This is so very not going to work out.
So I have this freelance job going on...actually it's one I may have posted about a while ago, since this guy first e-mailed me back in November or December, sometime before I got that contract job, and he went away for a while so I thought he was just another craigslist flake, but it turns out he's back. He's the guy that wants me to draw comics for him, and I agreed to do some character designs and a few trial pages, so I guess that's what I'm going to be working on for a while. I'm not sure why I agreed to it, since I've never done comics before. Maybe it's just that I'm too desperate to turn down any potential income even if it's something I don't really think I can do. For the record? This is really, really stupid.
The other day I finally got information on what exactly I'm supposed to be drawing, and it put my confidence to zero. Earlier this week the guy told me he wanted me to try to work in somebody else's style. This is a bad sign right off, I'm pretty sure, because he sent me a link to a much better, professional comic artist's work. A more Amercan comic look than I'm used to, naturally. So basically, he wants me to emulate this other guy's style, which I'm not sure how I should feel about that. Even if I thought I could do it (I can't) isn't that just a little insulting? If you hire an artist to do work for you, I would think you hire them because of their style. Especially for something as involved as a comic book. If it's a one-off kind of thing, fine, whatever, but don't you want your comic book to be more unique? I mean, it's highly unlikely that it'll end up looking like that person you only wish you could get to draw it did it in any case.
I've started working on the character designs, and I don't like them at all. They sure as hell don't look like this other guy's style, and I think they just look creepy, but I don't know what to do. This project is sounding more and more impossible every day, really. Naturally one of the characters is a big muscly guy, and I'm pretty sure there are going to be guns involved. I have pretty much zero interest in the kind of story this looks like its going to be, which is going to make working on this even harder on top of all the things I just do not have the skill to do. And this goes way beyond my usual lack of confidence in my work.
I guess I don't really have any choice but to keep going. I really should have backed out a long time ago, or even better, never agreed in the first place, but it was before I got that job, and I do still need some income. I really shouldn't hope that he decides to back out after he sees how much my character sketches are absolutely not what he's looking for, since I don't seem to be able to find work any other way, but I just don't feel good about getting into such an involved project that I don't feel I can handle. Urgh. Well at the very least I've learned to never ever accept a job drawing comics again. I wish I could have seen this coming a while ago.
The other day I finally got information on what exactly I'm supposed to be drawing, and it put my confidence to zero. Earlier this week the guy told me he wanted me to try to work in somebody else's style. This is a bad sign right off, I'm pretty sure, because he sent me a link to a much better, professional comic artist's work. A more Amercan comic look than I'm used to, naturally. So basically, he wants me to emulate this other guy's style, which I'm not sure how I should feel about that. Even if I thought I could do it (I can't) isn't that just a little insulting? If you hire an artist to do work for you, I would think you hire them because of their style. Especially for something as involved as a comic book. If it's a one-off kind of thing, fine, whatever, but don't you want your comic book to be more unique? I mean, it's highly unlikely that it'll end up looking like that person you only wish you could get to draw it did it in any case.
I've started working on the character designs, and I don't like them at all. They sure as hell don't look like this other guy's style, and I think they just look creepy, but I don't know what to do. This project is sounding more and more impossible every day, really. Naturally one of the characters is a big muscly guy, and I'm pretty sure there are going to be guns involved. I have pretty much zero interest in the kind of story this looks like its going to be, which is going to make working on this even harder on top of all the things I just do not have the skill to do. And this goes way beyond my usual lack of confidence in my work.
I guess I don't really have any choice but to keep going. I really should have backed out a long time ago, or even better, never agreed in the first place, but it was before I got that job, and I do still need some income. I really shouldn't hope that he decides to back out after he sees how much my character sketches are absolutely not what he's looking for, since I don't seem to be able to find work any other way, but I just don't feel good about getting into such an involved project that I don't feel I can handle. Urgh. Well at the very least I've learned to never ever accept a job drawing comics again. I wish I could have seen this coming a while ago.