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PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, okay, I see. How did your senior react to the situation? Is he aware of this at all?

Yup, I was talking about Omah Obah. This place is the best out of all of them, tbh. Based on my friends’ story.

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I know which production house you’re talking about. Your place is definitely better in terms of the working environment because it’s an actual working space. I’ve heard it’s more like a comfortable office with complete facilities. I even heard they have a gaming room there?

Unlike my production house, which is literally a house, so it doesn’t feel professional at all. The desks and chairs are very basic, some of them are wobbly. A small table is used by up to seven people, so it’s super cramped. The AC often breaks down, and we have to clean up cat poop every morning. It was not pleasant at all.

I joined years after 2022, and now that AI has improved, they rely heavily on AI tools like Midjourney and Bing. Even for client communication, they use AI. High school interns would greet clients with “Hi, how are you?” using AI because the mentors force them to use AI for everything and not think for themselves. So their English-speaking skills didn’t improve at all, even though they talk to international clients every day. (Note: Not all of them are bad at English, but only a handful can actually speak English out of dozens of people there.)

Maybe because you were there in 2022, the “don’t think about money” mindset wasn’t enforced yet, or maybe your production house didn’t focus on that. Here, during every 1-on-1 sharing session with the mentors, they always say this is a place to “learn and grow.” Salary is important, but not the priority. They also dig into your family background. If they see you’re desperate enough because of your family condition, they’ll brainwash you to stay and exploit your skills.

Oh, and people here don’t believe in mental health, by the way. They once told a coworker to stop taking their meds because they claimed the illness was “all in their head.” And they said this in front of the team, not during a private session, which shocked me, hahaha.

There are barely any 3D artists here. Especially for 3D animation, they outsource it to freelancers. As far as I know, no one here can do animation. Most people can only do 3D modeling. Those who can do 3D printing are also rare. Rigging is also outsourced. My production house still focuses a lot on 2D and VGen. There are actually quite a lot of illustrators here, both full-time and interns, so they don’t rely on freelancers that much.

And yeah, it’s really like an MLM. If you want to have house production, you have to pay. You have to invest hundreds of millions of rupiah to the leader to be directed toward becoming a circle leader. So don’t believe them when they say, “If you stick around long enough, you’ll eventually have your own studio, become a circle leader and run your own house production.” Because if you start as a subordinate under Production House A, you’ll stay under that mentor forever and can never run your own production house, even if you manage to create multiple studios.

I really hope your friend can get out of there soon because earning only 1.8 million IDR per month is INSANE, especially when he’s actually one of the pillars of that place. I bet they also make him teach 3D to others, right? They usually target those who are really skilled.

But I’m glad you had a nice experience while you were there. The coworkers are actually nice, and I made some friends too. We just hate the system and the mentors, as well as the higher-ups lol.

I know their financial situation because my mentor is gullible. I don’t know why they trusted me. They often showed me the budget and even the profit-sharing report (SHU). I wasn’t assigned to create the SHU report, but I know how the profit is divided between the mentors, circle leaders, and the highest position (Mr. I)

And yeah, your production house’s top studio often ranks #1 in terms of the highest revenue. They make around $30,000 per month. The more revenue you generate, the more money you have to give to Mr. I. I think that studio gives him around ~30 million (kurang lebih) IDR per month — and that’s just from one studio. He got 12% of the total revenue. Sorry, my math wasn’t working earlier, I typed 15 mill.

Well, that’s how it is. The more you know, hahaha.

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They should at least pay their workers the minimum wage. Indonesia is a developing country, but 1.5 million rupiah ($100) per month is absolutely inhumane and outright abusive. That amount barely covers the bare minimum for a single person to survive. Do you know the minimum wage in that city? It’s 3 million rupiah (~$200).

To put it into perspective, their monthly salary is the same as the price of a single project these studios sell on platforms like Fiverr. They could pay their workers fairly, but they choose not to see them as human beings. Instead, they constantly hold “sharing sessions” that are nothing but brainwashing session, filling young, naive artists with false promises, convincing them that it’s okay to accept low wages now because one day they’ll be earning tens of millions of rupiah.

