 A few months ago, I was approached by someone who said that they loved my work and wondered if I would be willing to do some of that work for a family member of theirs? Something we in the industry call a “commissioned piece.” Now, when someone asks me for something like this, there are a series of questions that follow that are most always never thought of originally but, because of experience, are a natural progression to the work; what size, specific wording, the ever important price and, the final question I ask, when would you like this done by? To which most of the answers I hear in return are always along the lines of, “Oh, whenever you get a free minute, just whip something up.” Now, to be clear here, I need to point out that at this moment, TWO different conversations are happening inside the respective heads of Artist and Client. The Client might be thinking, “I don’t want to interrupt you” or “I believe that you can do this commission for me rather quickly” or even, “I am not sure what your schedule is?” But that is not what the Artist hears with those words. What the Artist is hearing is, “I’m not really sure if this is how I want the idea to take form” or “does the Client understand the commission?” Or in some cases, “does the Client really even want the work done or is it still just a thought?” While a potential Client might not want to seem imposing, they must understand that this art form is pretty much a deadline driven industry and while they may not want to seem forceful, they need to remember to clearly communicate to the Artist which mental ‘Deadline Pile’ this request needs to be put in. Should this be done by Christmas? … List A. Should this be done by next month? … List B. Should this be done by next week? … List C, and so on and so on. Cartoonists and comic book Artists are trained to think in deadlines and that is how they gauge their workload. Deadline by deadline. The point is this, clear communication with the Artist is not an ‘infringement of their time or rights’ … it’s good business practice. You wouldn’t buy a house or a car without knowing your side of the deal and purchasing art, while on a less grander scale, is no different. Any seasoned Artist who doesn’t ask these questions, I would consider inexperienced or undisciplined; either way, know your rights, know their rights and communicate expectations that way everyone knows where they stand. It will make for an easier transaction and save some frustration down the road. Have a thought about or agree with this article? Comment below and let me know what you think?
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There are a couple here that I did not publish in the dailies. Let me know what you think.
To see more of Sketch's Journal Entries click here.
I started a different Journal yesterday in addition to the one I am already doing. It follows along the same line as the Personal one that I publish regularly but it goes into more in-depth work for me with meanings and such. I won't be publishing these as much because, well, there personal and private meant for me and sometimes are not meant to be funny or profound, they just mean something to me. No rhyme. No reason. Just thoughts. Also, since Spring is" legally" here, I am going to start up again with the "Out and About" series again. Where I am going to be packing up my stuff and heading out to Parks, Landmarks, local places of interest, to give some history, background and some fun. As Shannon told me last night; "Camping Season is almost upon us!" If you have any recommendations on places where you think I'd might like, that are good for creativity, or you just wanna se me try post a response below.  To see more of Sketch's Journal Entries click here.
I created a landing page for first time visitors to this site that, I think, is a good intro for my work, plus, I rearranged some things to make them flow better and lastly, the rest of March's cartoons have been posted. I even managed to get OtL sent out with little problem this week. Livin the Dream!
I have been keeping a little journal of daily inspired drawings in a small date book since January 1, some of you may have seen some of these over on my Instagram page. It was my New Years Resolution and while this is not the full collection of them, I thought I’d just put these out for you guys to enjoy. There is something SPECIAL about them but, nothing that I am willing to talk about right now, maybe later. |
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