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Goodbye Jesus

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me


Ravenstar

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So…. I started my little freelance biz, just side stuff for now until I get ready for the big launch. I replied to an ad for a freelancer to do graphics for a business vehicle, a small moving company based in Toronto. More of a lark than anything but you never know unless you ask, right?

 

This is what the ad said: 

I want to paint an illustration on my vehicle. An image, logo, and letters. 
It is for a business. I am looking for a extremely talented painter, of great vision. Please send me email, and ill get back

 

 

Okay, it's vague… but heh. So I responded:

 

Hi.. I'm a talented illustrator interested in your project. Please get back to me with more details. Do you have a logo, or do you need one? Images and lettering are no problem. I work in various styles.

 

Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you,

 

 

I got a response this morning:

 

I shit you not.. this is it.

 

 

This is my logo. But im changing it with jesus. Supreme Movers

How much?.
 
toofunny.jpg
 
jesus.jpg
 
WAIT!!!! It gets better!   The first file was an openoffice file (I had to convert to show you all)  AND the logo on it is watermarked with the Canstock logo.
 
Really?  My first gig?
 
It's right out of Clients from Hell
 
 
What do I say to this guy? Maybe he has more money than brains, but I kind of doubt it.
 
PLEASE, help me out here!!!  (as I'm rolling on the floor in spasms of laughter and disbelief)
 
 
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I shouldn't reply to this because I have no experience with business or graphics, but I must point out the obvious fact that sticking Jesus on a logo for a moving company is ludicrous and will turn off customers--but at least they'll be laughing. GONZ9729CustomImage1539775.gif

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LOL!  Can you do that crossed arm blue collar pose with Jesus' head on it, cap and all?  

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nope.. lilith   you are dead on  lol

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LOL!  Can you do that crossed arm blue collar pose with Jesus' head on it, cap and all?  

I probably could.. would canstock sue me?

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It wouldn't take much to do your own version of a mover with crossed arms in front of a truck. Personally, maybe you could convince him to do Jesus holding a box with a mountain top sticking out of it....

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I think he wants me to paint it directly on the truck… not vinyl graphics   *snicker*… I can do it but it would not be cheap.  Does he want both sides done? I'm not sure

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I might actually tell him that invoking Christianity on his logo will actually hurt his business. He may think that saying he is a Christian shows that he is honest and reliable but in fact it quite often says the opposite.

 

A logo that says that his company is professional would be better. If he put an ichthus on his business cards or invoices might be better. If they do an excellent job and the customer then sees "Oh, that's a Christian company?" he will be a much better "witness."

 

Tell him that this would be an example of "being wise as a serpent but innocent as a dove." Christians like that one. 

 

But make sure he pays you up front.

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LOL!  Can you do that crossed arm blue collar pose with Jesus' head on it, cap and all?  

I probably could.. would canstock sue me?

 

 

 

 

I wouldn't tempt them.  You also might want to decline this client since you have this thread going.  At the

 

very least keep us in the dark about the final form.  Some Christians would be offended by a business trying

 

to use Jesus as a logo.  It's the whole driving out the money changers thing but I don't know if your client

 

would listen.  Like S2S said, don't do any work unless you were paid in advance.

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I'm probably not going to take this job… I can see it devolving rather quickly - even if he is for real.   

 

I always get 50% up front though… been burned too many times. 

 

 

I'm actually gobsmacked at the entire thing  Wendytwitch.gif

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Having been a freelancer, albeit in photography, a lesson I learned the hard way is not to take every job that comes along. Sometimes your gut is warning you and the client turns out to be trouble from beginning to end. OTOH, a way to deal with it is to quote a price that would compensate you for the pain and suffering you might get.

 

Some other lessons:

• Beware of working for friends. It rarely works out. They always expect a special deal. If you must, charge full price. If someone is so bold as to ask for a discount, politely explain that you can't do that because you don't get a discount on your rent or groceries.

• Don't work for those who try to talk your price down. They will complain through the entire process. Quote a price and stick to it.

• Never work "on spec.", for those who want you to submit work for consideration against other submissions. The client who asks for a freebie today in exchange for paying work later will run off with your free work and never come through. Don't get into that.

• Never give your work away as a gift. If you need to give a gift, give something else. The recipient of your gift work will not appreciate or understand the value of it.  Further, this is what you do for a living so keep it separate from your social life.

 

All of this I learned through mistakes, headaches and hard feelings.

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Older, that advice is awesome!

 

Ravenstar thank you for the laughs with this :)

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Full payment upfront if you are to paint directly on the vehicle.  Charge enough money that they will not complain about the job (remember: those who pay the least complain the most).  And I agree with everything older said.  I have a friend who is an artist and every time I ask him to do something for me, I have to force money into his hands because he doesn't feel right charging friends for work.  He always gets the shaft from others because of this.  

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Okay! Its time for me to come clean!

 

I sent those emails. This is all a big joke to see what you'd do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ha-ha! Now wouldn't THAT be funny?

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I'm a freelance designer too. Wow, this is an unbelievable one. First off, he needs to buy the logo from Canstock before you start editing it. (It's probably in the $100 range, just guessing?) I think you can do with it as you please after you buy it, but just finding the idea on their site and stealing it is unethical. You would change it up enough that it would also not look like an outright copy of their idea. Canstock may never know, and that's the risk they take for making comps available online I guess, but if they did recognize it one day, it would be easy for them to track back and see that he did not buy the idea from them, but just stole it. Not very Christian.