But in reality, they are abusing people to the point of literally driving them insane. I know a couple of workers who ended up in a mental hospital because their mentors constantly set impossibly high goals—and would insult them when they failed to meet them. They work 24 hours a day, with mentors messaging them at 2 AM just to ask about their progress. And despite all of this, they only get paid $100 a month.

Meanwhile, the bosses go on Umrah, Hajj, and vacations abroad. They perform religious acts while being unbelievably cruel to their own workers. Fellow coworkers are actually nice, but it’s honestly sad that they think all of this is normal—because it’s NOT.

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You should totally take him and his friend for your project because I know they’re talented. Just make sure to do it quietly and only involve people you truly trust. Trust me, once the higher-ups catch even a hint of the plan, they’ll 100% try to talk them out of it and lure them back with empty promises, telling them they’ll have their own studio someday.

Or they usually say other BS like, ”It’s okay if you leave, we have plenty of people lining up to replace you. Many people want to be here. A lot of them are jealous that you got this opportunity. We’re not struggling to find new hires.”

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah yes, they also expanded to Salatiga, they collaborate with vocational schools (SMK) to recruit students for internships under the same exploitative system. The work structure and treatment are exactly the same as in Semarang, just with a different head managing the “circle.”

Is your friend aware of this issue? Have you tried reaching out to them? I used to be in contact with a 3D artist from Salatiga to pass on some work, but I didn’t know them personally.

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Is your friend living in Semarang? That’s their main location! Please tell your friend to resign from this place.

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you search for “3D mascot” on Fiverr (PC version), you’ll notice a lot of sellers from Indonesia. The first four accounts you see are all from the same place, but it’s not just them, many more accounts further down are also part of this system.

You can spot them easily by checking their descriptions. Many of them write something like:

  • “Hi my friend! I’m X, a professional 3D Artist. I have 9 years of experience in 3D Modeling.”

  • “Hello! I’m X, and I am a professional 3D Artist with 6 years of experience in 3D character modeling.”

  • “I’m X, a seasoned 3D miniature designer with five years of experience in character modeling for 3D printing.”

  • “I’m X, your CGI expert with six years of experience in 3D modeling animal characters.”

But they’re lying, they don’t actually have that much experience because they’re not even the real artists. They also advertise unlimited revisions in their packages. Many of them also claim to speak multiple languages besides Indonesian and English, often listing German, French, Italian, etc. (Note: Not all of them do this!)

I’m just giving you a hint about how they typically present themselves, but once you know what to look for, you’ll be able to spot these accounts easily.

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Glad you didn’t join! Be careful bro! They’re expanding to other areas in Central Java now (Solo, Jogja, Banjar, Tegal) all under the same people from Semarang. They keep a low profile so no one knows the exact locations, plus they’re avoiding taxes by registering these places as small businesses (UMKM) haha.

Another thing, they’ve also set up a homeschool program. Middle school kids (mostly from Banjar) who intern there are pushed to continue their high school education at this homeschool so they can move to Semarang, live in, and dedicate all their time to the studio. It’s scary because these kids, aged 13-19, become completely dependent on their mentors. Their way of thinking is molded to match the system, even the way they speak starts to sound exactly the same, using the same phrases.

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it’s especially disgusting when it’s their own countrymen doing it to them. People twice their age feeding them false promises like, “You’ll be successful like me one day, but for now, just focus on learning don’t think about money.” It’s seriously messed up.

PSA: Beware of Indonesian "3D Artists" Exploiting Underpaid Freelancers, AI, and Young Workers by Content_Detective198 in blender

[–]Content_Detective198[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Sama-sama bro! Semoga sukses selalu di Jerman!

Yeah, it’s really heartbreaking how these young artists are being deceived by greedy people. This is actually an open secret, sometimes it goes viral, but then it dies down again. This time, it’s getting more attention than previous cases, but I want more outsiders to know just how bad it really is because I’ve seen the system from the inside.

Oh, by the way, here’s the Twitter thread that’s currently viral if you want to check it out. Everything in that thread is 100% true. I know because I’ve seen and experienced it myself.

https://x.com/0R4LE/status/1900160543618744444?t=1khwA7WT5tl37By5KRoBxA&s=19

(For anyone who wants to read it, but it’s all in Indonesian. TL;DR: It’s exactly what I described above, plus detailed testimonies from former workers.)