I am of the opinion that good artwork greatly enhances any book. However, procuring artwork for the book has been an ongoing problem. I can't draw... at all. So I thought, "I'll just get an artist to do it for me." If you haven't tried it before, I'll tell you now, it's not that easy. Although most of the artwork I purchased will never be in the book, it's good art and I appreciate it's value. I'm posting it here with comments, that it may give insight to others on a similar quest.
I explained what I wanted to an artist and it came back all wrong. I tried again... same thing. It was obvious to me that the artist could draw well. Communication was the problem. I started downloading pictures from the internet to show as examples. That helped some.
These are all good artists and I have no complaint with any of the work. However, the book was finished and the artwork had to match. That leaves little room for artistic license.
Originally, I scheduled around 50 frames. Here are some of the examples and resulting artwork:
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The Stair Step Stream:
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Example of the Stair Step Stream:
A classic drawing of Rivendale, home of the River Elves, from the "Lord of the Rings". This is perfect in scope (size of the cliffs and the waterfall) and perspective (angle and distance of the viewer). Something like this, sans the buildings would work very well.
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The Stair Step Stream by Bob Rose:
I found Bob on the internet.
The cliffs don't look to be mountains. They look like clay or maybe dirt. It looks like I could hit the waterfall with a rock, however the tree just above it looks much further away.
Charge $50.00
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The Stair Step Stream II by Bob Rose:
The cliffs now appear to be rock and the viewer is back a ways. Although the cliffs appear to be almost scaleable.
The middle is "muddy" .
I really liked the flattop rocks, the secondary waterfall, and the mosses in the lower, right-hand corner. The is very realistic, clean artwork. The secondary waterfall is a great effect.
I get the feeling that if I had "hung in there", Bob would have come up with a good finished product.
Charge $25.00
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The Stair Step Stream by Mako:
I found Mako in Saint Augustine doing charactures.
I'm not a big fan of crosshatching. I see things more in clear lines, not so much in shadows.
Charge $15.00
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The Stair Step Stream by Savi Lim:
Savi is a friend.
This is close to what I want. It's line art without a lot of shadows. Good scope, just like the example.
Savi is a great artist, but he wasn't very excited about the project. He's into monsters, Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, Gonzolo Mayo, etc. Some of his work is really scary!
Charge $40.00
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The Stair Step Stream II by Savi Lim:
Another good one by Savi.
Charge $40.00
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The Stair Step Stream III by Savi Lim:
And another.
I added the color. I'm still working on it.
Charge $40.00
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Karl and Bork (bad guys):
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Example of Karl:
Sneaky, devious. This is the guy your mom warned you about!
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Karl by Jason Linger:
I like Jason's work. He's local, creative, he doesn't mind changing stuff a hundred times, and he's not expensive.
Charge $40.00
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Examples of Bork:
Big, strong, repulsive.
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Bork by Ariel:
This captured a lot of Bork-like qualities. I like it.
Now I have one bad guy by Jason and one by Ariel! That's not good, they don't match. The question arises: Do you want everything done by one artist?
I think the answer is Yes.
Charge (Ariel said no charge if I don't use it in the book)
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Jolly Fang and Treasure Chest:
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Example of Jolly Fang (the dagger):
I'm looking for a dangerous stiletto!
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Jolly Fang by Jason Linger:
Maybe the blade could be a little longer. But it's a good dagger. I like it.
Charge $40.00 |
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Examples of a Treasure Chest:
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Treasure Chest by Jason Linger:
More good work by Jason. Good variation of "stuff" inside the chest.
Charge $40.00
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© Copyright 2004 - Craig Leidy |
