Sketch Covers vs Original Art Debate

[SC in SC]

Sketches, sketch cards, sketch covers, and the like are boils on the posterior of original art collecting

 

Firstly, I agree with what Ruben said. Original comic art pages as a whole is vastly superior to me than sketches. I would much rather have published pages and covers of my favorite comic issues than sketches. However, what I would like and what I can afford/acquire are two different things. The majority of my collection is sketches and will continue to be sketches I quite imagine.

 

There are only a finite number of pages from The Infinity Gauntlet series, but I can get many sketches of Thanos wearing the Infinity Gauntlet by different artists. I enjoy thinking up new ideas for sketches, jam pieces, and commissions. I enjoy looking at the pieces I've acquired so far. I also enjoy getting artists who have a different vision to do characters they haven't done published work on.

 

Comparing sketches, sketch cards, sketch covers, and other such similar artworks to "boils on the posterior of original art collecting" is a slap in the face of collectors who enjoy the artwork. I've seen (and even own) commissioned art and even sketches that not only rival but surpass the artistic quality of some of the original comic pages that are out there. I am not talking monetary value or comicdom importance here, just their artistic qualities.

 

Do I think sketches, commissions, etc. are better as a whole than original published comic art as a whole? Of course not, but there is certainly a place for it in the world of original art collecting, and it's not anywhere near the posterior of the comic art world. When you consider the availability of sketches vs. published art to the casual collectors and collectors with a limited budget, sketches may actually be closer to the heartbeat of original comic art collecting than the published pages are.

[Weird Paper]

I would say that sketches are to original art as state quarters are to coin collecting.

[groovyedwin]

I figure I would pose the following question to the previous posters.

 

Knowing most individuals primarly focus on marvel/dc type art I will tailor the example to that genre.

 

Story goes: I am sitting at the bar and happen to run into an artist I contacted about getting a sketch. The artist spends a fair amount of time and produces a pencil piece that I can put into one of my field sketchbooks. Today the pencil piece, sketch, happens to be the pencils for a published covered.

 

So, is my pencil piece, sketch, OA?

 

This will probably wrap you around a self-fulling defintion that OA is published art => as such published art is the only OA. This is not a definition I prescribe to.

 

Best,

Edwin

[SC in SC]

I would say that sketches are to original art as state quarters are to coin collecting.

 

I would say that is a very astute observation. There are a few of variations of the state quarters that are worth lots of money, but they'll never be equal to a Gold Double Eagle. There are some sketches that are worth lots of money too, but they'll never be worth a Dark Knight Returns page.

 

Like the state quarters though, everyone can collect sketches and not break their bank accounts. They're still original art.

[Terry Doyle]

im working on getting it smaller.............

 

Picture 4 . . . Gollum in a Spidey costume, right?

 

 

 

[USArmyParatrooper]

I actually didn't realize until I read more of the thread that some solely refer to original *published* art as "original art." This a narrow way of thinking and it's factually incorrect.

 

Anytime an artist does a piece with his or her own hand it is original art, sketch covers included. And while original published art is generally of higher monetary value, it still can't be said they're superior in every way. OPA has it's own unique appeal and understandably so. You get to own a part of comic book history of which there is only one. But with sketch covers you get to have your favorite artist create a unique comic book just for you, using your ideas.

 

This was a "wouldn't it be cool" thought I had pertaining to the death of Spider-man. Segovia, one of my favorite artists, brought my idea to live just for me. No doubt the market has put more monetary value on published art. But sketch covers are much more personal.

 

[The Troll King]

I would say that sketches are to original art as state quarters are to coin collecting.

 

A gateway into the real thing?

[comix4fun]

I would say that sketches are to original art as state quarters are to coin collecting.

 

A gateway into the real thing?

 

 

A gateway into debt.

[Terry Doyle]

Personal commissions, employing personal ideas, have limited appeal (not everyone's idea for a 'great drawing' will excite a wider audience). Didn't someone on comicart-l have a commission theme going on relating to silverfish? Can't imagine too many collectors getting excited about silverfish drawings.

