Artist Beware: Electrocat
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 10:11 am
Originally posted on DA, but I thought it might reach a more relevant audience here.
This is on the subject of the artist Electrocat, also known as EC Muffinbakin' Tiger, and Electropaw Artworks.
Let me preface this by saying that I have nothing against Electrocat as a person. He is a kind, good man with strong values who takes pride in his work and I respect him for that. That said, his pride is a central theme of this warning, which I am very sad to write. I've tried to be a good friend to EC, and it is in that capacity that I hope to make him see that his current path is not sustainable. Everything below is true, and I have proof available on request.
My relationship with EC started in June 2016 when I commissioned my first ever piece of art from him. I chose him because we live in the same country and I wanted to support a local entrepreneur. The piece I commissioned being my first, it was of course a reference sheet, which according to his methodology has 2 phases: a temporary/trial version, to see if you like your character, and a final version, done in two sessions. I received a quote and paid within 5 days, and the temp version was done 10 days after that. At that point things started going downhill: we struggled to schedule the first session for the final version due to my working full-time and EC being adamant on live-streaming with clients (which I find unnecessary but be that as it may). If memory serves me correctly, the first session of the final version was completed sometime in August 2016. I received the finished product in March 2018.
In the 19 months between the two, I've been involved in several collaborative projects with EC and others, and assisted EC multiple times with emergency fundraising (both by signal boosting and contributing myself). I've been used as an impromptu therapist, guilt-tripped, called names, blocked, bribed with gift art I didn't want or ask for (while things I actually did request went ignored), and asked for thinly-veiled donations in the form of orders that would never be fulfilled. In the end I traded in all my commissions for an equal-value amount of easily-churned-out Telegram stickers because I knew EC would never get around to doing it otherwise. I have not commissioned him since, nor will I ever again.
In June 2018 I started getting actively involved in assisting EC in a more practical sense, because it was already obvious that no amount of money could solve his problems in the long run. I became EC's all-in-one manager (PA, PRO, secretary, administrator, webmaster, and more) so that he would have basically nothing to do other than pick a task, and do it.
He had no record of his commissions whatsoever apart from trawling through emails and Telegram conversations, but luckily I was able to work off of a Google Calendar spanning about a year's worth of scheduled sessions to create a Trello board he could use to pick tasks without having to read through endless complaints and requests for updates. Even so, despite it having over a hundred backlog items (some of which were over 3 years old), it was far from exhaustive, and I constantly had to add things EC randomly remembered or was reminded of. Furthermore, EC was so overwhelmed by the enormous amount of work he had signed up for that at first he couldn't even look at the board without having a panic attack.
At some point the registration of his Electropaw Artworks domain lapsed (the hosting had previously lapsed as well), and so somebody else took over the registration and hosting and re-created a rudimentary skeleton version of the website EC had in the past. There were plans to create more content, but that didn't happen so I took it upon myself to request access to the CMS and create the new site myself, order form and all, which I also managed (i.e. replies, confirming payments, adding to the board).
Since taking this up, I've been contacted by dozens of EC's clients asking about their commissions. Some came to me directly, some used the website, some followed links in EC's journals, and some were referred to me by EC himself because he couldn't deal with the "negative vibes". All of them had the same story: they had commissions outstanding and rightfully wanted what they paid for, but when asked about it or confronted, EC would either ignore, berate, or block them. Total lack of professionalism notwithstanding, some of them were understanding and were willing to wait as long as it took, while others simply wanted refunds. The problem was, neither of those categories could be satisfied, because EC is both woefully underperforming and perpetually broke. This is an extremely difficult cycle to break out of, especially when you give new work priority over older work instead of having a waiting list.
The problem is multifaceted. EC's prices are extremely low, which makes it just about impossible to fit a day's worth of living expenses into a day's worth of work, meaning he's effectively working at a loss, which no amount of overworking oneself can humanly compensate for. I've told him this, and he still stubbornly refuses to change his prices out of fear of losing customers. I've also explained that the amount of extra money from the increase would more than compensate for any lost customers, but that fell on deaf ears as well. If I had to estimate, I'd say that he delivers roughly 20% of the work he gets paid for, which is totally unacceptable as a business practice and is in actual fact theft, plain and simple. He also routinely gets handouts from friends who don't know better than to enable his self-destructive behaviour.
In July 2018 I quit my job, which much to EC's dismay meant I could no longer assist him by acting as an emergency bank to quickly convert US Dollars on PayPal to our currency in his hand. Frankly I was relieved, because it involved a crazy amount of banking fees on which we both lost out. In August 2018 I helped him compile a personal budget spreadsheet, and it all too clearly illustrated that he has no idea what his cost of living was (or should be), and was nowhere close to earning enough to sustain it. In October 2018 I found a new job, and decided that I could no longer handle the responsibility of what essentially amounted to a part-time job managing a semi-functional adult.
The bottom line is, EC is a good artist, but terrible at being self-employed. He has no idea how to run a business or handle money, has appalling people skills, and mental health issues that severely hamper his ability to self-motivate. This, sadly, means that he should not be a full-time artist. He should have a day job to pay the bills, and do art on the side, if at all.
If EC is ever inclined to restore his reputation as an artist, he should dedicate himself to eliminating his backlog. No new commissions, just backlog. Only once it is finished should he ever reconsider becoming a full-time artist again. I mean this with the best of intentions for all involved.
I truly hoped it would never come to this, and I did everything I could to help him become independent and successful, short of doing the art myself. I hate to kick someone when they're down, but I hope that EC can see this as a lesson: sooner or later, reality always catches up to you. I'm just sorry I couldn't stop him from letting himself down for the millionth time, although to be fair I never really had a chance.
