#storytime madlibs

[softestvirgil]

hi just found your blog - i dont interact much with TS stuff but you have very nice opinions and HOO BOY. reading through all this has reminded me. so I worked on the animated Storytime Madlibs and if you want the full rant of that i will happily explain all the drama that happened there, but the whole thing of Sanders Sides being used to string the fanbase along is totally a recurring motif with Fosterdawg (Thomas' company). They love to dangle promises in front of their audience and never deliver. They're stringing people along with Sanders Sides to keep their audience, and dancing Thomas in front of (young) fans to work for them without having to compensate people for their work - with projects like the animated Madlibs or things like the Writer's Room, which actually happened around the same exact time (the patreon launched just before the Madlibs video), which makes me wonder if it was just a business model they decided to start using then, since they told us part of the reason we were paid so little was that they were struggling financially.

I haven't kept up much with TS content since then, given most of us were left with a sour taste in our mouths after the project, but I'm not surprised to hear the content has continued to go downhill.

I cannot believe he and his team did that. It’s absolutely disgusting. Ever since I found out that none of you were properly compensated for your work on the madlibs video I haven’t seen Thomas or his content the same way.

#ts crit #ts criticism #ts critical

[thatsthat24]

NEW VIDEO: You All Ruined a Bunch of Fairy Tales - StoryTime Madlibs ✨ I am GEEKING out about this video... we got the help of a TON of artists to bring the stories you all messed up to life! Enjoy!! https://youtu.be/Ag1aG7D3jn0

#TSvlogs #Storytime Madlibs #Little Mermaid #Sleeping Beauty #Rapunzel #Tangled

[youtuberswithalex]

Hi, everyone

I haven’t been on here in a while, but I see my video has been making its rounds here as well as Twitter. (I’m Prince Alex by the way, for anyone who might not know). I really want to thank you folks for taking the time to discuss what’s going on and try to get the team’s attention.

A couple of things that have happened since I posted the video:

-Quil has blocked me on Twitter -One of the animators never received their payment -We received confirmation that the team knew they were underpaying us-- BEFORE they asked for animators a second time.

I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen right now. Hopefully, we can get the attention of Thomas to get some sort of response, or at least a response to the email the team claimed they were working on a month ago.

Thank you again for the support, and for the help. Y’all are amazing. But let’s keep it going!

#storytime madlibs #thomas sanders #prince alex

[sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes]

Hey about the stuff about the animators for the story time Mad Libs that came out recently, just in case:

I will say I'm a lil bit icky about Sanders Sides at the moment

But do not worry about anything happening to this blog. If any more bad things come out similar to this, there's a chance I'll stopped posting about the show for a little bit (an even smaller chance that I'll stop talking about it at all) if nothing is resolved.

But, this blog (and other ones like @analogical-loving-years) will not be deleted even if I stop posting. I'm way too proud of the stuff on here to put it in the trash lol

#analogical mention #sanders sides #storytime madlibs #because someone in the replies said the experience wws kinda triggering them and wanted that tagged for them #which is completely fine!

[storytimediscourse]

Hello All!

We are a group of folks trying to have an open and honest discussion about the way we were treated while working on the Storytime Madlibs video. We are not looking for better treatment/pay for us, we want those that work with Fosterdawg in the future to be treated fairly. The goal is NOT to cancel these creators. Do not attack Thomas or any member of his team, and do not spread misinformation. If you have any questions/comments, please send us your thoughts! 

#thomas sanders #thomassanders #thatsthat24 #storytimemadlibs #storytime madlibs #storytimediscourse

[carryondrawing]

Hello, I worked on the MadLibs storytime animation project for Thomas Sanders and I wanted to let people know about what happened from my perspective. The rest is under the cut:

TL;DR: I got paid $1.22 a second! Apparently everyone else was paid $1.80 (can someone confirm this please?). This was my first paid work and I didn't know how much pay was fair. I worked on 8 second of animation and got £7.27 from 10+ hours worth of work. I'm not upset at Thomas, I'm upset that I'm only just realising that I was not treated fairly. Please message me if you have any questions or want to talk about the issue further.

I applied for the position the first time, then reapplied when Thomas asked for more people to step in. At no point was I told that the reason I had to step in was because people were leaving because of incredibly low pay. This was my first paid artist work I'd done, so when they said it was going to be $1.22 a second I was 100% up for it. I did 8 seconds of animation and got paid £7.27. I've just read other people's posts and they're saying they got $1.80? I thought we were all supposed to be paid the same? If someone else who also worked on the project please confirm this with me?

When we were paid, it was very late and very confusing (though I'm not sure if this was because it was my first time or not). I was asked to full out a form so that I could be sent a check in the mail. I was then asked for my paypal about a month later and the money was sent to that instead as they did not have the budget to pay for postage. I'm not sure what happened to the document containing my details though.

