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An Artist’s Guide to Not Getting Shafted

An Artist’s Guide to Not Getting Shafted Non-profit and free for redistribution Written on March 29th | 2016 Published on March 29th | 2016 For entertainment and research purposes only

================================================= DISCLAIMER The Paranoid's Bible and its writers hold no responsibility for the acts of others. The Paranoid’s Bible is for research and entertainment purposes only. Please visit our blog for more PDFs and information: https://www.paranoidsbible.tumblr.com/ ================================================= Contents DISCLAIMER 2 Preface 4 Facts 5 Quality over Quantity 6 Don’t blame your tools 7 Commissions 8 Not Getting Your Privacy Destroyed 15 Afterword 20 ================================================= Preface I’m an anonymous artist who volunteered their services and expertise to the Paranoid’s Bible. Unlike their usual PDFs, this one is aimed more at providing a dose of reality for artists and potential artists alike. I’m not here to hold hands or tell you that you’ll be as famous as the masters; however I am here to ensure you don’t make a sloppy, amateurish mistake and end up wasting precious time and energy on something that can leave you penniless or facing down a digital lynch mob. This PDF will be crass and overly blunt, yet it’ll help you break the fantasies that you’ll somehow live only upon commissions and pretty pictures. ================================================= Facts Before I discuss any security or privacy tips, I’ll remind you that the PB team has covered most of your questions concerning doxing or how to scrub your images of exif data--go look at their library (https://www.paranoidsbible.tumblr.com/library) link for the PDFs they’ve already completed. For those of you too lazy or unsure as to what you should read, I recommend their namesake PDF and the PDF (The Paranoid’s Bible) on Meta Data (Meta Data and You). Those two alone should help you prevent most of the issues artists usually face from obsessed fans or upset fandoms. Now that I’ve stated the above, let’s discuss the brass tacks of the matter: You, as an artist, aren’t what people care about. Most fans only care about the pretty pictures that you create, they don’t care about you. You’ll very rarely matter to most people outside of those who either develop a strange obsession for you or carry the same beliefs and opinions as you. Because of this, you should take advantage of the limited anonymity provided to you through the internet and learn to not care about what others say or think besides the constructive criticism they provide you about your art and its quality. People are obnoxiously opinionated about things they don’t understand or know, as are you and I. This is a fault that humanity shares, however it shouldn’t give you an excuse to snap at people because they spoke out of turn or incorrectly on a subject—being an arse about something as simple as someone saying means words will lead to your inevitable public humiliation on the internet. I’m not saying be overly humble, however I am stating that you shouldn’t be a dick-wolf. Learn to let things roll off your back and to move on. Getting upset to the point of rage-quitting reality is a pointless endeavor and only serves to prove how much a delicate, little snowflake you are that can’t take criticism or some banter. Thick skin serves you just as much as your skill and talent as an artist. You also need to realize that you’ll never be as popular as other artists, regardless of your talent and skill set. Some people are simply more popular because they cater to a niche category or for a variety of other reasons, like self-censorship and catering to the lowest common denominator. So, if you still feel like you can take the brunt of the damage, then I encourage you keep reading. A lot of people won’t like what’s coming up in the next few chapters, but it needs to be stated. ================================================= Quality over Quantity An issue with a lot of artists, regardless of age or talent, is the fact that their profiles, blogs and portfolios are oversaturated with their art. They believe that somehow quantity will give them an edge over the competition for a job, customers or fans. You need quality, not quantity. In order to get quality, you need to realize that you’re most likely doing everything wrong. A lot of the artists in the 2000s were inspired by our Eastern brothers and sisters, especially with their works in manga and anime. You aren’t an Eastern artist, most likely, but a Westerner. And, like any Westerner with dreams of being a Manga-ka, you need to stop what you’re doing and reanalyze your life and your goals. Japan and most of Asia are very xenophobic, however that isn’t even what’s preventing you from getting recognition as an artist: it’s you and your lack of skill or talent. You may feel that our post-modernist society needs to abandon the archaic examples of art done within the renaissances; however your feelings are wrong. You don’t need to feel ashamed, modern art and the drivel they teach in those overly expensive art schools are simply meant to separate you or your parents from their money [1] (https://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/here-are-7-reasons-why-the-contemporary-art-world-is-an-insufferable-scam-corrupted-by-the-super-rich/) [2] (https://petapixel.com/2011/09/02/us-gov-sues-the-art-institutes-for-11-billion-fraud/) [3] (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/davidhalperin/edmc-professors-and-stude_b_1909449.html). To standout and gain recognition, one must first realize that not everyone is born with the innate talent to be an artist or anything. Some people are born with to be a savant at art or something else within their lifetime, yet for everyone else… we have to train ourselves and be vigilant in our practice. