With the resurgence of the comic book industry and the increasing visibility of amateur and professional artists on the Internet, collecting art of CoV/CoH characters is growing more popular than ever. The information in this guide was originally published in the City Scoop, but I thought I'd take the time to pull all the articles into a guide for others to reference. I have been collecting character art for over two years now and made plenty of mistakes that led to delays, unexpected expenses, and ruined artwork. If you plan on delving into this hobby, take some of my advice into consideration and save yourself some stress. You'll find yourself getting more out of your experience if you do so.
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References[u]
Quality art of your CoH/CoV character starts with clear, detailed references: a
portrait and a
full-body shot. If your character has a cape or important details on his/her back, take a
three-quarter turn shot as well. When taking screenshots, start big. The screenshots you take will include everything on your game client, therefore your character should to take up as much space as possible. For best results, have another player be your photographer as he/she can really zoom in and focus on your hero or villain. In addition, make sure that the photographer turns on all of the games visual bells and whistles. As far as locations go, make sure you're taking the screenshots during the daytime cycles or in brightly-lit instances. This will make your characters costume and details stand out clearly. (The examples provided above were taken inside the CoH Arena buildings using a second character as a photographer)
Take some time to edit your screenshots and prepare them for printing. Image editing programs get pricey, so unless you already own Photoshop or another similar program, copy the raw images onto a blank CD and head to a Kinko/Fed-Ex store. Purchasing time for their computers is inexpensive and their systems usually have photo-editing software pre-installed. Crop the screenshots to fit standard photo dimensions such as 4x6 or 5x7 and use a dpi (dots per inch) setting of 300. These settings should be enough to provide a smooth, detailed image. CoH/CoV environments tend to be on the darker side, so if you feel the image is too dark, you can lighten it up by adjusting the shadows. Once you are satisfied with the images, save them and take them to any photo shop. Most photo shops these days can print straight from a CD onto photo paper. Choose a matte finish because your pictures will get handled a lot and fingerprints tend to get tracked all over glossy finishes.
The whole process is easy and cheap: expect to spend anywhere between $10-20. Great reference shots will save you and the artists a lot of time and ensure an accurate depiction of your character. Once you have your reference shots, its time to hit the convention circuit.
[u]Conventions[u]
Comic Book Conventions grow bigger every year and almost every convention has a section called Artists' Alley, where semi-professionals and professionals hawk their goods. A convention is the perfect place to score art for several reasons. One, the artists hit conventions to make a little extra money, so on some level they are looking for work. Two, it is harder to say no in person. Three, art obtained at conventions tend to cost less. The downside is that conventions get incredibly busy and artists will turn down requests once they hit their limits. Here are some tips to stay ahead of the pack.
First impressions go a long way: be presentable. While conventions are casual, few people want to work for a slob, so take a shower and put on some clean clothes. Check out convention websites and scout the Artists Alley list. Google the names you see there and check out any information you turn up. Have a solid idea of who you'd like to commission in advance. In addition, be sure to get to Alley early on the first day, when the convention is least busy. Chances are, only some of the artists will be available at that time so use that to your advantage. If an artist you *really* want to commission arrives during the busier times, you can wait in line without losing out on other artists. Lastly, when you meet the artist, small talk makes a difference so use that web research and above all else, be friendly and polite even if the artist is a tad on the cantankerous side. You will be running into the artists several times over the next few days both in and out of the convention.
Sales in Artists Alley are cash only and prices will vary, but be ready to spend anywhere between $25 and $250 depending on the medium, how much detail you want, and how the artist values his/her time. Convention pieces are limited to single
full-figured sketches and
headshots due to time. As far as mediums go,
pencils and
inked works are the most common, though there are some artists who will offer colored work done in
marker watercolor or watercolor.
I highly recommend rendering payment only after the work is completed. Conventions have alot of distractions and most artists never finish their entire queue. If the artist failed to start your art piece, theres still opportunity for you. If you established a good, ask the artist to finish your commission at home and mail it to you. Most artists do their best work at home or in their studios. This tactic carries some risk however, because payment is required up front. Be sure to exchange contact information, particularly email addresses and phone numbers. Good communication will ensure that you get your art in a timely manner.
