babsrocks31

On 2/27/2022 at 6:51 AM, Andahaion said:

Eowyn by Priscilla Petraites.  11" x 17" ink on paper.

I first took notice of Ms. Petraites work when I saw an amazing Wonder Woman piece posted somewhere online. It had a great sense of action, and of interest to me, atmosphere. So, I reached out to her to inquire about a commission and once her list opened up I jumped at the chance. I offered her several ideas and she decided on her take of Eowyn from Lord of the Rings, one of my favorite characters.

And for those interested, this would certainly qualify for the Morlock collecting thread, good value here in my opinion.  The commission process took a little longer than expected, which is fine, but also just an FYI for those interested.  Placed the commission in July 2021, and art was delivered this week.  I only mention this as the artist didn't manage expectations very well.  She initially said I'd have the art in "a couple weeks".  It's all good though, she was very responsive whenever I checked in.  I would recommend.  

This is a very nice piece, but it does irk me when artists grossly misrepresent a timeframe. 

I'm all for being patient and having good faith. You know what I value even more than those things? Honesty and good communication.

If an artist tells me it's going to take six months, I won't worry because I know they are busy... But when an artist tells me within a month and there's radio silence until I reach out to them three months later? I'm less likely to recommend this artist, regardless of how good the piece turns out.

I rarely use these sites anyways. As someone on a budget, the fees actively annoy me... I understand they need their cut, but it comes across as too much and a bit sneaky. Make it easy for me to buy fr you, not harder.

Very jealous you acquired a Bermejo piece!

Tim Seeley made a print of one of my commissions before. He also uses one of my favorite commissions as his Twitter banner (himself meeting his own characters at a con).

NSFW!!! (If I should have posted another way, please tell me).

On 3/5/2022 at 8:05 AM, Xatari said:

Man, I strongly disagree, having jumped into the hobby in the last two years. There were a TON of value pieces that really paid off and allowed my to parlay into bigger pieces. You just have to do two things…

1. Read books after the year 2000.

2. Do research. 

It’s not the easiest hobby by any means due to the points you made, but there is a lot of fun and value out there. I want to see more people enjoy it rather than keep it small. 

New collector here so I am bias, but I agree... I want to see it grow. I feel that way about everything and everyone that I love... Grow and flourish. That will make me happy far more than hoarding it all to myself.

On 3/10/2022 at 12:46 PM, Ron C. said:

One more from the CGC signing.

I love when artists are able to include a text bubble like this. I've asked for this sort of thing very often and so many times it backfires... I'm like, I don't expect professional lettering... 

Yours turned out great!

On 1/11/2022 at 12:04 PM, DELTA 62 said:

Nothing like a 'lil blood splatter to accentuate a sketch!  Congrats!

It's so true. Any tiny splash of colour adds a lot, and the more creative ways an artist can add it the better.

I am planning on just paying it since its not that late.

To be honest, I usually do this to get dealer's to be honest about the time frame. If its my first time working with an artist and I get sketchy (no pun intended vibes), i'll ask for a 60/40 split. With dealer's, I do this with the 90/10 because they tend to do things like asking you to pay extra to cover paypal fees or telling you it will be ready right away and then it taking forever. However, the good side to them is that dealer's have always gotten me the art in the end whereas artists have ripped me off completely in the past (albeit rarely). 

I think i'm going to just pay the ten percent since it isn't that late and has not been a huge problem. If another three months or so had passed, that would be a different story... but it's close enough that I don't feel overly cheated.

edit: thank you all for the different opinions.

So, I have an odd situation to deal with.

When I get commissions I tend to ask to pay for a commission 90% up front, plus shipping. With the remaining 10% being paid if the commission is completed before a certain date. I always try to settle the date around the artist's schedule so that I'm being patient.

I do all of this because a commission being a little late doesn't bug me, but a commission being years later or never coming at all ... Yeah, that's irritating. Nothing worse then getting burned.

In this case, I was on an artist's list for commissions. The artist's dealer contacted me saying the list was open and he expects the artist to complete the commissions quickly. Will have them to me in three months. So I asked the rep if I could pay 90% now and the rest if they are completed by December 31st 2021 (over double the time the dealer told me it would take).

I was just contacted and they are finished (February 17, 2022).

I'm thinking I'll just pay the remaining owing rather than make a fuss, but it has got me thinking about best practice in these situations. I do often feel the buyer gets the short end of the stick.

What say you all?

Thank you for compiling this. It is a great resource, and I love that it helps out artists too.

Please consider adding artist Dave Acosta to the list as he is a talented modern artist and always pleasant to deal with, His site is: https://davedrawsgood.com/

On 1/12/2022 at 3:20 PM, Will_K said:

I had a few thoughts on this piece but I'm not sure if OP posted because he wanted us to critique Sampere's style/methods or OP's taste.

