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  1.  (10652.1)
    #comicscollaboration

    Writers of comics, what are some of the ways that you've started & maintained collaborations with artists?

    Artists, what's the best way [apart from cash] a writer can lure you into drawing comics? And how many of you troll websites like Craig's List looking for unpaid, collaborative work?

    I wrote 32 pages of script and a story arc synopsis for a comic, but the story would be ruined by my pitiful scribbles. I have been wondering about the best way to get it made, apart from hiring someone to do the art. This question has been rattling around in my head for a bit, so thanks for providing a venue for it.
  2.  (10652.2)
    #foodcrushingthing

    My fiance wants to get some sort of blender/food processor/juicer all-in-one thing.

    Anyone use any of these things? I've been window shopping, and reviews tend to be:

    REVIEW #1
    It's the most awesome thing ever! Changed my life! I now believe in Jesus!
    REVIEW #2
    I opened the box and when I touched the device it turned to dust and all my children are forever eternally hungry. Also customer service sucks.

    Please, tell me what works
  3.  (10652.3)
    #foodcrushingthing

    In my experience you're better off buying separate appliances to do different jobs. Those all-in-one gadgets tend to have more parts that need cleaning, and bits get lost or broken.
    •  
      CommentAuthorglukkake
    • CommentTimeMay 19th 2012 edited
     (10652.4)
    #comicscollaboration

    Money. Money gets you artists, always. Otherwise you're basically finding a true believer who is going to dedicate months of their time to you for free for the satisfaction of getting it made (altruistic commercial artists?). And if you've already written a script, this is basically saying that we're going to be your art monkey and just execute, not necessarily have any say the story because it's *your* story, not a collaboration. So, money.

    I never do unpaid work unless I really believe in the concept, it fits in with my interests and I have freedom to do it as I'd like with only minimal guidelines. I'm opinionated when I'm even getting paid, so when I'm unpaid and someone is directing me to their vision and not letting me do what I think is best I'm going to do a worse job. If you've ever seen a good artist put out a bad piece of work, it is generally because they hated working on it. It shows in quality.
    When money is involved on a project I dislike, I care more about the fact that they are paying my bills and I want to make them happy so as to entice them to hire me again. I make the best of disagreements and concede better. Otherwise I can just keep drawing the things I like for free and not deal with that kind of headache.

    So, when trying to work with artists, make sure that you study the hell out of their personal artwork and see if what they're interested in doing in their spare time is what you're trying to get done with your project. The more interests you share, the more likely you are to get them to be a believer in getting your story out in the world. (And then you should offer them money.)

    Secondly, understand that with an artist working as an unpaid collaborator, that means they will drop your project the minute something paid comes up. So it will significantly slow down production. This is where I hit my biggest challenges when working with writers, honestly. Because I have projects I want to see made that require way better writing skills than I have. But, I can't afford to pay anyone. So that means I'm either dealing with professionals in their "spare" time or non-professionals with lots of spare time who lack a freelancer's discipline.

    There are a lot of people who cannot be a freelancer, who cannot work outside an office/classroom setting with someone breathing down their neck, keeping them on task. It's not a bad thing, but you will have to decide that you want to be the person who micromanages them. If you have the time and energy for it, great! If you don't, you'll likely waste a lot of time as they don't meet deadlines, give excuses, etc.



    In summation: Money.
  5.  (10652.5)
    #comicscollaboration

    There are three things that can entice an artist to draw a script: love, money, or ownership.

    • An artist who will draw a script just because s/he loves the story is harder to find than an altruistic Republican or a successful abstinence-only sex-ed program. Not impossible, but not damn likely. You may have slightly better luck finding an artist who will draw a script because s/he loves you i.e. a friend, a fan, a stalker.

    • Money is how 99% of already-written scripts find their way onto sheets of bristol or into .PSD files. It's a bit like hiring a sex worker, in that it involves awkward discussions up front about money and boundaries, has the potential to be a lot of fun and intensely satisfying, but can also leave both parties feeling a bit remorseful and dirty afterward. Likewise, when it's over you can go your separate ways and never speak of it, or if both parties are up for it, you can return for additional sessions and those can be great working relationships. I'm told. ;)

    • Ownership is kind of a mixture of love and money... the artist likes it just enough to think that maybe it'll be a hit, possibly even successful enough to lead to lucrative merchandise/adaptations/whatever, and that combination is enough that s/he'll risk putting the time and effort into realizing it. And because that time and effort will be both 1) substantial, and 2) instrumental to any success, s/he will be reasonably entitled to equal creative control, and half or more of the profits.

