Hiring a contract artist

Ozgipsy

Guys,

I'm new here so please excuse me if this is out of place.

I live in the West of Oz. (Hence the name)

I have been working on a script for a comic book series for a number of years. But I cannot draw for nuts and I am keen to start canvassing for artists to work on concept art for the characters, as well as some drafts of the first page as a trial of artwork. (Happy to pay for that also)

So I am wondering a few things if you guys can help me...

a) Is this something I could do effectively remotely, without direct person-to-person contact with an artist

b) Is this the best place to look for aspiring or proven artists? If not then can someone point me to a better venue?

c) Is anyone here actually interested in discussing this further?

Thanks, all the best.

Daryl Mather

David_D

Hi Daryl,

Welcome aboard! I am sure there are some people around that can give some advice and experience on the questions you are asking.

I would also recommend a past topic called Creating Comics. The person that started that topic was planning something not quiet the same as you, and a lot of the conversation was specific to what he was trying to do, but in the course of that discussion a lot of knowledge and experience was shared, and some of that would apply to your questions. So I would suggest following the link and giving that a read, too.

Ozgipsy

Just to clarify.. the work I am looking to produce is a boots and tights hero comic fundamentally.

I don't really go for the art in (say) New Avengers the earlier series, or in the current Hawkeye, but I really do go for the type of art shown in A v X and even the current X-men series. (With the old X-men in the present day)

I'm not looking to do yet another dark and gloomy Miller-esque piece as the world now has enough of these, but the art does need to have an edge to it, as will the storyline.

Happy new year.

nweathington

I would also recommend you read the thread David linked to in his post. There are a few ideas there as to where to look for artists, along with other things you may want to consider.

Finding an artist who can produce what you envision will be the easy part. Finding one who can do what you want, is someone you can get along well with, is willing to do it at the price you can offer, and can do it on the schedule you want is another thing entirely. Not to say it will be impossible, but be prepared to make concessions in at least one of those categories. And good luck!

Ozgipsy

Thanks for the advice. I'm okay with project management and pretty confident that nothing ever comes in on time. I think my real issues are around trying to do this with an artist remotely.

Does anyone have any experience trying to do things this way? I imagine that there are people working like this now.

Torchsong

I'm going though this right now, so maybe I can shed some light on it -

First off, consider whether or not you want to give up any rights, and GET A CONTRACT. I'm working on a book right now with Mike Gallagher (from another fairly popular thread around here) but I didn't want to sign over any rights in case I decide to do more with the concept and Mike isn't available/prices himself out of my pocketbook/etc. Get that in writing and make sure your artist understands that. As a corollary to this, be prepared to pay more to the artist to get them to grant said rights, generally.

To answer your question from the first post - Mike and I have never met face to face, so yes it can be done.

Another option, if you find money is a factor, is to consider entering into a partnership with an artist and divide rights 50/50 (or whatever ratio you can agree on). This is a sticky area with potential for trouble. The book I produce, Thugs!, is done on an equal partnership with the artist - we share in duties, expenses and general work. He's able to comment/alter what I want in my scripts and I'm able to suggest changes to his artwork. We're friends, though, and our squabbles have been relatively minor. So I don't "pay" him anything, but at the end of the day we'll both be up there picking up our Eisners. :)

Another thing to consider is how far you want to take your project - paying an artist for pencils is one level, but do you also want the pages inked? Colored? Who is going to do the lettering (I usually like to letter my own pages so that's a money saver right there). Will the book be printed in black and white? Color? What about cover art? Remember that a cover generally demands a higher level of artistry and is THE thing that will likely get people to pick up your book. Do you want your interior artist to cover that (Pro tip: Most artists worth their salt will ask for more scratch if you do!), or do you want to hire a separate artist for that chore?

In short: Get a contract. Particularly if you're dealing with someone you don't know. It's professional, it protects you both, and it's the right way to go about this.

Ozgipsy

Thats really great advice, thanks very much.

I foolishly assumed that for low end publications, such as mine, that the coloring / lettering would all be the same artist. I can letter as a calligraphy nut, but I would need someone else to color.

I am going to search the net to see if I can find examples of comic book contracts as I have zero intention of relinquishing any rights to the comic. Money isn't exactly flowing but it isn't tight either. I can fund this.

I am running through the forums now also to try to work out what a finished product looks like. Particularly as I intend to be able to publish in print and digitally. So the end product may end up being two separate print runs.

Fascinating discussion, thanks very much for the ppointers and I wish you well with your project.