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Ahoy Mythopoeians! Welcome back to Working with Artists, where we go over the fundamentals on how to collaborate with visual artists on your original world. In Part 1 we talked about how to convey your vision to potential artists. Part II covered where to find artists online. Before we hop into this week's topic, I had one last note on where to find artists that I forgot to mention last time: CONVENTIONS Conventions are great places to find artists! Many will be exhibiting their wares and portfolios for you to see. All have created a career in the arts. For me - I tend to stay local as I’m spoiled for choice with conventions out in LA. Here are some of the ones that are great places for meeting artists: San Diego Comic-Con was this past week and there were artists all over the place! Comic, Anime, and Art Conventions are a great place to meet artists in general. San Diego is a bit less comic focused specifically and more of the pop culture comics have spawned with Hollywood having a big presence every year! You’ll find many working professionals from the entertainment industry roaming or exhibiting in the halls, on panels, and of course Artist’s Alley and Small Press - both of which are application based - but compared to other comic-cons like New York and Emerald City, San Diego tends to be a little bit more pop-culture / entertainment focused. Anime Expo has a huge artists alley and just a ton of people in general. The lines are an absolute nightmare but there is plenty to see and do once you get in. Anime in general is huge and you’ll find a ton of great artists like Mythopoeia's very own Hamm Liu and Dia Ja here. You can find tons of talented artists influenced or steeped in anime at A/X, so if you're looking to create a project in that style it's a great place to search. CTN also bears honorable mention as one of the premier gatherings of soon to be art school grads every year. You can find a lot of really talented artists here. It’s pretty crazy in that it’s the best of the best students and makes you realize just how insanely talented people are, and how ubiquitous talent is! Comic Con LA is an up and coming show which has made major strides since 2019. Previously Stan Lee's Comikaze, they've since shifted from more of a Silver / Golden Age collectible focused show to capturing the zeitgeist of current comics and pop culture as a whole. I'm very bullish on this show and think it'll grow tremendously over the next few years. EVALUATING ARTISTS' PORTFOLIOSOkay, back to our regular programming! Now that you know where to find artists, how do you actually evaluate their work? This is a tricky question because we’re not artists ourselves in the sense that we can’t draw or render. We do however have big imaginations and have worked with some pretty incredibly talented artists over the years, almost all of whom we’ve had years long working relationships with. So with all of that said, the following is just our own opinion about artists and what to look for when evaluating portfolios. Take it or leave it as you will, but it's what we do when on the hunt for talent. The Secret - It’s Intuitive.You know it when you see it. Good art captivates you right away. Yes or no. Like or dislike. It’s as simple as that. It’s all subjective, but there are radiants of taste, style, culture, and identity that help us identify the universal we see resonating to those who see. You know it when you see it. We’ve always relied on our instinct to determine what we like in artists. Find what matches your vision. The highest form of whatever it is you want it to be. Go from there, and see if you can find an artist that sees. Bah, Ray! What a wishy washey answer! You know it when you see it? Okay, fine fine fine you can go all art nerd on this kind of stuff, and it does help bring guidelines to the decision making process. So here's a list of things to look out for, in no particular order: fundamentalsAnatomy. Proportions. Sketches. We always like seeing sketchbooks because it indicates training and dedication. Mastering the anatomy of our world gives the basis for us to imagine others. Physics!  A study of hands in an artist's sketchbook. PERSPECTIVEAre things in perspective? Does the horizon vanish? Do the lines line up? Very important when working on the wide detailed shots we’re so fond of, but a difficult and important aspect of an artist’s technique.  An early ink work in progress from Skies of Fire #2 by Pablo Peppino. EXPRESSIONSWhat can they do with the mouth or face? Expressions tell the story of emotion. What kind of facial expressions can be expressed by the artist? Is there a variety of feelings?  Expression studies for Myra the Witch done by Anny Maulina. MOVEMENTCapturing kinetic energy on a static image is impossible. Great artists capture the key frame - the moment needed to move the story visually. This is the art of the movement, and also a little bit the art of the cut.  From our upcoming projecting, Wanderer of the Wastes. DETAILHow rendered is everything? Rendering is the process of adding detail to a piece. Maximum or minimum detail isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, but the amount of detail is a consideration.  Another work in progress from Skies of Fire #2 showing detailed cross hatching from Pablo Peppino. STYLEWhat style is the artist most comfortable in? How malleable is the artist to style? Is it the style you’re looking for? Can they stretch or blend into something amazIng with the other artists? Is it what you envision for your own project? Another note on young artists versus developed ones: when an artist is young, their style tends to be more malleable. As they make their way through the freelancing and professional ranks, they tend to either adapt their own style or be molded by the studio or school that they draw for. That's why you can sometimes tell what training an artist has - Art Center students have a certain look, SCAD another, Disney artists have a bit of Disney in all that they do, Riot artists similarly, etc. etc.  An early concept for The Wildsea by Omercan Cirit. PINUPSPinups, or compositions featuring mostly character art, are relatively easy to draw and can be deceptive. That said, cover work is always very important. We need to see more than just pinups in a portfolio. We’re looking for a variety of scenes and landscapes, to see if an artist can visually convey a story.  A variant cover for Glow #5 by Hammond Liang. SCENESAs opposed to pinups, scenes involve the interaction of characters within environments. Characters must be placed within the confines of a setting, which may or may not be rendered out with landscapes, architecture, and perspective. Scenes are difficult to master as they require a grasp of all of the previous categories and are the primary reason why sequential art - comics - are one of the most difficult mediums for any artist.  A page from the forthcoming Sansha and Blanco by Vinse Suriantoo. COLORSA whole entire can of worms that warrants its own article. Again, the primary rubric is binary: you know it's good when you see it.  The first color sample of Skies of Fire done by Bryan Valenza. Like with all things, the study of art can go ever deeper and taxonomize ever further. Use the above categories as a starting point, but remember the fundamental rule: you'll know it when you see it.
