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Duncan_Idaho wrote:

Sculpting freelance for them would be a much better job, especially as anything they rejected you could probably cast and sell in large numbers (within reason, depending on how close it was to IP).

You wish, according to their rules everything you do for them is going to become their property. Happned to quite some folks I know. Suddenly their prototype they sent in for a job appliance showed up in the regular mini line and they never got mentioned as the sculptors or got payed for it. Oh, and they never got the job they applied for.

That's got to be illegal, I know all companies have a clause that says what you do when working for them is their property but taking a model he submitted as an example, please someone tell me that's illegal. I don't want to believe that they can actually do that, it's disgusting behaviour.

GW seems to have the assumption that if you send them anything, the moment it crosses their boundary you relinquish all copyrights over it, and they 'own' it.

No idea if that is legal or not, but it's what they do.

It would be funny if they started selling something they stole, then found out afterwards the person had actually got fully legal copyrights in place.

Grimstonefire wrote:GW seems to have the assumption that if you send them anything, the moment it crosses their boundary you relinquish all copyrights over it, and they 'own' it.

No idea if that is legal or not, but it's what they do.

It would be funny if they started selling something they stole, then found out afterwards the person had actually got fully legal copyrights in place.

Disney actually does the same thing.

For a time I was a fine arts major at University (before switching to Anthropology) one of my professors had a friend that did some free-lance work for Disney. In her contract there was a very very fine print clause that said "any future artistic work, whether done expressly for Disney or not, is the property of Disney". She ended up doing a custom landscape piece at one point and put it up for sale on her website, Disney found and and confiscated the piece after going to court. My fine arts professor (as a result of her friend) loathes Disney and every year tells all her students to read every single word of fine print if you ever work for a company.

Gargskull wrote:

Duncan_Idaho wrote:

Sculpting freelance for them would be a much better job, especially as anything they rejected you could probably cast and sell in large numbers (within reason, depending on how close it was to IP).

You wish, according to their rules everything you do for them is going to become their property. Happened to quite some folks I know. Suddenly their prototype they sent in for a job appliance showed up in the regular mini line and they never got mentioned as the sculptors or got payed for it. Oh, and they never got the job they applied for.

That's got to be illegal, I know all companies have a clause that says what you do when working for them is their property but taking a model he submitted as an example, please someone tell me that's illegal. I don't want to believe that they can actually do that, it's disgusting behavior.

I get the feeling there's more to that story than we're hearing. GW makes a point of not releasing test sculpts, because they're not meant to be released. They're meant to demonstrate the skill of the applicant. But as to the original point of Duncan's statement:

GW has, from what I understand, an exclusivity clause in their contracts for sculptors. Anything that can reasonably be proven as close to the IP is their property. They don't want their flagship sculptors who are doing the metals and plastics to be able to start a sideline business selling knock-offs or starting their own company. GW is very adamant about being the only people really creating full models in the styles that they use for Warhammer/40k.

And gods help them if one of their sculptors is working on the Lord of the Rings range and does it, because the Tolkien estate and New Line both will come down on them like a hammer for allowing it to happen.


As for an anecdote, let me regale you with the woes of Mengil's Manhide Flayers...
From what I gather anyways, this whole exclusivity clause came about from the whole Chris Fitzpatrick debacle a few years ago. Fitzpatrick is the guy who did most of the metals for the previous Dark Elf army book, and following that--he did the new Mengil's Manhide Flayers as an "unapproved" project.

Fitzpatrick then left the company, but the problem was that the Flayers were done as sculpts and GW wanted to release them--but couldn't, as they didn't own the rights to them since it was an unapproved project. They ended up paying him a rather ridiculous amount of money just to produce something that was theoretically theirs in the first place--but since it wasn't something they actually approved or put on the sculpting schedule, it caused a huge issue.

Supposedly, it's also why they won't release test sculpts or anything their sculptors do on their own free time.

Haven't the Perry twins produced their own stuff as well as working for GW? Or do they work on a freelance basis rather than a permanent contract?

I think the Perry twins get a load of leeway with the seniority they have. Add in the fact that their Historical range isn't in direct competition with anything GW really produces and I don't think they have an issue with it.

I am pretty sure the Perrys have been free-lancing with GW for quite a while.

At least as long as they have had their own site going.

BTW, anybody seen their War of the Roses Plastics? Bret Men-At-arms done right!

fantasypisces wrote:For a time I was a fine arts major at University (before switching to Anthropology) one of my professors had a friend that did some free-lance work for Disney. In her contract there was a very very fine print clause that said "any future artistic work, whether done expressly for Disney or not, is the property of Disney". She ended up doing a custom landscape piece at one point and put it up for sale on her website, Disney found and and confiscated the piece after going to court. My fine arts professor (as a result of her friend) loathes Disney and every year tells all her students to read every single word of fine print if you ever work for a company.

