Accepting submissions for an art book and possibe gallery show in LA
Wonderland
Posts: 7,133
Hi, everyone, I'm putting together an art book and curating a series of CGI art images for the book and possibly an all CGI art gallery showing in L.A. I’m currently looking for submissions. You must have a 300dpi version at approximately 8x10 available for the book and larger for the gallery. (You can be in one or both.) ALL art must be created using a 3D program and postwork is allowed. As a matter of fact, I encourage postwork. I have never seen a 3D render that couldn’t be improved a bit with postwork. Some dodge/burn/levels/brightness contrast and other tricks, even things like Ron’s brushes can take your art to next level. All work MUST be your own, no assets from Deviant art that are not yours. You may use a purchased background with your render, but entirely your own work is preferred. No stock images allowed for backgrounds, you can, however, use your own photos as realistic backgrounds, but the rendered image must be the main focus.
What am I looking for? Something cool, a bit edgy maybe, creative, something you could see on a gallery wall. Art, rather than just a render. Please don’t be insulted if I don’t pick your work, it may be wonderful, but just not what I’m looking for…
Black and white or color. Have dramatic lighting, interesting subjects, something you could visualize framed or printed and wrapped on canvas on a gallery wall. Be aware of lighting, composition and basically ask yourself: “Is this art or just a render."
What I’m NOT looking for: Toons, funny scenes or scenarios, straight renders without postwork, something that looks like a sales promo.
All artists will be credited with their name and up to six links for social media or anything they are trying to sell or promote as well as a five to six line bio or statement.
To submit, please email me an 8x10 or slightly larger image at 72 dpi with your name, email and the software you used printed ON the image to [email protected] You may send up to 10 images, but please pick your VERY best, even if that is just one or two... Send each image in a separate email.
Looking forward to seeing your work!
Thanks,
Alicia aka Wonderland :)
This has gotten a lot of flack. Please scroll down to my responses to get a full understanding of what I'm talking about. This is not about me making money, it's about legitimizing CG art and getting more of it in galleries and in the hands of real art collectors. I will copy paste my other responses here later if I have time, but if you scroll to my avatar, hopefully you will get a better understanding of what I'm trying to do. Thanks.
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Comments
Erm, OK, let me just get this straight... you want artists to spend their precious time making art, which you want to sell in a book and all you're giving the artists in return is credit in your book? You're not paying them anything for their hard work and time?
Sorry if I sound confused, but "credit" won't pay the bills and it's not as if you're actually buying the artwork they've made...
It depends – I've got lots of artworks which were done for clients, but I certainly wouldn't create anything new for a book without seeing any money. Will the participating artists at least get a free copy of the book?
I don't think any of my images are really what you're looking for, but you can peruse my gallery and se for yourself, although part of my style is doing everything I can in render to avoid postwork.
If by chance something does catch your fancy, I can recreate it at a bigger size.
This would be images you already created. Just to give you extra exposure, similar to what Ballistic publishing does, but this would be a little egdier, with more realism, and I welcome black&white. Of course if the gallery showing happens, you would make money over the sale of your work. But with so many participants with the book, it would be hard to split. Ballistic never pays anyone either... Yes, participants can get a copy of the book after enough is sold so I don't have to pay out of pocket. The more the participants do their own PR (tweeting, FB, Instagram), the more sold, the more recognition artists will get and then I can afford to buy a bunch of books to send to you all!
...I tend to render most of my scenes at a 4:3 ratio (35mm) and may have a couple that might suit the bill. 3DL or just Iray?
Also, if interested, please send images as described in opening post to my email or put a LINK to your gallery. I tried clicking on someone's name, and it doesnt connect to their gallery...
I think you should look up one of Wil Wheaton's commentaries on exposure.
If the 3DL doesn't look too mannequin-y, or you did lots of postwork, that's fine. Prefer more artistic realism or artistry in post, not pure renders that look too much like mannequins...
http://www.salon.com/2015/10/28/wil_wheaton_is_right_stop_expecting_artists_to_work_for_free_or_worse_exposure/
Like here are two of Colm's images that are in line with what I'm looking for...
I'm not asking anyone to work for free, this is if you have artwork sitting on your computer that you wish more people would see and to introduce them to your body of work. No one is asking you to create anything new.
From personal experience, let me toss my two cents into the pot.
I've done work for five issues of a magazine- for credit, a free copy of each, as well as dividends once enough money had been collected from sales to pay each artist and writer for their work. For the same "publisher", I've also done a cover for two other short story books- for the same; credit, a free copy and dividends between he and I once sales start.
I had to buy the first magazine, and have received no free copies of any of the works published. I have not seen *any* dividends or royalties since the initial releases of any of the collections. Now, we are talking months of work- the stories I did work for had at least five renders a piece to them.
I even submitted a story of my own, with five renders to go with them- and have received nothing.
