Talented Two
The response to my previous post about breaking in to comics seemed to really hit the spot for people. I received a swath of e-mails and LJ comments about it. Thanks to everyone who sent the link around or responded. It's always nice to know people are enjoying the things I write here and that it's not just going in to a vacuum.
It's ironic that I've seen some stellar portfolio material lately.
Two different situations, both bringing home the very things I was talking about.
One of my artists has been busting away on full-size inked commission pieces when he's not swarmed with UDON project work. I can say, without bias, that many of these pieces are on par with A-list Marvel/DC talent. On top of that his comic work is great - the storytelling is strong, the compositions are well thought out and the figures are dynamic and appealing. When I wrote that you need to have prior published credits and a push from the inside to make it in, I wasn't kidding. It doesn't matter that his work kicks the hell out of 3/4 of the artists currently working on superhero books. He doesn't have enough credits and has no benefactor on the inside of DC/Marvel. I'm pushing to change that bit-by-bit, but the process is slow and unwieldy. Great artwork alone is just not good enough.
The second artist sent me samples just after Book Expo America. He's an artist who's done decent runs as a penciler at both DC and Marvel, but took some jobs outside the industry and is now pushing to get back in. He likes UDON books and dropped me a line to see if we had anything up his alley. His portfolio is fantastic - absolutely professional and better than most of the stuff I see on the stands each month. If we had extra mad money to create original graphic novels I'd hire this guy in a heartbeat, but the studio is focused on our Street Fighter comic and video game projects right now. Even though I love it, I really don't have anything appropriate for his style of drawing at this point.
Two artists with work 110% capable of kicking butt in mainstream comics and they still can't breach that barrier. One of them even has prior credits with the big guys and a good reputation. It blows my mind. If those two can't do it with that much skill, what chance does anyone else on the outside have? The social component is immense.
It's ironic that I've seen some stellar portfolio material lately.
Two different situations, both bringing home the very things I was talking about.
One of my artists has been busting away on full-size inked commission pieces when he's not swarmed with UDON project work. I can say, without bias, that many of these pieces are on par with A-list Marvel/DC talent. On top of that his comic work is great - the storytelling is strong, the compositions are well thought out and the figures are dynamic and appealing. When I wrote that you need to have prior published credits and a push from the inside to make it in, I wasn't kidding. It doesn't matter that his work kicks the hell out of 3/4 of the artists currently working on superhero books. He doesn't have enough credits and has no benefactor on the inside of DC/Marvel. I'm pushing to change that bit-by-bit, but the process is slow and unwieldy. Great artwork alone is just not good enough.
The second artist sent me samples just after Book Expo America. He's an artist who's done decent runs as a penciler at both DC and Marvel, but took some jobs outside the industry and is now pushing to get back in. He likes UDON books and dropped me a line to see if we had anything up his alley. His portfolio is fantastic - absolutely professional and better than most of the stuff I see on the stands each month. If we had extra mad money to create original graphic novels I'd hire this guy in a heartbeat, but the studio is focused on our Street Fighter comic and video game projects right now. Even though I love it, I really don't have anything appropriate for his style of drawing at this point.
Two artists with work 110% capable of kicking butt in mainstream comics and they still can't breach that barrier. One of them even has prior credits with the big guys and a good reputation. It blows my mind. If those two can't do it with that much skill, what chance does anyone else on the outside have? The social component is immense.