Well, enjoying the odd drawing session today i drew the weapons my main characters in my book use, along with their sizes.
Note- Damn i forgot one
Well, though it wasnt a large picture it was inticate enough that it took over 2 hours; so i am pretty exausted after being tense.
I'm also well aware that even if i can draw a few small weapons; it doesnt matter if they arnt perfect as they are basicly only there to give the reader a better idea of what to imagine when the weapon is mentioned.
That isnt always the case.
I am nowere near skilled enough (yet) to Draw my Cover Art, Character Portraits (I want to have head-and-shoulder pics of my main characters.) or even the Maps.
Basicly my question is what do you usually do about this when you cant do it yourself?
I imagine i could pay someone to do it; but i also imagine that would be very expensive.
Still, this is the only place i know i can get answers to the woes of an begginer Author Posts: 67 | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
Heh, i havent inked them yet... but i guess it doesnt hurt
I'll scan em in.
Bear in mind they are extremly amature, htey will be smaller in a novel so less mistakes will be visible, when i ink there wont be pencil flaws and i am never happy with my own work.
So please no cruel comments; i know they arnt very good but they are the best i can do on 1/3 of an A4 sheet and without decent pencils or practicing in weeks.
Posts: 67 | Registered: Jan 2006
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Authors not only don't draw their own cover art, but also have almost no control over it. It's up to the publisher how to present and market the book, and the cover is included in that.
If the book is for a young audience, you may want to team up with an illustrator friend and do the book together (neither of you being in charge or paying the other). Or the publisher may decide that the book wants pictures and hire an illustrator themselves.
In an adult novel, you'll find that illustrations are very rare, and that scale models of weapons are usually of interest only to thirteen-year-old readers and Trekkie-level fans, neither of which are you likely to have with your first novel.
Personally, if I were you, I'd focus on learning the craft of writing, use your illustrations for personal reference only (with the exception of maps, which you can offer to the publisher to have them professionally drawn for the inside of the novel, if they decide it's worth it to have them), and have yourself a great sigh of relief that in our highly specialized society, no one is expected to both write and draw at the same time.
Posts: 1907 | Registered: Feb 2000
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And by the way, your stuff isn't crap. It isn't professional-level, either, but I'm betting you've still got plenty of time to hone your skills You've got talent — keep at it.
Posts: 1907 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Hmm thats actually too bad; i would have liked to have a few images in the back of the book. Less for the reader than because i personally want it there hehe.
I'd sorta guessed that about the cover art, but since i didnt know i wasnt going to assume.
Thanks for the info though; it is a weight off my chest.
Oh i will be keeping drawing; but for the moment my writing takes up all my creative time Posts: 67 | Registered: Jan 2006
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It actually bothers me a little that someone will draw my character on the Cover art from their vision of them rather than my own (unless it gets a boring cover with no characters on it.)
Do i actually get any say at all in what is drawn?
Posts: 67 | Registered: Jan 2006
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>>Do i actually get any say at all in what is drawn?
No. Not a bit, and what's more, you SHOULDN'T get any say.
Covers are for marketing. Your publisher usually knows what's best. There may be exceptions to this rule, but they are few. As a new author, you're probably not an exception.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Excuse me if i'd rather someone elses vision of my characters doesnt become what anyone who reads the book sees them as.
Just because i'm a new author doesnt mean i want my creations messed up because the guy doing the cover thinks a character would look better blonde/bald/canine. I always wondered why characters looked completly diffrent on the covers than they are described; also explains the phrase 'Don't Judge a Book by its Cover'
Posts: 67 | Registered: Jan 2006
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No author, new or not, wants their creation 'messed up.'
BUT-- your publisher (theorhetically) knows a lot more about selling your book than you do, and probably has a larger stake in making sure it sells. A good cover will produce more sales, regardless of the content. That's why most publishers don't let authors have a say in their cover art. Most authors don't know how to sell a book. (That's why self-publishing authors are rarely financially successful.)
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I've been very grateful for both the artists that have illustrated my stories-- they captured perfectly the tone of the characters they worked on. Their art meshes so perfectly with my story, it's an extension and enhancement, not a distraction or simple addition.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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quote:Excuse me if i'd rather someone elses vision of my characters doesnt become what anyone who reads the book sees them as.
Then do comic books or movies. But keep in mind that very frequently -- and this is especially true as you mature -- the exact appearance of a given character gets less and less important the better and better your writing gets.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Not until after publication, which is the right way to do things, IMO. I trust in the artists' professionalism and vision. And if I get burned, eh, no biggie. I've got other stories in me.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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What does maturity have to do with my characters being highly personal to me?
No matter how old i get i'll always have a vivid imagine of how my characters look.
I always considered Comics but i'm not a good enough drawer yet, there is always time. Either way there are some things you can do with Novels that you cant with comics.
I suppose i can trust the artist... they know what they are doing.
Posts: 67 | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:i'll always have a vivid imagine of how my characters look.
That's fine-- the trick is to not be offended when someone else sees the character in a slightly different way.
To illustrate this point, the child that was drawn in IMS for my story, 'Eviction Notice,' has straight, dark hair. In the text, it's mentioned that the child has slightly curly hair. But because the tone of the story is so effectively captured in the art, it just doesn't matter.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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from your drawings it looks like anime (maybe naruto form the looks of the kunai) is one of your influences.
Posts: 813 | Registered: Nov 1999
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quote:But doesnt mean i cant whine and moan about them messing up my characters if one is on the cover
Actually, it's considered very, very. . . um, untoward to do this in public. You want to discuss it with your publisher or editor in private, that's fine. But don't contact the offending artist, and don't talk about it beyond your circle of friends. Don't post your objections about it on the internet either, obviously.
Good luck with your novel.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Also for a novel like the one you are trying to write, i think it would have to be more like a graphic novel. u can describe ninja techniques all you want, but seeing it in action really does wonders.
Posts: 813 | Registered: Nov 1999
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quote: Hell, i might be lucky and it may be a none-character based cover that still looks good
Xan-
Don't discount this as a possibility either - it's a good idea to throw your trust behind the artist, because they'll often surprise you. My last book cover, which I'd expected to have characters on the front cover, ended up with an amzing fantasy / sci-fi artist in Sydney, who produced the best cover art I've ever had on any of my books, and not a character in sight. Here is a thumbnail of it, which doesn't actually do justice to the level of detail, but sometimes leaving the characters off the front gives you a lot more power as an author to play with the imaginations of your readers, and that's something worth considering.
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