Should You Enter Competitions? Illustrator Advice

[@darkbluematter1753]

Those terms and conditions getting the rights to your work for zero money are downright theivery! Having worked in contracts, if you find yourself in a terrible position having already signed away your rights without realizing it, don’t just roll over. You may be able to get them to give you your rights back by 1) nicely asking, 2) sending a formal letter asking, 3) threatening to lodge complaints with local regulatory agencies for unfair and predatory trade practices, 4) actually lodging those complaints, 5) getting an attorney. Crazy unfair contract terms rarely stand up in court and a company’s legal department likely knows that and might decide its easier to just let you out of the contract. Options 1-4 are free so they are worth a shot. And they might be decent people who just used a crappy contract template and will try to make it right if you ask.

[@haleytice]

I'm a graphic designer and this advice 100% applies to that field. A lot of people, in general, do not realize that this is my CAREER, not a hobby. (A.K.A. I make a living as a designer working for a company) It drives me nuts when people expected that I will create free designs for them.

[@SophieMelissa]

I’ve just seen one for GAP where the first prize is money but then the runner ups get there work put onto clothing, but they get no money and all their rights are gone, but think how much money GAP will get. It disgusts me, universities tend to really push competitions too which can be a problem :(

[@haleytice]

That's insane!

[@hollyexley]

Awful! Thank you for sharing

[@forindet]

Omg! The competitions! I feel like I see 1-2 of those every week and it makes me so angry! I was tempted to write to few of them, giving them a piece of my mind, but then again those companies are entitled to do whatever they like, it's not (entirely) their fault, it's OUR fault for falling for it over and over! They aren't going to change, we need to change. Entering those competitions is just like playing the lottery- the only one winning is the organiser and even if you happen to win you'll be forgotten soon after and back where you started. Thanks for addressing the topic, Holly, there will never be too much information on this topic.

[@SergeyChernyshev]

Can completely relate to this! Web development field went through that many years ago and to some degree is still going through that for people who are just starting (there always will be un-decent people who want to take advantage of decent people). Stay your ground folks and don't let them abuse you and in the end demand that only grows with growth of internet will pick professionals with good paid work behind their belt and value them.

[@PolinaKalina]

Thanks for highlighting this issue Holly! TBH I'm starting to really worry about the future of professional freelance illustration :( Competitions, micro stocks, large companies ripping off artists as well as their ideas ...

[@lilystevens1931]

Thankyou so much for posting this, I feel like this is a subject rarely talked about to illustrators trying to break into the industry. I know you said that this video was negative but to me it was empowering, 14 minutes of telling illustrators they are worth more and that they can expect payment and security. I did my degree in Illustration and we were always pushed to enter competitions and never taught about contracts, what to charge or the repercussions of working for free. It was all about getting your work out there rather than valuing your talents and time. I have watched nearly every video you have posted from the start and I honestly feel like your intentions are golden, your so helpful and genuine and it’s so refreshing so again, thank you! Xxx

[@hollyexley]

Lily Stevens thank you Lily!

[@Francesca-pl8jn]

I've fallen into this, especially when I just started out as I was excited someone wanted to 'share my work with their audience'. But it was so much time, so much learned skill, and the 'exposure' I received in return didn't show in any way. Thank you for talking about this subject, it's really sad some people can't respect the value within these skills!

[@Tania_Doodlezilla_Vincent]

I just entered a competition this week and as soon as you started talking I realised that it was quite a foolish thing to do. :) Luckily it is just for a small podcast but I will think twice in the future. Thank you so much for your honest video. You are lovely x

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks Holly, I had been thinking this recently particularly with a recent stationery competition where I felt the amount of illustrators entering was huge but what they were getting in return really wasn't a good return on the amount of 'free' marketing that company was getting. Basically competitions are always going to be better for the business that is running them than for the artists that enter. You're right it does devalue the actual illustration world- people just assume giving exposure is going to pay the bills! Also I find competitions don't help build the art community - I feel they just cause more friction and insecurity. Maybe we should all speak up more on this topic- you have challenged me.

[@momeraths]

Thankfully I've never entered a competition as the thought of it never sat right with me, but I think that a big problem is how universities really advertise and push these competitions as a way to get a foot in the industry. I'm a third year illustration student and we're constantly told about which competitions to enter, some of which are by huge brands who have more than enough money to do their own spec work. If we're being taught that this is the way of the industry and to accept it and play ball at an education level, then that doesn't set a great precedent for the future of the industry.

