I'm a game artist. Been working in the same indie game developer company for about 3 years now. The salary I got is just insulting. Still, I decided to stay and work here, I know maybe it sounds naive, but I liked my line of work. As an artist, I thought initially I would put aside the money aspect and focus on getting some experience & build up my portfolio. But, yeah, it's hard. When you struggle to pay for your needs, it all doesn't matter anymore.
I'd got no raise on my first year. The second year, I did get a raise, but I was shown a spreadsheet with literally just 2 columns in it that said “Deadlines”, and beside it “3/5”. Below was “Work quality”, then “3/5”, and explain each points with a brief 1 sentence. When I asked who did the assessment, how did they come up with the parameter? Which job did I do good and bad? They told me very very vague answers. They said it was decided by the managers, etc. They said that they can't give me much raise. The amount is miniscule.
Today I talked to an intern, found out that we have basically the same amount of salary. Only a couple of dollars difference. Really? A FUCKING INTERN?. That was the last straw for me. I'm leaving the company.
Now I don't enjoy making art anymore. It's like a chore now. What makes me sad is that I've always wanted to be a game artist growing up. It was my childhood dream. Now I don't know if I'll ever get back working as an artist.