You're surrounded by millions of lunatic reactionary morons who have proven on many occasions to instantly turn on you and destroy your life's work for no reason at all.
Same with illustration. Ive been working commission illustration for just a year, and i barely do stuff for just the enjoyment of it, because the work hours satisfy those needs...mostly!
Adam is an outstanding artist, designer, maker, engineer and teacher! And I am so impressed with how willing he is to share his knowledge and provide inspiration to others.
I'm a trained joiner and I love working with wood. It's such a forgiving material, able to get extremely accurate pieces. Also, infinitely repairable , which can be made to be invisible. Charging for my work was always hard , getting a realistic price for time and work.
I just saved a mahogany chest of drawers from being crushed by the rubbish collection truck. Thousands of hours of work went into the construction of that item and all it took to destroy it was 1 idiot moron. Worldwide, people today have no idea about placing a value on stuff. You're surrounded by many people who WILL destroy your life work is an instant. Do NOT think the opposite.
Set for that month or week depending on how fast inflation is at that moment a minimum per hour you need for time per hour you know your time is worth then charge for the work as a finished piece on adding 1/4 more to the total materials used since you paid for your time. Unless you are selling in a store or online as then you need to charge all the time into the piece and go on the lower adding 1/4 of the cost of total materials to the item.
@@Gma7788this makes me happy. I love rescuing unused or wasted stuff. We have this “swap shack” at the recycling centers/Dumps in my county where you go leave ANYTHING that still has a lil life left in it. My entire home has been furnished this way. Other than mattresses, a sofa and some TVs. From books, records, kitchen utensils and appliances to this aMaZiNg 1960’s mahogany mid century modern buffet/sideboard and a perfect 7’(!) $300.00 Xmas tree too!! And THIS is the start of the “good” season. Peeps will toss stuff out when they pull holiday decor out and as they get new… check your area, you may have the same… sorry it’s long, I get excited 😊
There are better materials than wood for just about every application that uses wood.. I'm a carpenter, I have slowly watched wood being phased out over the past 30 years..
Adam, I think about how fortunate you are to have such satisfaction in your work life. I’m over 50 and keep attempting to get that, but so often I’ll to do a job or work someplace to pay the bills to survive, but it leaves nothing for the creative drive burning inside. The brain keeps churning, but there was no steam left to drive it forward. Listening to you helps keep the dream alive. Keep influencing those young and old alike, it is a gift you have that you seem to freely give. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. Infinite thanks, -John
I never "used to be an artist." I am, and always have been, been an artist. The mediums have changed, but the artistry remained, and the medium I have settled on, at least for now, is the written word. I've been a writer for over 15 years now, and I still enjoy it.
I love these Q&A sessions. Adam has so much institutional knowledge and shares it in a way that is both educational and entertaining. Imagine being able to spend even just an hour with him in the cave - what amazing knowledge and experiences you would come away with. Solid gold!
To comment on the first point about talking to people more experienced. "Do not put pearls before swine" has always applied for me. More people will help you if you put in the work and are worthy of helping.... if you show up, want quick answers, won't reciprocate, and/or seem disinterested, nobody will want to help you.
I love how you refer to people as makers, be it clay modeling, sculpting, woodwork, blacksmithing or anything you can create at all, a lot of the same methodology and advice spans across all
That's one thing that stood out to me reading his book: Every Tool's a Hammer. In one section he refers to software engineers as makers! They're *making* a program. It's such a creative process, and it's not something that people usually think of when hearing the term "maker".
One of the most poetic “business” stories I’ve ever heard that may be of value to makers considering their worth, is that of a 19th century London milliner (maker of women’s hats) who used a long single ribbon of beautiful yellow silk to fashion an extravagant and complex original hat atop the coiffed curls of a society matron. She thought it absolutely stunning, but when the milliner said, “That will be $150,” she said, “For a piece of ribbon?! That’s ridiculous. I won’t pay it.” He promptly removed the ribbon, unwinding it and handing the simple piece of silk to the woman, “Madame, the ribbon… is free.”
Wow I relate so strongly to the 2nd half of this video. I was a musician as a younger person and would play guitar ALL DAMN DAY if I could - but I started to get more into studio production and for 13 years made engineering and producing music my career. In the first year that I worked full time in the studio I put the guitar down and never really picked it up after that. Like Adam said, that part of my brain was getting all the activity it could handle at work. I used to tell people “I made my hobby my job, so now I need a new hobby”
Absolutely LOVE the honesty and openness of your answers on this one! Feels again like we're mentor/apprentice or two friends sharing insights (that is to say, very personal and directly honest, despite your addressing of another's questions and to the masses) and I'm grateful for your willingness to share in this forum. Thank you, Adam.
To me it’s a labor of love every time. I am also a believer in transparency with knowledge. This goes for all craftsmen. We can’t just leave it in a box when we are gone. Have a good one brother.
I couldn't put this in better words. I don't create things for others, but I have learned to repair things for others. My skill, and enjoyment in my work, comes from my love of machines and tools, and wishing to see them work as they were built to do.
A lesson I learned a long time ago from an electrician is material (in this case wire) is cheap, labor is expensive. Don’t under estimate the value of your time.
Jamie thanks so much for this. I’m 25+ years in the graphics industry and your stories are almost a mirror of what I went (and still am) going through. We’re ever learning and changing in what we do..and ones choices will drive their confidence and career paths. Every body’s journey is different
7:23 is perfectly spot on. This made me realise exactly how I feel. Thank you so much, Adam, for helping me (and others) find the right words to describe this!
Love how you share with newbies in this field! Your knowledge and sharing can apply across so many fields of work and craft and art. And the way you impart the information is great!!!
Just watched another video that said “don’t charge for your time, charge for the results”. If with your experience you can do the same job as someone else but do it with in 1/10 the time you don’t charge 1/10 as much.
So well said. There are two young adults in my life whose passions/vocations are in the arts, and both have struggled with self perceived undervalue. Trying to wear a artist hat, and a business hat, is very awkward, leaving them with crippling guilt for trying to earn a living wage from their art. I think passing on wisdom from you (them having loved you and your work on Myth Busters growing up) will be a gift. Thank you
Thank you Adam, your advice really hit home with me. I still struggle with some of the things you mentioned but you helped me! Thank you for everything you do for all of us makers!
After 50 years in construction, I have always had 3 words that must be applied to every project you charge for. 1. Specification. 2. Program (or timescale). 3. Budget. Feel free to ask your client what their budget is. They probably don't have enough to pay for the job if they don't want to give you a budget.