 

Even when I was a hard core Christian, I would not use businesses that advertised as being Christian. They are either cheap yet demanding, or otherwise underhanded.

 

For this one, i would set the price super high and demand 90% up front. I would say 100%, but I'm giving him a little feeling of power that he can demand minor changes at the end until he's satisfied. But add into your price enough to cover you in case you never get the final 10%. Christians are like that, and you don't want to end up in small claims court for no payment.

 

He will balk at your price, and maybe give you bullshit about doing it cheaper for the glory of god or some such nonsense. Refer back to what older wrote, and then tell the guy that if he can get your mortgage holder to reduce your house payment for a month or two, then you can give him a discount on your services. Seriously, people try to beat us down on price a lot.

 

Keep in mind that logo development is one cost, and painting it on the vehicle is another. Do not do the logo "for free" as part of the paint job. He is going to use that logo again on business cards, letterhead, website, etc. and you deserve to be paid for what a good logo is worth. Painting it on the truck is separate deal.

 

Also, he will want to see sketches up front, of course. I'm telling you -- only show these to him in person (print-outs or on your laptop screen), and do not give them to him. Do not send jpegs or pdfs via email for his approval (unless he pays for the logo development first). Otherwise he can (and will!) then take your ideas and find someone else (like his neighbor kid with a computer and Illustrator) to execute it cheaper, and then not pay you at all. This has happened to me more times than I care to admit. The painting part is actually the intellectually "easy" part -- developing the logo is the hard part, in my opinion. Do not give that away.

 

In my professional opinion, a vinyl sticker would be cheaper, easier for you, and would last longer. A couple of rock chips in paint and it's going to look stupid and cheap. The vinyl you could technically replace at a later date, quite easily, if it got damaged or faded or he changed his mind.

 

I agree with BluegrassSkeptic that the idea of "moving mountains" makes more sense than a truck. If you're gonna go with a Jesus theme, go all the way. The truck is a disconnect for me. The slogan could also be changed a bit to convey this idea. Honestly, I think Christians would appreciate that more (speaking their lingo) than just slapping Jesus on a logo with a truck. Even as Christian, I would have been insulted by that. But Christians seem to enjoy little puns, like I saw on a church sign last week "God reigns and the Son shines." I mean, ugh, but you see what I mean? Christians seem to appreciate inspired plays-on-words like that. Jesus moving their mountains of stuff would tickle them more than Jesus and a 21st century vehicle. Lame.

 

My final advice: Refer him to a slick professional business that only does vehicle art. Let him abide by their policies and prices, and wipe your hands of it. I have found that people look for freelancers because they think we are cheaper (which we are) and easier to jerk around (which honestly we tend to be). You do not know how far he will take that idea, and he may be looking to abuse you.

 

Thanks for sharing. What a shocker!

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You could do a picture of Jesus driving out the moneychangers with a whip along with the caption, "Driving like Jesus!" ;)

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RW that was a lot of cool advice I never given thought about!

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Ravenstar, good luck!! You have to keep us posted on how it goes!! yellow.gif 

 

If he's a perfectionist jesus freak, you're probably in for trouble. Feel him out before you take this job or he could make your life miserable!!

 

hug

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If I believed in omens..... anyway, it's one hell of an auspicious launch to your business!!!

 

If I were in your position, here's how I would handle it:

 

Inform the client that nowadays vehicles are decorated with printed wraps, not paint. Painting is too labor intensive and can't capture as much detail anyway.

 

Make him aware of copyrighted material.

 

Farm out the entire job to a graphic wrap place and mark up their price 50% in your quote to your client.

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Wait... I'm confused.  Isn't faith the size of a mustard seed meant to be enough to move mountains?  If so, what would a christian need a moving van for?  Wouldn't it be a much more powerful testament for the lord if the guy just prayed all his customer's belongings from their current residence into the new one?

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My opinion: he's a hack and a wanna-be entrepreneur. I've seen a LOT of Christians attempt to start some ridiculous business in some attempt to "spread the word" because "Gawd gave them a vision" or some other stupid reason like that.

 

They also tend to believe that "God" will send all the right people tripping across their path so it will take very little effort and money to get it running.

 

Well-meaning, emotionally damaged people looking for a "purpose"...

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You guys are all awesome

 

 

Florduh.. I HOPE this is auspicious, but in a good way… as in "let's get the crazies out of the way early!" 

 

I have yet to hear back when I needed more details (size? maybe… would be good to know) I also agree that a vehicle wrap is a much better idea, and probably way less expensive.

 

I charged $1200 for the last motorcycle I airbrushed… 10 years ago.

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I'm sure he'll want the Jeebus discount regardless.

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hahahahahaha   oh I'm sure.

 

I sent him a starting quote of $2500 for the actual painting(s)... (dirt cheap, in my eyes  it's at least 40 hours work as he wants Jesus JUST like the 'borrowed' painting.. and 4 feet high) and said I'd throw in the redone logo design work for $350.. with 50% down, of course,  But only IF he resolves the copyright issues first. (I did offer to redesign something 'similar' if he can't… just to see his response)

 

I was polite   :)

 

I doubt I'll hear back from him.  

 

Let's see how much Jesus wants to be a logo!

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