tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post8454603932088050008..comments2023-04-14T03:04:06.402-07:00Comments on Enigma Resolve: Comics Economics 101: Comic Book BudgetsKalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01205536741806075341noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-33839436629222719932020-05-14T17:21:23.315-07:002020-05-14T17:21:23.315-07:00Sorry for the late reply but thank you!Sorry for the late reply but thank you!Kalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01205536741806075341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-41768403747782346102017-08-25T20:42:54.457-07:002017-08-25T20:42:54.457-07:00good work!good work!Samaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17390821139505287622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-20960314934826563472017-08-22T19:11:56.063-07:002017-08-22T19:11:56.063-07:00Super tips Damien! Thanks again!Super tips Damien! Thanks again!Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-72582517314696120802017-08-22T19:08:34.421-07:002017-08-22T19:08:34.421-07:00Exactly! Thank you for this insight!Exactly! Thank you for this insight!Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-23478296347931858372017-08-22T19:07:21.680-07:002017-08-22T19:07:21.680-07:00Thank you for this feedback Damien!Thank you for this feedback Damien!Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-48767358709514853312017-08-22T12:34:23.607-07:002017-08-22T12:34:23.607-07:00Artists overseas generally charge much less for th...Artists overseas generally charge much less for their work. Also not to get too nitpick here but in working with both American and overseas artists, I've found overseas artists are generally more responsive, and will always, always, always hit their deadlines. I mean if you want to work with Alex Ross, these costs are ridiculous, but if you're working with unknowns from China or the Philippines, these rates are probably about right. Damienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059956820368545124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-67635520005990781372017-08-22T12:32:15.137-07:002017-08-22T12:32:15.137-07:00Don't sell through Diamond, at least not at th...Don't sell through Diamond, at least not at the start. Or, pitch your book to Image or Dark Horse - if writing or making comics is what you want to do long term, never hurts to jump on with an established outfit to get started. Damienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059956820368545124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-49337815541170576412017-08-22T12:31:24.098-07:002017-08-22T12:31:24.098-07:00DO NOT let this shatter your resolve. Think about ...DO NOT let this shatter your resolve. Think about this: <br /><br />You can go to Kickstarter with a small budget and it's HIGHLY LIKELY your project will get funded if you have some good artwork and a solid premise to showcase. Get your local comic store involved - make inserts for people that buy certain titles that your comic store can slip into bags and give them a cut of the proceeds on the Kickstarter or a link to their shop, or even do a variant cover for them or something...there's plenty of ideas that don't cost any money that creative people in the industry will go for instead of money...Just make sure you aren't pitching it as "exposure" and its coming from a genuine place. Also make sure your content is GOOD. Hey maybe that comic store that supported your Kickstarter wants 100 copies for free to sell through to make up their advertising budget or something, there's PLENTY of possibility. <br /><br />When I was running my KS project I got some SUPER talented artists from overseas to work on the contingency that they'd get a cut of the Kickstarter when it was successful. That way even though I'm paying for a lot of the advertising and what not, the whole team is invested in making the project successful and making sure the page gets a lot of traffic. ANYTHING is possible if you're creative enough and think outside the box but again make sure you're CONFIDENT and GENUINE and you can do it! Damienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059956820368545124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-24086699147733991622017-08-22T08:21:48.500-07:002017-08-22T08:21:48.500-07:00Exactly. I haven't even covered printing, mark...Exactly. I haven't even covered printing, marketing, distribution yet. <br /><br />People are very distracted with that $35 pencil rate! Maybe he's only doing breakdowns? Maybe he's my 1st cousin giving me a super family discount? Who knows. It's irrelevant. Also irrelevant is the preconceived notion of the quality output. It could be a good comic or a bad comic. <br /><br />The point is that even if you went for the "cheaper" artists, it can still add up into the thousands for just one issue. <br /><br />Thanks for your input Bob!Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-45554799329842433852017-08-22T08:03:29.212-07:002017-08-22T08:03:29.212-07:00Yes, it's a lot of work! But this post isn'...Yes, it's a lot of work! But this post isn't about what others expect in the manner that you are speaking. In my 20+ years of freelance I've charged cheaper than that to survive, so I know the plight. But the reality is that there ARE artists out there, for whatever reason, whether you like it or not, that DO charge that cheaply and because they do simply love it- but that's irrelevant here. <br /><br />People are getting too caught up in the rates and missing the point of why the rates were chosen. The point is that even with "cheaper" rates, it's still fairly costly to produce a comic. <br /><br />Thanks for your comment Max!Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-55218332150805327962017-08-22T03:14:30.943-07:002017-08-22T03:14:30.943-07:00It's not a political agenda. Drawing comics is...It's not a political agenda. Drawing comics is a LOT of work, it's about what = rent and eating. Expecting people to do the work for a token payment and just the love of it, especially if it's on someone else's things, is exploitive frankly.<br /><br />I've been a freelancer for over 25 years now, i've done work for as much as 360 a page and as little as 125. The later is hardly enough to live on, starvation wages. Less is not even a tip. Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07519612799740599507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-22484003000494093062017-08-21T23:10:56.284-07:002017-08-21T23:10:56.284-07:00This doesn't even cover the cost of actual pri...This doesn't even cover the cost of actual printing, or the extortion that the Diamond monopoly takes for distribution. As far as the budget, if comics now generally pay a pittance to the writer and 50% more for coloring than pencils, that would go a long way to explain why comics today are terrible.Bob Rivardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09345116240123706105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-2169201646109647642017-08-21T12:06:29.714-07:002017-08-21T12:06:29.714-07:00Thanks for that observation! Yes, artists all over...Thanks for that observation! Yes, artists all over the world have different conversion rates, monetary needs, values and costs of living. Cheers for your comment! Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-51898222940105199262017-08-21T09:56:27.953-07:002017-08-21T09:56:27.953-07:00fairpagerates.com clearly states on their website ...fairpagerates.com clearly states on their website that they are a part of/support the 'Fight for $15', an American political movement. This means they are not an unbiased source.<br /><br />The problem is that the 'All artists should make Marvel page rates' crowd is they refuse to recognize that the talent pool available for art is global, and think that the page rates should reflect what is best for a political agenda.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-4421427412162892622017-08-20T15:30:54.268-07:002017-08-20T15:30:54.268-07:00Thanks for the suggestion but I'm confident wi...Thanks for the suggestion but I'm confident with the penciler that I have. :)Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-48314790592923284392017-08-20T13:38:38.748-07:002017-08-20T13:38:38.748-07:00Wow The pencils in that chart are very low price.....Wow The pencils in that chart are very low price... and the lettered to $25? Just $10 difference between two jobs where the time and effort of realization are very different. I would recommend looking for a good penciler who charges at least $50 per page, and a lettered of $10Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02215877473399727094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-20126685087295216682017-08-20T07:54:39.606-07:002017-08-20T07:54:39.606-07:00Oh no! The intent of the article was in no way to ...Oh no! The intent of the article was in no way to limit creators to THIS path, in fact I touched upon other ways to go about it but I'm just not going into detail on those ways at this time. ;) <br /><br />I understand your frustration and the first comment as well because I felt like that once too! Some people break through their barriers and some people feel it's not worth it, turn around and go back the other way. People react differently to the same information. <br /><br />Anyways, thanks for your info and your reply!Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-47186789410219932462017-08-20T07:46:31.935-07:002017-08-20T07:46:31.935-07:00Yes, more will come soon! Thank you for your inter...Yes, more will come soon! Thank you for your interest!Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-41383266986799042552017-08-20T07:45:11.780-07:002017-08-20T07:45:11.780-07:00Thank you! More will come soon! :)Thank you! More will come soon! :)Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-83239310006344979092017-08-19T20:18:13.403-07:002017-08-19T20:18:13.403-07:00Please make Part II: Comics Economics 102! Please...Please make Part II: Comics Economics 102! Please research distribution, small business registration (sole proprietor), taxes, printing color vs bw, and marketing.<br /><br />I think this series is great -- i bet some famous comic artists would help you out. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-53097160503493285162017-08-19T18:36:38.000-07:002017-08-19T18:36:38.000-07:00I guess my point in bringing it up is, the article...I guess my point in bringing it up is, the article made it sound like you "have" to do things in the same process/manner as the big publishers if you wanna make comics, and that's just not the case. There's all kind of ways to make comics and while you should do what works for you, I don't think people should feel pressured to do things in a certain way just because that's how Marvel does it. <br /><br />Artist/Writer duo usually works pretty well for most small operations. An editor seems most useful when you have a giant stable of characters and plots that are all interacting and need to be kept separate (or if you're doing an anthology project). Lettering is definitely a distinct skillset... but most comics are probably fine with just a font. <br /><br />Basically, when I saw the comment up above about "dreams crushed," I got frustrated. If you wanna make comics, you should make comics. There are plenty of ways to do it cheap, so people shouldn't go in terrified of this thousands-of-dollars price tag for a single issue hanging over their heads. SpaceTurtleArthttp://www.lanternsofarcadia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-72169685946568883492017-08-19T18:19:20.680-07:002017-08-19T18:19:20.680-07:00Very good point. Thanks for the article, I am sure...Very good point. Thanks for the article, I am sure it will open some eyes. Perhaps a follow up covering printing and distribution?Moby's!https://www.blogger.com/profile/11048840062621963295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-81662927653459900742017-08-19T14:10:06.126-07:002017-08-19T14:10:06.126-07:00So many of us have! Thanks for your comment! :)So many of us have! Thanks for your comment! :)Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-6988554916410550272017-08-19T13:16:00.942-07:002017-08-19T13:16:00.942-07:00Truth. I've lived it.Truth. I've lived it. O-doghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02608474626237222514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6469044970739221727.post-86669934830904417412017-08-19T08:31:11.338-07:002017-08-19T08:31:11.338-07:00Why does anybody do anything? How long's a pie...Why does anybody do anything? How long's a piece of string? If some want to pay a team then they do and obviously, as I stated in the article, if you can consolidate or eliminate roles then that will effect the pricing. Some will come out more, some less. Also when I and many others assemble a team, it's to adhere to our vision and not a monthly deadline so I have to disagree with you there.<br /><br />Thanks for your experience! Yours is an example of someone who was able to consolidate due to your art skills. I too have that luxury but many don't have those skills and have to pay for a larger team, hence the point of the article. <br /><br />Again, thank you for your perspective!Enigma Resolvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11095594851823417836noreply@blogger.com