[@SergeyChernyshev]

Universities only look good if they produce a lot of workforce that is active in whatever corporations have to offer (for cheap usually). I wouldn't confuse your interests and university's interests ;)

[@Aquarellina]

I'm so glad you addressed this! Everything you say is true. Even if the price is good and the contract is ok...these companies are getting a lot of ideas for free. Even if they choose a different design they still have a lot of designs they later give to someone to trace over. Don't get me started about 99designs and other sites like freelancers and upwork who take a huge fee percentage of your pay. I'm excited to hear about your horror stories and hear how you do contracts 💟💟💟

[@patriziacathey605]

I respect anyone,in any industry, who is willing to shine a light on issues that have a negative impact.I also respect and admire that you are trying .I wish you much luck in spreading this information.Great content,as always!

[@Kattsay]

Great to hear you talking about this, it really bugs me when I get tagged in these comps on fb by well meaning friends. It's already so difficult to get a fair wage in the art industry :(

[@RhomanysRealm]

What to do when you see a competition or spec that really excites you: make the best piece of work you can according to the requirements and put it in your portfolio! 👍🏻

[@coffeebudd]

This video was so perfectly timed! I was having a coversation with a friend the other day about why you shouldn't enter competitions & you articulated it much better than I ever could!

[@cris_tamay]

Thanks for this Holly! Here in Spain being paid with "exposure" is very common... Specially when you're starting. The comparisons you made between illustrators and other kinds of jobs like teachers is what I always say to explain what people expect creative professionals to do is insane and ridiculous!

[@hellovonnie]

You are absolutely right. I've entered competitions like this just to get a shot at being a professional illustrator. And i've had mixed feelings about it as well. Especially big companies should know better than going about things like this. Thanks for this video Holly! We should value ourselves and our work!

[@julzjupiter347]

This is such a well-structured and helpful piece of content! Thank you so much for sharing, you are so right about the time issue - don't want to sound depressing, but we're all mortal creatures, so Why in the world waste time working - making art - for an exchange of starving or being under-paid?

[@strooooble]

You're not actually being negative, just realistic. I don't work full time as an illustrator or artist as yet, but I have already come across plenty of people, even just 'friends', asking me for discounts or free stuff offering exposure or whatever, or simply asking me to draw them stuff because artists 'enjoy drawing' so it would be so much fun for me to draw their house, right? And that's not even big companies trying to get new talent at little to no cost for them. You are right, time is money for artists just as it is for anyone else that offer a service or whatever. Thanks for raising awareness, dear, more people need to see this, like you said, especially illustrators new to the game. Literally someone I know through the day-job I do asked me if I would draw her child and when I gave her the price she said it was too expensive and asked for a discount and said she would share my work on her Facebook for all her friends to see. I was like .. eh, well, not really because I share everything I draw on Facebook anyway and I would consider charging you extra if you didn't want me to show that drawing anywhere. (I personally don't believe we should share children's photos on social media so much anyway, privacy is an issue, but for drawings I think it's not so bad. Anyway that's beside the point.) Ugh. So annoying when people do not want to see the hours of work and years of practice it takes artists to get to their skill level at face value and pay them accordingly if you want them to do something for you. Aaaanyway. Thanks Holly, this is important stuff!

[@veraschmidt5098]

Great Video! Thanks so much for your participation in fighting against bad payment and lack of respect for the illustrator profession by talking about it . We are not competitors but colleagues who should help and support each other for gaining better work conditions. ❤️

[@ChrissieNicely]

Hi Holly, Yes, you're spot on! As a photographer I have heard "working for exposure" so many times and read competition rules, I cannot even remember. If you do it you don't only lose money and valuable time, you lose respect - which, in the end, is detrimental. The other practise that is very common in big companies is the "hiring" of interns and their use of their fresh input/talent/ideas. Once they have signed their "contract" they don't even get exposure for their work since they have signed over all rights to the company. It's infuriating!

[@timbudgen4357]

Hey Holly, great Video - theres a spec competition going on right now - lots of promotion on twitter where the Ts & C's are appalling - basically abusing not only the illustrators who enter but damaging the whole business. so frustrating !!!

