Need an illustrator to create a character for a children's website (paid). Please do email me Adam@adammorley.com please do RT many thanks

— ⁱ) (@Adammorley7) July 10, 2017

It seems an innocent enough Tweet, doesn’t it, but my reply to it caused an immediate, negative reaction from the author.

What concerns me is the need to put ‘paid’ in the Tweet. https://t.co/DWCuPfL64p

— David (@DavidArtiss) July 10, 2017

I have no beef with Adam but more to do with the fact that he needs to advertise the fact that it’s a paid job. When was the last time you saw this…

Need a developer to create a new website for our business (paid)

Somehow, I suspect it’s never.

But in the world of the artist, in this case an illustrator, many people expect them to work for nothing, often citing “for the exposure” as their payment. It’s a real issue for artists, many of whom are often not the most highly paid professionals in the first place.

And, like many, I wasn’t aware of this myself. It’s only now that my daughter, a comic book art student, is being asked the same thing – to do work for free – that this has changed.

So, sorry, Adam, it’s definitely not personal – you’re doing the right thing. But it’s sad that being paid to do a job is something that has to be mentioned.

1. (Adam Morley[↩]