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. You can do most everything in the world, but it usually requires patience, training, practice and a lot of time and work. You usually don’t jump feet first into your own style or the over stylization of someone else’s work. No, you start from the basics and work your way up. This means you start with simple shapes and realism. Learning realism and the simplicity of shapes is where most everyone has to start, like it or not. This is where most of the so called masters started in their adventure in art, and it’ll be where you’ll have to start too. Learning realism and working your way up to your own style will help you greatly as it’ll give you many benefits others don’t have, which is to say: You’ll actually know what you’re drawing or attempting to draw. One tip, though, that I can give you many artists don’t know is that penmanship can help you. Learning to cleanly print your name and graduating into cursive writing and studying something like calligraphy can really help you in the end with your strokes and how to properly hold any drawing implement. ================================================= Don’t blame your tools There’s a saying that goes something like: A poor craftsman blames his tools. This applies to artists, too, regardless of their gender or sex. Many artists believe that if they have top quality, expensive supplies, programs or tools that they’ll somehow suddenly become some supreme being of art and accomplish some massively moving piece that’ll bring about world peace or banish the darkness in the world—these artists are delusional. No matter if you use pen and paper or a tablet and Photoshop, those are but simple tools. They don’t live or breathe, nor do they have the creativity that we, the human race, have within ourselves. You can’t always rely on tools, programs or supplies. They’re only limited to what you, yourself, as an artist can do. This means if you aren’t born with some innate talent or practiced and honed your skills to a razor edge, than they’re useless. Don’t get caught up in the propaganda-like advertising of companies and businesses. They hire and pay artists to claim that their products are oh-so-great and that if you own their products, too, then you’ll be able to do feats of art like they can. I’ve stated this numerous times, and I’ll state it once more: You need to study and learn the basics. You need to practice and have patience. Hardly anyone is gifted with the innate talent to be a creative genius within a night’s time. Like someone who has trained for decades with their weapon of choice, an artist who has honed their skill can bring to life even a hunk of dead, waterlogged wood ripped from the sea. Your tools mean nothing if you, yourself, don’t have a spark of life within you. If all you do is produce, then how can it truly be called art if it has no feeling of life to it? A true artist not only uses what they have on hand, they also see the true potential in the supplies given to them. Like a statue waiting to be freed from a hunk of stone, the cry of true potential is only seen and heard by a true artist. You must relax, have fun and listen to yourself. You’ll see and achieve wondrous things if you work on not becoming a mindless machine that just produces “art” to sell or to play the part of an artist. You can’t force creativity. ================================================= Commissions Before you even begin of thinking about commissions, you must first analyze yourself, your style and the overall quality of your art. You won’t be able solely live upon commissions online, nor will you able to live a comfortable lifestyle from commissions alone. You’ll be able to supplement your income, yes; however you’ll grow tired and hit a wall with your art. Many artists who take commissions grow tired of art and become bored. They hit a wall both creatively and in quality. They burnout and either lash out, become melancholic or depressed, or simply jump ship and abandon their internet presence altogether. With that said, I also must explain that this is going to be Americentric, so if you’re not from the U.S. take this at face value and not as a means to help you make a living in your home country. I only know a very limited amount of knowledge when it concerns the U.S. and its tax laws. What I’m going to say here may be helpful, to some extent, to non-U.S. citizens; however that’s where this chapter’s helpfulness will end. Now, below will be some miscellaneous sections that’ll hopefully help you jumpstart your little venture in selling your art or product, yet understand I’m only addressing the most common questions usually asked. ==Do I need a business license and permits?== Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Depends. You do need a business license, especially if someone in a business hires you and claims it as a business expense. You also need to figure out the right permits you’ll need to sell your wares or products. You might even need more than one license depending on the items you sell or have to buy in order to complete an order. I, however, can’t give much legal or financial advice. I do urge you, however, to look into the below two links: https://www.sba.gov/content/what-state-licenses-and-permits-does-your-business-need https://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/obtain-business-licenses- ==Aren’t I an independent contractor?== This is quite tricky to figure out, and according to some, an independent contractor (1099) (within the US) doesn’t need to report income made from a client unless it’s more than 600 dollar per year. So, in a sense, as long as a client isn’t a repeat buyer, you can charge upwards to 599 dollars for a commission and not need to declare it—an appealing route for a lot of artists, however it’s a dangerous one. So, yes, each client counts differently, and having signed contracts help keep the IRS at bay, however these waters are quite tricky to navigate and would require legal counseling. ==Do I pay taxes?== Depends if you’ll make 400 dollars or under 400 dollars within a tax year. 400 dollars and over will mean you pay taxes, however 399.99 and under will mean you won’t. This is for the year, not per customer. You should be careful, though. Someone, somewhere, might take notice of your commissions and hire you to do a piece or many pieces of art for them. After this, they’ll try and write it off as a business expense and then you end up with a visit from the IRS asking about taxes and business licenses. So, I urge anyone interested in doing commissions to go to this link about self-employment taxes: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc554.html Understand, too, that your freelance work might actually be in demand or become popular. If this happens, and you owe well over 1000 dollars in self-employment taxes… then you might just have to pay taxes quarterly. You should take a moment and check this link, too: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=110413,00.html ==Are my supplies tax deductible?