[@fathimasstudio]

Great video, Holly! I'm aware that competitions are an incredibly awful thing, but I'm not always able to clearly articulate why (possibly coz I get so angry about it), so this helps to explain it clearly and gives me somewhere to direct people if needed. Also love those earrings :)

[@gazelanecortes9100]

Wohhh I have never entered a competition but I’ve been really really tempted, I am so happy you expressed yourself so clearly I could properly see that in fact it is an issue, thanks for your advice and expertise, of course every one wants to see happy positive pro stuff about illustration but not everything is rainbows and unicorns, we need to be aware and conscious about those things too, you have the courage to open eyes !👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@dianebishopdesigns]

Thank you for sharing your opinion on this. It's such a shame that so many places feel like they can use competitions instead of just hiring someone to do the work and paying them a fair amount for the work that is done. I have signed up to a few freelancing websites and I often see work that is too poorly paid to be worth the amount of work that would be involved in taking the job (and that's if you get picked). I've also had a few people approach me to ask if I can draw something for them, including working on a children's book and as soon as you ask what their budget is they suddenly don't want to work with you any more because they didn't expect to have to pay for the work.

[@HarpinatorX]

I’m a second year illustration student and at the minute my modules at uni are completely based around entering competitions. I’m so glad you’ve done this video, You’ve made me much more confident in my decision to only enter ‘awards’ and not competitions 😁💕

[@passionball87]

Excellent video! Can you please make a video about the frustration illustrators go though when they don’t get hired by clients? (No work) no emails, no replies, no projects etc. I absolutely love your channel! Keep up the awesome work! You rock!

[@Priscillageorgeart]

When I first started pursuing art as a career I entered in competitions and then quickly realized all the things you mentioned. There is a lot of things like this out there in the art world. It made me depressed when I would achieve the next thing thinking it was what artists were supposed to do and what would advance my career only to find out it didn’t benefit me at all but the other person much more. Most of the email requests I get from other business also fall into this, where they benefit and I don’t get paid much or anything. It’s upsetting to get constant emails like this with very few actually wanted to pay illustrators and artists the price they deserve for their work.

[@amylen.doodlebug]

So good to hear a longer piece on this subject. Your insight is so vital. I see a lot of (obviously) short tweets, with various people basically saying Get Paid! Spec Work is Worthless! Competitions are Bad! And I've always felt resistance to that, because I'm at the bottom rung with under 1000 followers and no work. But, hearing you break down the logic of it makes it so clear and obvious! Thank you SO MUCH, Holly!

[@Astharia]

I am looking to the contract video! It's hard to find good information on how to interact with clients and what terms and conditions should be applied in contact with them and in the contracts. They often don't teach that in universities. I would like to do some illustration work in the future and feel very insecure about this. About what to do and what not to. How to know what to charge as well and how to charge the time that went in and so forth.

[@debsllewelyn230]

Well said Holly! I work as a freelance writer and the same thing is happening to us. Great advice!

[@sabinassketchbook]

Thank you Holly, really thank you to approach this argument. I'm an illustrator, I started my career during the last year and I still hear a lot of people (young artists, friends, family etc) be worried because I do not take anymore the chance to participate into art contests. I did it the last years during university, with the result of a lot of work (for free), stress and just a bit of visibility on the web as a satisfaction. I don't reccomend to do that unless if it's for a really good, honest competition. We illustrators are most of the time too kind, shy and not too much self confident. It's important to demand respect for our profession. A beautiful profession :) Thank you for your videos

[@izabelacichanska5781]

it takes courage to speak about this problem, thank you for sharing your thoughts about it!

[@cate.and.ginger]

I loved this video! I'm a fashion designer and they are so many competitions in my area too it's insane! A girl who study with me entered in a competition to create a accessories capsule for a big brand and she not won but after a time she saw her designs in other collection of this brand with no mention of his name and she can not do anything about it because she accept the terms, So after this I see with other eyes this competitions, in the end of the day they still your ideas and you can not make anything about it. It's so sad. Thank you for sharing this!!

[@hollyexley]

Catarina Marques that’s awful! Thanks for sharing.

[@helenem.9845]

Great video! It's not often that people speak out about these issues, glad you did! Navigating freelance creative jobs is hard enough as it is.

[@FranMeneses]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for this video Holly!!!!!!