About 15 years ago I started selling my homemade jewelry at craft fairs. That community was very welcoming and each and every one of the crafters I interacted with told me I was selling my stuff too cheap. I did not believe them. I knew I was no where as good as they were. It was years after I stopped selling that I realized two things, nobody wants to buy 'cheap' stuff. People absolutely looked at my Celtic Knot earrings for $5 and bought someone else's for $20 because OBVIOUSLY the twenty dollar pair was better. And the second thing was, I was undervaluing all of them and their work. Not undercutting-- my sales were terrible, while the seasoned sellers sold well-- undervaluing the work we all did. Thing is, I'm a cheapskate. I don't like spending money and cannot see selling a thing for more than I'd wanna spend. Which is why I'm one of those oldsters decrying how expensive life has gotten.
You and I have been cut from the same cloth! I also tried the booth, and never found a good balance in price. I never sold enough to invest in upscale supplies, therefor never felt right selling items at similar prices. I also couldnt see my time being worth the same as someone with a PhD. (I use to create intricate jewelry using mainly size 15 beads.) I'm a '70s creation, and actually kind of glad I left before Etsy went public and Temu became a thing.
Oh man, you are spot on! I’ve been a freelance illustrator for over 25 years doing comics and commercial storyboards and now doing what I want to do which is writing and illustrating children’s books. But it’s totally the same thing. Institutional knowledge is made in blood, sweat and tears. Their no magic bullet, you just have to apply yourself.
Been a fan for years, not because of what you do but rather how you do it. Incorporated "non Trivial" into my own vernacular years ago... Literally every single minute point made in this video applies to a working musician. This is true of a great deal of your sage advice.
One benefit to getting older is the freedom to give back. If you have experienced sufficient success, you can use your valuable time to give a young/inexperienced person a helping hand.
I am a fabric artist and I watch your channel for fun. There are many generic similarities between your work and quilted fabric wall art that I believe you would be astonished. This particular video really has a lot of excellent points for the fabric art makers/art quilters too. Cheers.
Adam, you are my prophet. I came from a family that criticized everything I made. The closest thing I would get to a compliment was silence. Self-doubt is my largest obstacle. You give me the courage to say, “This is good” about my own work. Thank you.
3:21 "Set your clients exact expectations for what they're going to get". Yes! But a very difficult thing to do, especially if you're inexperienced. One of those, you need to be experienced, to be experienced enough to understand the concept. 🤷🏼♂️
I've followed the Mythbusters from the beginning. And I really enjoy these videos. What an amazing legacy to leave future fans and family! Thanks for sharing!
Adam you’re the mentor that I really look up to. I wish you’d either do a long format video or even an online course sharing your knowledge like what you shared with Mel. 1.5 hours is a lot of knowledge.
These days my time's at such a premium, and I put so much value on it as a result, that I turn down pretty much everything that comes my way - not that I can easily afford to, but I know and can identify the few opportunities that can bear that price. This allows me to put more time towards my own projects, and it's absolutely worth it! Eventually those projects will pay off far more than the short-term opportunities ever could.
I am someone who has made his passions into his livelihood throughout my entire life. The first time I did it I went from being a passionate woodworker making hand-cut dovetails and lovingly crafted fine hardwood furniture to owning a shop where I did whatever I had to do to pay my employees and my mortgage. That often meant making things of particle board and formica for clients who had little appreciation of how hard I worked or for how little money. I had to do it every day whether I wanted to or not and without appreciation or financial reward. I would clearly not recommend this. Later in life I moved toward making what I loved and wanted to make and then finding someone who wanted to buy it. Much more satisfying and enjoyable, but never enough to make a true living from it. In the end it doesn't work because you have to make your living another way. I also had a business where I was well paid and appreciated for work that I generally enjoyed. I still had to do much more of it than I wanted to to satisfy demanding clients, but it was much better than working hard for little pay and no appreciation.gain, much better than working at something
You've touched on the two major guidelines for all human interactions: maintaining boundaries (respecting your own time and value), and managing expectations (agreeing on deliverables with client).
Something Adam said near the beginning brought to mind a poster I saw in a School Principal's office. "A True Leader isn't one who has the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders." I have no idea who made that quote or if I paraphrased it correctly, but it's true.
Totally agree and the bases of this, As a person with a technical mind as a young teen, I decided to go to trade high school, and learned AC/R also now known as HVAC and doing this work satisfied my mind growing up and working in the repair industry.
Sharing info is probably my greatest pleasure. I just need to one day find time to share on this wonderful platform. Thanks Adam for what you have shared over the years.
Thank you for saying the word "soul," when you were describing what you give to your work. The whole time you were talking about your art and how when you started working for Jamie you got to do your art through your job, I was in parallel thinking about my own career choices. I turn 50 on my next birthday, so I am just a few years younger than you. When I was 18, I decided (or felt I was called) to pursue preaching Christianity as my life's work. (It may seem foreign to many readers of this comment, but however esoteric or narrow-minded or weird it is to you, it is a very real sensibility that I hold dear to my identity even now.) Well, over the years, I often chose ministry jobs that didn't pay well, so I also chose additional jobs to pay the bills. Sometimes, I have been a full-time pastor and a math tutor on the side. Sometimes, I have been a full-time math or science teacher and pastored for free. When I have had the opportunity to work full-time as a pastor or guest teacher at various churches, I have sensed my "soul" being both sacrificed and strengthened through that work. However, when I have been a full-time teacher (which I love), I still find my "soul" drawn to staying up late thinking of lessons or sermons or sensing the need to study the Bible late into the night. All of these thoughts were swimming in my head as you (Adam) spoke. There is something deeply spiritual (or maybe "soulful") about what our key gifts are as human beings. There is a weightiness to that which each of us hold dear. When it is our biggest joy, our most ardent passion, our favorite investment of time, our "art," or our "calling," we truly can give our very souls to it. And if we don't, many of us will feel like a part of us is dying or dormant or itching to get out. The human soul is an amazing thing indeed.
One thing that took a long time to come to terms with was me thinking "that seems like a lot of money to charge". But I realized that what I thought was expensive was related to what was expensive to ME, not the client who had more money. You have this weird sense of guilt that you're charging too much. You have to get to a place where you KNOW you're worth it.
The part about showing a client a form with primer is right on point. I think every design industry requires your knowledge that the client has no clue what the process is, and that you run the risk every time you show a mock up the client will either start to lose faith or, sometimes even worse, believing the job is nearly done when it's far from complete. Efforts to set expectations always seem to fall to the wayside the instant the client can see and touch something. I just remind myself that this is the reason they need me, because they don't understand.
“Artistry” is the creative expression of a unique point of view. “Craftsmanship” is the skillful manipulation of a medium. You can have one without the other (and it’s OK.)
I believe you ,Adam, are the epitome of humanity. If half of people were half as warm, honest, and real as you, it would solve all of the worlds problems.
Coming from a prop and set building background and now I do video production, every single thing you say in this episode is so relatable and so true. You have to work with people in the industry and see what they're charging to see what the market will bear.
