I don't fault the job poster-- hell I can go on there and advertise that I'm looking for an artist to finish my AKIRA like 40,000 page graphic novel and I'm paying with a pack of junior mints and I bet I'd get bites. Such is the desperate nature of the amateur*.
Here's the posting in my mailbox today:
In case you don't want to bother clicking it to see the details this publisher is offering $100/USD for "20-30 pages" of art.
That's $5 a page if we assume they will only need 20 pages.
$5 for a piece of artwork that likely takes the artist 8-10 hours to produce-- but there in lies the rib and what would be my second * in this story.
Surely no one would apply for this would they?
Yup-- six hours in and 11 artists have applied.
I love the posting too-- because when you read it I'm not clear if this person is offering $100 for the total job or not-- because he also offers to pay an hourly rate-- which would equate to about 35c an hour if that original number is correct.
I also love how vague the post is-- will be between 20-30 pages and either in colour or pencil.
What this means is this guy likely laid in bed one night and came up with an idea and since all the hard work is done, like figuring out pencil or colour and having a plot that might be 20 pages or maybe 30 all somebody has to do now is draw it.
The candidate should have publishing experience too-- and that's the third rib here-- because there's NO WAY anyone published is going near this because unless they've only been published by other amateur outfits they can't work at this pay.
Nor should they-- and that's where the * comes in.
* The going page rate for comic book artists at either of the big two publishers is currently between $300 - $3000 per PAGE. Yup-- varies just as much as his script length does.
If you are an up and coming artist you might take this gig in the hopes that its the next big thing and you'll be attached to it-- sorry, there is no mention that he will share the rights with his artist so that goes out the window.
You might fall for the old "these will be great for your portfolio" which is certainly the ONLY reason to do this-- but think about this-- you'll be getting paid $5 a page and I guarantee he's going to expect pages produced on a timely basis-- because he's paying for them-- and you'll still have to keep your day job because unless you live in a country with an average annual salary of $50 you're going to have a hard time eating regularly on this gig.
You would be better off-- MUCH better off collaborating with a friend who has a great idea that you guys can both own and publish yourself-- that way there is a payoff in the end.
As for this publisher-- I've seen how this will go many times over.
His next post will be for $150 and he'll mention that artists keep "screwing him over" and he's got a half dozen pages after two years of waiting-- that's because he can't afford to hire a professional.
The solution here is KICKSTARTER-- if you really believe in your idea draft up more than a loose paragraph and put a KS campaign together-- you can raise enough money to hire a professional and actually get your book out.
Or you can keep dealing with amateurs until you just give up.
