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Underground > Comic Books >

Comic Artist Commissions

20:30 / 21.06.03

So I posted an ad at Digitalwebbing.com in my ongoing going search to find an artist for my magical rockabilly comic (oh Ponce de Leon never had it so hard) and I got a reply from Joe Rubenstein, who's done quite a bit of work on Batman and Superman. Via Artistschoice.com, Joe offered to draw my characters for $60 a piece. Which was cheap compared to some of Ethan Van Sciver's commission offerings ($200 a character, sans background. And god would I jump on that if I could) but still, money I simply do not have.

So is this common? This is the first time I've seen artists sell their services for non studio work. Is this to supplement income? And why aren't you part of this setup, Cameron?

Ethan Van Sciver

04:34 / 22.06.03

Destitute:

Almost every artist does private commissions for either art collectors who want something unique instead of original art pages or simply for friends. I do about 10 a year (which is all I can handle)and I do it to supplement my income and take a breather from the characters that I'm currently working on. Someone asking me to draw Wonder Woman while I'm drawing an issue of Wolverine or something is a nice change of pace. It all depends on my schedule and whether or not I actually WANT to draw what I'm being asked for.

Then again, it's usually much less expensive to track down an artist at a convention and get a drawing there. We're all sketching anyhow, and you're not interupting the book that's being worked on at home.

Good luck!

Ethan Van Sciver

05:42 / 22.06.03

Did you sell #117 page 1 or did you keep that one?

Ethan Van Sciver

03:15 / 23.06.03

I don't remember if I even got that particular page back. But I don't have it, so maybe I sold it.

SavageFistsOfFengshui

12:32 / 23.06.03

Josef Rubinstein usually works as an inker not a penciller, which might accound for why his quote is lower.

A beautiful tunnel of ghosts

13:16 / 28.06.03

Is anyone aware of the copyright issues concerning commissioning artists to produce artwork from original concepts?

And *cough* if you're listening Cameron, how much do you charge *cough*?