I know a book cover designer that charges 50% higher rates than all of his competitors. It gave him the reputation as being so good, he can charge more and his book covers sell a lot more books.
My biggest problem is fear of failure. I have a small machine shop like you and build things often to repair my mower, slot machines, golf cart, jeep... When I make a part, I usually ask over morning coffee if anybody I work with needs a similar part because I am currently tooled to make a batch. Rarely, it's a "yes". But, failing at my personal project means I go online and buy the part. Failing to a customer means they WILL DEFINITELY go online and buy the part. Online is cheaper and if you can wait three days, you'll have the right part. I don't, if I can help it, charge for labor. I much prefer to keep the spare materials.
The time vs. material value ratio is a real thing that definitely changes over time; as a tradesman for over 3 decades I’m much more willing to work more efficiently and to pay to save time. When I first started I’d burn time to save material money while now I’m willing to pay for either tools or materials to accomplish the job in the minimum times. Your value comes from your knowledge, skill, time, and tools that you’re bringing to the accomplish the job not simply the materials you’re assembling or creating. Today articulating this to people can be tough as there is a lot of cost knowledge out there and to those people you can leave them to do the job themselves as you can get burned by devaluing yourself to fit someone else’s point of view. And the material costs alone don’t account for the mass of experience, knowledge, and skills you bring, which can’t be gained in simply watching a TH-cam video.
Advice I always try to give my friends' kids: When you turn your passion into your career, you will spend the vast majority of your time devoting your passion to someone ELSE'S project. If you love art, you may find yourself dedicating your day to the art someone ELSE wants and very little time to the art YOU want. You have to consider if that will keep you passionate, or if its maybe better to find a career that provides you the time and money to devote your passion solely to YOUR projects.
When I was studying acting in college, we all had to do crew work, either costuming or stage craft. I use the wrong end of the screwdriver to pound in a nail, and wasn't very good at crew work. My good friend on crew was patient, kind, and considerate, and took the time to help me and show me how to do the work. He would come look at my handywork and would point out what I did wrong, and then say, "Close enough for student work." He told me, one night after crew while we grabbed a meal before rehearsal, "Remember, we're all students no matter how much we learn or know." That stuck with me for over 35 years, and I thought I should share it here today in response to the video. Thanks, Adam, for your clarify, patience, and edification. You are the embodiment of always being a student.
My question, as the husband of a wonderful builder, is how do you control cost-creep when starting out. We've been doing costume comissions for aboout a year. There are a bunch of unexpected costs that always seem to pop up. Custom fees on fabric deliveries, detail peices we wanted to make out of foam clay, then realized it had to be themoplastic. Everybuild we learn something for the next one but it feels like thease little extra costs never end. Every project is an entirely new thing so coming up with reasonable ballpark quotes is very hard.
"Set your client's expectations accurately" - OMG, that is so, SO important. Never, NEVER tell a client what you think they want to hear. Tell them, rather, truthfully what you WILL do and then DO IT. This applies literally to everything.
That's really good advice. I work in data operations for data deliverables and a lot of that same advice applies there. Your time is money. Set expectations of quality early. The client may not listen to you, lol.
As theatre director, but also a maker, I make sure to never ask any departments ever "is it suppose to look like that" when they show me a work in progress. I do however ask specific questions, because I like having a close dialogue about materials, mechanics and colour.
Thank you, what a great little chat, accepting the value for my skill and labor is something I have always struggled with, it's why I'm more happy being a worker bee than a salesman 🙂
Time ($8-$10 hr minimum), cost of materials (times 2 plus 10% minimum) usually gotten by taking the cost of the bulk of the material divided by the number of pieces or percentage of weight used, complexity (simple, charge less, complicated, charge more), quality of materials (low quality, less cost, high quality, higher cost), travel and shipping cost. Example: Simple 5 x 5 table made of pallet wood taking you 4 hrs to make. CofM: $1+ 10% QofM: low ($5) Complexity: low ($5) Time: 4 hrs @ $10/hr S&H: self (tank of gas) Total price $81.10 Mind you this is how I typically break it down
Putting some of your soul into what you do creatively is precisely why I don't do creative stuff at work. I could do stuff for marketing or displays or whatever. But I don't because they don't pay me enough to bring in my creative self.
You are so correct on the Time vs. Materials and how it reverses as you get older. Now that being said... I'm a bit "squeaky" when it comes to spending money, but I have learned that my time is way more valuable now (I'm late 50's) than it was when I was more able to do things myself. I'm a bit OCD on wanting things done correctly (which is why I tend to do it myself).
I love your background that you give in all of your answers. I also must admit that I loved and saw every episode of MythBusters. Your work on that show was amazing. I only wish a reboot would come up because I know that I'd watch every episode of it as well. You provide an interesting side to every episode and you are continuing to do that with your TH-cam. Thank you very much for the hours and hours of entertainment and education that you've given me. Thank you.
This is such a good discussion. Gatekeeping, sharing information, pricing , client reactions and stupidity and your self worth. I have enough trouble building something for someone other than myself or my home. And so nervous when I make a gift for someone as there is a lot of blood, sweat and swears in those builds and you put your heart out on your sleeve, risking it to be hacked off by one stupid comment. Building stuff for hire is past me, it is my hobby for me and mine only. Selling my stuff scares me. Even the bit about needing a nap after only one errand….🤣 we are the same age and I certainly feel that now
Thank you for being you. My boys, 9 and 10, love your work and watch this channel and MythBusters almost every day. Appreciate you giving them an avenue to see how things work.
I think it's so much fun to teach the younger ones what I know, I myself develop as a person and make the younger ones gain a sense of self that they are learning something
I know my day is gonna be a great one whenever I see that a new Adam Savage's Tested Adam answering viewer questions video is up for viewing 😊 I just Love listening to all of his kernels of Wisdom and enjoying how dashingly Handsome he is at the same time 💪😎
3:44 every boss/client ever, it's insane Me, showing a design: "So I did something quickly and I wanted to show you what it's gonna look like, the color was picked randomly and don't worry, it's not final but look and tell me if it's ok..." Them: "It's OK our company is blue. Everything we do is blue." Did you just not listen?? *facepalm*
I wholeheartedly agree with the 'feeling bad about charging'. I've built one-off prop replicas (to a high standard if I say so myself) and can never charge even minimum wage values. That, plus prop 'collectors' (amateur fans) just don't want to pay a reasonable price for a hero level prop replica. I still have my Warehouse 13 Tesla pistol, that has a better finish and more functionality than the actual prop, yet none of the potential enquirers are willing to buy it for a fair price. It's been putting me off the whole making process.
