Hello, everyone.
An illustrator here (of the type LOVING doing fully custom work). Thought I'd chime in, put my 2c, and as well, will try to learn from your wisdom in the field, and maybe with your advice, would get myself on the right track. Oh, I knew about this site (I had no idea) from an extremely kind writer that recommended it to me, in another writers' community.
So what do you do if you want something a little different because your story is a little different? I would love an illustrated cover, but where can I find that at a reasonable price? Can one find that?
Right now, I m working on my own cover and I think I can do something passable but it will not be what I really want and won’t be an illustration.
What is the general consensus on 99 designs? I have almost started a contest for an illustrated cover on there a few times but I’m unsure of whether I’ll find what I’m looking for...
LOL! Hello ! That's what I want to do ! Custom illustration for self publishing writers. And one couldn't get more affordable... (more on that later)
I dislike with a passion all those sites (fiverr, 99 designs.. ) I mean, they are good, but in the end, they are not great for designers, neither for clients, as in many cases you get what you paid for...Often clients try to get master pieces for beer's money. It dehumanizes a bit the whole thing. It often ends up with really good professionals abandoning the place. And also, these places often get a great chunk of the money...
I'd say that most artists here cannot actually produce that type of custom illustration, because they're not illustrators. Jeff Brown is an exception, and there may be more.
We are legion !
I'm joking... (I like irony, sorry :D )
I mean, there are, but usually less into self publishing, etc. I come from board games, before I worked for decades as a graphic designer for web and print, but in the middle, jumping from company to company, mixing fields : If there were offers, I'd work at a game company (4 in total), and so, had to fully learn many entire profiles. Is not common. Indeed :
Remember that illustrators are not designers, though, so you need to make sure they'll leave space for the text and will do something that's catchy at a thumbnail size. After that, if you're good with typography, you can do it yourself, or else get a designer to do it for you. Depending on the style you're looking for, it won't necessarily cost a fortune.
I agree that is the most common thing to find (highly specialized people). Some of us do many profiles, though. I don't have impostor syndrome since decades, as was that or starving (well, that's a bit exaggerated, or...not completely).
About producing what is expected, vs what is what directly comes from the artist heart and inspiration, besides that inside companies is a no-no, meaning, you always have your little soul for whenever the boss allows some freedom, BUT you are used to hundreds of constraints, niche markets, etc. I have also worked tightly with marketing people , and it was key to make that thing : A/B testing. I was employed as web coder and g. designer, and was told to make many versions, check which one received more "download" button clicks, purchases, which ones produced a page leave, etc. Sadly, it seems is harder to do here, all I can think of is trying one type of cover for one book, a different take with another...But that seems to me quite a high risk for an author, for such a long term work that surely is writing a book, financial effort (ads, etc), and does not seem that you can be swapping the cover during the process.. (that would ABSOLUTELY rock, lol )
So, I have mixed feelings in this respect. I have a hard time getting people willing to do the risky jump of trusting an illustrator that shows not even premade covers (but, as very well explained here, an illustration fully painted is a ton of work... again, the risk factor, lol) , even if the price is very low. People need to "see" things (covers, in this case), it's harder to imagine just seeing the skills in illustration (or that's what seems to me it's happening...).
That's probably why a CG Society (or the old CG Talk, etc) page, does leave authors or people looking for the practical, specific application of these skills to their product, a bit cold or even indifferent. Plus... that artwork is often made as your very best master piece, often taking weeks, and most of the time to get noticed by high end companies to get a 70k job (besides pure ego, hehe). That very site is browsed every day by HRs and pros from those companies in the film and game industry. If the artists (the good ones, as it's a mixed bag as at any place) doing those master pieces were to sell anything of that, forget even the 500$ price tag, hehe. :D
As I yet don't know if I'll have any market here (not
here but in the entire writing community) was thinking to just follow my passion, and make some premades to my best criteria and preference. And then do one or two fully following the criteria of specific genres. I totally understand the laws of market, and when in a gig, be it a board game, video game, logo, etc, I follow specs, client requests, to great detail, is the main definition of custom work. Still, I'm attracted to covers because is so similar to the old passion of making your own oil picture, that I might allow to get wild with my own premades, and see how those work among people, too... Now, I believe business success is pretty hard to predict : You have the "adapt to the genre" POV, and get people what they want, and that's completely factual. Then you also have the reality that is close to impossible to really break in and be selected over a mass if you do what everyone else is doing, harder to get noticed. Art tends to aim for the opposite. I don't know even a single bit about this business, to just trust my own instinct, here. The author (client) should be the one setting the specs, imo...
I have this experience of certain KS campaign, for a board game, we went for a certain style, a bit of our own idea... instead of staying in what the hardcore fans do always expect to get... We did not reach the 38k US $ of the KS goal. We got near, and for the 28 days a campaign lasts, that's not so terrible. Then, second campaign, we studied what went wrong... a lot of things in game mechanics, but also, several pointed out that the illustrations were good, but not the usual style on the genre. Went for that, and bang, +100k. So, I learnt there a pair of things the hard way : First, don't get anything for granted even if you have worked at ten companies, and have long experience as a freelancer.... second : stick to what people want, at least for very hardcore niche consumers, those who like A LOT a very specific type of thing. Now, if your target likes to be surprised, then we're totally free to go the creative way, but if not... could be a shot in the foot...
So, what I mean is that... both could be valid (and I'd like the original take, too...), if I were an author I'd probably test both ! But I know little to nothing about this business. Nothing is going to stop me from making the premades I'd LOVE to do, though, hehe.
I'm so willing, because it's "calling me"powerfully, something I want to do, there's clearly a passion component here, I can sense it. (the pricing I'm setting might be a consequence...)
I don't know if 150 $ is yet too high for the average quantity that authors would feel really fine with (or can afford!) considering 100$ if getting enough number of petitions... I mean.. I DO know people set this at 500$ (even more as I include all the g. design in those 150, so, the difference is even bigger) . And I probably will escalate to half of that at some point, but after a bunch of published covers... and maybe not even then....
But this is a personal take of mine, and is not only in here because I "just landed". I do this in other fields. I get often a bit of heat from profession(/s) colleagues due to this (not that it could ever affect me...). The reasons behind all that are extremely simple : Despite having worked a ton as a SEO, marketing-graphic-coding guy (or maybe because I hate that, lol), I don't do any promo, AT ALL, is all word of mouth. I don't show my free portfolio hosting site because I have not even coded/designed the site myself, and does not make a good work in showing my possibilities.
And mostly, as I prefer a lot more to ALWAYS have work, even if slightly underpaid, but never stay waiting to finally get someone able to pay the right price, low as it can get, I prefer it. Also, I do believe very strongly in the entire indie environment vs mainstream. Learnt that quality/good work is not always in the latter, this becoming more and more of a fact. I've been part of many : First shareware games world, most people don't know/remember it, then indie video games, then board/card games, the indie and small business people there (still in that). You want to set prices these people can pay, and mostly, are fine/ok to pay. You want to allow them to make projects, and evolve the entire ecosystem, it goes in the benefit of everyone.
Sorry about polluting with my own questions about the business : I'm experienced as an illustrator, but quite lost in this business, otherwise I wouldn't ask so many details.... Also please excuse my English (in a writers' community, ouch) , it is not my first language.
I like these forums, and I got used to the SMF system, from the other one, so....cool. :D