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Networking[u]
Good communication at conventions is important because it establishes opportunities for networking, which are far more valuable than anything else you can get a convention. Its difficult to obtain
cover-quality commissions at a convention because they involve more detailed linework as well as inks and digital coloring. Your best bet for detailed work is commissioning outside of a convention. This presents a challenge as well because commissions are considered side jobs for professional artists and more famous an artist is, the less time they have for requests from unscreened sources. This is where networking comes in handy. Artists are more likely to make exceptions if the request is linked to someone they know personally. Networking provides this link, and can lead to getting in touch with some really great talents in the comic book industry. Best of all, networking is very simple to do.
Networking starts with accurate contact information. If you sense that an artist is comfortable with you at the convention, ask for a business card. Mention that you have some friends who would pay top dollar for a commission. You could also say that you know some businesses that are looking for some graphic design work. The job market can be unpredictable for freelance artists so the wiser ones will, in the very least, not outright reject opportunities for work. The worst the artist can do is say no or that they are too busy. If an artist says their workload is too much, ask if you could stay in touch and say you dont mind waiting for a lull in their activity.
If an artist asks to take your commission home, he or she just saved you a step. Maintain communication through email. Save the phone numbers only for instances where your art is unreasonably late (ie. three to four weeks after the estimated ETA without any communication). E-Mail once a week or once every other week should suffice but be sure to include some small talk in your correspondence. Ask about the artists influences, favorite comic book titles, and the artists theyve collaborated with. You could even ask the artist to critique a friends portfolio. Lead into asking the artist about others who will take commissions. This tactic works exceptionally well if you only had pencils done, since you can ask them to refer you to an inker. Inking is time-consuming and difficult, so professional inkers are in very high demand in an industry riddled with strict deadlines. Almost every comic book artist I know has a go-to inker and that inker will know plenty of people to refer you to. Keep pursuing those leads and you will surprise yourself with just how far your connections will reach.
Networking takes a little practice and sometimes will lead to dead ends. Minimize dead ends by establishing yourself as a prompt payer and a low maintenance customer. Treat and deal with each contact professionally. The artist who referred you is vouching for you so his or her reputation is on the line. One mistake can cause rifts in your networking relationships and make it more difficult to obtain future commissions.
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Preservation[u]
I own most of the physical originals in my collection and I highly encourage collectors to make the same effort. While it may be more expensive, physical art has more life to it than digital pieces and having an agreement for the physical original will protect your payments made through PayPal. If you pre-pay for art and get screwed over by the artist, you can use Paypals Buyer Complaint Process and try to recoup some losses. The Buyer Complaint Process however, does not protect exchanges for digital art. Also note that most of my art is inked. Pencils smudge and will fade over time unless you take extra measures. Inked work however, will not fade as readily as pencil. If you expect to have your art colored in the future, inked work scans better and will make the job easier for colorists. On the other hand, if you obtain a commission from an artist renowned for incredible linework (ie.
Gene Colan), request tight pencils.
Tight Pencils have more texture and depth to the linework and are much neater than regular pencils. Regular pencils are less time consuming but rely on the inker to provide finer detail and shading.
The medium and quality of the art piece dictates the preservation measures I take. There are three different methods I use: art portfolios, mylar sleeves, and framing. The cheapest option is the
portfolio presentation book. These books are portable and great for convention art, since convention pieces tend to be drawn on 8x11 to 11x14 sized paper. I keep two portfolios, one with my originals and another containing screenshots and prints made from the originals. I take the latter with me to conventions as artists I commission like to see previous interpretations of my character, and the competitive ones like to "one up" the rest. For art in sizes greater than 11x14 however (such as full comic book pages), I recommend mylar sleeves with an acid free backboard. You can purchase them from
Blueline Art. This option is great for shipping penciled work to inkers and colorists. The best (and most expensive) option is a
custom frame . There are plenty of stores where you can get a custom frame fitted to your piece. Usually, the sales associates are well-trained and will help you pick out colored mats and frames to match your art and make it really eye-catching. If a custom frame is out of your price range, pick up a commercial frame from the framer's retail shelves and have them fit mats for it. I highly recommend framing the penciled work, since the modern glass used in the frame filters out ultraviolet light, preventing the original from fading.
That wraps up "Collecting Character Art" series, so I would like to thank everyone for reading these articles. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by the Forums or through my
DeviantArt Page. Remember to be prepared, be professional, and above all else, stay out of my convention lines. Special thanks go out to Thor's Assassin for submitting the original articles to the City Scoop and the Forum Art Community for being a fun and friendly group. I'd also like to thank David Nakayama, Brandon McKinney, Sorah and the rest of the artists who have taken the time to accomodate my commissions and for providing insight into the industry.
