But what does it mean?

[meeks]

Let's see if getting this into visual text helps me organize my thoughts a bit...

I've been reading a lot of interesting posts and discussions lately about crowdfunding, e-book pricing, and self publishing and pondering the implications for me as an illustrator.

I gave up on illustration by the time I left school, in part because I found the business aspect thoroughly unappealing. I can't stand dealing with people who care more about money than craft, and I certainly don't have the people skills to charm an agent or an art director into buying my work. The idea that one should never produce work for free, likewise didn't sit well with a young artist for whom learning and enjoyment were infinitely more powerful motivators than money.

Thank goodness for the internet.

In the five years since I graduated, technology and the publishing industry have evolved to the point where an awkward, introverted aspie can collaborate with an author thousands of kilometers away to create and publish a picture book. I can release an e-book myself, at no cost beyond my monthly internet connection. Sites like kickstarter make it possible to raise the funds needed to produce a print edition that can be sold in physical book stores. All without a single phone call or face-to-face meeting. For text based books the process is even simpler, with the flexible epub format, and a variety of print on demand services - some of which will not only produce paper copies of a book, but make it available through major book retailers.

Big publishers have become optional. Writers are excited about this, because it means they can keep the rights to their work. It means they can write the stories they want to tell without having to cater to mainstream tastes. It means not having to wait a year or more before their work is available to their readers. And it means they can make more money while charging less, which makes their work affordable to a wider audience. 

But I am not a writer. The benefits to artists are less clear. What I know is that bypassing traditional publishers leaves more opportunities for direct collaboration. I may lack the independent creativity to deal with a manuscript entirely on my own, but now I can work with an author to ensure that my vision is compatible with theirs. If I'm not sure about a character's hair or eye colour? I can ask. I hate trying to make decisions based on incomplete information, and that kind of certainty makes a big difference.

I know that with nothing to stop them, more stories are being released that could potentially be accompanied by artwork. I've got two more children's books lined up, and I've done nothing to market myself. 

...which kinda makes me wonder what would happen if I did.

There are people making decent money by sharing their work free on the internet. Their fans support them by buying merchandise and books (both electronic and paper) and through outright donations to express their appreciation. Huh. People with money are willing to spend it on things they actually enjoy. Who'd have thought. :P

Could that work for illustration? Storybooks are wonderful; I love working on them, and I plan to continue doing so, but they are definitely long-term projects, and I can't do many of them in a year. Is there any demand for quick sketches? If I invite people to contribute ideas for warm-up sketches and ArtRage experiments..will anyone want them? How about single illustrations? I already price personal/non-commercial work at 'what you think it's worth, adjusted for what you can afford' but I don't advertise my availability to take commissions. Should I? What do people want to see from an artist without her own stories to tell?

Comments

[citystate.livejournal.com]

encountered this link... might be a place to get some answers
http://ellenmilliongraphics.com/sketchfest/

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

I just came across that in the crowdfunding community, myself, but it looks like I've missed it for this month :( Will try posting a comment and see if what kind of response I get...

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>I can't stand dealing with people who care more about money than craft, and I certainly don't have the people skills to charm an agent or an art director into buying my work.<<

I can sympathize with that. If the main thing I cared about was money, there are far more lucrative fields I could have pursued.

>> The idea that one should never produce work for free, likewise didn't sit well with a young artist for whom learning and enjoyment were infinitely more powerful motivators than money.<<

In cyberfunded creativity, those are "free samples." They attract people into your project, who may become enthused enough to boost your signal or give you money.

>>The benefits to artists are less clear. What I know is that bypassing traditional publishers leaves more opportunities for direct collaboration. I may lack the independent creativity to deal with a manuscript entirely on my own, but now I can work with an author to ensure that my vision is compatible with theirs. If I'm not sure about a character's hair or eye colour? I can ask. I hate trying to make decisions based on incomplete information, and that kind of certainty makes a big difference.<<

Some people are exploring the art side of things too. ellenmillion does a variety of art-related projects. You might talk with her, and of course you've already seen haikujaguar in action. Torn World is one of Ellen's projects, and I write for that:
http://www.tornworld.net
I'm interested in seeing what develops in illustration, because I'd like to see what happens when artists and writers can collaborate without a bunch of suits in the way. It may not make quite as much money, but I suspect the artistic value will be higher.

>>People with money are willing to spend it on things they actually enjoy. Who'd have thought. <<

Check out the Memories in crowdfunding because we've talked about "why people donate" -- one conversation was quite recent. Among other things, people will support a writer/artist they like for personal as well as aesthetic reasons, and some folks also like to support a particular cause or theme. So if something is important to you, then you can sponsor projects that feature it, and there will be more of it in the world. I like Wonder City Stories:
http://wonder-city.dreamwidth.org/
It features strong women, people of color, genderqueer character, and all kinds of other favorite motifs. So I pimp the links in hopes of encouraging more of the same.

One thing this means to you is that you'll need to find ways of interacting, and of sharing things about yourself, that will let your audience feel connected with you and your work. That makes people want to part with their cash and comments.

>> Is there any demand for quick sketches? <<

Somewhat. I've seen a few projects based on this. However...

>>If I invite people to contribute ideas for warm-up sketches and ArtRage experiments..will anyone want them? How about single illustrations?<<

... you may have better luck giving people a bunch of things to look at, then asking what they want to see more of. Frex, you might do a call for prompts and produce 20 quick sketches, which you scan and post free. Then run a poll, and take the 5 most popular sketches to the finished sketch stage. Call for donations, then post the new images. Vote again, and turn the most popular sketch into a finished painting. Make prints and the original available for sale. You'll have a better chance of selling this stuff, because you're finishing items that are the most popular.

>>What do people want to see from an artist without her own stories to tell?<<

Glimpses into worlds belonging to great storytellers who can't draw worth a crap! And that's where you're aiming. Someone else has the tape recorder. You have the camera. Go safari and shoot everything that moves.