Many, many people feel that way about Disney, from what I hear.

gorgon wrote:

fantasypisces wrote:For a time I was a fine arts major at University (before switching to Anthropology) one of my professors had a friend that did some free-lance work for Disney. In her contract there was a very very fine print clause that said "any future artistic work, whether done expressly for Disney or not, is the property of Disney". She ended up doing a custom landscape piece at one point and put it up for sale on her website, Disney found and and confiscated the piece after going to court. My fine arts professor (as a result of her friend) loathes Disney and every year tells all her students to read every single word of fine print if you ever work for a company.

Many, many people feel that way about Disney, from what I hear.

Is such a tale really so surprising too? They're a huge multinational obscenely rich corporation, they didn't get there by being good people.

I don't know, even being in the US, this sounds like it could be an interesting opportunity. As a young individual, being able to do what I love for a while as a job, plus going to Europe, just sounds tempting. Plus, we could try and prevent another Beastmen 'eavy metal army paintjob from ever showing up again....sounds worth it to me
Granesh

I applied

Here's the images I sent in:

Good luck.

I would say that although this is just above minimum wage, it is not a bad opportunity for someone young who is still living at home or is in a flat share.

@dezartfox
Wow, those are fantastic. Hope you get the job.

The salary seems way, WAY low. I don't know what cost of living is like in the UK but the equivalent of $25000 would barely cover my basic living expenses, let alone my student loan payments, insurance, etc. Luckily I'm in a pretty lucrative field, but it sucks that artists don't make more, especially when they're producing quality like dezartfox's.

Nice paint jobs. good luck on the position

Basically entry level job where the kid is going to college or sharing an apartment with one or two other people.

Jesus, with the price i am paying for these damn minis they could pay their employees a bit better. seriously.

...
You do realize what "entry level position" and "trainee" mean, right?

You do realize what "entry level position" and "trainee" mean, right?

Ok its way too early for painting. You, trainee, go get us some coffees and then clean off all the brushes and palettes. Oh and then be sure and dust the display case, and sweep up the studio!

countchocula86 wrote:

You do realize what "entry level position" and "trainee" mean, right?

Ok its way too early for painting. You, trainee, go get us some coffees and then clean off all the brushes and palettes. Oh and then be sure and dust the display case, and sweep up the studio!

hey I'll do that for a 50% discount on GW products.

I just skimmed the first page so if its been mentioned I'm sorry.

That 12.5 is for a beginner, which means their is room for growth and id say promotions would be based on skill level/growth. So 20k for a "entry" level job with advancement oppurtunities is not bad. Anything about benifits they offer? That would be the deal breaker for me

Pre-taxes or post taxes for that salary, that's not much quid. That translates to a little over $9.60 an hour. Not overly great, but the nature of the job is cool.

$9.60 an hour is still really good for a beginning level job and it opens avenues for commission work on the side.

$9.60 is better than what I was doing at my last job for a lot crummier work.

Toeko wrote:I just skimmed the first page so if its been mentioned I'm sorry.

That 12.5 is for a beginner, which means their is room for growth and id say promotions would be based on skill level/growth. So 20k for a "entry" level job with advancement oppurtunities is not bad. Anything about benifits they offer? That would be the deal breaker for me

I guess since it takes no formal training, but an entry level position for something that requires a degree had better pay more than 20k.

I feel kind of bad about how much I'm getting for my first position out of college now.

Also, if you're looking to get into some sort of "painting" field, then having this job on your resume' is a darn good thing. Even if you just work for a year or two.

Just make sure if you do get a job like this its really something that will help you get where you want to go in life. I stuffed around in my 20's with various jobs and didn't go anywhere. Now Im trying to do it in my 30's and its hard going. Not fun.

Personally, if you're one who does a lot of painting at home then I wouldnt take the job. For example, Iv never known a chef who cooked at home. haha.

OoieGoie wrote:

Personally, if you're one who does a lot of painting at home then I wouldnt take the job. For example, Iv never known a chef who cooked at home. haha.

That's what the wife/gf is for. Tada.

If I could cook worth a gak I'd eat at home a lot more. I can grill a mean steak but I can't do a casserole to save my life. LOL.

A lot of people are talking about doing commision work as an extra - that's not going to happen. First, GW are very touchy about things like that and you may well be forbidden from doing so as part of your contract.

Second, there is no way that after an 8 hour shift painting you would be able to go home and paint some more. A good friend used to paint for GW many years ago (Rogue Trader/Realm of Chaos days) and he had to give up in the end because the strain on his eyes and back got to the point where he was constantly ill (he was and indeed still is incredibly fit, btw - had trials for the British Olympic Judo team if that gives you any indication).

For that kind of work you have to relax when you're not there or you'll lose it fast - why do you think so few 'eavy metal painters have complete armies and play games regularly?

Not saying its not a decent job - if you like the work its great and a good springboard to work in other departments in the company, but you have to be realistic about it if you want to do it for a living.

Looks almost as bad as being a video-game tester.

Subsidised beer, though. I doubt EA is offering that.