Use the rubric to help guide the discussion otherwise. Agree or disagree with the points above? Comment down below! Until next time, Ray Ahoy Mythopoeians! Welcome back to Working with Artists, where we go over the fundamentals on how to collaborate with visual artists on your original world. Last time we talked about how to visualize your world even without an artistic background using words, mood boards, and story bibles as a guide. This week the topic on hand is where to find artists. Over the years Vince and I have gone through almost every avenue of artist search you can imagine, and as you can imagine, the artist landscape has changed drastically over the years! Nonetheless, these are our go-to spots when it comes to scouting for new talent. THE TRIANGLE: CHEAP, FAST, AND GOOD |
| The big theme this year for us was Third Party Logistics (3PL). After years of shipping thousands of packages ourselves, we just simply weren't up for it anymore. It took too much time, energy, and the amount of packages we were sending out per year got to a point where we needed some help. We didn't handle this very well. In terms of vendors, we thought going with a warehouse fulfillment that was familiar with crowdfunding and our categories - geek products - would be the way to go, but it turned out that we were a bit too small to be a good fit. One thing that we've learned and relearned this year that when looking for vendors and partners, it's always good to match one another, in terms of size, ambition, and demeanor. |  Vince and Ray back in 2014, fulfilling our first Kickstarter campaign. |
With Quartermaster, I think we just were a little bit too small for them to really matter. Nothing against them, but we found our fulfillment constantly pushed back which was a really tough pill to swallow. On their end, it was a challenging year as well with a lot of the same market forces at play leading to delays everywhere, but unfortunately that often left us as the low man on the totem pole as the queue from their warehouse fulfillment grew with other larger projects.
Another aspect we should've thought more about was geographic location. QML is located in Florida and I'm located in Los Angeles. That's around 2,568 miles or 4,132 km between the two locations. The distance added another layer of complexity to things like ocean freight, and a lot of small customer support issues could've been solved had we been in driving distance. Lesson learned - for our next campaign we're going with a local fulfillment center, which incidentally has quoted us cheaper rates and we have a prior working relationship with (Bear with Me Toys - the manufacturers of the Tanvir Plushie!)
Another aspect we should've thought more about was geographic location. QML is located in Florida and I'm located in Los Angeles. That's around 2,568 miles or 4,132 km between the two locations. The distance added another layer of complexity to things like ocean freight, and a lot of small customer support issues could've been solved had we been in driving distance. Lesson learned - for our next campaign we're going with a local fulfillment center, which incidentally has quoted us cheaper rates and we have a prior working relationship with (Bear with Me Toys - the manufacturers of the Tanvir Plushie!)
Europe / Brexit
We've known Brexit to be coming for a number of years, but 2022 is where the rubber really met the pavement with regards to tariffs and shipping. Specifically, July of 2021 saw items of less than EUR 22 imported into the EU to no longer be exempt from VAT.
In addition to increased prices, that meant increased handling and holding of the shipments, and an extra payment barrier for you, our backers, to go through if their shipment was held up by the post office / customs. As many of you know, that resulted in a very, very expensive situation for everyone involved.
We've since been looking into IOSS and providing Customs Friendly shipments to our fans / backers in the EU, and that has proven to be difficult as well. The startup fee to obtain IOSS status is somewhere in the $7,000 region, which, given our volume at the current moment, remains prohibitively expensive.