[@marithecreative]

Wow. I had no idea companies were doing this. That's wack. Good on you for standing up for what's right!

[@PetitFlorals]

Hi Holly, Thank you for posting this video. I have never personally entered competitions because they charge a fee "$25" or more. I think it's a scam to make money and free art. Another experience on working for free. I had a client in the past, after having worked a 9 hour day for them, ( and working as a contractor) say to me "in your spare time you can work on this." Meaning non billing hours. I turned to them and laughed and said "what spare time?" It really surprises me just how many people still think that what we do is a hobby. Although I work as a graphic designer, when I do offer illustration as service I perceive they need, it seems like clients don't realize this is actually work. I also think that people misunderstand when they see how passionate you are about illustration they think it's your "hobby." I'm really happy you'll be doing a video on contracts because I would love to hear how you approach them. I also wanted to say I appreciate so much your channel because you are educating people who might not have known why illustrators are paid about what we do and why we are paid.

[@bethfriends]

Thank you so much for this video! It’s really hard to know the right thing to do when first putting yourself out there and I’m petrified of things going wrong. This helps ease my apprehensiveness to even starting and I know some mistakes must be made for the sake of progress, but it doesn’t hurt to read up and avoid all that you can!

[@paulinefollett3099]

This is a real problem. Thank you for raising awareness. Love your channel.

[@leighannenight]

Thanks for the wisdom and support in the industry you love!!

[@NatashaNuttall]

Couldn't agree with you more. There seems to be a competition along these lines with a brand popping up every month sadly. I kinda see it along the same lines as unpaid internships... wrong and unfortunately there are 100s of others out there that will do it if you decide not to. I feel like continues on from how society values creativity and if it is a skill that should be paid for (obviously, yes it should!). Glad you are talking about it though because these bad competitions are everywhere but not enough people are speaking out against them!

[@MiaMinerva]

Thank you so much for talking about this Holly! So much important information, especially for those of us just starting out in the industry.

[@emmathrussell]

I agree, professionalism is so important especially as we are business owners. Don't worry about seeming 'negative', what your saying is sooo important and valuable to us all. I can't wait to see your next video :)

[@vmjjunk]

Thanks. This applies to writers as well.

[@333chanina]

a video about contracts will be very interesting ! thank you !

[@lidewijdevries4444]

Thank you for making a video about this! It's something I'm worrying about as well. Can't wait for the video about contracts!

[@lukespicer1982]

This is a difficult one for me, as I do very much agree with you on most of your points, and it does anger me that huge companies take advantage of struggling illustrators in this way. Having said that, I did enter a competition earlier this year. Ironically I found out about it from a tweet of yours dismissing it. I had no work on at the time and thought it sounded like a fun brief, so despite the prize being of extremely low value I thought my entry would make a good portfolio piece anyway. I was chosen as one of the winners, and the exposure led to a big company hiring me for one of the biggest commissions I’ve ever had. So in this case it was worth my time and I don’t regret it. But I realise that’s rarely the case. Thank you for making this video to make people more aware of the issues surrounding competitions though so they can make more informed decisions.

[@lukespicer1982]

Also, I'm a fellow Middlesex graduate like you and we HAD to participate in a competition in the third year, so you should show this video to Nancy ;)

[@Sillycloudwanderer]

Thank you soooo much for making these and future video’s. It really makes me feel supported as a starting illustrator. Can’t wait for the horror stories and especially the one about contracts because I don’t know where to start...

[@shanslam1970]

Facinating I never knew this.. my background is in fine art...

[@Butterinyourear]

The thought of all the effort and beautiful work that goes into these contests and remains completely unacknowledged und uncompensated is just sad. Just imagine a company asking for any other work for free for a chance to win something, they would be laughed out the door!

[@MAIS2]

Your colour coding in this video makes me so happy 🐍 I agree about brands taking advantage of new illustrator especially now. It's scary honestly. I don't even think they tag you for something like this. I guess it's just portfolio pride.

[@MAIS2]

Also I saw many brands choosing the winner with stupid methods like " whoever gets the most votes online" to even get publicity through your friends and efforts and aaall of our data too 👌🏽 that also means usually it's not the best of design that wins too 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@HippieHooray]

Very good video! I've also seen a lot of freelance sites where you have to submit a design and the client choses one, it's so frustrating!