I'm in the exact same position you are. I know the value of my work, but most people (those same amateur fans) don't understand the value of what goes into that work. I think finding and targeting the market client is an entirely different skill that falls outside the heads of most makers.
i've been digital modeling in vfx for 10+ years now and lately it's been hard to do personal projects after work. When you do it professionally for 8 hours I just couldn't do it anymore once i got home... So i decided to take a different approach to personal projects and I'm currently learning how to draw/design and it's scratching that creative itch again. There's so many creative avenues you can choose that there's no reason to stagnate as an artist.
If the customer is happy it doesn't matter how you feel that is the end goal. The business school approach is: You raise your price until your sales slope down then lower your price. Another approach is to do a multiplication of your cost. HP engineers used to use this formula: $COST * e (2.7183) for tight markets or $COST * Pi (3.1415) for green fields. $COST = $RATE/HR + $MATERIAL. This may not be exactly applicable to all industries but it gives you benchmarks to compare to.
I find a good way to think about your work's worth is that you are being paid to solve a problem your client can't or doesn't want to solve. How much is that problem costing your client or how much benefit will solving it provide? With of course the caveat that your client has the option to have someone else solve it for a different price. Its that interplay which devales your work when you are new. The cost has to be low enough to be worth the risk that you are unable to solve the problem. But at its core it helps to focus on how your work benefits the client, more than how skilled you feel you might be.
In the Greenhouse industry that My parents own they do not get to shut it off during the end of the day. Partly because they are owners but also because they have a garden 80x 90 that they used to sell the massive excess off at the store so after work they attend to the home garden. The other is they take the some of the scrap plants for home that would never sell due to X factor including being holdovers for next year or the poor plant that needs the proper attention. Sometimes you get those plants, and they can't be sold so you plant them. The nice and bad part about the shop is that the parents live about 1/4 mile or 400 meters away from the place ever since the renters moved from the house in 2020. Parent got house and land when they bought the business property in mid to late 2017 after buying the business buildings only in 2016 owning that until mid to late 2017. My parents then ended up having to split the house and its land off from Greenhouse in early 2018 so they could get insurance for the house by literally having to buy the house property from themselves on the business side for $1.00 to the private side, the minimum you can sell any piece of land for in the county they live in.
Mark Novak (The Anvil you tube channel, which is fantastic) said something along the lines of "The difference between an amateur and a professional is the amateur will sacrifice time to save materials, and the professional will sacrifice materials to save time." - I find that mentality is 100% true 98% of the time. Adam nails it when he talks about the difference in perception of time vs age - but it also applies when regarding time vs money. Time will nearly always be the more valuable commodity when billing out work, and the more expensive the materials the more expensive your time should be.
That color comment hits home so hard. As a writer, engineer, and creative jack of all, I get this all the time - especially on the internet. One of the worse, most facepalming instances was back in college when trying to workshop some poetry. I attempted to stack clichés and work through them to generate new images. What's that? It's got a lot of clichés in it? Fuck. How did I miss that..... Sure glad someone whose most recent production pulled a sixth sense was gregarious enough to point that out.
God I wish I had heard this so long ago. I had a huge problem under valuing my digital art. It isn't about the finished piece, your time creates the value. I always had to stop shitting on myself and ask, well is the customer happy? I'd also love to hear more stories about commissions you dealt with. I've heard some pretty ridiculous stuff from clients before but I can't imagine some of the things you've heard.
Yep, not having parents understand your passion is tough. My Dad is an artist and I still remember the look of disappointment when he figured out that I didn't have an artistic bone in my body. He never understand why I needed test equipment or why i needs tools/parts for something I wanted to build. On the flip side, I can't imagine how incredible it must to be a geek kid these days. Such an incredible wealth of cheap equipment, parts, and computers.
As kind of a black sheep of the family, I became a graphic designer. My main goal was to get into one of the best creative agencies here in Budapest. I knew I have to work hard and climb the ladder so when I first got a job in a creative agency I was very happy, I knew it is a stepping stone towards my goal. I was always like that you described, going home and doing my thing at nights, and then I noticed, the same. I do less and less of my thing. But with me it was different. I missed it! Doing MY THING! At work I was doing other peoples thing, that I didn't necessarily liked, coz we had no time to make it nice. Or I did something I was proud of, and the "idiotic customer" butchered it, coz she / he liked it better that way..... I realized I miss my thing at nights. So now I have a "boring" job, last 7 years I specialized as a packaging designer, coz I am really good at it, but it doesn't drawn me, and doesn't feed my creativity enough that now I go home and and do my stuff again. And I enjoy it that way. Still, it was so good listening to your perspective. thx for that
As a veteran Industrial Designer, Toy Designer and Maker, I have to say that Adams words could not ring more true, especially the bit about showing a client a grey form model and having them say "...bit I don't like the colour."
I would love to knowingly be on the other side of that and be in a position to say, interesting colour choice; I LOVE IT! I'm sure it would catch them off guard and, hopefully, put them at ease with a titbit of humour.
@@GeorgeVCohea Unfortunately, that also happens a lot. You show a client or a buyer a 'work in progress' with the wrong colours or an incomplete design and they'll say, "Great! I love it! Make 10,000!" and then you're stuck with the crappy unfinished version out in the world.
I'm a 3D artist. Late -80s to mid 90s I sat every night experimenting doing 3D images and animations. -94 I got a job in 3D and slowly doing my own images died out. I'm doing other things instead and sometimes use 3D as a tool. I still need a personal creative outlet even if I'm creative at work.
This hits me. My hobby has become my livelihood, and I no longer sit down after work to indulge my creative impulses. Thank you Adam.
You're surrounded by millions of lunatic reactionary morons who have proven on many occasions to instantly turn on you and destroy your life's work for no reason at all.
Caution. This happened to me 30 years ago. Now I just want to smash my phone every time it rings.
@@davidfoulds1620 I have two phones. Work phone goes off at 5 or 530 every day, unless I'm expecting a call.
Same with illustration. Ive been working commission illustration for just a year, and i barely do stuff for just the enjoyment of it, because the work hours satisfy those needs...mostly!
Adam is an outstanding artist, designer, maker, engineer and teacher! And I am so impressed with how willing he is to share his knowledge and provide inspiration to others.
I'm a trained joiner and I love working with wood. It's such a forgiving material, able to get extremely accurate pieces. Also, infinitely repairable , which can be made to be invisible. Charging for my work was always hard , getting a realistic price for time and work.
I just saved a mahogany chest of drawers from being crushed by the rubbish collection truck.
Thousands of hours of work went into the construction of that item and all it took to destroy it was 1 idiot moron.
Worldwide, people today have no idea about placing a value on stuff.
You're surrounded by many people who WILL destroy your life work is an instant.
Do NOT think the opposite.
