[~Ramble.Corset~]
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- Posted: Thu, 03 Nov 2011 07:36:22 +0000
I was recently giving someone advice about this topic and thought I should make my own post. You often find the same posts and the same mistakes and the same advice being circulated around this forum so be sure to make this your one stop shop before selling your idea to an artist.
A 'writer looking for an artist' post should generally contain the following
heart General plot with more details that can be supplied via pm to interested artists. This should also include what rating you're aiming for (g, pg, etc.)
heart Previous work/accomplishments - samples are even better heart heart heart
heart Length of work you're looking to complete - long term? one shot? 1 volume? specificity is key
heart Amount of work expecting from artist - including whether they can have a say in the story and how much - just how the scene is shown (camera angles, dialogue bubbles, anatomy/art style), scene by scene (changing dialogue, character position, different action/mannerism etc.) or part by part (let's change this...alter this...how about if they do this instead even if it changes your original outline)
heart What will affect the above point is how much have you written? did you come up with this idea today or have you written practically half a book? have you laid out the world design, character design, etc.?
heart Amount of pay/pay options for artist - commission per page? do they offer bulk prices? payment upon getting royalties? Free?
heart Amount of additional work you're willing to put in (eg. paying for domain names, convention tables, some of that nitty gritty I'll mention below)
heart Schedule - are you a student? college student? Full/Part time worker? when will you get to communicate with your artist?
heart Communication - via gaia, IM, facebook, telephone, face to face?
Common Mistakes:
I want to make money, but post it online for FREE -
HUGE problem there. if you release it as a webcomic or story online no publisher will touch it since there is little to no benefit for someone buying a physical comic if they can just read it online. In addition it sounds as though you don't know what you want, posting it for free means it's hard to make money, making money means you don't post it for FREE
How to fix this?
Best advice I could give is if you want really wish to post it online, make it ONLY the first chapter, it should still be of some interest to publishers then as they usually post the first 5-15 pages of a new release online anyway. Either that or, since you're looking to make money from it (just as any person should) you could release the first chapter online for free and have downloadable files for a small fee on the chapter by chapter (or book by book) updates. You face the risk of a buyer putting it up on the net, but then there's still the ease of getting it to an audience.
The artist can have a lot of say, I can change whatever-
Not only does it sound as though your plot points are not set in stone, but it makes your decisions sound wish-washy. Alternatively this could also be seen as throwing responsibility onto the artist to use just the basic scaffolding you've provided and not only do the artwork but also the writing. If you want to work with a writer-artist, to split the work up more evenly you could offer to complete some of the 'nitty gritties' that really slow down an artist.
These include...
heart Either have the book completely planned out, or written and have them make changes as they read/make suggestions when they've finished reading. Not only does this give them a heads up as to where the series is going and the direction of character development (eg. could they make a look more meaningful if they know they will eventually end up together? make a smile more friendly, more harsh if it's revealed later they have a problem with someone?
heart making the name - sort of like a rough draft. there are multiple ways of doing this and you can do more research on what this is/how to make it but some artists find this the hardest part - laying out where all the grids, speech bubbles, characters, character angles, action, sound effects, etc. will go before they can even draw a page. As it is only a rough draft, making a few names for them to take and have free reign on is usually much appreciated.
heart When pages are finished, you can offer to clean scans if they draw traditionally, add toning, add speech bubbles, text, etc.
heart do you knwo what your characters LOOK like? I don't mean using descriptions such as 'they look like ___ from ____' have you, even if you are not an artist, sketched out how you think they should all look? or at least generated some picture references to look at? you'll be surprised how a concept sketch can be taken to look fabulous with an artist that only needed a little scaffolding, and allowing the artist a few design elements will mean you're more likely to come up with characters you'll both enjoy
I want _____ pages a week -
Keep in mind what takes an hour to write probably takes 5 to draw, plan out, and more for a finished quality piece. Sometimes what is even said in a paragraph/sentence can take just as long depending on the action required. Something good someone posted this week that I had even forgotten is to keep in mind, Good, Fast, Cheap. pick two.
It's my first time making a manga -
nothing particularly WRONG with this, as it's being honest. but what can you bring to the partnership? Are you excellent in creative writing? been writing for years? been published? Won an award? Got examples of your work? Doing any courses on this subject?
Do you have any other skills that may bring more readership? eg. does anyone read your other writing works, have you got all your friends at school/your club/ your workplace/ your online community to read/promote your future work?
I don't know much about ____ but it's what my manga is about -
if you're writing the story, and the artist is just drawing, odds are they won't be wanting to do your research while they're flicking between their inking pens and their pencils, they'll be even madder if it turns out later down the road you want to change something to be more accurate and it's just taken hours, days, weeks, or even months to finish.
How to fix? Ending Note
You are selling your idea to an artist. Perhaps not for money, but for their time, energy, input and love. if you want them to undergo the hard yards to take your idea across the finish line you have to be sure to pull your own weight and, if this is the case, let them know that!
Writers Looking For Artists
Airte Windel [Link]
Notify me if you'd like your name here
Artists Looking For Writers
Hiei the Epic[Link] for long term --& one shot
Notify me if you'd like your name here
This took so long to write XD if you have any more tips/suggestions please be sure to mention them! be sure to tip/comment if you found this useful!