[@RebekkaHay]

It's great to get some more insight and your perspective on this. You always make such great videos Holly! Keep it up!

[@KateBauerArt]

Thank you so much for this video, and your insight on the matter. It's really great that you're looking out for new artists and illustrators- it is so tempting when you see these competitions to want to join in. I'm glad I came across your vid! :)

[@niharikamanjunath]

Hey Holly, can you give us some advice on how to design a portfolio? I didn't go to art school so I have no idea how to approach a company or how to format my portfolio and what companies look for in a portfolio... Thanks!!

[@hollyexley]

That's a great idea - I'll certainly do this. Thanks!

[@niharikamanjunath]

holly exley thank you Holly!!

[@katherinemccutcheon6240]

your channel is such an inspirational and insightful resource for aspiring illustrators - any question I have while navigating the beginning of my career, you have an answer for :) thanks for another awesome video!

[@claudiachanhoi]

Thank you so much for doing this video , Holly! It really addresses the big issue of what this industry is having! I think a lot of “big” brands tend to take advantages of emerging creatives especially illustrators or photographers! They tend to use words like “collaboration” and “exposure” which I find really sad that creatives are being used this way. They think they are giving us an opportunity to share our work to a bigger group of audiences. However we are also helping the brand to build up their image and to promote the brand! Giving away our work for free is basically doing a huge favour for the brand and we aren’t getting paid for our time , energy and creativity.

[@Pipsanimation]

You are so right Holly! So happy to see a whole vid about this very important issue! Well done 👊👊👊

[@EllisWoolleyIllustration]

Thankyou so much for sharing this Holly, so interesting & I agree with everything you mentioned. Especially feeling worried about devaluing our industry, it's pretty scary that these competitions are on the rise, I've seen a lot around recently :/ x x

[@babylilacforever]

What a great video! Pulling some comparisons with animation. We do unpaid ‘tests’ - I look forward to your follow up ideas ! They sound great too ❤️

[@rararagrr]

Really appreciate you taking the time to speak on this subject. I'm a freelance illustrator part-time, since it's been hard to find a way to get more exposure to make it my full-time gig. In the past, I figured the only way to do this was entering what always seemed to be very unfair competitions & contests, or pay money to have work published in an art book, etc. It's always made me feel like I'm not doing enough to get exposure, but glad to hear from a professional like you that some of these "too good to be true" situations are exactly that. Looking forward to more advice videos, they are definitely invaluable for someone like me who doesn't have a mentor or people around me to give me this sort of information to help me grow my business.

[@AmandaWiley]

I love the topic of this video, and it’s definitely a problem we are seeing more and more. I think the most important topic that is overlooked with all videos of this nature is that there is work for every style. It’s so easy to think that there is only a small list of artists getting these high profile commissions, and that doing this unpaid grunt work is the only way to success. It’s easy for someone new to see these kinds of videos, or read social media comments of this nature, and hear about devaluing the profession and get offended (I know, I was once one of them). It can so easily come off in a negative fashion of an established artist protecting their territory to new artists, when it’s simply a word of caution. Hard work, consistency, working on your style, and building a portfolio are the best way to one day accomplishing your goal. If you are only creating work for a competition, creating something that isn’t “you” and you don’t have rights over, simply isn’t helping in the long run towards their goals. It’s nice to see these topic addressed less aggressively!

[@sagaholmgard73]

Thanks for this video! Its really valuable to hear your thoughts and experiences on this

[@insert90sunderconstruction80]

Thank you for making this video. I love your videos and especially the ones about life of an illustrator and problems that arise in the field. I've been seeing a lot of these competitions pop up and many artists are participating. I do worry, it does devalue the field... I hope more artists watch this video and find their worth. It's hard, because we want our work to be seen by a wider audience, but not be taken advantage of. Especially if you went to Uni and are still paying those student loans.. It sucks. Also as someone who went to art school I wish they thought us marketing and the business side of art. I'm truly appalled if now a days schools instead are promoting doing competitions for big brands no less. I was approached by some brand because they allegedly liked my work and to submit my work for a chance to be featured on their page, I sent them a small png of the image, but there's no guarantee they will. They then sent me an email to submit another but to **pay them** to enter a competition for a **chance** to be featured on their print zine. Not even a guarantee, again. Like what??

