Hello, talented gentlemen and ladies of AC. I do not post in your subforum, not being an artist, but I do lurk here quite a lot (since you have a lot of talent here), and I have a question that seems better suited for AC than for H/A.
I am looking to commission a single drawing, involving a fair amount of detail and full color/shading. Specifically, I am looking for a piece in the style of an old pulp novel cover, to feature along with a novel I am writing. I do not plan to seek publishing for this work, so use of the faux cover would almost certainly be limited to my website, where I will be posting the novel in serial format. I don't have a specific reference to request, either; most likely, I would just give the artist I commission a synopsis of the novel, as well as a physical description of the hero and his nemeses, and would work together to decide what would make a workable piece. If the artist enjoys the work, I might also commission a few simple, un-colored details of various characters, for the purpose of embedding in the story as I post it.
My problem is mostly that I don't know how much to offer for commission. I don't want to insult anyone by offering too little. Also, I don't know where to go to solicit an artist; I am sure there are websites, but there are also a few art schools here in Seattle, and I'd be more than happy to post a flier there.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, and keep up the awesome work.
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To illustrate a novel cover that will be in full color, highly rendered with lots of detail and also mimics a particular style of another novel cover is not a small job. I would expect at least $100 for something like this, probably significantly more if you want to commission a very skilled artist.
Posting an advertisement at a local art school is probably the best way to get slave labor. You might want to try posting in the freelance jobs sections of a forum like conceptart.org if you want to offer work to a specific artist.
If there's no way an hourly wage can be set up, a lump sum with half up-front and half when the project is finished usually works pretty well. I then track my hours spent and divide it out at the end to see how much I made per hour. It's never enough.
But the most important thing to think about from your end Naporeon, is a contract. Will you own the artwork? Will it merely be first-run rights? And getting deadline dates and milestone meetings are always super helpful to both parties.
Going to an art school and posting something is never a bad idea, or even finding someone's art you like and getting in contact with them (e-mail, whatever) works too, as a lot of artists get their work this way.
Here are some examples of pulp novel covers in styles I would like. I would not necessarily be looking for anything quite so detailed as any of them, but they capture more or less what I'd like.
Doc Savage
The Shadow
Captain Future
Dan Turner
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Well, even so, it's not necessarily that the number of colors that drives the price up.
But more complexity (which Pulp is not known for) would = more time, and as Einstein proved Time = $
I plan to pay well regardless, but I'm far more concerned with finding an artist that will have fun with the material than I am with finding a hyper-talented professional who will be able to do precisely what I want. This is not to say that I'm looking to find an inexperienced amateur to rip off (that would be easy enough to do without advice)...more that this is just a silly, fun project on my part, and I'd like to find someone who will take the same approach.
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That Dragonflight project though... yeesh that was like pulling teeth.
Painting a full color illustration takes longer than doing it in grayscale or monochrome.
Mmmmm, I didn't think about someone actually using paint for it. I think I've gotten so used to the fact that digital painting is so popular on these boards that switching colors would be like blinking.
Still, I'm curious. What do you guys define as full color? When I hear it, I immediately think of the press, 4 colors or more = full color.
I did more or less mean the press, though.
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I'm still talking digital paint. By pure virtue of the fact that when you start working in color you suddenly have to juggle around getting saturation and color temperature and all that other shit right, it's a lot more difficult than simply working with grays. I suppose technically someone can "color" a piece with just an overlay layer or something but that isn't really the same thing.
When I say "full color" I'm using is as an arbitrary term for something resembling a real-world color pallete. Not monochrome or grayscale. Just how many colors that ends up being seems kind of moot to me.
WoW card illustration: $1000
Magic card: $800
Book covers: More. Depending upon the artist and the cover.
I would suggest that based on these numbers, hiring an amateur artist to do a book cover should run you around $300. And that is if they are good.
Anyhow, thanks for the numbers. I am not looking to have professional quality work done, since A) I am not a professional quality writer (and consequently, my work will not be published), and even a real "pulp novel" published today would not have a cover like the old ones--that I seek to emulate--did.
I am just looking for something fun to throw up on my site, alongside the novel itself. I think I've got an idea what would be a fair initial offer, considering the work I'd like, but now my question is location...where do I solicit artists? Is the consensus that the art schools around here are a good place to start? Or should I look somewhere online first?
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This may just be a personal perspective, but I've always benefited from personal IRL communication with clients.
a face to face with an illustrator is the best way for you to get what you want and to help them make what you want. communication is key. be sure to give them a dead line, even if it's not important that they keep it work is usually prioritized by what needs to be done next so make sure you have a spot in their que.
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yet another outlet of my creative goods
Some production blacksmiths say "A good blacksmith can make over $100/hr", but it all depends on your work quality and the weight your name pulls in the field.
Pricing is always difficult, especially if you put a lot of time and effort into your work.
Wow, that was an interesting rant I had there. Anyways, I don't know much about commission payment, I just had a sudden need to formulate and share an opinion.
"I was born; six gun in my hand; behind the gun; I make my final stand"~Bad Company
Magic cards are actually $850, I dont know why I left off the 50 the first time. Anyways, keep in mind that unlike fine artists, illustrators provide a service, not a physical product. This means that at the end of the day after they get paid $1000 for painting the WoW card, they can turn around and sell the painting itself for another $500 if somebody is willing to buy it. Which is usually the case. Of course, more and more new illustrators are focusing on digital art which has no physical product whatsoever. Fools!
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