To reflect on Alex's wonderful video, I can second that many of us asked when the video was going to be out and there was a lot of confusion. There was also confusion about how the credits were going to happen, but I was less involved in that part.

Like I said, this is just my experience and I have not hard feelings with Thomas Sanders himself or any of his representatives. Overall I was very proud of what we as a community created and enjoyed working on the project. It's just a shame that it ended up like this. I'm not upset at anyone, I'm just upset at the fact that we were not treated fairly. If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me, reply to this post, send me an ask or anything. I just want to get this sorted out and make sure everyone is properly compensated.

#ts discourse #storytime madlibs #madlibs animators #thomas sanders #sanders sides #if anyone wants me to keep this out of the main tags just say and I'll delete the tags

[tstwitterupdates]

TStweet 27/04/20 : So, remember those Storytime Madlibs you all sent in forever ago? Well, what better time than now to film that?? But this time, we want VISUALS for our bizarre stories! If you’re an animatic artist and/or animator, and would like to take part, email us at [email protected]!

Please include any reel or link to work you’ve done! The goal is to break the stories up and have different artists working on small snippets so they all get done within a time frame! We have a bit of a budget and can commission ya!

#thomas sanders #tstwitter #Storytime Madlibs #video update #fanders #april 2020

[cj-can-art]

I absolutely had to draw her after watching the new video. I love her so much.

@thatsthat24 I hope ya like it

#cj’s art #ts art #thomas sanders #storytime madlibs #orange and pippin #tw spiders #tw arachnophobia

[one-angry-man]

Hello! I am one of animators for the storytime madlibs, I left the fandom for a while because of everything that went down lol but I've seen some shit happening in the fandom and I wanna say some things.

-None of us are trying to cancel Thomas.

-We don't want to be paid more after the fact, we knew our pay rates when we signed the contract but theres a certain amount of power that comes with being an influencer and asking for young animators who are new to animation and their pay rates who dont understand what is considered the proper amount they should be paid.

-Please DO NOT talk on any of our behalfs, we dont want anyone talking to Thomas or Quil or anyone involved in this about the situation, if you have please, remove your post.

#storytime madlibs

[skruffie]

Regarding underpayment of creative work

(This is okay to reblog. It’s also long so I tried to break it up into a few specific points, and I will link a video in the comments as well. Under the cut.)

I am a digital illustrator who has done personal commissions, a tiny bit of freelance work, and has also purchased commissions from other artists. I’m hoping with this post that this can be a tip guide for other artists, especially maybe those who have little or no experience with professional work, to help in the future when projects open up that they are interested in being involved in.

There’s some talk in the Thomas Sanders fandom right now regarding the severe underpayment of the animators that worked on the latest Storytime Madlibs video and from what I see a lot of the animators were really excited to be involved because it was an opportunity to work with someone that they really admire and also as a means of exposure for the work that they do. These are great things to want. It’s been explained now that the animators were paid roughly $1.20 per second of animation when the industry standard can range from, what--starting at $30+ per second? (I’m not an animator so I’m probably a bit off on that number). That’s gruesome.

For the content creators:

I’ve seen explanations that it’s because they hired on a lot of animators. If you are a content creator for a production company and want to bring on new talent, you have to have it in your budget to pay them the industry standard, their personal rates, their hourly rate, however it is organized. If it’s not in your budget, then you cannot afford to do it. It’s as simple as that. It is a skill you are hiring someone for that you don’t have, and it is work. It goes beyond a simple fan project, and there are many other ways to get fans more involved in the community: contests, raffles, themed art challenge events, holidays, and openly asking for volunteers. 

If you are the artist, keep reading.

You have to get upfront about money. Even when art is your passion in life, as soon as money gets involved then it becomes a business transaction and the language of finance is a bit weird. One of the freelance works that I did last year was a cover for a resource guide that was going to print and in the call for artists they specified it was going to be a paid gig. Somewhere soon after that, probably when they chose me for one of the covers, they told me upfront what the payment was going to be. For this example, it was a flat $350 payment for a full color illustration, with payment given within 30 days of the invoice. 

1. Make an invoice and set the payment parameters: some request payment up front, or you can set a window of time the client has to pay you, usually 30 or 45 days? Whatever you’re comfortable with.

2. If they want to know what your rates are: there is a really helpful video I saw (I’ll link in the comments) that advises that you set your price based off of the client. It is not on the time it takes you, but what the client can pay. The example given in the video is that anyone can come up with the Nike logo but how the logo is used is what changes the price dramatically. There would be a flat rate for the logo itself, and the rest to take into account would be the strategy for using the logo, what kinds of materials it’ll be printed on, etc etc. In a different example for one of the commissions I’ve done, I did an illustration for a friend that was later used as a book cover for her e-novel. She emailed me back saying “I think this means I pay you a licensing fee” and after a bit of research we came up with a fair price and a contract for what that would entail. I don’t honestly remember what the original price of the commission was, but the licensing fee brought it up another $125. Factors to consider how to figure out pricing: the quality of the work they expect, the turnaround, your other pending commissions or projects, schedule conflicts, your own bills and financial obligations, it goes on.

