Looking for a Artist 0

[HitManX]

111

Edited July 23, 2018 by HitManX

[BCarter27]

Is this going to be a published project (where the artists are working at larger sizes and you are reducing the art down in size for reproduction)? Or is this a personal sketch book and you want them to draw in it at that size for just you? Judging by your examples, I would say the former, but I wanted to be clear on what you are asking.

[alxjhnsn]

Two sites come to mind:

 

1. Comic Art Commissions and
2. Deviant Art

The former has listings for various kinds of artwork. 

[John E.]

Isn’t Esad Ribic’s rep Anthony Snyder? If so, Anthony is in the middle of a cross country “comic art” road trip and I believe he’s not due back to New Jersey until at least the end of the month. Depending on when you contacted him, the road trip might be a reason why you haven’t heard back. Furthermore, I also get the impression that Ribic works with large paper; your project seems diminutive compared to what he’s used to, so that may be factor in whether or not he’ll accept the project to begin with (assuming this isn’t for publication). It may be in your best interest to contact Anthony before New York Comic Con in October to see if Esad could squeeze you in for a quickie sketch at the con. Just a suggestion.

Best of luck with your pursuit. 

[HitManX]

1111

Edited July 23, 2018 by HitManX

[BCarter27]

Sounds like a fun product for the gift market. However, typically those items sell at such a low price point that commissioning elaborate artwork for them is expensive. You would have more margin and lower costs by licensing existing art from museums. Also, you have to know the gift market and be able to sell in high volume. I would not expect to make any money on this if you decide to proceed.

Have you thought about trying to fund a short print run via Kickstarter? You could test the water there.

For historical illustration, Ray Lago, Chris Weston, Guy Davis, Jerry Bingham, John Paul Leon, Jackson Guice, Jerry Ordway, Luke Ross, Sergio Davila, Mark Schultz, Phil Jimenez, Tim Bradstreet, Tony Harris, and Michael Lark come to mind. But these are all mainly comic artists (not that they couldn't do some amazing illustration work too.)

Also, have a look around the Illuxcon Showcase and ARC Gallery sites. The Spectrum books are packed with great illustrators. Might be some leads there.

If you want to keep it cheap, Deviantart and Instagram.

My guess is that this project will not be cost-effective. Remember commissioning work for publication doesn't mean you own the original art. And commissioning original art for yourself does not mean you have the right to publish it. Those are typically two separate fees.

Also, most art for publication is done at larger sizes and then reduced for reproduciton. This "tightens' up the linework and produces a cleaner-looking final product.

[HitManX]

11111

Edited July 23, 2018 by HitManX

[BCarter27]

Most commercial illustration operates under 2b (buy out and work for hire). This is simpler for the publisher as you do not want to be stuck calculating complex royalties for numerous products/SKUs.

Yes, that is Spectrum. But all of those illustrators are top of their field. Expect heavy prices.

I would say you want a minimum 33% reduction in size. 50% would be better.

Look at Magic the Gathering paintings... The ones I've seen in person are about 10x14 and rendered fairly loose. They resize them down to less than half the size of a playing card.

You'll also need to decide the medium and scope of the art -- fully painted (either traditional or digital) will likely cost more than a penciled and inked piece.

Your most important step is doing market research... Who is buying decorative notebooks like this in the gift market? Are they the same buyers who will know who these A-level comic and fantasy illustrators are? (Likely not.) Therefore, your best option is to get the cheapest artist who can produce the quality of work you need -- disregarding their pedigree and name recognition in comics and fantasy.

So if you are looking to turn a profit, I would say you are back to looking at art students or up and comers on DeviantArt who can work for very little at buy out rates. And finding a "diamond in the rough" is not as easy as you think, even with all of the talented amateurs out on the internet now. It takes an art director's eye and experience. And if you see someone good, chances are they've been snatched up already by another company or have raised their freelance rates accordingly.

After your eyes fall out from looking at 100s of terrible portfolios, you'll realize there are no shortcuts here and you will be back to the option I mentioned earlier -- licensing classical art from museums and other institutions. Also, I'd wager the educated people who would buy such a literary gift notebook would also prefer it to have beautifully-presented classical art which they are (possibly) familiar with -- not custom, new artwork from contemporary artists.

Apologies if I come across so negative, but I am just trying to save you time and money.

One other thought... Decorative notebooks tend to be more of a disposable item. If you were to spend that much cash to commission custom works from some of these A-list artists, and are willing to potentially lose money, I would say they would warrant a much nicer presentation that a tiny notebook. Do an art book or something you could sell in the education sector. Those have much longer shelf lives than the gift market and more opportunities for marketing.

More comic artists that spring to mind... Tim Truman, Mike S Miller, David Michael Beck, Nicola Scott. There are lots of non-comic illustrators out there that I am not thinking of.