== Yes, however within reason. This means you need to really, really keep track of your records, spending and receipts. If something can be used as a legitimate expense toward a business or commissions, you’ll need to provide a reason why you needed it and at such a price. You’ll have to, within reason, explain everything near perfectly as to why it had to be used. In a sense you can claim any and all of your supplies to your electricity and even programs. However, you need to keep a good log on what and how, between what hours and how much was used. So, in a sense, you’ll have to really do your research and learn not to waste so much if you want to keep your commissions profitable. Good news, though. You can use a percentage of materials bought, whether they’re for training or studying purposes, and declare them as an “allowable expense”. You can also, within good reason, declare why such a percentage was needed for practicing, like wanting to ensure quality of a commission or product. Failed commissions, returned products and a net loss could, in a sense, be declared as business expense, too. If you’re savvy enough to buy a volt meter or electricity calculator, you can even measure the amount of electricity you used while on your computer or laptop during the commission or work period. Again, cataloguing and keeping every minute detail is key to ensuring you aren’t called a BS’er. If you can prove it vital for your commission or work process and period, you may be able to deduct it. In the end, however, it’s best to consult a tax expert when it comes to what can and can’t be declared as a viable business expense. ==How much should I charge?== Pricing is subjective and should be based upon what your level of quality your product’s considered and what the market is currently offering for similar pieces. So, if you believe your work is slightly better than another (more popular) artist, and they’re priced above 100, you should try to keep simpler pieces under their least expensive work and increase the price a bit above their most expensive work for your more complicated pieces. Don’t be afraid to ask other artists, besides your friends and family, as to what you should price your work as, either. This can provide useful feedback as to whether or not you’re too expensive or not priced high enough. Reddit and deviantART have quite a few artists offering commissions, so check those two sites out and compare your commissions to others for more insight. ==How do I seek payment?== How you seek payment is ultimately up to you. You can use paypal, which is one of your more popular choices. This choice, like any choice, has its limits. You should educate yourself and look through their site’s FAQ page before making your decision. And, if they still allow you to remain semi-anonymous through the use of a business account, you can avoid some potential prying. Patreon is another viable choice; however another issue arises from the fact that a newer trend with such a service is “monthly art”. An artist creates a patreon and enters into a contract, of sorts, where they create monthly art for those who donate on a monthly basis. Depending on the amount donated, and by whom, different quality of art is provided. Gift cards for Amazon (or any other place) are also another form of payment, and while not technically taxable, it can cause the IRS to investigate you due to the uptick in purchases or money placed onto your Amazon account. Some will claim this isn’t possible, however with how Amazon acts at times, it may end up causing more harm than good for you and yourself. Crypto-currency is another option artists love to use, but without proper sanitization and research, exchanging them can lead to several issues with privacy to money being given for them. This route should not only be researched but also used by those who’re more tech-savvy than the common internet user. ==When do I seek payment?== Depending on the work, you can seek half before completion as a “security deposit” and then half once finished. You should honestly work this out with your customer. Sometimes they’ll be willing to pay more if you give them some leniency in payment while others simply will give you a vibe of someone willing to skip out because they feel like it. Payment and when to seek it should be up to not only you, but also the customer. Try to gain a feel as if they’re (the customer) is trustworthy enough, though, as to prevent wasted time and supplies. ==How do I attract customers?== Plain and simple: Kissing a lot of cheeks. In order to attract customers and gain some form of credibility, you’ll need to manage your PR and commit a certain amount of time, energy and supplies to networking. You need to get a name for yourself, your art or product, and basically have a “brand” for yourself. This means you have a blog solely dedicated to commissions. You don’t use your main blog or anything related to any other accounts. Your commission blog or website is dedicated solely to commissions and selling your art or product. You keep it completely isolated from everything else of yours, and while working on this blog and build your brand, you must keep to your Ps and Qs. You have to remain semi-professional, avoid being political, avoid racial and sexual epithets, and most of all the impossible: Try not to offend anyone. You also want to start “gifting” art to popular bloggers and popular internet personalities, like Youtubers or e-celebs. A simple image of them or their persona, posted on your blog and a link sent to them or placed in their comments is enough to get people to click and view your blog (and possibly purchase your services). Besides the above, another good way to get some attention to yourself and your commissions would be working diligently on your SEO; however the PB team will cover that in another PDF. ==How do I let customers contact me?