A few weeks ago, the hashtag #fanartgotmepaid floated to the top of several artist communities on Twitter. Illustrators, animators, game developers, and artists of every caliber used the hashtag to share their personal stories of how fan art landed them jobs with some of their favourite franchises.
I did this Marceline fan art and Pendleton Ward shared it, which gave me a lot of Cartoon Network comic book gigs ?✨#fanartgotmepaid pic.twitter.com/gfjCVHYoJX
— Fellipe ? (@fell_martins) October 31, 2017
A Marvel art director hired me to design their Superhero Adventures style guide because of the fan art I made. #fanartgotmepaid pic.twitter.com/59RJ7cZjcG
— Derek Laufman (@laufman) November 3, 2017
#fanartgotmepaid
I did this #StrangererThings fan art and Netflix ended up hiring me later to do pixel art for the show. So that was cool. pic.twitter.com/djmggnx8S2— Bannon Rudis (@BannonRudis) November 1, 2017
The hashtag originated as a method to bring attention to the discrimination that fan artists face. Despite being revered within the geek community and at conventions, they often face stigma within the larger artist’s circle for not being “legitimate enough” compared to professionals.
There are even anti-fanart movements who argue that fan artists shouldn’t be considered “real artists” on the plain notion that fan art is not as “creative” as original art. Not only that, they argue that fan artists who gain fame don’t deserve it because they’re simply “riding on the coattails” of popular franchises.
2013: Arya fanart
2015: hired to draw for Game of Thrones History & Lore animations; they wanted someone familiar w/ lore. #fanartgotmepaid pic.twitter.com/DAzQnZ5JUd— Ricardo Bessa (@RFBessa) November 1, 2017
On the other hand, #fanartgotmepaid defends that notion by showing what possibilities lay ahead. Artist Richardo Bessa found himself hired by Game of Thrones after they discovered his fan art of the series. The company was looking for artists who were familiar with the lore and Bessa’s enthusiasm for the series fit the bill. Companies like Overwatch also scour fan artists on the regular to create sprays and social media content for them.
While this is happening more frequently now, however, it isn’t yet a common occurrence. A majority of fan artists never get recognised by the franchise creators for their work, and honestly, do they need to? As pointed out by many artists in the hashtag thread, fan art shouldn’t be a means to an end. Instead, it is just a show of their love and passion for the franchise. Being employed for that will always be a bonus, but ultimately, what matters most is doing what you love.
So whether you’re a fan artist or an artist working on original pieces, just work on the things that you like doing. As long as your passion shines through, the door of opportunity may open sooner than you think.
For more tweets and opinions, you can find the #fanartgotmepaid hashtag thread here.