[@planetaireee]

Really nice advices Holly! I guess sometimes creatives tend to lose the patience at the beginning...but I guess that the process needs time and we have to be patience and enjoy the way :)

[@karolsartoasis4815]

This happens so much in creative industry's, I worked for years in the fashion industry and I still work in visual merchandising and it is disgusting. I can remember applying for a job and spending 6 weeks working almost for free and than getting nothing from it, doing years of work experience and getting nothing from it, doing years of low paying jobs and now I am still in a low paying job I hate. So yea be careful doing free work or competitions. All creative people train and work really hard to get trained and qualified and we deserve the same respect that any other profession gets. Not to be treated differently because it is an creative job. Lets keep our creative industry's professional, better still bring more value to our selves as creatives. I agree spend the time on your portfolio and doing your own work rather than work for free. I feel very strongly about this because there was no KZbin when I started working and I was so clueless and I got completed taken advantage of because I did not know or find out better. Thanks to videos like this young creative people and people going in to these professions have a chance to learn from people with experience. Thanks Holly for making this video, I agree completely with what you are saying.

[@mimisosunny4227]

Thank you for sharing this valuable information. Have a great day Holly 🌸💗

[@aviaja2008]

You are so young and already so wise. Respect! I get so furious when I see companies who exploit young inexperienced artists. Yes, the works of art are just like any other work occupation and should be treated with the same respect. It is a (b)million dollar industry who should in this enlightened place and era pay artists for their time. Unfortunately, our world has a certain ambivalence toward art and some people only see art as a hobby and not a serious workplace with hard work behind every art piece and on top of that, they do not consider how expensive our tools are, or how the artists need to work nerve-wrecking long hours and need years to learn the craft. This attitude toward artists is what kids grow up with. It is shameful and all artists should stand together and protect each other from exploitation. I would recommend all artists to stay away altogether from competitions, just as a statement and as a preventive method to protect the new upcoming artists in the future. It is the attitude we need to change, that art is all fun and game, free to use by anyone. HELL NO!

[@josiannedufour2944]

Very interesting video! Thanks Holly! And I can't wait to hear your horror stories with demands for working for free ;) ...

[@bluebellink2221]

Wow, I had truely never thought of this. You really are a gem for shairing this sort of information with those of us who are clearly too naive to be wary of that sort of exploitation. I guess ill be looking more closely at any compititions I'm interested in to make sure its worth my time.

[@danielleillustrates4971]

Another problem is universities pushing competitions. Mine for example (I love my tutors with all my heart and it’s nothing against them they just have a curriculum to follow etc) but we had a seminar in our third year pushing competitions as a good way to become noticed and that any competitions you have to pay to enter is just a risk to take. It’s definitely a hard call to make for new illustrators, myself included, where it’s becoming harder to be recognised.

[@romicajones]

Danielle Illustrates same problem at my uni :/ I'm just about to graduate and counting the amount of competitions I've participated in makes me feel a bit sick now.

[@danielleillustrates4971]

Romica Spiegl-Jones I feel you there! I entered one whilst in my 3rd year and it was an amazing experience because it was with Penguin and I got all the way to 4th, got to go London to their offices and everything but I couldn’t imagine doing it now since I’d be making no money and I have bills to pay etc. So hard!!

[@amyharwood4724]

Thanks for the insight! Can't wait for the next video :)

[@hollyexley]

thanks Amy!

[@samiragisiger5854]

thank you so much for this!

[@cassiet6171]

Thankyou so mich im very new to the art industry and im also very young so this really helped with what i do with my art thankyou😊😊 💙

[@leannebowden2604]

Thank you, thank you, thank you Holly this information has been invaluable to me. I appreciate you generously sharing your wisdom & industry knowledge.🙏🏻

[@angr268]

hey Holly, just watch this and it was really helpfull! please make a video on how to promote yourself out there, how do you personally promote your job?

[@pencilpusher978]

Thank you so much for your vids Holly, looking forward to watching the contracts one especially X

[@odalilleaasen]

Thank you, Holly! Thank you for pointing this out, and for helping us little experienced illustrators to reflect upon this. I've been seeing some of these competitions, and I really think they can be hurting our industry. The chance of them taking notice of you in that competition is perhaps even smaller than if you just contact them with your portfolio. I have recently been approached several times about working for free, or for a very small amount of money. It's all about this lack of understanding about the creative professions. Looking forward to your videos on working for free and contracts!