 

As long as you're happy with what you ask for, does it really matter what anyone else thinks? You should collect to please yourself, not impress others.

[The Troll King]

I would say that sketches are to original art as state quarters are to coin collecting.

 

A gateway into the real thing?

 

 

A gateway into debt.

(thumbs u

 

[SC in SC]

Comparison time. Original art vs. sketch cover. THIS is why people have said you can't compare the two.

 

Right now there is a page from Wolverine #1 by Frank Miller on ebay. It's page 12 of issue #1 from the original mini-series.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=%20230679477281&afsrc=1

 

It's not the finest piece of Frank Miller art out there, but it is from one of his most popular works. If you take the finest, most exquisite sketch cover of Wolverine and put it up against this page, which is not the finest and most exquisite page from his run on Wolverine, there would still be no comparison on pricing or value. With more than 5 days to go, this auction is already over $3000.

 

I enjoy sketches, and sketch covers are just another type of sketch, but they simply don't compare to published art. Published art has more than the art behind it. It has history, depth, and the emotional feeling that can be achieved when you're able to acquire a favored page from a favored issue of your youth. You can't get that from a sketch, and you CAN get a lot of emotion and comfort from a sketch.

[devilsrain]

The debate should never have been between published OA and sketch covers.

 

It should be between OA and sketch covers. And even though theyre both OA the sketch covers or backboards have more of an appeal (at least to me) in that they can be authenticated by CGC

 

I can get Castrillo right now to recreate that wolverine page and you wouldnt know the difference.

[Terry Doyle]

The debate should never have been between published OA and sketch covers.

 

It should be between OA and sketch covers. And even though theyre both OA the sketch covers or backboards have more of an appeal (at least to me) in that they can be authenticated by CGC

 

I can get Castrillo right now to recreate that wolverine page and you wouldnt know the difference.

 

To most of us (published OA) collectors, authentication by CGC is an alien concept.

 

I balk at the idea of having to rely on something like CGC to tell me what my eyes can see for themselves.

 

Besides, what qualifies a CGC sketch-cover grader to know what the he's authenticating (OA-wise, as opposed to comic-book-condition-wise).

[Weird Paper]

The debate should never have been between published OA and sketch covers.

 

It should be between OA and sketch covers. And even though theyre both OA the sketch covers or backboards have more of an appeal (at least to me) in that they can be authenticated by CGC

 

I can get Castrillo right now to recreate that wolverine page and you wouldnt know the difference.

If you prefer authenticated CGC sketch covers and drawings on backing boards to published original art, then by all means pursue that avenue. But don't somehow try to convince yourself that you're playing in the same sandbox with the thousands of original comic art collectors out there. Ten years from now, sketch covers will be in the bargain bin with the rest of the manufactured collectibles, and original comic book art will still be what it is now.

[comix4fun]

I can get Castrillo right now to recreate that wolverine page and you wouldnt know the difference.

 

 

 

 

That's also because the page from that mini series are a lot of Rubinstein and very little Miller.

[SC in SC]

The debate should never have been between published OA and sketch covers.

 

It should be between OA and sketch covers. And even though theyre both OA the sketch covers or backboards have more of an appeal (at least to me) in that they can be authenticated by CGC

 

Agreed, and yet that was the original debate. Sketch covers vs published OA. I see sketch covers and convention sketches and commissioned pieces as all the same thing. I've never needed authentication because I've either purchased from the artist of purchased pieces that I know beyond any doubt they were done by the artist whose name was on the paper. The only time I've received fake artwork was when the artist I commissioned went and swiped someone else's art, which could just as easily happen with a sketch cover as with any other sketch.

 

Of all my pieces, I think only four or five weren't purchased/commissioned directly from the artist. No authentication needed.

[mister_not_so_nice]

LOOKS LIKE ART to me

[Terry Doyle]

LOOKS LIKE ART to me

 

[mister_not_so_nice]

LOOKS LIKE ART to me

 

 

You're laughing WITH me, right?

[Terry Doyle]

LOOKS LIKE ART to me

 

 

You're laughing WITH me, right?

 

Sure am. (thumbs u