Set for that month or week depending on how fast inflation is at that moment a minimum per hour you need for time per hour you know your time is worth then charge for the work as a finished piece on adding 1/4 more to the total materials used since you paid for your time. Unless you are selling in a store or online as then you need to charge all the time into the piece and go on the lower adding 1/4 of the cost of total materials to the item.
@@Gma7788this makes me happy. I love rescuing unused or wasted stuff. We have this “swap shack” at the recycling centers/Dumps in my county where you go leave ANYTHING that still has a lil life left in it. My entire home has been furnished this way. Other than mattresses, a sofa and some TVs. From books, records, kitchen utensils and appliances to this aMaZiNg 1960’s mahogany mid century modern buffet/sideboard and a perfect 7’(!) $300.00 Xmas tree too!! And THIS is the start of the “good” season. Peeps will toss stuff out when they pull holiday decor out and as they get new… check your area, you may have the same… sorry it’s long, I get excited 😊
There are better materials than wood for just about every application that uses wood.. I'm a carpenter, I have slowly watched wood being phased out over the past 30 years..
The more I see of prefab furniture, the more I appreciate actual handmade furniture. It's worth the price. I appreciate what you do.
Adam,
I think about how fortunate you are to have such satisfaction in your work life. I’m over 50 and keep attempting to get that, but so often I’ll to do a job or work someplace to pay the bills to survive, but it leaves nothing for the creative drive burning inside. The brain keeps churning, but there was no steam left to drive it forward.
Listening to you helps keep the dream alive.
Keep influencing those young and old alike, it is a gift you have that you seem to freely give. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Infinite thanks,
-John
I never "used to be an artist." I am, and always have been, been an artist. The mediums have changed, but the artistry remained, and the medium I have settled on, at least for now, is the written word. I've been a writer for over 15 years now, and I still enjoy it.
I love these Q&A sessions. Adam has so much institutional knowledge and shares it in a way that is both educational and entertaining. Imagine being able to spend even just an hour with him in the cave - what amazing knowledge and experiences you would come away with. Solid gold!
To comment on the first point about talking to people more experienced. "Do not put pearls before swine" has always applied for me. More people will help you if you put in the work and are worthy of helping.... if you show up, want quick answers, won't reciprocate, and/or seem disinterested, nobody will want to help you.
I love how you refer to people as makers, be it clay modeling, sculpting, woodwork, blacksmithing or anything you can create at all, a lot of the same methodology and advice spans across all
That's one thing that stood out to me reading his book: Every Tool's a Hammer. In one section he refers to software engineers as makers! They're *making* a program. It's such a creative process, and it's not something that people usually think of when hearing the term "maker".
One of the most poetic “business” stories I’ve ever heard that may be of value to makers considering their worth, is that of a 19th century London milliner (maker of women’s hats) who used a long single ribbon of beautiful yellow silk to fashion an extravagant and complex original hat atop the coiffed curls of a society matron. She thought it absolutely stunning, but when the milliner said, “That will be $150,” she said, “For a piece of ribbon?! That’s ridiculous. I won’t pay it.” He promptly removed the ribbon, unwinding it and handing the simple piece of silk to the woman, “Madame, the ribbon… is free.”
Wow I relate so strongly to the 2nd half of this video. I was a musician as a younger person and would play guitar ALL DAMN DAY if I could - but I started to get more into studio production and for 13 years made engineering and producing music my career. In the first year that I worked full time in the studio I put the guitar down and never really picked it up after that. Like Adam said, that part of my brain was getting all the activity it could handle at work. I used to tell people “I made my hobby my job, so now I need a new hobby”
Absolutely LOVE the honesty and openness of your answers on this one! Feels again like we're mentor/apprentice or two friends sharing insights (that is to say, very personal and directly honest, despite your addressing of another's questions and to the masses) and I'm grateful for your willingness to share in this forum. Thank you, Adam.
To me it’s a labor of love every time. I am also a believer in transparency with knowledge. This goes for all craftsmen. We can’t just leave it in a box when we are gone. Have a good one brother.
I couldn't put this in better words. I don't create things for others, but I have learned to repair things for others. My skill, and enjoyment in my work, comes from my love of machines and tools, and wishing to see them work as they were built to do.
A lesson I learned a long time ago from an electrician is material (in this case wire) is cheap, labor is expensive. Don’t under estimate the value of your time.
Jamie thanks so much for this. I’m 25+ years in the graphics industry and your stories are almost a mirror of what I went (and still am) going through. We’re ever learning and changing in what we do..and ones choices will drive their confidence and career paths. Every body’s journey is different
Jamie? 😜
7:23 is perfectly spot on. This made me realise exactly how I feel. Thank you so much, Adam, for helping me (and others) find the right words to describe this!
I always love these chats….
I love this guy. His attitude on so many things is tremendous.
Love how you share with newbies in this field! Your knowledge and sharing can apply across so many fields of work and craft and art. And the way you impart the information is great!!!
Just watched another video that said “don’t charge for your time, charge for the results”. If with your experience you can do the same job as someone else but do it with in 1/10 the time you don’t charge 1/10 as much.
So well said. There are two young adults in my life whose passions/vocations are in the arts, and both have struggled with self perceived undervalue. Trying to wear a artist hat, and a business hat, is very awkward, leaving them with crippling guilt for trying to earn a living wage from their art. I think passing on wisdom from you (them having loved you and your work on Myth Busters growing up) will be a gift. Thank you
Thank you Adam, your advice really hit home with me. I still struggle with some of the things you mentioned but you helped me! Thank you for everything you do for all of us makers!
After 50 years in construction, I have always had 3 words that must be applied to every project you charge for. 1. Specification. 2. Program (or timescale). 3. Budget. Feel free to ask your client what their budget is. They probably don't have enough to pay for the job if they don't want to give you a budget.
About 15 years ago I started selling my homemade jewelry at craft fairs. That community was very welcoming and each and every one of the crafters I interacted with told me I was selling my stuff too cheap. I did not believe them. I knew I was no where as good as they were. It was years after I stopped selling that I realized two things, nobody wants to buy 'cheap' stuff. People absolutely looked at my Celtic Knot earrings for $5 and bought someone else's for $20 because OBVIOUSLY the twenty dollar pair was better.
And the second thing was, I was undervaluing all of them and their work. Not undercutting-- my sales were terrible, while the seasoned sellers sold well-- undervaluing the work we all did. Thing is, I'm a cheapskate. I don't like spending money and cannot see selling a thing for more than I'd wanna spend. Which is why I'm one of those oldsters decrying how expensive life has gotten.
You and I have been cut from the same cloth! I also tried the booth, and never found a good balance in price. I never sold enough to invest in upscale supplies, therefor never felt right selling items at similar prices. I also couldnt see my time being worth the same as someone with a PhD. (I use to create intricate jewelry using mainly size 15 beads.)