Even with the contract, legal and binding, we are not safe from "working for free (exposure)" when nothing comes out of sales. So asking for donated work (Ballistic is a bad example here- they are a multi-million dollar company that has world-wide exposure for their books, games, contests, etc. that can pay off in the end for any artist that is accepted into their collections), and those art books you speak of that pays the artists nothing is not exactly true.
If you are speaking of their (Blizzard for example) Fan Art collections, then no- artists are not paid to violate copyright laws. Fan art, being sold, is a copyright infringement. If they make a collection of Student Art- the artists are not paid monitarily, but they receive face to face mentorship with a Blizzard artist, a year of free subscription to World of Warcraft and a couple of other minor "prizes". If you are speaking of contests, and books that come from them- you're very wrong. Top prize in their last contest was $10,000 USD among many other prizes.
Just thought I'd get that out there.
Doesn't matter. What you are asking for is for the people here to give you art they have done, for free, for you to make money on - which would effectively grant YOU the copyright on THEIR work. And "exposure" is worth less than most people think it is. Unless it's exposure on a worldwide mass-market scale, no amount of 'exposure' will garner anything for the artist - not one commission, not one sale, just more requests for free artwork 'for the exposure'.
Your proposal makes me think of this youtube video
LMAO< good one Mattymanx!!!
I see that you are getting a lot of flak from PAs. This is because we are constantly asked to do things for free. So we especially hate it when it's for "exposure".
I think this cartoon from the Oatmeal explains it best:
Wonderland seems like a really nice person, but that video sums up my feelings much kinder than I can probably manage.
Is this a joke? Because I don't get it.
Asking someone to hand over their stock without payment IS asking them to work for free, btw. So yes, you are asking people to work for free. Just becuase the image is already made, doesn't mean that the artist doesn't deserve to be compensated. People would think I was insane if I asked for a Degas for free, but that's just sitting there, right? He's not even alive to accept payment anymore!
...one of the ones I'm considering does involve a fair amount of postwork and yes, is "edgy". My issue with Iray is that everything else can look photoreal, but characters' skin often looks like it's made of rubber so the whole feel is broken.
Just to be clear: the OP wants artists to hand over their work so he/she can put it in a book and/or a gallery showing. The goal of said book/showing is for the OP to make money. In other words, profit from another artists work. Ulitmately, who holds the copyrights to works published in the book and any shown in gallery? If a work is shown at the gallery and someone buys it, how much of a per centage of the profits does the artist receive?
I'd love to see an analysis of the cost to create a work vs. any expected return on exposure.
I mean, basically what is being offered is visibility in the book and MAYBE gallery showing will translate to increased revenue from people, presumably, commissioning work from the artist.
That's great. Exactly how is that going to happen? Exactly how much can somehow hope to get from it?
I mean, I can shotgun artwork on DeviantArt and get notice, too. Or Facebook. Or other groups. What sort of different exposure are we going to get from this project?
Wow, you all totally misinterpreted everything... You would retain the copyright to your own work. You would do no work. Just submit something you already have, you retain all rights. It would be more like a free ad than anything else. If the book looks as good as I envision, then I would try to get a show at an art gallery and that would work like any gallery, if your piece sold, you would make money minus the usual gallery percentage. I am an artist too and I would never take advantage of other artists. I thought it would be a good way for us all to promote each other. I could easily do the book by myself with just my own art (I already have done a pin-up art book, it's available on Amazon) but just thought if it was a group thing then the buzz would spread wider and more sales would be made because everybody would help promote it. If it made a ridiculous amount of money, I would figure out a way to get some back to the contributors but the truth is, I'd be lucky if I came out even. I'd be formatting the book which takes a lot of time, designing the front and back covers, doing the spine, which is a big pain in the neck... And I would spend the money received to order the books and send you guys a copy as soon as enough sales were made to cover that.
This requires no work on anyone's part except picking the images they want to submit. If selected, you'd just have to write a bio and/or artist statement, and attach links to your stores or social media. Maybe I could even do a full page bio for each person, with an interview, your photo, and links, if that would help. This was just meant as a cool way to promote each other. If you wanted, maybe we could figure out a way to divide income after my expenses were paid. I never really thought of this as a huge money making venture, but more of a promotional tool. And I do have connections. If I could afford to buy a bunch of books from profits, I could have them put in goody bags for celebrity events, possibly get them into some of the trendier LA stores where people with disposable income shop. I have a ton of other marketing ideas. And if your art gets into an LA gallery, that just looks really good on your resume, gives you lots of exposure and you will get paid if your piece sells... You can post as much as you want on Deviant Art but true art collectors do not check Deviant Art or even know what it is. My art has already been in some LA galleries, but it's tough being a CGI artist. I want to start breaking the mold. Photography was originally not considered a real art. That's why I'm looking for a specific type of art from contributors, the type of art that someone could put up on their wall. Cool, edgy, innovative, visually stunning.... Not just plain renders, but real art. I see some in the Daz galleries, maybe one to every two or three hundred I see, but talent is out there....
