# Have you been paid for your "Art"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 6, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956 "2010-01-06T20:55:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/61 "2010-01-07T17:39:34Z")
People (sometimes even people I don’t know!) have paid into to my gigs and other people have bought my albums and EPs. So yes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/62 "2010-01-07T17:50:01Z")
I have sold quite a few paintings, mostly on wooden boxes and other things like that. I used to do a pretty good business hand painting T shirts & sweatshirts, too. And model horses… I made literally THOUSANDS, repositioning and repainting Breyer model horses. This was before the bottom fell out oof the model horse hobby. ☹ In 2004, I paid for a trip to Florida, selling over $1200 worth of customized model horses on eBay in 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/63 "2010-01-07T18:26:53Z")
> [@Jumpbass](#): > > Holy Toledo, **Wordman**! Where are you that clubs pay that much? :eek: > > Around here (Northern CA), you’re lucky to get $300! A private event or corporate gig, sure, but a nightclub? I was wondering if anybody gigged enough to pick up on that 😉 We played for $400 for a while, then found a few private events that paid more. When we went back to the couple of nightclubs we play at regularly and had packed, we said we wanted more money - and we got it. Who knew? 😉 What that tells me is that when we do pack the house, they are making a killing on us. Oh and we are outside NYC - but I am originally from NoCal - grew up in Redwood City… ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/64 "2010-01-07T18:42:58Z")
> [@slightly\_askew](#): > > However, I am quite proud of my pysanky and have sold a few of them. > Here’s hoping that the [link](http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s187/golightlyone/arts%20and%20crafts/) works. As well you should be! Those are gorgeous! > [@ArrMatey](#): > > I’m not sure writing voice-over for video games counts as ‘art’, but I’ve been paid for it. Oh, great. So _you’re_ the one responsible for me having to listen to Shadow Sonic mutter “Damn! Not here!” every other minute. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/65 "2010-01-07T21:17:05Z")
I receive a, very small, check every couple months for articles I write for a regional magazine. Back in the day, I was paid for a weekly book review article in a newspaper…though the free books I got for the job were worth far more than the actual “pay” I got from the paper. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/66 "2010-01-07T21:29:55Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > **BubbaDog:** Wow, that’s impressive! _ **How** _ did you get those arches? {snip} It’s all just sand and water (in fact, the name of the sculpture is “Just Buncha Sand”), but we use forms and other tricks to set it up. [Here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bubbapup/2964935622/in/set-72157621820220995/) is a picture of the arch before I carved it. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/67 "2010-01-07T22:16:37Z")
I do special effects for computer games. I’ve been doing it for… sheesh, almost fifteen years now. I get paid well for it. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/68 "2010-01-07T22:29:59Z")
I got paid a pittance when I did improv. I got paid for some comics by clickwheel. Is a crossword puzzle ‘art’? I sold one once. ---
**Author:** ![LilGypsyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilGypsyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilGypsyGirl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/69 "2010-01-08T15:35:17Z")
I get paid daily for my art. 😃 My medium is not what a lot of people would think of as an ACTUAL medium, but hair can be shaped, manipulated, and sculpted like clay or marble, and colored like a blank canvas. And I wouldn’t do anything else. Ever. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/70 "2010-01-08T16:54:47Z")
Slight hijack > [@WordMan](#): > > I was wondering if anybody gigged enough to pick up on that 😉 We played for $400 for a while, then found a few private events that paid more. When we went back to the couple of nightclubs we play at regularly and had packed, we said we wanted more money - and we got it. Who knew? 😉 What that tells me is that when we do pack the house, they are making a killing on us. > > Oh and we are outside NYC - but I am originally from NoCal - grew up in Redwood City… Well, okay, then. I wish club managers would unclench a bit. Our drummer tells me that bands were getting $300 in 1972. Redwood City isn’t in my backyard, but compared to NYC it is. I’m in Napa. Not as much work here as you would think, though. I’m done hijacking off. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/71 "2010-01-08T18:51:45Z")
I got paid $200 to narrate a documentary. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/72 "2010-01-08T18:58:39Z")
I will grab this opportunity to brag that I won the New Yorker caption contest. I didn’t get any cash, but I did ge the original illustration, which must worth something. Here’s my caption (I lied about my location, because it’s only open to 'Mericans): [http://scorbs.com/2008/03/02/the-new-yorker-cartoon-caption/](http://scorbs.com/2008/03/02/the-new-yorker-cartoon-caption/) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/73 "2010-01-08T19:49:09Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > I will grab this opportunity to brag that I won the New Yorker caption contest. I didn’t get any cash, but I did ge the original illustration, which must worth something. Here’s my caption (I lied about my location, because it’s only open to 'Mericans): > > [http://scorbs.com/2008/03/02/the-new-yorker-cartoon-caption/](http://scorbs.com/2008/03/02/the-new-yorker-cartoon-caption/) That was you?! I enjoyed that one! Well done! ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/74 "2010-01-08T20:42:23Z")
I sold two customized model car bodies (a Cord 812 pickup and a Cord 812 sedan delivery) and a master for a conversion to turn a '37 Chevy into a '38 to a resin caster a long time ago–and once a guy bought a '58 Cadillac model I’d built; he saw it at a model car contest and had to have it. Not much, but hey. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/75 "2010-01-08T20:44:21Z")
I’ve sold a good deal of stained glass. The most I’ve ever made in one sale was $800 for 4 cabinet doors. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/76 "2010-01-08T20:46:55Z")
When I was a kid I used to draw cartoons. They were pretty terrible in retrospect, but some folks seemed to like them. I was ecstatic when one of my mom’s friends paid me $75.00 to illustrate her little story poem. I still remember she went by the pen name “Angustora Bitters,” which I didn’t get at the time. Nowadays I get paid to write, but I’m not sure you’d call it “art” (I’m a technical writer). I’ve also been paid for several freelance projects (game writing and short fiction) for the Shadowrun RPG. I once got paid for a web design for a small publisher’s website, back when the web was still pretty new. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/77 "2010-01-08T20:55:09Z")
I’m a professional singer, which nets me perhaps $4-5k a year (most of that from singing for church). The rest of my income is from teaching music (university voice and elementary general music). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Mumble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Captain\_Mumble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Mumble)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/78 "2010-01-09T06:16:00Z")
I was a semi-pro muso (gtr/vox) in the '80’s, full-time performer in the '90’s and back to semi-pro since the . . whatever the hell we’re calling the last decade. I’ve also derived income from live mixing,recording and producing bands. I’ve written MIDI files for profit and sold original material for use as a TV series soundtrack. Mitch ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/79 "2010-01-09T09:25:46Z")
I don’t consider myself an artist, but I’ve worked as a 3D computer animator, video editor, camera operator, etc. But I did an exhibition with a genuine artist at an art gallery, creating interactive computer graphics on the fly and was listed as “video artist **Gaffa** ” in the newspaper, so I guess I was technically. So while other people have thought what I did could be considered “art”, I have higher standards for that term than I have yet to reach. Oh, and years ago I was a sound engineer for both live PA and recording studios. Oh, and web designer. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956/80 "2010-01-09T10:28:15Z")
I have been paid for writing comedy material for network television. I have been paid for writing movie reviews. At the moment I am trying my hand at song writing. The guy I am doing it for likes my stuff but I can’t seem to get anything completed. I have written some songs but they are really fragments that I can’t tie together. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-paid-for-your-art/523956.md?page=5)