As a publisher I try to give up and coming artists a chance. And as I try to give them a chance I commission art from them. Usually after seeing their samples, I’ll give them a job on some pin-up and interior art so I can get a sense of their style and to see if they’re a good fit for my characters and my stories. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. And when it’s doesn’t I’m stuck with art I can’t use.
For my recent book Spinsterella Goth Girl Summer I commissioned several pieces from up and coming artists who solicited me on Facebook. I gave them a chance. Unfortunately the art didn't meet my standard like this amazing Des Taylor Cover.For my recent book Spinsterella Goth Girl Summer I commissioned several pieces from up and coming artists who solicited me on Facebook. I gave them a chance. Unfortunately the art didn’t meet my standard.
The first piece was from an artist who did the first ever Spinsterella commission. She did a great job on that piece. This one…Not so good. Composition is off, the colors are awful and it just wasn’t fit for print. It was supposed to be used as Matilda’s first modeling photos at Gothshop.com. But it looks like a picture that was overexposed. So I had to scrap it.
The Second piece was by another artist who I commissioned to do a picture of Matilda with no makeup. Now they did an okay job on it, but it just wasn’t right for the book. No Matter what I did to make this image fit the specs for the page it just looked odd.
The third piece came from the same artist. It’s a second piece I commissioned from them after they did a decent job on the first one. But this second one is awful. And I was gonna leave it on the hard drive, but I felt it’d be great for a bad photo used in a hastily made flyer for Goth Night later in the story. So I used it for that.
Now I don’t mind giving artists a chance. However, what I’ve found over the last year I have is that some folks who call themselves artists just are not passionate about their craft. They just want to grab some cash at the expense of a publisher. In the past I wanted to give opportunities to aspiring artists, but I’m gonna have to be a lot more selective about who I work with. I can’t afford to spend money with people who don’t take my business seriously. I don’t have time for people who can’t follow directions, are poor communicators, can’t consistently do a good job or don’t have their payment processors straight.
After all the drama I dealt with from artists who would solicit me, I’m no longer eager to give artists that break like I used to. The way I see it, if artists want a job, they need to produce work that’s up to standard. And usually the ones who produce work up to standard don’t have to come to me looking for work. I have to go to them and ask them if they’re available. I’d rather spend money on a quality piece of art I can publish than spend it on art that isn’t fit for publication.
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