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Artists Meeting Writers, Writers Meeting Aritsts
ZephyrTR
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm a relatively talented writer. I wish to make a comic book. I have little talent as an illustrator.
I'm looking for trees in a forest, and I am lost. Does anyone know meet-up groups or online communities where creative minds can link up? Do you know wanted-walls for commissioning/hiring artists? I have a story, I'm itching to tell it, it can't be a novel -- I need an illustrator, a partner really who I can work alongside closely. I live in NYC -- there has to be something out there that I've just not heard of before.
[edited for expanded query, word count]
I'm looking for trees in a forest, and I am lost. Does anyone know meet-up groups or online communities where creative minds can link up? Do you know wanted-walls for commissioning/hiring artists? I have a story, I'm itching to tell it, it can't be a novel -- I need an illustrator, a partner really who I can work alongside closely. I live in NYC -- there has to be something out there that I've just not heard of before.
[edited for expanded query, word count]
ZephyrTR on
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Also, why does it have to be a comic book and not a novel? If you can't draw, you should probably be practicing and working in a medium where it's not necessary. If you can't express your ideas clearly with words alone, you're never going to get anywhere even with an artist, because artists aren't typically mindreaders.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Where are there places perhaps to post JOB offers for artists, then? I'm not rich but I'm not poor. I could possibly hire somebody.
Writing's cheap, but endless amounts of comics are made with the junkiest of plot and dialogue -- and the better the artwork the more heartbreaking it is. Is Tycho not just as important as Gabe? Am I the only one who feels this?
I've met so many artists that have no direction on WHAT to draw, but we didn't sync up. I need to find my artist, just as my artists needs to find me. I swear, it's on the tip of my tongue; there's some website for me to go to, some forum.
I won't say writing is easy, but chances are, if you can draw, you're creative enough to have your own vision. As Pheezer said, if you have a friend (like Gabe and Tycho were BEFORE Penny Arcade) you might have an awesome team up.
Anyways, if you're truly serious about finding an artist, be prepared to pay. Most writer/artist teams start off with the people already knowing each other and working on a common idea. It strikes me that you just want someone to draw your supposed masterpiece.
But let's not derail. If there's nowhere to collaborate without money involved -- were I to HIRE someone, where can I go? What kind of legal ramifications come into paying an artist for something like this? If you are an artist yourself -- ballpark rates for 5 page color treatments?
Hiring's a better question and I would perhaps go ask in the questions thread of the Artist's Corner; people there may have done commissions before.
Well, it absolutely is denigrating to say "writing is the easy part." Sure, if you compare writing "a pirate ship" to drawing a pirate ship, writing "a pirate ship" is a lot easier, but you don't need to be a writer to write "a pirate ship." Your analogy is invalid. Drawing a believable pirate ship is more akin to a writer describing a pirate ship in text so it has a believable and vivid texture for the reader. It's an invalid comparison because no (good) piece of fiction (or non-fiction, for that matter) is going to have "a pirate ship" as solitary text to denote a pirate ship, and leave it at that. The writer's job and the graphic artist's job have an equivalent level of difficulty, given an equivalent medium, in conveying the image.
Perhaps you meant "writing is a minimal part of writing a comic"? I've never written a comic, but that argument might have more merit than the haphazard one you've offered in this thread.
EDIT:
Used the wrong word, speaking of shit writers.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Which is most likely true, and possibly what TychoCelchuuu meant, but not at all what he said. I agree with you, however.
Just listen to the PA podcasts, even though Gabe draws and Tycho writes, they both work together developing the concept, and really that's what makes the entire comic anyway.
That's not ENTIRELY fair, but it's less insulting than your first post.
Either way, most people who are artists are artists because they're highly creative. Most highly creative people with the determination necessary to become a skilled artist can pound out a reasonable narrative, even if it's nothing special.
OP, work in the short story or novel format. Get something GOOD written. Get something published in a magazine at least. If you're published and you find an artist between projects, you'll have an easier time convincing said artist to work with you.
You are not going to have any luck without having some establishment as a good writer or enough money to pay someone to do as you say, though.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
You live in NYC.. Go to the comic con hosted annually at the javits center and walk down artists alley. Post on craigslist.
This being your first comic.. you should defintely come to the table willing to pay a respectable page rate and be flexible and open to suggestion.
To give you a frame of reference regarding page rate.. For pencils Marvel pays between 110.00 and 120.00 per page. This includes lay outs to final pencils. No it does not matter how many panels are on the page.
Ink and color varies more but Inkers get somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-90 and colorists 50-60.
These are just numbers that Ive been quoted in the past and heard from fellow artists.
Drawing a comic is a lot of work. A lot.
wait, yes it did... here you go:
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=15998&highlight=artist%2C+writer
This thread happens all the time. And it's ALWAYS a totally awesome writer just looking for an artist to bring his vision to life (for free).
a) End up with someone who has very little talent and will not be able to give you what you really want,
b) End up with someone who refuses to do things the way you'd like to do them, and takes their own spin
or
c) Does a few pages and then quits when they tire of it.
I know this because I know people who have tried to get artists for their comics. And the same thing happens. Repeatedly.
Even 10 dollars a page -- super, SUPER cheap -- but you'd be getting someone who feels their work is worth something, and they'd have initiative to go on with it. Maybe a student or something. Certainly wouldn't be top of the line (personally I'd be starting at 50$ per page, minimum) but it would be more than what you have now.
And you should be willing to invest in gathering the right materials to make your story come to life -- an artist would be one of those materials.
Partnerships like Gabe and Tycho aren't usually formed from job listing. That's a creative process that is hinged on comfort, equality in input, and creative chemistry. You'd need tot befriend some artists, essentially pitch your story, and then be ready for it to be a back and forth between your original concept and what the artist brings to the table.
On top of that, pretty much any asshole can string a couple sentences together and liberally sprinkle sound effects across a bunch of panels. Bad writing can be forgiven by great art; the inverse is not usually true.
Therefore, if you want a good artist, you are going to have to pay, and hope that your comic makes enough money to offset that.
Failing that, you're going to have to get in contact with a comics publisher and submit a proposal for your script. If they like it, they'll set you up with an artist.
Thank you, Rubacava!