Blooming Faeries Puts Out a Feeler for Pay BE Content Illustrated by Portal Comic

[Zman]

Well Vincent-richter, I do respect you decision in supporting an artist for his time and work, but that's your choice. As for myself, I'm not willing to shell out cash just to view someone's artwork on the internet. Now, if the artist decides to put his work out in the form of a comic-book, then I'll be happy to go out and buy it.
I'm one of those, New-Age hippies, that believe that digital media should be free for all to view. Furthermore, I have personally had spent my time and energy in donating artwork and writing to the internet for free of charge.

I'm not a cheap bastard either, I have already spent well over a thousand dollars for commissioned work from local artists. This also includes my sister, who is a professional fine artist.

Local Artists Includes:
Jennifer Lebron
Zak Fischer
Thom Zahler
E. J. Farbarik

[Lurking Guy]

You know, this isn't really an issue of whether to pay this person, but of interest.

I wouldn't really be interested in this proposition even if it was free, as I'm not a fan of this group's work.

[vincent_richter]

Originally Posted by Laughingman

I believe people should be paid for their hard work, so long as they don't go overboard with it. It's one thing to want to make money but another to be really asinine and make it so that you can't even talk about the site without possibly getting in trouble. So long as they're good quality and they don't charge too much, I'd pay for it.

My point: exactly. Rampant douchebaggery ruins it for everyone.

Originally Posted by Zman

I do respect you decision in supporting an artist for his time and work, but that's your choice.

It's nice to feel appreciated, and for what it's worth, I have some idea where you're coming from.

Originally Posted by Zman

I'm not willing to shell out cash just to view someone's artwork on the internet.

Honestly, I don't even consider "thief" an insult anymore. If I'm going to potentially spend money on somebody's hard work, I need a damned good sampling before I shell out. That's just the way I'm wired, so we at least have that in common. To be completely fair, a good chunk of their material is free to view; in this case, the funding is to both A. secure top-shelf talent, and B. cater to a particular interest.

Originally Posted by Zman

Now, if the artist decides to put his work out in the form of a comic-book, then I'll be happy to go out and buy it.

Isn't restricting an artist to strictly paper-based media kinda selling the Internet short, though? If you can turn a profit doing something both legal and - by most professional business standards - ethical, what's the impetus to not do so?

Originally Posted by Zman

I'm one of those, New-Age hippies, that believe that digital media should be free for all to view.

I know the tagline, "information wants to be free" (or "nobody can stop information insemination", if that's more familiar). I don't disagree; I'll pick up a song or a digital edition of a magazine before I'll pay an artist for absolute garbage. However, I'm not going to pretend that any of that is legal in the strictest sense of the word, either.

Originally Posted by Zman

Furthermore, I have personally had spent my time and energy in donating artwork and writing to the internet for free of charge.

I'm hardly delusional enough to believe that my every word is an absolute fucking gem, but if somebody wanted to pay me for writing? I'm not going to insist, but you won't catch me saying "no", either.

...and for the most part, I don't support local artists, primarily because I don't know any of them well enough, and those I do simply don't cater to my interests. I suppose the relative anonymity of the Internet doesn't hurt, either.

Originally Posted by Lurking Guy

I wouldn't really be interested in this proposition even if it was free, as I'm not a fan of this group's work.

Now both responses are equally valid (yours and Zman), but I have to side with "not interesting to me" over "not willing to pay for digital media" as being less insulting to content creators' interests. Again, if it were me, I can safely say that I've pirated media in the past and will probably pirate more media in the future, but if something's worth the money - or the artist puts out sufficient enough samplings - I'm willing to 'fess up and pay the man, as it were.