A 'writer looking for an artist' post should generally contain the following
heart General plot with more details that can be supplied via pm to interested artists. This should also include what rating you're aiming for (g, pg, etc.)
heart Previous work/accomplishments - samples are even better heart heart heart
Seijaku_Ishida
Anyone can say they're a writer, and have things they're 'working on' but nothing to actually show for it.
I'd want to know if and how you can construct a story and if you can finish finish something. How the dialogue flows. If you edit it. Things like that. And those need experience.
I'd want to know if and how you can construct a story and if you can finish finish something. How the dialogue flows. If you edit it. Things like that. And those need experience.
heart Length of work you're looking to complete - long term? one shot? 1 volume? specificity is key
heart Amount of work expecting from artist - including whether they can have a say in the story and how much - just how the scene is shown (camera angles, dialogue bubbles, anatomy/art style), scene by scene (changing dialogue, character position, different action/mannerism etc.) or part by part (let's change this...alter this...how about if they do this instead even if it changes your original outline)
heart What will affect the above point is how much have you written? did you come up with this idea today or have you written practically half a book? have you laid out the world design, character design, etc.?
heart Amount of pay/pay options for artist - commission per page? do they offer bulk prices? payment upon getting royalties? Free?
heart Amount of additional work you're willing to put in (eg. paying for domain names, convention tables, some of that nitty gritty I'll mention below)
heart Schedule - are you a student? college student? Full/Part time worker? when will you get to communicate with your artist?
heart Communication - via gaia, IM, facebook, telephone, face to face?
Common Mistakes:
I want to make money, but post it online for FREE -
HUGE problem there. if you release it as a webcomic or story online no publisher will touch it since there is little to no benefit for someone buying a physical comic if they can just read it online. In addition it sounds as though you don't know what you want, posting it for free means it's hard to make money, making money means you don't post it for FREE
How to fix this?
Best advice I could give is if you want really wish to post it online, make it ONLY the first chapter, it should still be of some interest to publishers then as they usually post the first 5-15 pages of a new release online anyway. Either that or, since you're looking to make money from it (just as any person should) you could release the first chapter online for free and have downloadable files for a small fee on the chapter by chapter (or book by book) updates. You face the risk of a buyer putting it up on the net, but then there's still the ease of getting it to an audience.
The artist can have a lot of say, I can change whatever-
Not only does it sound as though your plot points are not set in stone, but it makes your decisions sound wish-washy. Alternatively this could also be seen as throwing responsibility onto the artist to use just the basic scaffolding you've provided and not only do the artwork but also the writing. If you want to work with a writer-artist, to split the work up more evenly you could offer to complete some of the 'nitty gritties' that really slow down an artist.
These include...
heart Either have the book completely planned out, or written and have them make changes as they read/make suggestions when they've finished reading. Not only does this give them a heads up as to where the series is going and the direction of character development (eg. could they make a look more meaningful if they know they will eventually end up together? make a smile more friendly, more harsh if it's revealed later they have a problem with someone?
heart making the name - sort of like a rough draft. there are multiple ways of doing this and you can do more research on what this is/how to make it but some artists find this the hardest part - laying out where all the grids, speech bubbles, characters, character angles, action, sound effects, etc. will go before they can even draw a page. As it is only a rough draft, making a few names for them to take and have free reign on is usually much appreciated.
heart When pages are finished, you can offer to clean scans if they draw traditionally, add toning, add speech bubbles, text, etc.
heart do you knwo what your characters LOOK like? I don't mean using descriptions such as 'they look like ___ from ____' have you, even if you are not an artist, sketched out how you think they should all look? or at least generated some picture references to look at? you'll be surprised how a concept sketch can be taken to look fabulous with an artist that only needed a little scaffolding, and allowing the artist a few design elements will mean you're more likely to come up with characters you'll both enjoy
I want _____ pages a week -
Keep in mind what takes an hour to write probably takes 5 to draw, plan out, and more for a finished quality piece. Sometimes what is even said in a paragraph/sentence can take just as long depending on the action required. Something good someone posted this week that I had even forgotten is to keep in mind, Good, Fast, Cheap. pick two.
It's my first time making a manga -
nothing particularly WRONG with this, as it's being honest. but what can you bring to the partnership? Are you excellent in creative writing? been writing for years? been published? Won an award? Got examples of your work? Doing any courses on this subject?
Do you have any other skills that may bring more readership? eg. does anyone read your other writing works, have you got all your friends at school/your club/ your workplace/ your online community to read/promote your future work?
I don't know much about ____ but it's what my manga is about -
if you're writing the story, and the artist is just drawing, odds are they won't be wanting to do your research while they're flicking between their inking pens and their pencils, they'll be even madder if it turns out later down the road you want to change something to be more accurate and it's just taken hours, days, weeks, or even months to finish.
How to fix? Ending Note
You are selling your idea to an artist. Perhaps not for money, but for their time, energy, input and love. if you want them to undergo the hard yards to take your idea across the finish line you have to be sure to pull your own weight and, if this is the case, let them know that!
Writers Looking For Artists
Airte Windel [Link]
Notify me if you'd like your name here
Artists Looking For Writers
Hiei the Epic[Link] for long term --& one shot
Notify me if you'd like your name here
This took so long to write XD if you have any more tips/suggestions please be sure to mention them! be sure to tip/comment if you found this useful!
![[~Ramble.Corset~]'s avatar](http://a2.cdn.gaiaonline.com/dress-up/avatar/ava/18/64/38598b0c696418.png?t=1303520307_6.00_11)