The silver lining here is that we are not the only ones to have faced this issue from the UK to EU, and Bezos, our 3PL Partner in England, has also been working to resolve this issue. As of writing they are implementing some form of customs friendly shipping sometime in August, meaning that orders will hopefully not be held by customs and all postal fees will be baked in.
For our UK backers, Bezos has been a great company to work with. Fast, responsive, with good shipping rates. We're excited to continue working with them and we think that their addition of IOSS clearance will make things better - not great, as yknow, Brexit - for our EU fans.
In addition to increased prices, that meant increased handling and holding of the shipments, and an extra payment barrier for you, our backers, to go through if their shipment was held up by the post office / customs. As many of you know, that resulted in a very, very expensive situation for everyone involved.
We've since been looking into IOSS and providing Customs Friendly shipments to our fans / backers in the EU, and that has proven to be difficult as well. The startup fee to obtain IOSS status is somewhere in the $7,000 region, which, given our volume at the current moment, remains prohibitively expensive.
The silver lining here is that we are not the only ones to have faced this issue from the UK to EU, and Bezos, our 3PL Partner in England, has also been working to resolve this issue. As of writing they are implementing some form of customs friendly shipping sometime in August, meaning that orders will hopefully not be held by customs and all postal fees will be baked in.
For our UK backers, Bezos has been a great company to work with. Fast, responsive, with good shipping rates. We're excited to continue working with them and we think that their addition of IOSS clearance will make things better - not great, as yknow, Brexit - for our EU fans.
BANDWIDTH
For the past couple of years we've been juggling both Skies of Fire and Glow with some consistency. We also have a comic we've been working on behind the scenes for a long time, Sansha and Blanco. In 2021 we forayed into publishing with The Wildsea RPG and followed up with CBR+PNK: Augmented this year.
This didn't quite happen...
It's been extremely challenging growing from two projects to five. Although our role as a publisher is very different from that of a creator, there's still be a lot to juggle in terms of project management, communication, manufacturing, fulfillment, etc. This has at times proven difficult from a bandwidth standpoint, especially when you factor in creative work. I've done less creative writing I have this year than maybe in the past five years, and that's been very hard for me personally. I love writing, it feed my soul, and I know at the end of the day it's my fault - don't have anyone else to blame - for not prioritizing writing as much as I should, but finding the balance between growing the business of Mythopoeia and the worlds of Skies of Fire and Glow is something I'm still trying to figure out.
On Writing
In terms of the next edition of Glow, we're debating whether or not to release #5-6 as a single hardcover volume. It just makes more sense for us to be able to continue the story that way, and to be honest that 60 page hardcover format was something we've thought about for a long time. Thoughts on the change of format? Should we go straight to hardcover instead of releasing individual issues?
One of the variant covers we have upcoming for Glow.
 Snippet from the journal. | In any case, we have some cool covers cooking up. The story itself along with codexes is now wrapped up, but we're waiting for a launch window for the project. Per usual this year, we're backed up and need to get the Skies of Fire Collected Edition off the ground first. Not withstanding, the past few weeks have been really great from a creative standpoint for Glow. Truth told, I've been blocked on the writing for quite some time now. Last year I wrote a draft all the way through to #8, but just wasn't happy with the story that came out. It felt convoluted, confused, and I didn't really know where to go. I had an idea of the themes, and a large sort of ... point... where I wanted to hit plotwise, but there were a lot of things that were up in the air. I kept drafting and redrafting, pitching Vince new ideas to which I would see him furrow his brow intently (never a good sign lol). He's been monumental in lighting the way, but it's been a maze of a story this entire year. |
I went back to writing analogue in a journal for Glow at some point, pushing down little anecdotes of lore in lieu of any new pages. Finally, a couple of months ago I made the decision to scrap what I had written for #8 and parts of #7. As often the case, I found myself revisiting old plot points and exploring character motivation, still so stuck, stuck, stuck.
Work in progress...It's been hard to find a way through, and what's more I've on more than one occasion let other concerns of distract me from writing. So, that is to say I'm working my way back into a rhythm and this week was has been good. Really good. I think I broke a key beat of the story, and for the first time in a long time I'm happy with what I'm producing. I've switched to late evening creative writing from early morning too and with the rest of the stuff going on in my life that seems like a good time.
So yeah, the struggles. Is there anything more stereotypically writeresque than having writer's block besides maybe procrastinating actually writing? Truly sometimes a miserable form of alchemy, the craft of writing :)
Work in progress...It's been hard to find a way through, and what's more I've on more than one occasion let other concerns of distract me from writing. So, that is to say I'm working my way back into a rhythm and this week was has been good. Really good. I think I broke a key beat of the story, and for the first time in a long time I'm happy with what I'm producing. I've switched to late evening creative writing from early morning too and with the rest of the stuff going on in my life that seems like a good time.