[@Dillidee]

That was is intersting. I had no idea. Thanks for sharing. Great video as always.

[@jeremyaxtest]

Wonderful advice, thanks!

[@MeowMeowKapow]

Spec work is so incredibly frustrating. Early in my career, I fell for one of those style competitions (though actually, it was posted as essentially being a job offer sort of) because I thought they were worth my time and effort to try and get ahead. No, my time and effort are worth money just like anyone else doing their job. It’s scummy on the part of the companies trying to take advantage of an industry that is already so misunderstood and undervalued.... I hope that other’s see this and think about how damaging this practice is. Thank you for doing your part to protect us all.

[@tashedwards99]

Thank you so much for making these videos !!

[@Angela10277088]

This is wonderful advice! Thank you.

[@andromedablue]

I think it's really important to distinguish "moral rights" from "copyrights" while reading/signing contracts and terms of agreements. Creators have moral rights even if they do not own a copyright in their work. They cannot sell or completely waive their rights, but they can give consent for certain things that may otherwise breach their moral rights. I would be very careful about moral rights and consent then. It would be great if you could share your experience with specifying those in contracts, Holly?

[@diamondbaybie]

Thanks so much for the great advice!

[@23zwanzig91]

this was so helpfull, would love to hear more about contracts. keep up the good work holly

[@azzuparis]

This video is very useful. Thanks for sharing!

[@rachelr3284]

Such a helpful video! Thank you! Side note, where did you get that sweater? I love the color and it looks so soft! 🖤

[@kristinhenningart5520]

Great vid. Your points were right on. Thanks for going out on a limb and doing it.

[@sweet-moontoppers8728]

Thanks Holly, very informative/helpful vid x

[@rwernher]

This was very, very helpful. Thank you for your experienced perspective on this topic; it is invaluable.

[@lynnede4383]

Couldn't agree more. Just this week I was offered two similar work - for - free things. One a comp for artwork to be used on a retail product. The prize? Yes, exposure ! 😂 oh and one of the cheap products. The other I was asked to produce a painting. The payment? A service offered by the company which I didn't need or want! Said no to both. These attempts for free work make me so cross.

[@tortagialla]

Totally see this happening more and more by even bigger established companies - not just random small start-ups - so it's definitely a confusing landscape to enter into. I think it's always tempting as mentioned by some other comments, when you have no work, then you sort of start taking these chances to do something/anything! :(

[@SeaSprayWatercolorsbyJillCJack]

Interesting post! I was approached by the Democratic political party and invited to enter a competition. The winners artwork would be featured as the logo for all their stationery! Immediately I told them I would be happy to do the artwork for them for a fee-not free. Needless to say they moved on. They need to be ashamed of themselves-expecting artists to throw free work at them for the “honor “ of being on their stationery. Your posts are very helpful-I looking forward to the one on contracts. The one on how to price your work was very helpful! Thank you for being willing to share!

[@jierulim45]

this was very enlightening. thank you for sharing such information!

[@SwanCreates]

I think they mainly target people who do art as a hobby. Because when I see a competition, and the prizes, my first thought was, all I have to do is draw one picture and I can get this? So I think they are playing on that aspect as well

[@georgiecooper5323]

The music in this is such a vibe! Can you remember what it's called? Such a fab video as always

[@hollyexley]

Thanks Georgie! It's called 'Dream Season' on Epidemic Sound (thats where all my music is from - yay royalty free)

[@YellowMelle]

When I found a north american website that gathered artist call postings I thought I'd hit the productive jackpot, that is, until I noticed that nearly all of them were competitions that: a) required submission fees of over $10/piece which seems excessive considering the following b) Required a sales commission of over 30% should the piece be sold (unlikely) c) Offer no reward/prizes of any kind, and if you were included in a printed catalogue, you have to buy your own copy. The "reward" is "exposure", which has little value because: d) Most of them weren't physical galleries, but rather unimpressive websites with little to offer for traffic e) and all previous winners from past competitions seemed like they were still in their learning stage in their art career. Seems mean to say, and I DO appreciate a wide variety of art styles, but there weren't any submissions that stood out or fascinated me. "Online galleries" need to realize that they are competing with pinterest/tumblr/twitter and many other very popular standalone websites that host EXTRAORDINARY art on the regular.