I am offering free striping to any who want it. Hopefully I can load the right pics (low resolution) I just want a varied group of cars and lines I can do. Erron 916-443-5391 Haters Car club
I'm not sure how other stripers feel, but this is my opinion on "freebie work"....if you GIVE your striping away, you're taking food off the table of other stripers in your area. You haveta charge SOMETHING for your work or you're essentially cutting the throats of people that make their living striping. Something to think about...it could be you someday....
I am gonna be up in San Francisco for a 2 day tiki bar crawl in late march. I'll trade you art for art. Hate for you to do the work for free.
Your work is much too nice to give away. And by giving it away,you are devaluing the work of every other Pinstriper who has spent years learning how to do quality work,and earn a living. Ask Caffeine about giving work away,he almost didn't come home from Florida last year after promising free work. It's one way to get known,for all the wrong reasons. Anyone who can afford a nice ride,that deserves some nice Stripes, can afford to pay a few bucks for quality work. And last time I checked,materials still cost money. If you don't need the money,send it to your favorite charity. Or send it to me.
barnett has a very good point. but it also raises some other questions... do you think that your work is not good enough to charge for??? it looks good (as much as i can tell from the microscopic pictures.) and even if you don't charge the "going rate" for the striping, you should be charging something to cover the cost of your supplies if nothing else. if you are giving away your services, then you will become the guy who is known to stripe for free, and everyone and their brother will be wanting anything they can find striped by you ....for free. if you are looking to build a portfolio, then do some networking...hang out at all the car shows, sell some panels, and bottles like in the pics. people love that shit. people WILL pay for decent work. i haven't been striping that long and i've had the opportunity to stripe some awesome cars. be reasonable with your prices, be fair to yourself with the prices you charge, and do the best job you can. if people like your work, then you'll be busy enough striping CUSTOMERS cars that you'll have a hell of a portfolio built up in no time. i'm done yammering. kritz
Its a mistake that too many of us make when we first start out and beleive me,with all of the stigma about drunkenness,eccentricity and the "out there nature of stripres",the last thing you need to do is devalue yourself and have people talking about the guy that stripes for free. It dont make you look good.I have dealt with all of the above and reguardless of the quality of your work,most people dont know the difference between a top flite pro and a beginner. Your only as good as you portray yourself to be.There are people who would have their car striped by a beginner just because he or she acts like a pro .than a superb striper who conducts himself in an unprofessional manor,I have very good friends who firmly believe that the way you promote youself and build a "name" is more important than the quality of your work. With the lack of promotion and business sense that I had in my beginning years,its a miricle I make a living striping today reguardless of how good the work is or isnt.
You need to charge 'something' for your time & supplies, even if it's below the going rate...don't sell yourself short. It took me a LONG time to start selling my picture's, and even now when folk buy them, I am pleasantly surprised, as I still think of it as a hobby rather than a source of income. Think about it, and work out some prices, as mentioned above, its a way to get yourself known for the wrong reason's. Offer a HAMB discount by all means, but you gotta charge something. Dave
I don't charge, but at times have been forced to take payment. And have done so reluctantly. I do not make my livelihood from striping, I do it for my pleasure. This is all I am going to say on this subject, because I have very strong views as to why I don't ask for payment. However I do respect those that do charge a fair amount for their services ( I've seen a lot of overcharging ) and for those that make their livelihood from lining and lettering! Geoff aka Whodaky
I agree with these guys, you need to charge something. i know i have alot of money in supplies, i don't really want to give away my investment or my talent for nothing. i see the 916 area code. are you going to be at autorama? if so stop by the poorboys area and say hi. i would like to see some of your work in person. maybe we could compare ideas and styles.
i think its really kool that u offer ur service for free either to get more experience or just as a show of kindness to other hambers......or maybe just to get feed back on ur work......nice work too!.....wish i was futher north ...if i was i would totally take u up on the offer
hey...before you take the great advice being given to you by the hambers....you can free stripe my car. haaaa I am picking up a 53 caddy on Wed. We should set up. Maybe get some dash work done. but the advice they are giving is correct. I am a graphic designer and when you start out it is so hard to get pricing right. You're new so you want to get known. Getting out there means doing lots of work. Easier to do lots of work when you're cheap or free. Problem is...too low of a price and people will think you have cheap skills...you know. I have that problem with my design abilities. So maybe do hook ups for people that you know. Hambers. Car clubs. Stuff like that. Charge reasonable prices for regular customers and what not. I know guys that do that with things like Window Tinting and Clear bra applications for newer cars. They hook up car clubs. get good reputations and nicer cars to show off their work...and charge higher/normal prices for regular customers. Like my wrx..I got my windows..all 7 tinted for $185. Prime job. Dude charges twice that to regular customers. But I've referred probably 10 cars to him. Pays for itself. Once again..I'm seeing already that the HAMB folks know their isht.