== When you’re trying to take commissions, it’s a good, secure practice to have an email account set aside specifically for that purpose. This should be the only email address that you ever have available publicly. It should only ever be used for commissions. Creating this account may make this easier for you; however remember to make it look and sound professional. Another good reason for making a separate email address is simply because you’ll be able build a list of contacts and their information, which you can use to keep your personal or private communication separate from your professional and business communications. Never delete your emails, either. Simply create a folder system composed of two main folders. Name these two folders: Complete and not completed. Within these two main folders, create sub-folders with each client’s name. By doing this, you should now be able to save each and every email in their proper folders. This will also serve as a means of providing proof of purchase or agreement. This’ll help you during taxes and in case of any possible lawsuits. Be formal, yet professional in your correspondence with your clients, however don’t be too personal. Being somewhat impersonal and simply focusing on the job ahead is better than accidentally leaking something personal that can be used to blackmail you into doing something you don’t want to do. Learn that being somewhat emotional is also a good thing in your correspondence. Stating that you’re thrilled or excited with a certain job might net you extra commission work or a repeat customer. So, remember: Impersonal and formal, yet professional. You’re a person, not a robot. Finally, be descriptive when working with a customer. Some won’ t be able to fully communicate their ideas as much as you might be able to, so take your time and encourage them to try and explain everything as clear and descriptive as possible. Anything that seems awkward or out of place can be pointed out by you or them before the finalized product. Always make a quick “work sketch” to show them what you’re planning to see if they want to add or subtract anything before you’re completed. Never let your guard drop or portray yourself as being lesser than. Always hold yourself to the highest standard possible and try to complete the work for the customer in the highest possible quality. Never be afraid, though, to turn down a customer simply because their demands are too high for you and your current level of skill. ==How Do I Keep Track of My Commissions?== Quite simply make a list and keep as much detail as possible. I use a list similar to the one below, which I urge you to copy and paste into a text document and modify to your needs. Client’s Name: Ensure you list their “Real name/legal name” + their username that they contacted you under. Date of Hire: This isn’t the date they contacted, but the date you’ve officially agreed on the terms and received materials (if any) needed for the job. Contact Information: Their e-mail address + phone number or other information given to you to contact them at. Job Description: A short, precise description on what you’re doing, who you’re doing it for and for how much (E.G: A landscape for John Smith of their OC and game clan. Being paid $200 for the final product). Price: The agreed upon price between you and the client. Payment: How much money you’ve to date from this job. Good to keep in case you’ve been given money in advance or if your client has only paid partially and still owes you. Due Date: Agreed upon date the product is supposed to be finalized/finished and ready for pickup/to be sent. Completion Date: Date of completion. Good to have on hand in case you finish early and the client tries to weasel out of payment or tries to reduce the payment. Also good to have on hand in case the client has contacted you for adjustments or for something to be added or redacted. Fees: A detailed list of your fees that range from how much transaction fees cost you to shipping & handling or even how much you had to spend on a specific tool or program to complete the job. Final Amount: Once you subtract the fees from your payment, this is the final amount of just how much profit you actually made. (E.G: So instead of making 200 dollars, you had to spend 150 and only ended up with a 50 dollar profit.) Always keep this up-to-date and on hand for tax purposes. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, what you claim to be or your quality of work or skill level. Everyone has to pay their dues, including taxes. This is just the facts of living within the US, and most everywhere else. Everyone, if they make enough, has to pay a percentage to the state and other groups in order to be seen as conducting business legally. While a lot of people call it theft, the sad fact is that this is how society pays for welfare, certain charities, education and other similar items that a lot of people claim they support or want. The more people that exist within a certain area or in a country as a whole, the more resources are used and are needed. This means more taxes and less money you get to keep that you’ve earned. Voting a specific way or for a specific group will not lessen this, nor will converting fully to Communism or Socialism, or some other setup. There is no cure-all for taxes, as no matter what economic plan you follow, there’ll always be too many people needing help and care because they can’t exist, for whatever reason, in the current socio-economic climate. This is why you, as an artist, need to weigh your options. It may just be better, for you and your health, to move in with some friends or relatives and get a part time job at Starbucks or working as a night bartender. This isn’t meant to make fun of or say a certain economic plan can’t work, it’s just that the more people you have, the less resources everyone gets, and the more you have to give up to the state. There’ll never be an end to this fact of life—you have money, the government needs or wants it. You have to pay your taxes, no matter what. ================================================= Not Getting Your Privacy