How ETSY undermines artists
There’s 2 basic things to know about being a freelancer.
- It’s really hard to price your work when you’re trying to get commissioned
- It’s a LOT of work
Lo and behold, ETSY comes in — you’re like ‘Oh damn, lemme get on that’, there’s a market for art. You’re already struggling to price your art at this point, so you do some market research and try to see what the lowest minimum price is that you can sell your art for.
OH NO, WAIT. What are all these ‘Custom portraits’ that people are selling for upwards of £11?
Then you click on the picture and they’re all filters. These people are taking customer’s photos and RUNNING THEM THROUGH PAINT FILTERS. Pencil sketch filters, acrylic paint filters, watercolour filters, you name it.
You might be thinking ‘who cares if they’re making bread by being smart and not actually doing any work?’
The problem with this sh*t is that people start thinking this is what art is actually worth.
It’s one thing to look for a gap in the market and make affordable art’, but art shouldn’t be affordable. Art is a luxury. The people that get to a level where they can actually sell are immediately undermined because yeah, it’s GREAT for the customers to get something quick and easy, but this is the kind of outlook they’ll have for the rest of their lives.
Suddenly, getting a huge A2 portrait of their dog is only worth £50. People are charging over £200? NO WAY, that’s WAY too much. It’s EXTORTIONATE.
No, it’s not. That’s how much an actual piece of art is worth.
While I think these people have found a way to make a living and well…that’s cool and all, but stuff like this is incredibly disheartening.
I literally even thought for a second if I should do something that easy, but it’s just not fair to people like me.
This image below is a stock photo I ran through a pencil drawing filter. You’re welcome.
F*ck those people.
