A Rizal-based artist shared of having an exchange with an individual who sent him a Bible verse when he brought up the topic of monetary compensation in exchange for a portrait commission.
Chaboy Dela Cruz, who also calls himself “Human Printer,” on May 1 shared screenshots of his conversation with a female Facebook user who asked him to draw a portrait of her selfie.
The Facebook user initially sent him two selfies and sought his opinion on which one looked better.
When Dela Cruz answered, the woman told him to make a drawing out of it.
The woman added that she will wait for it by Wednesday.
The artist clarified if the Facebook user would pay, to which the latter responded, as edited for clarity: “Kailangan ba?”
The Facebook user then sent a Bible verse in Filipino, particularly from the Magandang Balita Biblia, citing an excerpt from Chapter 13, Verse 5 of Mga Hebreo.
“Huwag kayong magmukhang pera; at masiyahan na kayo sa anumang nasa inyo,” the message reads.
“‘Nak, [huwag] mong hayaang isangla ang kaluluwa [mo kay] Satanas [para lang] sa kapirasong pera,” the Facebook user said to him.
“‘Nak” is short for “anak.” However, in a separate post, Dela Cruz said that he doesn’t personally know the Facebook user.
“Ay, hindi naman po sa [ganoon], need po talaga natin magbayad kapag magpapagawa po tayo ng portrait (smiling face emoji). Puwede ko naman po kayo bigyan ng discount, ‘wag lang po free,” the artist responded to the woman’s message.
The Facebook user continued to urge Dela Cruz to create a drawing out of her selfie and added that she would “pray over” him.
The artist said that he posted snippets of the conversation online to make them “aware” that artists do not work for free.
“Hindi po libre ang ganitong profession, and also, hindi rin po natin pwedeng gamitin ang salita ng Diyos para sa mga bagay na wala namang kabuluhan,” he said to the Pilipino Star Ngayon Daily.
A day after, Dela Cruz updated his followers by sharing new screenshots of some of their exchange.
“[Dami] mo ‘nak customer ah,” she wrote to him. “Magkano [ba]. Nahiya ako sa [follower] mo.”
The artist explained that his initial post about their conversation went viral, adding that his clients increased because of the incident.
“So ida-drawing ko na po kayo [nang] libre,” he said with a smiling face emoji.
“Tama ‘yan, anak. ‘Yan ang anak ng Diyos,” the Facebook user responded to him. “Teka ‘nak, may ise-send ako.”
Dela Cruz asked in jest if it would be another Bible verse.
The woman said no and then sent him another selfie. She changed her initial request and told him to draw the latest one that was sent instead.
The artist granted her request but reminded her to give compensation if she wanted to avail of the service of an individual.
“Basta po sana next time po, need po natin magbayad kapag kinakailangan po natin ‘yung serbisyo ng iba,” Dela Cruz said with a smiling face emoji.
“And hangga’t maaari po, ‘wag na po sana natin gamitin ‘yung mga salita ng Diyos sa mga walang kabuluhang bagay,” he added with the same emoji.
“Ok, ‘nak. [Pasensiya na],” the Facebook user responded.
In an interview with Balita.net, Dela Cruz said that he does not personally know the online user who made the request, despite the latter’s usage of “‘nak.”
“Hindi ko po siya kilala personally. Noong una po, akala ko kliyente po siya na magpapagawa ng portrait, pero ‘di po ata siya aware na may bayad po ang ganitong profession,” he told the news outlet.
In 2018, actor Jameson Blake was called out for requesting artwork in exchange for a “shoutout.”
The incident enraged some graphic designers who perceived it to be exploitative as they argued that their work and services do not come for free.
An Instagram user also brought back the situation to him: “Lol, tawag sa ginawa mo ‘taking advantage.’ Shout out kaya ibayad sa’yo ng ABS, matutuwa ka? Lol ka, ‘lam mo ‘yon?”
ABS refers to ABS-CBN, Jameson’s network.
RELATED: Jameson Blake called out for soliciting artwork in exchange for ‘shoutout’
A digital creative studio said artists should be paid for their services because “the skills to firstly generate the ideas, then accurately execute the design solutions, should not be undervalued.”
“Everybody is creative on some level (believe this or not) but, like any profession, it takes time and a great deal of committed practise to be able to master this skill set,” Argon Design said on its website.
“Good design isn’t just a mark on paper, paired with a pretty font. It comes laced with strategy, guidance, education and quality application to complete an overall brand,” it added.