Just spoke with Gav Heryng, the colorist for Gang Trouble– should have four coloured pages by this weekend! I’m very excited that this project is finally coming together!
Gang Trouble is a project that has taught me a lot. At only twelve pages, (half the size of a standard comic book) I expected things to go quickly and smoothly as it was not as big a project as a full-blown book. And yet, wow! No project is without its obstacles.
I’ve learned a lot over the years in dealing with artists, communicating and realizing what works and what doesn’t. I think I’m going to put together a “Karis Guide” to commissioning artists based on those experiences, and post it to help folks figure out what to expect (and what to watch out for!) when commissioning artists.
In the Furry community, Art is King: This means we cut waaaaay more slack for bad behaviour than we otherwise might in other situations. This has a curious effect: It keeps things on a more personable level, but it also makes things personal: Thus, when an artist doesn’t deliver, it goes to a place of personal affront than a place of simple business practices.
I feel that we need to improve our expectations of art transactions; I’ve seen this from both sides of the artist/commissioner relationship– Artists are now posting their TOS (Terms of Service) actively on their pages as a way of communicating expectations to future clients, due to having been burned in the past– it should also behoove a commissioner to clearly express what their expectations are of the artist. Above all else, a commissioner should be ready to walk away if those expectations cannot be met.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve loved someone’s art only to find they are absolutely horrible when it came down to working with them; the quality I had seen in their finished work did not in any way reflect their work ethic, personality, or ability to deliver. And though I craved that final product, I had to force myself to be okay with walking away.
It’s my hope that we can take our current “I’ll do anything for art” mindset and improve it to where we as clients can set boundaries for what is acceptable to us and stick to them, just as the artists are doing for their client boundaries.
It’s food for thought, to be sure; I’ll noodle around the idea of the Karis Guide some more and will post when I have something concrete.
All the best,
Karis
