"Commission's closet due Health"

Hello!
 

I've noticed, that in the past few Month's a lot of Artist's stoped their Face Up Commission's, and i'm starting to wonder why and if it has something to do with the Hobby and doing Face Up's itself. 

12 hours ago, Yuichan said:

Hello!
 

I've noticed, that in the past few Month's a lot of Artist's stoped their Face Up Commission's, and i'm starting to wonder why and if it has something to do with the Hobby and doing Face Up's itself. 

Most of the time it could be due to them being busy with commissions. 

There are also competitors that offer cheaper price faceups, which make others that offer a higher price out of work unless they bring their own prices down. 

The other is with a little practice it's easy to do your own faceup if you are committed to it and like a challenge. 

Obviously if you let a professional do it for you you will get a much better higher quality faceup. If you don't mind to pay the extra cash. 

On 10/13/2019 at 11:18 AM, Yuichan said:

Hello!
 

I've noticed, that in the past few Month's a lot of Artist's stoped their Face Up Commission's, and i'm starting to wonder why and if it has something to do with the Hobby and doing Face Up's itself. 

The one person I know who stopped for health reasons is a very talented artist whose daughter has health issues. In that situation I can totally get a mom putting everything aside to give 100% to her child.

I have heard of one other person stopping due to their own health issues, but I don't have any first hand knowledge of their situation so I can't really comment on it.

I would think the biggest hazard from face-ups is MSC, but as long as you take proper precautions like face-masks and goggles that shouldn't really be a problem.

Many of the folks who do faceups and doll work for Volks have been doing it for a long time. The Dollfie Doctor's at the Dolpa were either my age or older, and are senior staff at Volks. They get a lot of exposure to resin dust and MSC.

I would suspect that the biggest issue for face-up artists is really problematic customers who either don't pay / don't follow through with orders, or who throw tantrums when their fantasy of what the doll should be meets the practical reality of what a custom doll can be. If you add health problems on top of that, it probably just isn't worth it.

Edited October 15, 2019 by BeyondTime

I think to, "Stopping due to health reasons" is an easy explanation that people don't question/argue, versus "Stopping because I just don't want to do it anymore" or "Stopping because I'm only doing face-up for friends now" could trigger a lot of drama. I think it's important to remember "health reasons" can include mental health -- not finding it enjoyable anymore, being frustrated by crappy customers, etc.

I can see face up is a sensitive word in this forum. 😅

I think most faceup artists have jobs and/or lives that don’t revolve around painting dolls, and that taking commissions is just a hobby/way to earn extra money. It’s understandable that they’d need to take a break. 

@Cauldroness, @BeyondTime and @Elagabalus pretty much hit the nail on the head.

I wouldn't necessarily say that face-ups are a "sensitive" word per say,  it's just that the answer can vary depending on each individual's situation. 

In addition, there are a few people who have been doing face-ups for long term without proper respiratory protection. The sprays used for UV protection and sealing are actually quite toxic, and are harmful to your lungs when used extensively. You can inhale small particles of paint and solvents quite easily without you realizing it.

It has been proven that painters without proper respiratory protection are susceptible to lung cancer/disease. While this research mostly applies to assembly line painters, (which is extreme when compared to hobbyists painting dolls) I do believe that it is reasonable for customizers to take breaks if they are concerned about respiratory health.

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I'm going to speak from my personal experience regarding face-up commissions, closure and etc. I may not be the best nor am I the most popular face-up artist, and I'm not trying to speak for all face-up artists... but I hope that my experience doing commissions can shed light on this particular subject.

Use of the term "Closed due to health" sounds significantly better than just straight up telling people "Lol, actually I'm too depressed to do anything". Mental health is still not widely understood (it's getting better), and to be honest it's a little embarrassing to tell perspective customers/commissioners unnecessary information like this.

Honestly, face-ups used to be a fun thing for me to do. I used to keep a regular schedule of completing them within 1-2 weeks and have probably done 100s of dolls. However, doing such a high number of commissions without breaks can lead to artistic burn-out... and it started to feed my already preexisting depression.

It's reallllllllly hard to get started on tasks and maintaining their schedules when you're mentally not in a good place. I started slowing down and started blaming myself for being lazy and not getting things done when I accumulated a backlog. 😕 It turned into a vicious cycle where things couldn't get done and my mental health would get worse. 

Additionally, this a service job where you need to interact with customers. If you're an introvert like me, talking to people and creating small talk takes up a TON of energy. There will be times where you need to deal with unrealistic and difficult customers. Dealing with these types of customers can be super stressful and wear you down mentally.

I think you can produce better quality work when you're happy. I know I do. That means I'll take on fewer commissions, paint dolls for close friends, do things when I want and etc. Hopefully, that mess above makes sense lol. 

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Keep in mind that majority of the people providing this service are doing it as as a hobby and not a full time job. Life, health, work, and other circumstances can have their ups and downs. 

The phrase "Closed due to health" is vague enough to encompass a lot of reasons and be universally understood. The public isn't owed an in depth analysis an artist's ailments. I think it could possibly trigger drama where people argue if the artist's reason for not taking commissions is "valid" in their eyes. 😛 People need physical and mental breaks!

 

Edited October 15, 2019 by Subaru
accidentally a word

On 10/15/2019 at 10:52 AM, Subaru said:

I wouldn't necessarily say that face-ups are a "sensitive" word per say,  it's just that the answer can vary depending on each individual's situation. 

In addition, there are a few people who have been doing face-ups for long term without proper respiratory protection. The sprays used for UV protection and sealing are actually quite toxic, and are harmful to your lungs when used extensively. You can inhale small particles of paint and solvents quite easily without you realizing it.

It has been proven that painters without proper respiratory protection are susceptible to lung cancer/disease. While this research mostly applies to assembly line painters, (which is extreme when compared to hobbyists painting dolls) I do believe that it is reasonable for customizers to take breaks if they are

This makes me think of the situation with dental x-rays. 

When you get an x-ray the technician covers you, particularly your neck, with a lead sheet. Then they leave the room to trigger the x-ray. 

The reason they don’t want to be in the room is that you get 1 or 2 doses of X-ray radiation a year, and it’s probaly harmless at that level, so the lead sheet is more of a precaution. The technician on the other hand may do a dozen a day, and a lead smock wouldn’t be enough to prevent them from being harmed. 

Point being, even if you aren’t getting exposed to MSC the way the Volks staff are, you should still protect yourself. 

Edited October 20, 2019 by BeyondTime