Destroyed The most careful artist can end up in a situation where they have half the internet breathing down their neck, usually around the same time as the yearly sale at the pitchfork emporium. It doesn’t matter who or what you are or what you said or drew, somehow the internet always finds a way to get upset. This is why you need to really, really think about whether or not having a name connected to your art, and growing out your ego, is worth the risk. No one likes to self-censor themselves because the feelings of others, and with how increasingly volatile a millennial’s emotional state becomes with age, an average artist feels like all they can do are images of kittens and puppies of a non-disclosed gender with some new-age sexuality sprinkled about for extra inclusiveness. No one wants to do that. Everyone wants their creative freedom to draw politically charged portraits of popular figures or to make an image of Mohammed having coitus with an anthropomorphic female pig with an equine penis, or some such nonsense like that to make a statement about corruption, politics or just the state of things. Sadly, this isn’t the 80s or 90s, but the 2000s. Unlike web 1.0 or a backwater BBS, or usenet before Eternal September, the internet will much sooner join a witch hunt for someone who may have offended some obscure minority group instead of actually trying to discern the facts from the lies. So this means you must really work toward the upkeep and health of your anonymity and privacy. You may think you’re the next Banksy or some other artist, and you may feel the urge to release your information and shout from the rooftops “I MADE THIS!” but it’ll only lead to some inexplicable group wanting you beheaded or simply just to ruin your life. This is why this chapter is dedicated to helping you ensure that you keep some semblance of anonymity in order to prevent you from getting your life or work threatened. Before we begin, however, I urge you to check out the Paranoid’s Bible’s Library, once again, for their OPSEC PDF. It contains some useful information meant to help lessen your overall risk. Remember: The less people know, the less you have to worry. To further help you, however, I’ll post a series of some tips and tricks I’ve picked up on my adventures through art and posting it online. ==Everyone has a tell, including you== Everyone has a tell or trait that can be attributed as being only theirs. For artist, however, this is much easier to figure out than for a normal person. Sometimes it’ll be how an artist draws a certain appendage, or a trademark little curve in the nose, or even something as simple as how they draw trees or hide something within an image. Try to gauge what your tell may be, for if you can’t find your own tell, then working on a secondary style for posting more volatile works won’t work and inevitably lead back to you and your other works. Try to sanitize your styles of certain traits, like the reddening of cheeks where it isn’t needed. The more you can learn about your own style and tells, the easier it’ll be for you to avoid when using a style that’s different from your main. ==Learn to clean your EXIF data== As I stated earlier in this PDF, look at the EXIF data guide by the PB. People can learn if an image was made by you or not simply by comparing EXIF data of two or more images. This is especially troublesome if an artist tends to do more digital works than traditional works. The program you favor could inject its own data, like its name and program version, which can then be used to compare against your other works. If you’re like many artists, though, and you constantly recommend programs to your followers and fans, then it’ll be even easier to discern whether or not an image was done by you or not through EXIF data. If you follow the PB’s PDF on EXIF data, you can actually wipe most if not all images clean and even go as far as to modify the EXIF data with your own information that you choose, like for instance you can leave a note stating if you made it or not. This would be beneficial for your main works, actually, to help you advertise yourself. Some artists actually edit their images’ EXIF data to include their penname, main blog and commission info, even. So, really, outside of cleaning your images… it’s up to you as to whether or not you want to modify your EXIF data. ==Keep yourself limited== Limit what you put out there, outside of your art. You don’t need to give your full name, location, age or sexual preference. This can only be used to flesh out a dossier of information about you. If you need to give a name, either use a penname or look into simply going by your last name. You don’t need to do podcasts or talk on the phone, email communication and a blog are plenty enough. You don’t need to provide an image of yourself or state your ethnicity or race, either. Remember the simple mantra of: Keep It Simple Stupid. K.I.S.S. The less people know of you, the less they can do to harm you. ==AVOID EROTIC COMMISSIONS== Erotic commissions, especially furry ones, can be a good source of quick income and repeat purchasers, regardless of quality at times. A lot of people are simply grateful that someone would entertain the idea of producing a visual aide of their kinky, sometimes criminally insane depictions of their fantasies. While many artists don’t think this could be a problem, it rarely ever ends in good news. There are multiple issues with doing erotic commissions, and while your more popular porn artists will say how great and progressive their works are, the truth is you’re going to get doxed. For whatever reason, erotic commissions and porn artists are a magnet for internet drama, regardless of their original intentions. It could be something as simple as a concern troll being a catalyst for a digital crusade to someone being so obsessed with a character (waifu) that a simple paid commission, to them, is seen as rape or the character cheating on them. This is such an issue, for some people, that some will only do erotic commissions of original characters. There’s also the fact that some people are so detailed in their commissions, it turns out they’re having a porn image created of a real person that they know in reality. If you do, for