The stress from this stuff brought me to both tears, AND a mental breakdown.

Trust me when I say this break I've taken has been just effin' fabulous.
Sometimes it's great to take a step back from doing even the things you love.

I didn't want to hate graphic design, but it was getting to that point.

I've dealt with a lot of people who think it's easy to do what we do and think we all have tough skin and MUST do what they say because they are the customer (which is 100% wrong).

Take a break, girl. You deserve it.

[Lewis]

Not all buyers are like that. How can you blame the whole industry?

[SpunkiSpirou]

Welcome to my world.

I don't like to complain, if someone does something for me I mostly go along with it, even if I don't like it, based on my experiences, I won't put someone else down.

[bamboo123]

@Lolly , *pats* Hope you feel better soon Normally, when I feel like that, I stuff myself with raisins, fruits and candies Doing exercise also helps xD Talk to someone, it'll help too *pats* Nothing is perfect in this world, things like this is bound to happen But then again, life still goes on No matter how hurt you feel now, it'll eventually heal, if you want it to It might seem easy for me to say but hard to do it, but seriously, it's not that hard (( sorry if I sound weird / useless D: ))
Icepets is lucky to still have you around
I hope you'll consider coming back, I've always admired your graphic arts (( you're my role model seriously ))

[Dyl]

Yeah reason I've quit doing art and anything that the industry bashes like crazy. UGH item art = epic suckiness. XD I would spend 2-3 hours on one single $2.50 item. REALLY? Because they would make me change it, change it, and change it some more.
So now I just program for VP owners. I refuse to do art.
Otherwise, I'm freelancing for other professional businessmen.

[cpvr]

So this is under minimum wage, right?
$6 for a banner that can take up to 3 hours
I'm told to change it.
Add another 30 minutes.
You want a refund?
Sweet, can I have 3 hours of my life back? No? No refund.
You won't reply?
Fine, I'll spend the next 2 weeks mailing you everyday.

If I ever need some new banners - could you make them for me? When I have the funds, I'll pay $8 for a banner you can make. I'm so sorry to hear this, I didn't know things were this bad between artists and customers.

[Myztacia]

I've dealt with a lot of the same stuff as far as programming goes. It's why I work so heavily with contracts...when clients are like "Oh, but I wanted this functionality, too" I can say "Not in the contract, so there's an extra charge for my time"....it saves a lot of headache.

[Ixyra]

I just quit commissions too :'D
Also I just don't think this is an industry. These are pet sites where most dont even use contracts. I think it would be an industry if most sites had copyrights, legal contracts, a legal pay-rate, and a physical building or meeting place to work in; not to mention a staff hierarchy! If any site had all of these aspects I would still be pursuing backgrounds for websites, but whenever I tell a client I charge hourly it's like the world comes crashing down. Flat rates dont pay bills and they waste my time :/ What if I charge flat rate and they want a bunch of changes that add up to something like 5 hours? That's a waste of my time! I have bills - I need to eat - I have things to pay for and a life to live!

I think if people were more professional about treating this as a business and less of casual freelance then I think there would be less problems. I've worked for maybe two professional clients out of the hundreds. I find it disappointing But - I'm just preaching to the choir haha. Hopefully we can all find better ways of an income without having to deal with this atmosphere.

Ps - Not all clients are terrible so if you were good to me and paid me on time and gave input then this is not for you potential-previous-client-reading-this

[Avalanche]

I've had some issues with this programming but not a lot. *hugs* I sorry Lolly. It'll get better though, maybe we can poke you to get your passion back? ;-;