I would agree in cities and anywhere in california. but is some parts of the country, there are no pinstripers for hundreds and hundreds of miles. But i'd say there is tons in california. so you got a good point here. I know in my parents county of brevard florida even though there are tons of old timers with hot rods, only one pinstriper, and he just moved there a year ago. out of a population of 30,0000 or more. i think some people start out doing it for free because they need practice. it's almost necessary.
Hey, the point of charging and why is well taken I am sure. But that applies to everything not just pinstriping. I think thats great you offer your work for free, thats your decision. I work on cars and help out people all the time. I don't expect anything except they provide the parts. I like to help out, however if they offer me more I graciously thank them and except. Satin
i think some people start out doing it for free because they need practice. it's almost necessary. __________________ If you need pracctice, find pieces of scrap metal or buy metal/aluminum /wood/plexi/glass blanks and stripe them. After you stripe the "practice" item you can either give to a friend as a gift or trade it for something you want/need or sell it for cold, hard cash. I'm not gonna say I NEVER give away work...but if I do give it away, I give it to a friend that has hooked me up with something. Example...Crease has a couple of "freebie" pieces from me...but he's taken care of me with parts. I still owe him, as far as I'm concerned.
i wonder where safarinut is on this post??? ray has TONS of experience and could offer some wisdom here as well. mr. barnett is no slouch either!!! another suggestion, is to stripe up some panels, and post them in the classifieds for trade. not only will your name be getting out there, but you will get a cool piece in trade to further inspire you. also, trading with stripers could be beneficial as well, a striper in georgia has a friend in california who wants to get some lines laid. he thinks of you because he has a cool panel that he traded ya...bada boom bada bing...you're striping a car.
yeah, i want to start practicing on objects that are not flat like when you stripe a car but what could i use? do you guys go to junk yards for round stuff? or just things your neighbors throw away?
If you get the flat stuff figured out, the curved stuff will be hardly any different. If you get the composition down, and the line consistancy (sp?) wired it won't matter too much WHERE you put the paint. I practiced on my own cars when I thought I was ready to start striping cars. I had a TON of flames on my Chevy p.u...by the time I finished outlining them, the brush was good and broken in AND i was feeling a lot more confident about my abilities. If you're dead set on practicing on curved sufaces...mailboxes are curved AND you can sell them or trade them after you're done. Maybe the local junkyard will let you practice on some cars.
If you want to some striping for free do a auction for the Hamb then this place benefits and you get your name out there.I agree that you have to charge something for your work,it looks pretty good to me!
When I picked up a brush 10 years ago I thought I got pretty good to charge. I had a little econo box that I primed and flamed from front to back. Got one job, my first because of someone seeing it in a parking lot. Charged the guy $50 and it took my about eight hours! After that experience I became an after dark, locked in my garage stripper until I felt comfortable enough with my ability. Your stuff looks good enough to charge for. Go for it. Even if it's for a six pack
in order to get your name out, there are a couple of strategies i used.... 1. stripe lots of stuff, take lots of pics (read: clear, large, quality hosted pics), post in the HAMB friday art show and put your name and phone number in the signature line 1 1/2. take those same photos over to www.pinheadlounge.com (free hosting) and fill out an artist profile. 2. print up a bunch of business cards and throw them in every open window and under every wiper blade at every show. 2 1/2. take the same cards and set up out of the trunk of your car at shows, cruises, etc. start striping your hood or trunk. take lots of doo-dads and panels and just start striping. it WILL draw a crowd, and people WILL ask you to do some work or at least for a card. if your car cant make it on the grounds for whatever reason, get one of your buddies to sacrifice his car for the cause. 3. try and set up jobs prior to shows (even if its just for lunch or whatever)that way you're working as soon as you get there. good luck.
I think an old hood is a good thing to start on ... Make sure the paint on it isn't too ruff, throw it on a set of horses and go to town. A hood will give you plenty of room for long stripes and patterns. With a little thinner you can use it like a chalk board. Starting to learn on to small of an object I feel is a mistake .... its harder to work free, learn how to handle the brush and you can't work on long consistent lines.
you really should charge...people will pay. i have done some work for free,but it was for some good people and friends.usually they hook me up too...karma everyone is their own worst critic,so don't sell yourself short...get paid
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