For some reason someone got offended by my low poly weapons

Joshua Godwin

So someone recommended that I send emails of whatever I've made recently to people I've worked with (I haven't worked with anyone in game art but I've done a few random 3d jobs for clients.) Anyways I've been doing that about once every month or two. Today I send out an email to everyone showing the Tar21 and recon knife that I recently made. <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nPKEO" title="Link: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nPKEO">https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nPKEO</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/amRWL" title="Link: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/amRWL">https://www.artstation.com/artwork/amRWL</a>

So anyways I get a response from someone I did some simple jewelry design for. This was the response: "i found your E-Mail quite insensitive especially for the current time."

I'm just like wtf, how is it insensitive? Is everyone really so pc that just pictures of guns are now offensive? Is there something I'm missing?

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel

some people hate sculpts of hot chicks, some people hate models of guns. what can you do. wankers gonna wank 

sacboi

So anyways I get a response from someone I did some simple jewelry design for. This was the response: "i found your E-Mail quite insensitive especially for the current time."

I'm just like wtf, how is it insensitive? Is everyone really so pc that just pictures of guns are now offensive? Is there something I'm missing?

Yeah, to put it simply is, Context.

...it's quite a leap for that particular recipient to make (jewellery design to military spec ordinance?!!) hence your email flying high overhead. So perhaps some clarity would've helped. 

JordanN

I still think it's important to be receptive to criticism. It become haphazard to treat all offensiveness as "pc culture" instead of trying to judge the context for yourself.

Does that mean all criticism is valid? That's subjective.

Joshua Godwin

@sacboi This isn't the first email I've sent that person. I've sent the work I've done on characters, guns, etc. before. Also jewelry design wasn't something I normally do and they knew that at the time.

Joshua Godwin

@JordanN criticism is fine but they didn't say at all what was offensive about it or what they meant by "especially for the current time."

Marshkin

Honestly? Ignore it and move on with your life instead of making a stink about it. Go make some more art. 

sacboi

Ah! I see, probably caught them on an off day.

Also bear in mind what with the Vegas mass shooting and the heightened sensitivities too recent lone wolf terrorist linked incidents, they may have a valid point - just say'n. 

kanga

Put the email on your  'dont mail list' and get back to makin stuff.

JEmerson

I understand the purpose of demonstrating continued activity to previous clients and peers, however, I think you would be better served by being more specific about what you email and to whom (e.g., jewelry related items to jewelers, game art to game artists/studios, etc . . .). This way you avoid any type of cross-over issue and contextual issue in the first place (and it does not cost you anything extra to do so).

ambelamba

Well, Scott Robertson's book on basic drawing skill got a hilarious review on Amazon, saying that the book needs more peaceful subjects...

danr

Oh come on, it's hardly a difficult one to grasp, is it?

 Any time could be the wrong time to randomly send anyone you don't know well pictures of anything - it could be anything 'innocent', a gun, a shark,  a wedding photo, a parachute,  or a picture of your smiling baby who actually made it to their first birthday. And it clearly was a wrong time and a wrong image, it's not for anyone to pass judgement on the reaction you got. 

Dealing with the fallout is basic human empathy, and if you were so inclined you could follow up with a simple 'sorry' message instead of crying victim on the internet. Tch! 

jStins

danr said:

a parachute

You jerk! 

I'm a little more curious about the advice to continually email new work to previous clients. That seems a bit tacky (regardless of them getting 'offended' or not) unless it relates directly to the type of work you've done for them in the past. Otherwise just maintain your personal portfolio, artstation, post work to twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc... 

Joshua Godwin

@danr I don't know  where you got the "crying victim" idea. I just thought it was interesting that people are now offended by game art.

@jStins yea I'm still not sure how I feel about the whole email idea. The idea is that if they end up needing something or knowing someone who might need something similar that they'll remember you. Not sure if they'll end up remembering me for the right reasons though

Larry

I know i know... It's because you had a "black" version for your gun. You should use the words "darker color tone" :P or that might also be offensive. Maybe try with "normal gun" and "normal gun v2"

Joshua Godwin said:

@danr I don't know  where you got the "crying victim" idea. I just thought it was interesting that people are now offended by game art.

@jStins yea I'm still not sure how I feel about the whole email idea. The idea is that if they end up needing something or knowing someone who might need something similar that they'll remember you. Not sure if they'll end up remembering me for the right reasons though

Also, bad reputation is reputation too :P

ysalex

Just being honest, the email thing is weird. They are your old clients, probably best to have a more professional relationship than spamming them randomly. It would make me less likely to work with you again.

Mark Dygert

It's not your job to manage the hangups of every other human on the planet. Some people aren't going to like what you make, or they aren't going to "get it" and you need to be ok with that. You make whatever you want. You put it out there and they react however they want. 

With that said, you need to manage your audiences/clients better. I don't think you should be spamming everyone you know to go check out your new stuff. If they subscribe, great but don't just hit up everyone in your contacts, that's pretty janky.

Joshua Godwin

@Larry @Mark Dygert @ysalex well looks like I should stop the emailing thing then

Joopson

Game artists are used to seeing 3D guns everywhere. Architects, Jewelers, product designers; for them, it isn't just an inevitable part of working in their industry. I don't think it's any surprise that a client unused to seeing 3D guns so often would be a little offput receiving a picture of a rifle a few days after a major mass shooting. It doesn't matter if it's logical or not, or "pc culture" or not; it's how the client felt. So apologize, and try to empathize.

And yeah, another vote for the emailing recent work thing being a bad idea in the first place. Feels spam-like, which is never a good thing.

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel

danr said:

Dealing with the fallout is basic human empathy, and if you were so inclined you could follow up with a simple 'sorry' message

Joopson said:

So apologize, and try to empathize.

worth considering that the psychic vampire in question made no effort to empathize with our fellow artist here when they fired off their temper tantrum. 

the trivially offended make dangerous associates. they make their own emotional state into your responsibility. best to associate with higher people, more noble, less prone to dramatics.

just don't bite the hand that feeds you... or the hand that talks to the hand that feeds you... or the hand that you might need to feed you one day.

Joopson

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel said:
worth considering that the psychic vampire in question made no effort to empathize with our fellow artist here when they fired off their temper tantrum. 

Also worth considering that the email in question, from Joshua, was unsolicited. Had someone emailed him out of the blue about guns on his website, I'd totally 100000% agree with you. But when you email someone something, you're the one who's responsible for the situation, not them.

Like in science, how the burden of proof is on the person making the claim. The burden of empathy/whatever is on the emailer, not the emailed.

Not saying the person's reaction was reasonable, just saying it's not for us to judge.

Jonas Ronnegard

Yeah I think the people that recommended you to send these emails was ill informed, first time I ever heard of anyone doing this and would seem a bit weird, maybe not something to get angry about but yeah considering normal people would get way angrier if someone sent them something with sexual content, which is more natural and less wrong in any other way then something used to kill people, so maybe you got away easy.

Markmars

I looked at your portfolio.

"Offended"

because...

You can really do better and texture and render.

This should help.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6FRkGCUg3NXut5qGOdgYg

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/dGqOA

Good luck!