    As for where to hook up with these artists (regardless of how you hook them).... I've never cruised Craigslist (for artists), so I have no idea if that works. I know a lot of writers troll Deviant Art. I've had some success in the past posting ads on Digital Webbing. My more recent collaborators (as artist or writer) have been people I met thru online discussions (e.g. Farcebook, SequentialWorkshop.com, even Bleeding Cool). It's like dating: You hang out where artists hang out, make yourself known as a person whose love/money/ownership might be trustworthy, approach the ones whose arse art appeals to you, and you ask if they'd be interested.
    •  
      CommentAuthoroddbill
    • CommentTimeMay 19th 2012
     (10652.6)
    #comicscollaboration

    To echo Glu above, just pay money.

    So many people go to so much effort to figure out how to get someone to do artwork for them for free. The end result is almost universally miserable.

    If it's a project you believe in, you should be willing to save some money and pay an artist. If you aren't willing to do that, maybe you aren't yourself committed enough.

    The reality: all artists have their own projects. If they are working for free, they will be working on their own projects. Why should they work on someone else's? Best answer: they are being paid to.

    It's not even that expensive. Maybe you could offer a $50.00 page rate? That is a low page rate, but a good amateur artist looking for a paid gig might be happy to work for that. 32 * 50 = 1600. $1600 is not an unusual amount of money for someone to spend on a hobby, say, in one year. It will take a couple of months at least for an artist you hire to draw 32 pages. It will take you a couple of months to arrange printing or online publishing or distribution or whatever your strategy for it will be.

    Make it your year's effort, pay an artist, and take it seriously. Maybe you'll end up with something really great!
  7.  (10652.7)
    #foodcrushingthing

    I have a friend who has a 1975 Magimix. It's still running. She had it repaired last year because to buy an equivalent quality food processor now would cost in excess of $1200: you'd have to buy the "commercial/industrial" model. Ask yourself how much you're going to use the thing before you shell out because if it's going to be like 3 times a day every day for the rest of your life, the exorbitant cost suddenly seems at least a little less stupid.

    Of course, I live in Australia which is apparently an excuse for all manufacturers to double their RRP so don't take the price point as gospel. Just bear in mind the longevity of the well-made appliance.

    Then, of course, there's also this
    • CommentAuthorOddcult
    • CommentTimeMay 21st 2012
     (10652.8)
    #Cover Versions

    The band wot I am in are going to be doing some recordings soon, with an eye on selling our original songs. However, we also do some covers live and want to record these. The idea was to avoid the hassle of obtaining licenses and all the paperwork involved with providing royalty statements and obtaining a mechanical license to publish the songs by simply giving away, or just making available via streaming, the cover versions.

    Can we do this? If there's no money involved - although arguably they're being used for commercial purposes in terms of promotion - can we skip the need for the mechanical license and paying royalties if we're not deriving a direct income from these cover versions?
  9.  (10652.9)
    #Cover Versions

    Sharing of an audio recording in any form, paid or unpaid, constitutes distribution. Distribution can be in the form of downloads, streaming from any website, including yours, or any physical product such as CD or vinyl. When you distribute a recording a song somebody else wrote, whether it’s for commercial use (making it for sale) or promotional use (giving it away for free), you are still required to obtain a compulsory license and pay royalties.

    In order to share your cover song recordings, you must obtain a license.

    From Here
    • CommentAuthorOddcult
    • CommentTimeMay 21st 2012
     (10652.10)
    #cover versions

    Okay - I sort of understood that. However, what it doesn't answer is whether, even if you obtain the mechanical license - when there are no sales and therefore no royalties, there's still the need to do the paperwork.
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      CommentAuthormiriku
    • CommentTimeMay 21st 2012 edited
     (10652.11)
    #cover versions

    You are legally liable for Bad Things happening to you if you do not obtain a mechanical license even if you do not sell the songs, just release them for free.

