Ok, so someone recently hit another of my pet peeves recently.  It seems that there are a number of "artisans" who consider the way they do things "trade secrets".  This can involve painting, costume and puppet building, even computer encoding and 3-D rendering.  If you discover something through trial and error and want to keep it to yourself, that's fine.  I won't argue with you.

But my big problem is people that have gone to others and asked, "Hey, how do you do that?"  "Is there a better way to make this work?" and so on.  These people then turn around and start telling other people that their methods are now "trade secrets" because they charge for commissions.  I'm sorry, but if you had to go ask someone else for help at some point, and you took their advice (or templates, or any other form of help), you have no business saying that it's something you can't share.

Look, from an artistic standpoint, telling someone how to do something, and then having them interpret and do it are two totally different things.  You can tell someone how to draw with depth, or sculpt a figure, or even how to program something.  Giving verbal instruction is completely different from watching and training a person to do it.  I can tell you how to sew a shirt, but if you've not done it before, I guarantee you, you'r going to mess it up until you become comfortable with a sewing machine and how the patterns work.  I can tell you a technique for painting, but until you do it, you're not got to know how heavy to press on the brush, how to blend the paint softly, or catch highlights.  That comes from experience.

I've heard numerous complaints about people who basically have gone out of their way to learn (or steal) the drawing, sewing, and other artistic techniques of other people, and then became bigheaded and said "This is mine. I shouldn't have to share it. Go learn it yourself."  What a two-faced, selfish, and self-centered answer to give.

In short, people need to take a step back and realize that if someone really wants to learn a "trade secret", they will.  And then they'll post it on the internet so everyone will find out about it.  (Look at the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe.  Same concept.)  What artists should realize is people are wanting their work because it's THEIR work.  Emeril Lagasse said it best.  If someone asks for a receipe from his kitchen, he will gladly give it.  Receipes aren't secrets.  It's the overall experience that people are paying for.  When someone asks you for help, go ahead and give it to them.  You aren't creating something for them, you're just telling them a way you know that works.  They more than likely will not make it exactly the same, and it won't have the same exact look.  Then again, some people are too self serving and paranoid to realize that quality work brings in top dollar.  If you pump out quality pieces, people will pay for it.  It doesn't matter if you told them how to do it. They'll still want you because you make the best product.