I'm a '70s creation, and actually kind of glad I left before Etsy went public and Temu became a thing.
Oh man, you are spot on!
I’ve been a freelance illustrator for over 25 years doing comics and commercial storyboards and now doing what I want to do which is writing and illustrating children’s books. But it’s totally the same thing. Institutional knowledge is made in blood, sweat and tears. Their no magic bullet, you just have to apply yourself.
Been a fan for years, not because of what you do but rather how you do it. Incorporated "non Trivial" into my own vernacular years ago...
Literally every single minute point made in this video applies to a working musician. This is true of a great deal of your sage advice.
One benefit to getting older is the freedom to give back. If you have experienced sufficient success, you can use your valuable time to give a young/inexperienced person a helping hand.
this channel is such a blessing as a creative contractor, ive been bingeing these for the last few days
I am a fabric artist and I watch your channel for fun. There are many generic similarities between your work and quilted fabric wall art that I believe you would be astonished. This particular video really has a lot of excellent points for the fabric art makers/art quilters too. Cheers.
Adam, you are my prophet.
I came from a family that criticized everything I made. The closest thing I would get to a compliment was silence. Self-doubt is my largest obstacle.
You give me the courage to say, “This is good” about my own work. Thank you.
3:21 "Set your clients exact expectations for what they're going to get".
Yes! But a very difficult thing to do, especially if you're inexperienced.
One of those, you need to be experienced, to be experienced enough to understand the concept. 🤷🏼♂️
I've followed the Mythbusters from the beginning. And I really enjoy these videos. What an amazing legacy to leave future fans and family! Thanks for sharing!
Adam you’re the mentor that I really look up to. I wish you’d either do a long format video or even an online course sharing your knowledge like what you shared with Mel. 1.5 hours is a lot of knowledge.
These days my time's at such a premium, and I put so much value on it as a result, that I turn down pretty much everything that comes my way - not that I can easily afford to, but I know and can identify the few opportunities that can bear that price. This allows me to put more time towards my own projects, and it's absolutely worth it! Eventually those projects will pay off far more than the short-term opportunities ever could.
I am someone who has made his passions into his livelihood throughout my entire life. The first time I did it I went from being a passionate woodworker making hand-cut dovetails and lovingly crafted fine hardwood furniture to owning a shop where I did whatever I had to do to pay my employees and my mortgage. That often meant making things of particle board and formica for clients who had little appreciation of how hard I worked or for how little money. I had to do it every day whether I wanted to or not and without appreciation or financial reward. I would clearly not recommend this.
Later in life I moved toward making what I loved and wanted to make and then finding someone who wanted to buy it. Much more satisfying and enjoyable, but never enough to make a true living from it. In the end it doesn't work because you have to make your living another way.
I also had a business where I was well paid and appreciated for work that I generally enjoyed. I still had to do much more of it than I wanted to to satisfy demanding clients, but it was much better than working hard for little pay and no appreciation.gain, much better than working at something
You've touched on the two major guidelines for all human interactions: maintaining boundaries (respecting your own time and value), and managing expectations (agreeing on deliverables with client).
As a software engineer, I thank you for your perspective as it applies to my current experience career.
Something Adam said near the beginning brought to mind a poster I saw in a School Principal's office.
"A True Leader isn't one who has the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders."
I have no idea who made that quote or if I paraphrased it correctly, but it's true.
As an independent session musician, this advice is definitely applicable.
Totally agree and the bases of this, As a person with a technical mind as a young teen, I decided to go to trade high school, and learned AC/R also now known as HVAC and doing this work satisfied my mind growing up and working in the repair industry.
Sharing info is probably my greatest pleasure. I just need to one day find time to share on this wonderful platform. Thanks Adam for what you have shared over the years.
Thank you for saying the word "soul," when you were describing what you give to your work. The whole time you were talking about your art and how when you started working for Jamie you got to do your art through your job, I was in parallel thinking about my own career choices.
I turn 50 on my next birthday, so I am just a few years younger than you. When I was 18, I decided (or felt I was called) to pursue preaching Christianity as my life's work. (It may seem foreign to many readers of this comment, but however esoteric or narrow-minded or weird it is to you, it is a very real sensibility that I hold dear to my identity even now.)
Well, over the years, I often chose ministry jobs that didn't pay well, so I also chose additional jobs to pay the bills. Sometimes, I have been a full-time pastor and a math tutor on the side. Sometimes, I have been a full-time math or science teacher and pastored for free. When I have had the opportunity to work full-time as a pastor or guest teacher at various churches, I have sensed my "soul" being both sacrificed and strengthened through that work. However, when I have been a full-time teacher (which I love), I still find my "soul" drawn to staying up late thinking of lessons or sermons or sensing the need to study the Bible late into the night.
All of these thoughts were swimming in my head as you (Adam) spoke. There is something deeply spiritual (or maybe "soulful") about what our key gifts are as human beings. There is a weightiness to that which each of us hold dear. When it is our biggest joy, our most ardent passion, our favorite investment of time, our "art," or our "calling," we truly can give our very souls to it. And if we don't, many of us will feel like a part of us is dying or dormant or itching to get out.
The human soul is an amazing thing indeed.
“Yeah, but I don’t like the color.“
🤣
One thing that took a long time to come to terms with was me thinking "that seems like a lot of money to charge". But I realized that what I thought was expensive was related to what was expensive to ME, not the client who had more money. You have this weird sense of guilt that you're charging too much. You have to get to a place where you KNOW you're worth it.
Wow. This was great. I'm not a maker by any means. I'm a musician/IT guy. But this post by Adam was so much food for thought.
The part about showing a client a form with primer is right on point. I think every design industry requires your knowledge that the client has no clue what the process is, and that you run the risk every time you show a mock up the client will either start to lose faith or, sometimes even worse, believing the job is nearly done when it's far from complete. Efforts to set expectations always seem to fall to the wayside the instant the client can see and touch something. I just remind myself that this is the reason they need me, because they don't understand.
“Artistry” is the creative expression of a unique point of view.
“Craftsmanship” is the skillful manipulation of a medium.
You can have one without the other (and it’s OK.)
I believe you ,Adam, are the epitome of humanity. If half of people were half as warm, honest, and real as you, it would solve all of the worlds problems.
Coming from a prop and set building background and now I do video production, every single thing you say in this episode is so relatable and so true. You have to work with people in the industry and see what they're charging to see what the market will bear.
I know a book cover designer that charges 50% higher rates than all of his competitors. It gave him the reputation as being so good, he can charge more and his book covers sell a lot more books.
This invaluable video deserves to be reposted constantly for new viewers who can, would, and will benefit.
Wow... My hobby became my fulfilling job and I couldn't explain why I no longer spent all of my free time on it anymore. Thank you.