I think a medium and tools are only as good as the artist (and their experience) using it. 

I don't mind the critiques. 

Hey everyone, OP here. The page is laid out in quite a banal style. I find it works well in the context of the issue, but I knew full well it was pretty run of the mill when I bought it. I enjoy the panel with Zatanna's face/closeup on the bottom middle, which is why I bought it. I think he did a wonderful job depicting her emotion there, but I know it is the only real highlight on display here.

It was very affordable ($50 If I remember), and I have many other more "interesting" pages from the series... so, I welcome your critiques and don't worry... I enjoy the piece "for what it is" and I know full well "what it is" too haha.

Thanks everyone. My eye test had this around 6.5 - 7.5 too, so glad to hear there is some consensus.

Thanks very much and have a happy new year!

  What a great thread idea. Here's to the OP or someone else starting a 2022 version.

   With everything going on out there, sometimes art seemed pretty small fry in 2021, but it was still a great year for collecting.

   To big time collectors my goals probably seem modest, but they are big for me! All Justice League Dark related:

   I managed to pry two pages from Justice League Dark away from Kyle Hotz, after months of discussing them.

   I also picked up some of Kyle's old art depicting Chastity, something that had been on my list since I got into the hobby.

   Also got some JLD pages by Alvaro Martinez, which I had previously given up on due to prices... So this was a nice achievement for me.

   But of course, the biggest one for me was finally finding a copy of Detective Comics 359 (first Barbara Gordon/Batgirl) that I was happy with the quality of the book, the price, and certain intangibles that make a book worth it.

   I recently purchased a monoprint page from Justice League Dark by Daniel Sampere, as well as a pencil and ink sketch of Zatanna, who is also featured in the page.

Obviously, one is book quality and one is a head sketch, but what struck me about them is that the only thing that really stood out to me as different between the two mediums, is the bottle of booze on the shelf in the monoprint. That bottle looks amazing, but almost too good in a way. It certainly seems like it would be a lot harder to replicate the realistic Ajmer and glare on that bottle in pencil.

  This got me thinking background detail might be a reason many artists are going digital. I'm not advocating either way, just pointing out what I noticed as a hobbyist in this case. 

On 12/8/2021 at 9:58 PM, RayJr said:

Rogue has always been my favorite X-Men member. Dope sketch!

Thanks. 

Walter Geovani can do a nice ballpoint commission for ya for under a hundred bucks, and no I'm not his rep haha.

On 11/20/2021 at 1:45 PM, alexgross.com said:

this.

be aware that even indirect sunlight will indeed fade your books or art. the room should ideally have no windows whatsoever. the fading is so gradual you won't even notice it until it's too late. 

This sounds like a horror movie, but I believe you.

On 11/19/2021 at 10:01 AM, marvelmaniac said:

They do sell UV protected frames for CGC graded books, however, after looking online they appear to be pricey and most vendors seem to be out of stock due to supply chain issues.

They also make clear UV protected acrylic sheets you can place over the slab.

Thanks (for responses from everyone).

Do you remember where you've seen these acrylic sheets? I've come across some that go in the slab (but then why would I open it), but none that somehow go over top.

Hey folks, how do you protect your slabbed comics from UV lighting?

   I feel that this topic deserves an update because there is a manufacturer shortage affecting most BCW supplies, and others as well. 

   I know UV resistant wall mounts and frames are the most common, and there are some neat homemade ones from places like Etsy.

   I like to lean my slabbed books against the wall on top of a shelf, however. Minimal wall damage this way. Does anyone have any recommended options that will do okay without mounting or hanging?

It's too bad BCW's bags for slabbed books don't offer UV protection...

Side note- I used the search function and didn't find any related threads, but I'm sure they are out there, so apologies if I am duplicating here.

Soren Commission by Nathan Gooden, artist of Barbaric for Vault comics (and many others).

Walter Geovani does some really incredible stuff using only your standard ballpoint pen. Here's Rogue:

On 9/5/2021 at 5:28 AM, Rick2you2 said:

If you could choose between the following 2 pieces, and they were priced the same, which would you favor? And, if they were not priced the same, how much more would you pay as compared to the other? Each one has strengths and weaknesses, but I don't want to tip my hand as they are both pretty similar.

Layout of the first is a lot more unique and interesting. I think the second has more specific panels that I prefer, but despite that I prefer the first overall. Layout goes a long way for me, and I find it very appealing when an artist does anything they can to liven up the typical left to right rectangles approach to storytelling.

I 'd pay slightly higher for the first, but probably couldn't afford either anyway.

What is everyone's thoughts on getting letters added? 

Just as blasphemous?

  I have a Zatanna commission and was considering having a speech bubble added. Like the idea of having her casting a spell. I actually asked the artist to include one, and he agreed, but it never happened. I probably could have complained but it just didn't seem like the right call at the time...