whatever reason, end up doing erotic commissions… invent an entirely new persona, style and set of information. Keep this series of commissions, persona and account completely isolated and separated from your other accounts and personas. You don’t want this to ever come back to you, in any way, whatsoever. Always use a different username and password! One of the simplest forms of OPSEC outside of using different email addresses for each account, however it needs to be said over and over again. Seriously, use a different password and username for each and every one of your accounts. If you don’t, you’ll end up with your information tracked down faster than you can realize your mistake. Inevitable doxing aside, some people will simply sit on this information till you’re at your most vulnerable and utterly decimate your social status offline and online. ==NEVER REBLOG OR ADVERTISE YOUR OTHER BLOGS OR ACCOUNTS== The best planned persona and blog can be completely destroyed, especially one dedicated to erotic commissions, if its owner reblogs or advertises it through their main or non-erotic blog or account. Many think they can simply advertise or reblog their own content from another blog to gain more commissions or views, yet they don’t realize the danger in doing so. Always keep your accounts, blogs, users… everything… separated. You mustn’t cross contaminate your information with another set, ever. This can lead to not only be doxed but, yet again as previously stated, the end of your social status or even trust. ==Avoid social media== Seriously, outside of a blog, social media can only hinder your privacy and security. Avoid using Facebook and similar sites, their benefits are outweighed by the potential damage. You may think it’ll boost your views and potential commissions; however it leaves a near non-removable trail of information and data that can be used to profile you and track your other information down. Twitter may not be that damaging, however tweets are always archived near instantly by several 3rd party sites. Remember: Keep. It. Simple. Stupid. ==Sanitize your Whois if you have a site== Easiest way for an artist to get doxed, or their information saved up for a rainy day raid, is for them to forget to sanitize their site’s Whois. Check to see if your host or Registar offers a service before looking toward a 3rd party service. Godaddy, among several others, offer the service right off the bat whereas some others require you to ask. Do your research; ensure your site’s Whois is clean of your information. ==Avoid using anything that’s local== Doing a commission, locally, for a business, friend or family isn’t a problem. Doing it online or sprinkling references to local sights, attractions or events, though, is a problem and can lead to someone’s interest piquing and them becoming interested enough to investigate you and your information. Never, ever, post anything or draw anything directly to your city or state. It doesn’t matter how small you think it is, don’t cross contaminate your works with anything from your area unless it’s for a local commission and done offline. Also avoid basing anything too much on your experiences. Don’t recycle names of real people, which you know, in your art. Don’t recycle mascots or similar things in your art. Don’t recycle local customs or cuisines. If you do, do so in such an obscured and generalized fashion that it can’t be traced back to you. Think about stripping something down to its base and then rebuilding it in such a way that it’s generalized and represents the entire state and not your city or a local establishment. An example would be gumbo and how people think of the South and Louisiana. ==Separate your lives== If you had parents that actually loved you, then you’ll have heard the adage of “When you leave this house, you represent this family!” or something similar to it. This adage rings doubly true when it comes to capturing that elusive unicorn called a "A job in the industry" (Read: running Nintendo's Twitter PR account). If you somehow struck a deal with Satan or killed a deity, and gained a job with Disney or some other major figurehead of a company, be aware that you need to keep not only your home life separated from your business life, but also your internet life. All three lives should be completely separated from each other. Never let them touch or you can potentially have your family dragged into some internet drama. All in all, it’s simple OPSEC and common sense. As long as you keep your wits about you and treat every account and commission as its own separate entity, no one should be able to pickup on who you are or your information. However, don’t be lazy and complacent. The moment you think you’re safe is the moment someone will find a piece of information to toy with and exploit in order to gain access to further information about you. Keep it simple and keep it separated. ================================================= Afterword Art is meant to be fun and exciting, not droll and tedious. If you don’t feel a spark and suddenly feel pressured into doing art, then you shouldn’t be doing it. Find something else or you risk losing your creativity altogether, and honestly look into doing an actual job that doesn’t require you putting yourself in a constant state of panic over quality. Even if you’re a coffee jockey, it’ll be more relaxing and easier on you than tearing your hair out over deadlines. Commissions aren’t for everyone and the stress of deadlines, quality and competition can lead to you despising art. You’ll find yourself embittered and angry at the slightest perceived wrong, which can lead to you upsetting some community or another that’ll plan your downfall. Art, like the internet, shouldn’t be taken so seriously. Enjoy it and learn to let political nonsense and money not affect your creativity. Don’t censor yourself because you’re afraid of losing commissions or not being popular enough. Do the art and styles you want, yet remember that like everything else you need practice, patience and an actual spark to do it. Seriously, though, go work at a restaurant or at a supermarket. It’ll be a stable paycheck at least and you won’t end up burning your art supplies and/or tablet in a fit of rage.