My biggest problem is fear of failure. I have a small machine shop like you and build things often to repair my mower, slot machines, golf cart, jeep... When I make a part, I usually ask over morning coffee if anybody I work with needs a similar part because I am currently tooled to make a batch. Rarely, it's a "yes". But, failing at my personal project means I go online and buy the part. Failing to a customer means they WILL DEFINITELY go online and buy the part. Online is cheaper and if you can wait three days, you'll have the right part. I don't, if I can help it, charge for labor. I much prefer to keep the spare materials.
The time vs. material value ratio is a real thing that definitely changes over time; as a tradesman for over 3 decades I’m much more willing to work more efficiently and to pay to save time. When I first started I’d burn time to save material money while now I’m willing to pay for either tools or materials to accomplish the job in the minimum times.
Your value comes from your knowledge, skill, time, and tools that you’re bringing to the accomplish the job not simply the materials you’re assembling or creating. Today articulating this to people can be tough as there is a lot of cost knowledge out there and to those people you can leave them to do the job themselves as you can get burned by devaluing yourself to fit someone else’s point of view. And the material costs alone don’t account for the mass of experience, knowledge, and skills you bring, which can’t be gained in simply watching a TH-cam video.
Advice I always try to give my friends' kids: When you turn your passion into your career, you will spend the vast majority of your time devoting your passion to someone ELSE'S project. If you love art, you may find yourself dedicating your day to the art someone ELSE wants and very little time to the art YOU want. You have to consider if that will keep you passionate, or if its maybe better to find a career that provides you the time and money to devote your passion solely to YOUR projects.
Something that helped me with perceiving my self worth was adding a "therapy fee" into my budgets for my clients (obv not named as such for them)
When I was studying acting in college, we all had to do crew work, either costuming or stage craft. I use the wrong end of the screwdriver to pound in a nail, and wasn't very good at crew work. My good friend on crew was patient, kind, and considerate, and took the time to help me and show me how to do the work. He would come look at my handywork and would point out what I did wrong, and then say, "Close enough for student work." He told me, one night after crew while we grabbed a meal before rehearsal, "Remember, we're all students no matter how much we learn or know." That stuck with me for over 35 years, and I thought I should share it here today in response to the video.
Thanks, Adam, for your clarify, patience, and edification. You are the embodiment of always being a student.
We all have knowledge and are teachers. Sharing is so important and supportive. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights.
Wow this is the most articulate answer I have ever seen to the universal question posed, very well done in the response.
My question, as the husband of a wonderful builder, is how do you control cost-creep when starting out.
We've been doing costume comissions for aboout a year. There are a bunch of unexpected costs that always seem to pop up.
Custom fees on fabric deliveries, detail peices we wanted to make out of foam clay, then realized it had to be themoplastic.
Everybuild we learn something for the next one but it feels like thease little extra costs never end. Every project is an entirely new thing so coming up with reasonable ballpark quotes is very hard.
"Set your client's expectations accurately" - OMG, that is so, SO important. Never, NEVER tell a client what you think they want to hear. Tell them, rather, truthfully what you WILL do and then DO IT. This applies literally to everything.
That's really good advice. I work in data operations for data deliverables and a lot of that same advice applies there. Your time is money. Set expectations of quality early. The client may not listen to you, lol.
As theatre director, but also a maker, I make sure to never ask any departments ever "is it suppose to look like that" when they show me a work in progress.
I do however ask specific questions, because I like having a close dialogue about materials, mechanics and colour.
Everyone should read Adam's book. It's full of wisdom like this.
Thank you, what a great little chat, accepting the value for my skill and labor is something I have always struggled with, it's why I'm more happy being a worker bee than a salesman 🙂
Time ($8-$10 hr minimum), cost of materials (times 2 plus 10% minimum) usually gotten by taking the cost of the bulk of the material divided by the number of pieces or percentage of weight used, complexity (simple, charge less, complicated, charge more), quality of materials (low quality, less cost, high quality, higher cost), travel and shipping cost.
Example: Simple 5 x 5 table made of pallet wood taking you 4 hrs to make.
CofM: $1+ 10%
QofM: low ($5)
Complexity: low ($5)
Time: 4 hrs @ $10/hr
S&H: self (tank of gas)
Total price $81.10
Mind you this is how I typically break it down
Putting some of your soul into what you do creatively is precisely why I don't do creative stuff at work. I could do stuff for marketing or displays or whatever. But I don't because they don't pay me enough to bring in my creative self.
You are so correct on the Time vs. Materials and how it reverses as you get older. Now that being said... I'm a bit "squeaky" when it comes to spending money, but I have learned that my time is way more valuable now (I'm late 50's) than it was when I was more able to do things myself. I'm a bit OCD on wanting things done correctly (which is why I tend to do it myself).
I love your background that you give in all of your answers. I also must admit that I loved and saw every episode of MythBusters. Your work on that show was amazing. I only wish a reboot would come up because I know that I'd watch every episode of it as well. You provide an interesting side to every episode and you are continuing to do that with your TH-cam. Thank you very much for the hours and hours of entertainment and education that you've given me. Thank you.
thank you for the advice adam! binge watching your playlists (: keep on being an inspiration to us all. 🎉
Most appreciated and valued video you've done yet Adam imho, thanks for sharing ☘️
This is such a good discussion. Gatekeeping, sharing information, pricing , client reactions and stupidity and your self worth.
I have enough trouble building something for someone other than myself or my home. And so nervous when I make a gift for someone as there is a lot of blood, sweat and swears in those builds and you put your heart out on your sleeve, risking it to be hacked off by one stupid comment.
Building stuff for hire is past me, it is my hobby for me and mine only. Selling my stuff scares me.
Even the bit about needing a nap after only one errand….🤣 we are the same age and I certainly feel that now
Adam, this was some of the best and strongest advice I have heard in a long time.
HOW was this vid posted at the exact moment I was journaling gloomily about how I only USED to be an artist? Adam is some sort of old-timey witch.
And just imagine how many other people were also writing the exact same thing in their own journals at the exact same time.
Thank you for being you. My boys, 9 and 10, love your work and watch this channel and MythBusters almost every day. Appreciate you giving them an avenue to see how things work.
Thank God for the old timers who share their knowledge with the newcomer
Really good advice and discussion! You are an amazing mentor to the makers on the internet!
I think it's so much fun to teach the younger ones what I know, I myself develop as a person and make the younger ones gain a sense of self that they are learning something
I made a garbage box today and have come away from day satisfied. Everything you said resonates for me
I know my day is gonna be a great one whenever I see that a new Adam Savage's Tested Adam answering viewer questions video is up for viewing 😊
I just Love listening to all of his kernels of Wisdom and enjoying how dashingly Handsome he is at the same time 💪😎
This is priceless advice. Thanks Adam!
