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Portfolios / Re: [Portfolio] Dorian Tokici
« on: March 26, 2014, 02:26:45 pm »
Blew up your email and facebook. :O
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I feel like this also adds up to this thread here - imo one of the greatest and most truthful graphs:
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Artist #4: Very high profile / well known artist. Sent him an email asking if he had interest in my project. Received a reply after two weeks or so saying he was interested. Sent back specs, current tilesets, and suggested doing a few tiles so we could make sure we were on the same page. After that he disappeared and hasn't replied to me in nearly a month.
I just don't get the communication issues. How hard is it to send an email? Say you aren't interested, say you are busy, say something came up in life, just make sure to NEVER go MIA. A 10 second email is the best thing you can do to keep business in the future.
I'd try mailing them again, though one month with no word is a little strange. Overaggressive junk filters have made me look the fool in the past, both with incoming and outgoing mail. Also, a lengthy hospital stay had a couple of clients wondering about my status (I couldn't sit upright, let alone use a computer). Emails with attachments seem to have a greater chance of vanishing into the ether, and if I don't receive a response with some sort of feedback in a week or so I'll usually send a follow-up via two separate addresses.
Excellent summation, Cyangmou!
I just wanted to stress the importance of trying to negotiate a $/hr rate, versus a fixed fee or $/sprite. This has a lot to do with communication and the potential for revisions. If you have an excellent client who has a well defined asset list it might not be such a big deal, but I've found most of those who are offering a flat rate per asset are generally inexperienced and not entirely certain what they want. Each time you have to go back and edit or redo a sprite or tile that is money out of your pocket. I learned this early on, when a client insisted on a flat quote for a project. I estimated it would take me a month to deliver, and priced it accordingly. Poor description and constant direction changes ended up drawing that contract out to three months, and as I had signed a contract to complete it I had a legal obligation to complete the job to the client's satisfaction. At the end, I was essentially working for less than minimum wage, and that was the end of that type of contract for me.
As a client, I would insist on at least weekly email updates. Artists are flaky, and that one email can help keep them on track and motivated.
I'm still pretty crap at insisting on contracts, though. I'm far too trusting, even after having my fingers burned on a few occasions.