3. Taking on projects: If the client you’re working with is making you uncomfortable or trying to push for something way lower than what you’re expecting, consider if you can drop from the project altogether. I’m hesitant to say “don’t do it ever” because financial circumstances are going to vary from person to person, and comfort level with what you will or won’t work on will also vary. If you are in a place where you would be able to get by without the payment for that project and the client is being awful, do not work with them. Refund any payment they may have already made. If it’s really that important to them, they can find someone else to work with. Clients may want a time frame for when their request will be finished and try to be upfront about when you might be able to complete it. Get everything in writing. I cannot stress this enough. Log everything, keep conversations and invoices, emails, literally have a paper trail so nobody can come back and screw you over. 

4. Contracts: read them. They’re often dense and confusing, but they will outline a lot of important information about the project and how the client will intend to use your work. Sometimes they’ll have points like “you retain the rights to your work but we retain the right to modify, copy, use etc” which sounds scary but is actually the license to be able to even display it on websites or in videos. If you have questions about anything outlined in the contract, ask them or see if you can google for what it means. See if they’re open to negotiating certain points before you sign. 

5. The project may or may not be your entryway into professionalism: This is a hard one that even at my age I’m bummed about. What the project can give you is a lot of valuable experience and an entry way into the business side of art careers but it might not be the project that gets your name out into the world. Art is an incredibly competitive field and right now all of us also are constantly fighting battles against algorithms and ever-restrictive terms of service on websites just to be seen. Keep drawing. Keep writing. Keep animating. Art is a lifelong project. You gotta keep going and exploring and expanding your skills. Remember what you love about art the most. Bad clients come and go but your love for the art can help sustain you. It’s okay if you need to take a break from the hustle and recharge. 

I’m probably missing a few things but that’s kind of a good start. 

The heart of why I’m writing this post is that a lot of people have been hurt emotionally and financially by what’s happened with the Storytime Madlibs video. I’m not involved with the project or with the TS team or anything--I’m just a certified grown adult with a bit of experience in the business side of art, and I hope that what I’ve learned so far are bits of knowledge that other people can use too. It hurts to see that other people have been hurt by all of this, because knowledge on art business really isn’t talked about much at all and it is damn difficult to learn on your own. 

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #storytime madlibs #madlibs animators

[ravenhilarious]

So I've finally got to read up on the Madlibs problem. And it really is a yikes situation!

Has anyone tried to reach out to Thomas (or even some of his friends) about it? Maybe they have an explanation/solution? 

#thomas sanders #thomas sanders and friends #storytime madlibs #the madlibs problem #is the tag I'll be using from now on

[alchemist-shizun]

The prince had a trans flag ring I’m going to cry

#purp pls stop #storytime madlibs

[fearforthestorm]

I really liked this quote from Storytime Madlibs, so I decided to make a poster! it's 16x24" and hand drawn. some of the details are a little blurry in this picture, but I didn't really want to go find a tripod lol.

#thomas sanders #storytime madlibs #fanart #i guess its technically fanart? idk lol but im tagging it anyway #.lyr

[youtuberswithalex]

also just a reminder that just because I'm still speaking out and criticizing thomas and team doesn't mean all of the storytime animators feel the same. I know a lot were upset we even brought it up in the first place, and I don't know where the rest of them stand at this point. the stuff I say is MY opinions/observations/etc, and mine alone, so don't assume everyone else who worked on the project is as grumpy about everything as I am

#alex communicates #ts criticism #storytime madlibs #not that ive seen anyone do this #but i just wanted it out there #just in case anyone is thinking this stuff

[finnitesimal]

My BOYYYYYYY!!!!!!

#ts remus #storytime madlibs #i missed him..... #/cymbals clashing/ HE'S HERE ALBEIT THROUGH ANIMATION BUT HE'S HERE #sanders sides

[storytimediscourse]

Hello all. We have seen your messages, and we are grateful for the concern. We apologize for the radio silence we have perpetuated over these last couple weeks. It was not our intention to close communication between ourselves and the community. However, we cannot speak about which we don't know. We have not received any more responses from the Foster Dawg team, but, likewise, we haven't reached out recently either. We have made our grievances known, and whether or not the team will choose to publicly acknowledge our concerns is unknown. There is not much more we can do at this time. Thank you all so much for the support.

#storytimediscourse #thomas sanders #storytime madlibs #storytime madlibs discourse #foster dawg