#artist #artists #security #privacy #opsec #anti dox #anti doxx #infosec #commissions #commission

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State of Delhi education: 53,000 students play truant in

Nine-year- antique Kashish, a resident of I Block Jahagirpuri, doesn’t understand which popular she genuinely researchers in. It’s now not that she is just too young to recollect the info. The reality is that she has no longer been to high school for over six months.

A student of municipal organization’s Pratibha Vidyalaya in Jahangirpuri, Kashish became promoted to Class four in April through the college authority despite the fact that she didn’t appear for Class three assessments. According to teachers, as consistent with the Right to Education Act 2009 no baby should be held again or required to bypass a board exam till Class 8.

“Her dad and mom students work in factories education and depart her domestic to look State

after the more youthful brother. She is a shrewd child and we don’t want her to give up research but we are able to do something. I contacted her mother and father but now they have stopped responding to my calls. I had also sent her classmates to discover the motives,” said her elegance trainer Sneh Lata Verma.

The baby’s father, Radhey Shyam, said he didn’t assume it was important to ship Kashish to school.

“We have been going to our village in Bareilly often so she couldn’t cross to school. Also, she isn’t getting to know whatever unique right here so there is no factor sending her. We will manipulate her admission in a private faculty,” he said.

On the other hand, Class four scholar Sneha Khatun at MCD Primary School, Munirak Village, has been lacking school because the college authority has refused to take her in Class 5 because of long absenteeism.