3:44 every boss/client ever, it's insane
Me, showing a design: "So I did something quickly and I wanted to show you what it's gonna look like, the color was picked randomly and don't worry, it's not final but look and tell me if it's ok..."
Them: "It's OK our company is blue. Everything we do is blue."
Did you just not listen?? *facepalm*
I wholeheartedly agree with the 'feeling bad about charging'. I've built one-off prop replicas (to a high standard if I say so myself) and can never charge even minimum wage values. That, plus prop 'collectors' (amateur fans) just don't want to pay a reasonable price for a hero level prop replica. I still have my Warehouse 13 Tesla pistol, that has a better finish and more functionality than the actual prop, yet none of the potential enquirers are willing to buy it for a fair price. It's been putting me off the whole making process.
I'm in the exact same position you are. I know the value of my work, but most people (those same amateur fans) don't understand the value of what goes into that work. I think finding and targeting the market client is an entirely different skill that falls outside the heads of most makers.
i've been digital modeling in vfx for 10+ years now and lately it's been hard to do personal projects after work. When you do it professionally for 8 hours I just couldn't do it anymore once i got home... So i decided to take a different approach to personal projects and I'm currently learning how to draw/design and it's scratching that creative itch again. There's so many creative avenues you can choose that there's no reason to stagnate as an artist.
If the customer is happy it doesn't matter how you feel that is the end goal. The business school approach is: You raise your price until your sales slope down then lower your price. Another approach is to do a multiplication of your cost. HP engineers used to use this formula: $COST * e (2.7183) for tight markets or $COST * Pi (3.1415) for green fields. $COST = $RATE/HR + $MATERIAL. This may not be exactly applicable to all industries but it gives you benchmarks to compare to.
You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar 😊
I find a good way to think about your work's worth is that you are being paid to solve a problem your client can't or doesn't want to solve. How much is that problem costing your client or how much benefit will solving it provide?
With of course the caveat that your client has the option to have someone else solve it for a different price.
Its that interplay which devales your work when you are new. The cost has to be low enough to be worth the risk that you are unable to solve the problem.
But at its core it helps to focus on how your work benefits the client, more than how skilled you feel you might be.
That quote about "time/material inversion" is 👌👌
Dude. Profound video. I'm in a different industry altogether but man... what you say is spot on.
In the Greenhouse industry that My parents own they do not get to shut it off during the end of the day. Partly because they are owners but also because they have a garden 80x 90 that they used to sell the massive excess off at the store so after work they attend to the home garden. The other is they take the some of the scrap plants for home that would never sell due to X factor including being holdovers for next year or the poor plant that needs the proper attention. Sometimes you get those plants, and they can't be sold so you plant them.
The nice and bad part about the shop is that the parents live about 1/4 mile or 400 meters away from the place ever since the renters moved from the house in 2020. Parent got house and land when they bought the business property in mid to late 2017 after buying the business buildings only in 2016 owning that until mid to late 2017. My parents then ended up having to split the house and its land off from Greenhouse in early 2018 so they could get insurance for the house by literally having to buy the house property from themselves on the business side for $1.00 to the private side, the minimum you can sell any piece of land for in the county they live in.
Mark Novak (The Anvil you tube channel, which is fantastic) said something along the lines of "The difference between an amateur and a professional is the amateur will sacrifice time to save materials, and the professional will sacrifice materials to save time." - I find that mentality is 100% true 98% of the time. Adam nails it when he talks about the difference in perception of time vs age - but it also applies when regarding time vs money. Time will nearly always be the more valuable commodity when billing out work, and the more expensive the materials the more expensive your time should be.
That color comment hits home so hard. As a writer, engineer, and creative jack of all, I get this all the time - especially on the internet. One of the worse, most facepalming instances was back in college when trying to workshop some poetry. I attempted to stack clichés and work through them to generate new images. What's that? It's got a lot of clichés in it? Fuck. How did I miss that..... Sure glad someone whose most recent production pulled a sixth sense was gregarious enough to point that out.
God I wish I had heard this so long ago. I had a huge problem under valuing my digital art. It isn't about the finished piece, your time creates the value. I always had to stop shitting on myself and ask, well is the customer happy? I'd also love to hear more stories about commissions you dealt with. I've heard some pretty ridiculous stuff from clients before but I can't imagine some of the things you've heard.
Thank you for sharing your experience, and wise words, much appreciated 👍
Thank you for what I believe is one of the the main reasons why/how I grew up and my mechanical comprehension that got me a family great job and house
Yep, not having parents understand your passion is tough. My Dad is an artist and I still remember the look of disappointment when he figured out that I didn't have an artistic bone in my body. He never understand why I needed test equipment or why i needs tools/parts for something I wanted to build.
On the flip side, I can't imagine how incredible it must to be a geek kid these days. Such an incredible wealth of cheap equipment, parts, and computers.
Adam, you make the tough days a little easier. Thanks.
Great advice!!! Thank you ❤
As kind of a black sheep of the family, I became a graphic designer. My main goal was to get into one of the best creative agencies here in Budapest. I knew I have to work hard and climb the ladder so when I first got a job in a creative agency I was very happy, I knew it is a stepping stone towards my goal. I was always like that you described, going home and doing my thing at nights, and then I noticed, the same. I do less and less of my thing. But with me it was different. I missed it! Doing MY THING! At work I was doing other peoples thing, that I didn't necessarily liked, coz we had no time to make it nice. Or I did something I was proud of, and the "idiotic customer" butchered it, coz she / he liked it better that way..... I realized I miss my thing at nights. So now I have a "boring" job, last 7 years I specialized as a packaging designer, coz I am really good at it, but it doesn't drawn me, and doesn't feed my creativity enough that now I go home and and do my stuff again. And I enjoy it that way. Still, it was so good listening to your perspective. thx for that
As a veteran Industrial Designer, Toy Designer and Maker, I have to say that Adams words could not ring more true, especially the bit about showing a client a grey form model and having them say "...bit I don't like the colour."
I would love to knowingly be on the other side of that and be in a position to say, interesting colour choice; I LOVE IT! I'm sure it would catch them off guard and, hopefully, put them at ease with a titbit of humour.
@@GeorgeVCohea Unfortunately, that also happens a lot. You show a client or a buyer a 'work in progress' with the wrong colours or an incomplete design and they'll say, "Great! I love it! Make 10,000!" and then you're stuck with the crappy unfinished version out in the world.
I'm a 3D artist. Late -80s to mid 90s I sat every night experimenting doing 3D images and animations. -94 I got a job in 3D and slowly doing my own images died out. I'm doing other things instead and sometimes use 3D as a tool. I still need a personal creative outlet even if I'm creative at work.