    Generally speaking, as a recording musician, I would recommend not releasing any covers until you have someone else doing your legal for you, either a label, or your own personal lawyer that you are paying. While in theory it's only $15 per song, in practice who the hell knows. If you nevertheless want to do this yourself, for most US songs the website for it http://harryfox.com, and if not then you are obligated to find the copyright holder yourself.

    Edit to clarify: the "paperwork" is online, but it has to be done, yes.
    • CommentAuthorArgos
    • CommentTimeMay 21st 2012 edited
     (10652.12)
    ^^so I just found out that my partner has a WC account he never uses. Meet the other person from the engagement photos I posted recently :P I directed him over to help with #Cover Versions
  13.  (10652.13)
    #comicscollaboration

    @glukkake, Jason A. Quest, & oddbill—

    Thanks very much for taking the time & mental energy to respond so thoroughly to my question.

    Looks like it's time to start saving [note to self: get a damn job] and working my script into an outline. Working on other projects, I've seen firsthand how getting everyone involved in love with the project leads to much better results [also seen the converse of that and it is not pretty]. So, I'll get the barebones of the story nailed down and, with a capable cohort, rebuild it better, faster, stronger [my shot direction might need to get shot].

    Once again, my thanks.
  14.  (10652.14)
    #foodcrushingthing

    I have a Vitamix blender and the fucking thing cost be damn near $500 but it is the greatest blender you could hope to ever own.
    I use it for smoothies almost every morning, but I've also made ice cream in it (Ice and fruit) and I know you can make and cook soup in it. COOK!

    I had to save up for years to afford it, but it is everything all the reviews have said (as a some-time raw foodist, every raw food book refers to a vitamix by name, almost never "blenders")

    I'm looking into a juicer now, but simply don't have the cash. Getting an all in one is probably a bad idea, but if you have the means, the vitamix if pretty fucking spectacular and will crush anything you want. (Also worth noting, it measures it's power with horse power....a kitchen appliance with HORSEPOWER!)
  15.  (10652.15)
    #foodcrushingthing

    I have a LaLanne juicer, and it's absolutely worth the money. Loads of power, thermal cutout that stops the motor from burning out under strain, high speed centrifuge which extracts pretty much every drop of juice from whatever you're feeding into it. There are a couple of drawbacks, but they're small: there are about eight separate parts which you need to assemble (including the centrifuge which screws in with a special spanner), and they all need washing after each use.
    • CommentAuthorallana
    • CommentTimeMay 22nd 2012
     (10652.16)
    #montrealc'estbeau

    I know this was asked last month but there weren't many replies.
    I'm hitting Montreal this weekend with a friend, and we have roughly three full days of exploring to do. We're staying in the Latin Quarter, and we'll probably fit in some cheesy campus tour of McGill, but other than that we're open to suggestions. WHAT DO WE DO?!?!?! (Other than learn some fucking French already.)
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      CommentAuthoroldhat
    • CommentTimeMay 22nd 2012 edited
     (10652.17)
    #montrealc'estbeau

    Visit the Dieu du ciel brewpub because it's wonderful.

    Also visit the Cafe Pi, because it's beautiful. Get a bottle of Italian soda.

    The botanical gardens are also wonderful AND beautiful.

    And historic Schwartz's Deli is the stop for AMAZING Jewish deli food. Go go go go.
  18.  (10652.18)
    #montrealc'estbeau

    It's been... longer than I want to realize... since I've been to Montreal (10 years if I actually think about it)... I was a good little tourist and learned some phrases in French (Quebec french, not Parisian french) and very quickly realized that it did me no good. Almost everyone one I spoke it to looked at me with utter confusion, apologized, and said that they only spoke English. (That being said, it just seems more polite to try, but don't worry too much if you don't remember any.)

    I'm with Robin, go to Schwartz's. They'll ask if you've been there before, say 'no', and they bring you what you're supposed to eat. They didn't even show my wife or I menu's.
    I don't remember the names of anything else we went to, so I apologize for the vagueness of all that is about to follow: There's some really nice museums to go to, and there was a haunted house dinner theatre which was entertaining. The art museum was really impressive when we were there, as was walking around old town (by the water). And, although it's not for everyone, the graveyard is really quite beautiful. (And no, I'm not someone that walks around graveyards... I grew up across from one that was mostly slab-style headstones whereas the one in Montreal has some really beautiful sculptures.)

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