Artist's PLEASE read and give me your opinion

[NOVA]

I recently had a rendering done of an older Chevy (it is all old skool all the way) the guy that did it did a great job, I was looking over the final draft which he emailed to me for final review last Thursday morning.

So I looked it over the weekend and talked to him on Sunday and suggested one slight color change so tonite he sends me the touch up job he had done and after looking at it I liked the first one he had sent me last Thursday morning better.

So I go back to the email he sent last Thursday (the one I like) and notice up in the email in the to: that he sent it to me and 4 other people? a couple of them are shops that I know he does rendering for? I never noticed it probably because I was returning from a all night flight and it was 5 a.m. thursday morning.

But my question is isnt that wrong to send my rendering to 4 others? in the subject line he put what you guys think? the art is mine and not really for anyone else to judge or possbily take my idea and run with it.

What would you guys suggest I do about this, I would like your opinions/advice the more I think about it the more it really bothers me.

Thank You

[Hdesign]

First, are you building the car or do you have a shop lined up already that he is aware of? You didn't discuss shopping around for a builder or getting quotes did you? Sounds like you're pretty much all set with arrangements.

Hmmm.....I really couldn't tell you why he so boldly sent them to other people. Obviously, he was aware that you could see the names. On face value, that seems unprofessional. As a professionally contracted artist/business, you HAVE TO respect the wishes of your client. It's an unwritten law.

Now, there may be a good explanation for it and you should demand it from him. You said he does work with a couple of those builders, does he have an email account at their shop so that he can check email there? Not that he should be storing outside work on their harddrive. I'm just thinking he may be sending it to himself, I dunno. Maybe he's sending it to a buddy that works there....not a good idea. All it takes is for him to forward it to others.

Bottom line is, confront him about it. Communication throughout the design process is an absolute MUST. If there is no good reason for him to have done such a seemingly irresponsible thing you may be able to take further action. However, you may or may not have documented and signed any contract of confidentiality with him. It's a good idea from a legal standpoint because there is no question about ethics. There is a difinitive line not to be crossed. If a civil action is necessary, hopefully not, you may have some difficulty proving your case.

I personally, don't take this stuff too seriously but I am perfectly willing and in full support of a client that may want to keep the project confidential. I'll sign and respect anything and everything they say within reason. So far, I'm extremely lucky to have worked with top notch, classy people that I could have a beer with. If I don't think the project is a good fit as far as personality or taste, I respectfully pass on the project and suggest an alternative artist that may work better. In the end, this is a fun hobby for all of us. I never take this stuff personally because it then it becomes "Work" or a "job". And that's no fun!!!

I'm sure some of the other designers/artists will offer more. I really hope this came out right, no time to proof read...Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[69TAPoser]

Great response Ben, you are getting good advice NOVA.

Btw, as you can tell from his response, Ben is a great designer/artist to work with!

Phil

[NOVA]

Ben, Thank you for your reply, I did confront him about it and he explained to me that he does that with final drafts in case he misses something, but mainly for feedback? he says sometimes they catch something that he may over look?
He asked me if in the future if I would prefer no one sees them other than me he will certainly honor that, he said he sends the same group of guys (3 people) because they give him super honest feedback?

He assured me no one has any plans of doing that car and again said it was strictly for elective criticism or critiquing?

at this point all's I can do is move forward and trust that what he is telling me is the truth, I guess if I see something else running around that is similar I learned a hard lesson!

It is not worth driving myself crazy over it and he does seem like a straight up guy it just kind of alarmed me at first.

And as you said this is suppose to be fun and thats what I truly love about the car hobby, it is alot of fun and cool to meet others that have the same interest.

Again Thank you for your suggestion and reply it was very helpfull.

NOVA