“I moved to Delhi from Kolkata looking for work three years returned and got Sneha enrolled in Class 2. But couldn’t give a lot of attention to her research because I become a single parent and had every other infant to attend to. Last yr, when my father turned into sick, I had to cross again to Kolkata for a long term and once I came back the faculty refused to take her lower back,” Sneha’s mom, Sultana Bibi, stated from Kolkata.

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Delhi airport wants to growth passenger security charge to clean CISF dues

Ask for a receipt if requested to pay rate for extra luggage at Delhi airport However, the zonal training officer refuted the expenses and promised to inspect the matter. “We don’t delete a pupil’s name until a proper utility comes from the parents,” stated the reliable.

The instances highlight the truth that no matter the claims of municipal

corporations to introduce ‘modern’ measures to uplift education and growth students’ power in schools, absenteeism and dropout quotes stay high.

As according to the MCD information in 2016-17, fifty-three,100 college students enrolled with the number one colleges in 3 municipal businesses have not attended the academic classes for up to two years.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) alone has diagnosed 26,000 students while 17, one hundred college students belong to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. About 10,000 students are enrolled in primary schools in the South Corporation.

According to a senior EDMC legitimate, “The attendance in MCD colleges is by no means over 65%. Out of 2.04 lakh college students related to EDMC colleges in 2016-17, only 1.78 lakh have been every day. This manner 26,000 remained absent for six months to 2 years.”

Until May 10, 2017, the power had, in addition, come down to 1.56 lakh.

Declining enrollment charge is another trouble bothering faculty government. During 2016-17, the enrollment fee was -6% for the 3 agencies. Officials believe the share will come down further as extra admissions take location until the month of August.

As in step with reviews of Praja Foundation, the enrollment fee was -2 % in 2015-sixteen and -4% in 2014-15.

“We are trying our level first-class to bridge the space. But at the same time, we are able to forestall kids from going to Delhi Government’s Sarvodaya Schools, which have introduced nursery instructions as properly. Similarly, the mushrooming English medium schools additionally attract dad and mom,” said the reliable from South Corporation.

But NGOs operating within the discipline of training deny the claims. “The fact is that instructors don’t put efforts to discover the motives while kids do no longer come to colleges. In excessive situations, they simply ship other students to discover the purpose. Ideally, they have to move in for my part and if that fails to get consequences, the matter has to be raised in the college tracking committees,” said Saurabh Sharma from Josh NGO.

According to Sharma, the gaps were highlighted when the exercise to attach college students’

Aadhar cards with their financial institution debts started out in 2016. The civic agencies have thus far connected the money owed of 75% college students with Aadhar numbers.

As in keeping with norms, for every 35 kids, there ought to be one teacher. “But there are instances wherein 20 students are present in one magnificence at MCD schools. And instructors fearful of having transferred to now not record the absent students of their elegance,” stated Divya Prabhakar, the former fellow at Teach for India.

According to specialists, the problems gained be taken care of out unless first-class of training and facilities might improve in these colleges.

The prevailing view of the authors of this time period was that one should submit to misfortunes, both as a form of obedience to God’s will, and because these seeming misfortunes are ultimately intended for one’s own good. Progress for our people with disabilities was hard to come by at this time with this way of thinking permeating our society, literature, and thinking.

So, what was the society to do about these people of misfortune? Well, during much of the nineteenth century, and early in the twentieth, professionals believed individuals with disabilities were best treated in residential facilities in rural environments. An out of sight out of mind kind of thing, if you will…

However, by the end of the nineteenth century, the size of these institutions had increased so dramatically that the goal of rehabilitation for people with disabilities just wasn’t working. Institutions became instruments for permanent segregation.

I have some experience with these segregation policies of education. Some of it is good and some of it is not so good. You see, I have been a self-contained teacher on and off throughout the years in multiple environments in self-contained classrooms in public high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. I have also taught in multiple special education behavioral self-contained schools that totally separated these troubled students with disabilities in managing their behavior from their mainstream peers by putting them in completely different buildings that were sometimes even in different towns from their homes, friends and peers.

Over the years many special education professionals became critics of these institutions mentioned above that separated and segregated our children with disabilities from their peers. Irvine Howe was one of the first to advocate taking our youth out of these huge institutions and to place out residents into families. Unfortunately, this practice became a logistical and pragmatic problem and it took a long time before it could become a viable alternative to institutionalization for our students with disabilities.

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