So yeah, the struggles. Is there anything more stereotypically writeresque than having writer's block besides maybe procrastinating actually writing? Truly sometimes a miserable form of alchemy, the craft of writing :)
communication
Throughout these challenges, I've been reminded about the beauty of fans and the generosity and spirit you've come to embody through this thing called crowdfunding. I know things have changed since 2014, but one of the principles I've learned and constantly need to relearn in all of this is that communication is key.
Back when things were looking especially dire, those closest to me urged me to reach out to Kickstarter and communicate what was going on behind the scenes. Somehow, that still was very difficult to me - I have a announce things when there's good news mentality, but I know that can lead to large gaps of silence (like the last few months with Skies of Fire). When I did write that post, the response from all of you moved me.
So many times this year I've felt so... inadequate. Some of it has been out of my control but some of it comes down to my own shortcomings and mistakes. I know how much I have to learn when it comes to handling all of this, but still I need to remind myself that the most important part of my job is communication - to you, our fans, to our artists, Vince, vendors, and everyone else that helps us make these wonderful worlds.
I know there have been times this year where I've been lacking, and I know I need to and will do better. Thank you for being patient with us as we go through all of this. I don't take it for granted one bit, especially not when my butt's being kicked to the curb by *gestures wildly* this.
Thank you for being empathetic to the challenges we've faced.
Thank you, for being critical and helping us get better.
Thank you, for sticking with us and fostering our growth.
- Ray
Back when things were looking especially dire, those closest to me urged me to reach out to Kickstarter and communicate what was going on behind the scenes. Somehow, that still was very difficult to me - I have a announce things when there's good news mentality, but I know that can lead to large gaps of silence (like the last few months with Skies of Fire). When I did write that post, the response from all of you moved me.
So many times this year I've felt so... inadequate. Some of it has been out of my control but some of it comes down to my own shortcomings and mistakes. I know how much I have to learn when it comes to handling all of this, but still I need to remind myself that the most important part of my job is communication - to you, our fans, to our artists, Vince, vendors, and everyone else that helps us make these wonderful worlds.
I know there have been times this year where I've been lacking, and I know I need to and will do better. Thank you for being patient with us as we go through all of this. I don't take it for granted one bit, especially not when my butt's being kicked to the curb by *gestures wildly* this.
Thank you for being empathetic to the challenges we've faced.
Thank you, for being critical and helping us get better.
Thank you, for sticking with us and fostering our growth.
- Ray
This post was syndicated from Kickstarter updates.
Ahoy Mythopoeians!
Welcome to Working with Artists! In this series, we’ll be going over the fundamentals on how to work with professional or aspiring artists on comics, games, and other collaborative mediums to build your story world and artistic process. This series should be useful to writers, producers, content creators, and anyone else who wants to work on their world-building collaboration skills. More particularly, in the next few weeks (aiming to release an article a week) we’ll be going over the following topics:
Welcome to Working with Artists! In this series, we’ll be going over the fundamentals on how to work with professional or aspiring artists on comics, games, and other collaborative mediums to build your story world and artistic process. This series should be useful to writers, producers, content creators, and anyone else who wants to work on their world-building collaboration skills. More particularly, in the next few weeks (aiming to release an article a week) we’ll be going over the following topics:
- Conveying Your Vision - how to develop a strong visual identity for your work even before beginning the artist search.
- Where to Find Artists - where on the world wide internet to look for artists, and how to gauge their potential interest before approaching.
- Artist Portfolio Reviews - how to look at portfolios, examine fundamentals, and unearth red flags.
- Partnering with Artists - how to approach and audition artists, contracts, and how to be a professional.
The first ever artwork we received from Pablo for Skies of Fire.
Hopefully you’ll find the information useful, whether you’re an aspiring or seasoned creative. In our eight years of making comics and games, one of the strongest aspects we’ve had is our strong visual development. And although both Vince and I have art degrees (BFAs of Film & TV from NYU Tisch), we really see ourselves more as directors, producers, and collaborators who draw upon and bring out the best in a team of talented individuals to create our work.
We’ve always been known for our beautiful art, which is no coincidence. We work with talented artists from around the world and have been able to develop the skills and portfolios of those who have collaborated with us. That’s in turn opened the door for us to work with more established artists, and so and so forth.
So without further ado, let’s hop into Part 1: Conveying Your Vision after the jump.
We’ve always been known for our beautiful art, which is no coincidence. We work with talented artists from around the world and have been able to develop the skills and portfolios of those who have collaborated with us. That’s in turn opened the door for us to work with more established artists, and so and so forth.
So without further ado, let’s hop into Part 1: Conveying Your Vision after the jump.
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