The fursuit/plush equivalent of "draw me free art!"

[bladespark]

I know a lot of furry artists, and artists in general, get bugged for free art.

I have never been good enough to really get bothered for it, and there have even been occasions when I've done free art just because I felt like it, for friends who are polite enough to not ask. (Speaking of which... er... *cough* Yes, TW, you haven't been forgotten. Nor has Bob, but I've no idea where that one has got to...) Anyhow, when making fursuits and plush critters, nobody asks you for free fursuits! A fursuit is obviously worth too much, I think, for anybody even remotely sane to expect for free.

But there is still an equivalent request, and that is for free copies of your patterns. I just got one such request today, and I have to wonder... what goes through these people's minds when they ask? This guy explained that he wanted the pattern just to make something for himself, and he wasn't going to try and make money with this. This is the explanation tacked on to requests to copy and paste digital media. This is not an explanation that makes one bit of difference in sewing patterns. I cannot simply magically clone a copy of my pattern, and pretty much all my patterns are much too large to fit on a scanner or photocopier. (This one is a three foot long plush, for crying out loud! That should be obvious!) So I have to get very large paper sheets, which cost me money, and then I have to laboriously trace the pattern onto this paper, and then of course I have to spend money to mail it, and it's more than $.41, or whatever stamps cost these days, because there's a lot of very large paper pieces. Why, exactly, would I do this for free, for a person I don't even know?

I would bet that he didn't even think about the actual process involved in sending a copy of the pattern. He probably thinks I can somehow attach it to an e-mail, if he's thought about it at all. I told him no, as politely as I could, and actually managed to resist the urge to say "Why on earth would I do something like that?" to him. But I am sure he will not be the last to make such a request.

P.S. This reminds me. There was somebody, quite a long time ago, who'd indicated willingness to pay for a copy of a pattern of mine... I have no idea who, or of what pattern! If whoever it is is reading this and is still interested, comment or something.

Comments

[harliquinnraver.livejournal.com]

i cannot even begin to count how many times ive been asked to give people my pattern. and i see them ask on the fursuit community constantly as well! in what world is that okay??

[baloo-ursidae.livejournal.com]

Heck, that doesn't even fly in professional environments within a copmany where sharing patterns is semi-routine. "Hey, can I nab this pattern?" "NO! Go grab it off the workgroup share and send it to the plotter yourself!"