But hey, if no one is interested, I can just do it with my own art... I'm expanding out of my old pin-up style art into other things so it will take a while to create enough new stuff for that kind of book, so I thought, why not include other people's art? I just thought it would be a great way to promote each other. Great for PA's who can link to their stores, and artists who can link to their sales pages. I'm shocked that everyone is taking it in such a negative way.... It just seems win/win to me...
Ok, since I'm not a pro and I don't make money from my work, personally I think it's a great idea to make this kind of exposure. And I think that it's very good from the OP's point to offer such a thing and effort. I understand if people who do make money from their art, like PA's and people who do comissions, don't have time nor any wish for this. They have other revenues where they want to invest their time and effort in.
What I do have a problem with is preselecting my art and send it by email without knowing if you'd like it or not. Firstly, because my own perception of what my "best" art is varies a lot from what other people think. Secondly, because I'll probably need to re-watermark the image with the info you asked for with a decent chance it won't get accepted.
So, Alicia, would it be ok if you just look at my DA gallery (Here's my 3D part: http://chanteur-de-vent.deviantart.com/gallery/29828873/3D) and tell me if anything in it is good enough? If there is, I'll be happy to re-watermark it for you and send it by e-mail.
...I've been looking to go the SF convention route as a lot of my work is science fiction and cyber/post apocalyptic themed. This is part of the reason I amd looking to build a more powerful workstation (provided I an get the funds up) so that I can render large format high quality images for gallery print purposes.
I used to draw an paint until arthritis took that away from me . Even though I am still (after all these years) learning 3D CG I approach each project as if it were a painting rather than a digital image. I am limited in my postwork as I do not have a steady enough hand anymore for fine digital painting so I push to get as much out of the render process as I can. which includes a lot of different in render effects (best suited to 3DL as Iray is a photo real engine that mimics a camera and there are just some styles it cannot handle which a biased render engine can). This translates to heavier render CPU/Memory load which requires a lot more horsepower than I currently have available to me as 3DL is a ray trace render engine.
I also do work with Iray but I like the fact that characters and surroundings tend to blend together more seamlessly in 3DL whereas in Iray, because of the issues with interpreting the nuances of skin, characters often look as if they are "photoshopped" into a scene.
Here's just one example rendered in 3DL (an homage to one of my favourite painters). Most of the effects save for the signature and a few minor touches were done in the render process.
(not a submission)
if you are a pro or not you are spoiling the market for those who try to earn money with it
when working for free
Ok, I'll try to be as civil as possible. Let me start with that I respect everyone's opinions, I understand where the "working for a living" artists are coming from and I know which problem is been widely targeted in this thread. Namely that with the amount of artists growing and internet allowing for them to interconnect in very fast and widespread ways people start to expect that for every artist who does ask money for his work there will be 10 more with the same quality level who'll do it for free or for exposure. Leaving all the artists who do try to get money for their work either forced to underprice themselves or to take on a second job and let their art be a "hobby".
Now let me ask you this: say you never advertise your art, will there be anyone coming to say your DA page and buy something from you? Probably not, since they don't know you exist. But then advertising usually costs either money or time. As far as I can see it, OP offered here to advertise our art in a non-profit way. We don't pay her to advertise us, she doesn't pay us for our contribution. As far as I understood, the revenue from selling books will probably barely be enough to cover the costs of production. So she doesn't gain a penny from that book. So what's the difference here between putting your DA page link on a forum (for free) and giving her your art for an artbook? In both cases no money is being made by neither you, nor the one taking the link/art. You get advertisement for free, and she gets contribution for free. Looks like a fair trade to me.
Just a reminder to keep the covnersation civil and to comment on the topic, not on other people.
Advertising, Marketing, Exposure only comes through a specific dedicated marketing plan that puts the artwork in front of potential customers with the intent to sell your work.
Publishing in an artbook doesnt not have the goal of selling individual artwork, the goal of the book is to sell a book. There is no specific marketing for individual artists. There is a huge difference between credit in a book and having artwork marketed directly. So that is the problem with such a scheme.
I know the OP means well in this endevour. He/She obviously does not have the means or intention to work as a marketing agent for artists, that would be too much to expect. But, that leaves the fact that there really is no marketing done for the individual artists, so there really are no specific benefits to participating. As such the plan falls apart. An artist can get more exposure by opening a deviant art account and putting their art in specific groups there. Because there they would have people who are already interested in their art theme, and also have a direct link for people to purchase the art if they desire.
A book with many different styles and themes can only get a viewing base of a more general variety who may or may not like that particular artists style and theme. So the number of sales or exposure to the "right" people is already more limited.
So while the idea sounds interesting, the "actual" benefits to the individual artist are very limited.
Exposure and marketing are totally different things. Marketing brings sales, exposure does not.
The biggest question I see so far that I haven't seen addressed is the OP mentioned being able to purchase a book to offset their cost. What happens to all the extra money once the price of publishing is met? If it goes to the OP then they are making money from someone elses work. That to me is very wrong.