This is on the subject of the artist Electrocat, also known as EC Muffinbakin' Tiger, and Electropaw Artworks.
Let me preface this by saying that I have nothing against Electrocat as a person. He is a kind, good man with strong values who takes pride in his work and I respect him for that. That said, his pride is a central theme of this warning, which I am very sad to write. I've tried to be a good friend to EC, and it is in that capacity that I hope to make him see that his current path is not sustainable. Everything below is true, and I have proof available on request.
My relationship with EC started in June 2016 when I commissioned my first ever piece of art from him. I chose him because we live in the same country and I wanted to support a local entrepreneur. The piece I commissioned being my first, it was of course a reference sheet, which according to his methodology has 2 phases: a temporary/trial version, to see if you like your character, and a final version, done in two sessions. I received a quote and paid within 5 days, and the temp version was done 10 days after that. At that point things started going downhill: we struggled to schedule the first session for the final version due to my working full-time and EC being adamant on live-streaming with clients (which I find unnecessary but be that as it may). If memory serves me correctly, the first session of the final version was completed sometime in August 2016. I received the finished product in March 2018.
In the 19 months between the two, I've been involved in several collaborative projects with EC and others, and assisted EC multiple times with emergency fundraising (both by signal boosting and contributing myself). I've been used as an impromptu therapist, guilt-tripped, called names, blocked, bribed with gift art I didn't want or ask for (while things I actually did request went ignored), and asked for thinly-veiled donations in the form of orders that would never be fulfilled. In the end I traded in all my commissions for an equal-value amount of easily-churned-out Telegram stickers because I knew EC would never get around to doing it otherwise. I have not commissioned him since, nor will I ever again.
In June 2018 I started getting actively involved in assisting EC in a more practical sense, because it was already obvious that no amount of money could solve his problems in the long run. I became EC's all-in-one manager (PA, PRO, secretary, administrator, webmaster, and more) so that he would have basically nothing to do other than pick a task, and do it.
He had no record of his commissions whatsoever apart from trawling through emails and Telegram conversations, but luckily I was able to work off of a Google Calendar spanning about a year's worth of scheduled sessions to create a Trello board he could use to pick tasks without having to read through endless complaints and requests for updates. Even so, despite it having over a hundred backlog items (some of which were over 3 years old), it was far from exhaustive, and I constantly had to add things EC randomly remembered or was reminded of. Furthermore, EC was so overwhelmed by the enormous amount of work he had signed up for that at first he couldn't even look at the board without having a panic attack.
At some point the registration of his Electropaw Artworks domain lapsed (the hosting had previously lapsed as well), and so somebody else took over the registration and hosting and re-created a rudimentary skeleton version of the website EC had in the past. There were plans to create more content, but that didn't happen so I took it upon myself to request access to the CMS and create the new site myself, order form and all, which I also managed (i.e. replies, confirming payments, adding to the board).
Since taking this up, I've been contacted by dozens of EC's clients asking about their commissions. Some came to me directly, some used the website, some followed links in EC's journals, and some were referred to me by EC himself because he couldn't deal with the "negative vibes". All of them had the same story: they had commissions outstanding and rightfully wanted what they paid for, but when asked about it or confronted, EC would either ignore, berate, or block them. Total lack of professionalism notwithstanding, some of them were understanding and were willing to wait as long as it took, while others simply wanted refunds. The problem was, neither of those categories could be satisfied, because EC is both woefully underperforming and perpetually broke. This is an extremely difficult cycle to break out of, especially when you give new work priority over older work instead of having a waiting list.
The problem is multifaceted. EC's prices are extremely low, which makes it just about impossible to fit a day's worth of living expenses into a day's worth of work, meaning he's effectively working at a loss, which no amount of overworking oneself can humanly compensate for. I've told him this, and he still stubbornly refuses to change his prices out of fear of losing customers. I've also explained that the amount of extra money from the increase would more than compensate for any lost customers, but that fell on deaf ears as well. If I had to estimate, I'd say that he delivers roughly 20% of the work he gets paid for, which is totally unacceptable as a business practice and is in actual fact theft, plain and simple. He also routinely gets handouts from friends who don't know better than to enable his self-destructive behaviour.
In July 2018 I quit my job, which much to EC's dismay meant I could no longer assist him by acting as an emergency bank to quickly convert US Dollars on PayPal to our currency in his hand. Frankly I was relieved, because it involved a crazy amount of banking fees on which we both lost out. In August 2018 I helped him compile a personal budget spreadsheet, and it all too clearly illustrated that he has no idea what his cost of living was (or should be), and was nowhere close to earning enough to sustain it. In October 2018 I found a new job, and decided that I could no longer handle the responsibility of what essentially amounted to a part-time job managing a semi-functional adult.
The bottom line is, EC is a good artist, but terrible at being self-employed. He has no idea how to run a business or handle money, has appalling people skills, and mental health issues that severely hamper his ability to self-motivate. This, sadly, means that he should not be a full-time artist. He should have a day job to pay the bills, and do art on the side, if at all.
If EC is ever inclined to restore his reputation as an artist, he should dedicate himself to eliminating his backlog. No new commissions, just backlog. Only once it is finished should he ever reconsider becoming a full-time artist again. I mean this with the best of intentions for all involved.
I truly hoped it would never come to this, and I did everything I could to help him become independent and successful, short of doing the art myself. I hate to kick someone when they're down, but I hope that EC can see this as a lesson: sooner or later, reality always catches up to you. I'm just sorry I couldn't stop him from letting himself down for the millionth time, although to be fair I never really had a chance.