I have a concept for a weekly, Red Meat style comic strip but I have no skills at drawing. I have several questions regarding comic strips and would appreciate any help that can offerred.
1. How would I find an artist who would draw the strip?
2. Who "owns" the strip, the strip creator or the artist?
3. If the strip is succesful commercially, is there a standard agreement on how any revenues are split?
Questions about comic strips
Questions about comic strips
Dont think I have many answers for you, but I have some.
A couple years ago I worked with a friend who published a comic strip. Her colleague wrote the stories, my friend drew them. They shared ownership and profits 50 - 50, but that was something they agreed on at the beginning.
The thing is, its pretty hard work. By the time I met her, she had been working on the strip for two years and was pretty burned out and tired of it, but contracts with publishers required she deliver a couple more years worth of strips, or risk losing a nice amount of money on the deal.
In addition to that, no newspaper would touch them unless you already had quite a bit of material already, just in case you dont deliver. Im talking a couple years worth, all drawn and finished, before the first strip was published.
It was pretty cool that their strip was running on about 50 papers across the country, but she really was quite tired of having to deliver 6 or 7 strips a week, whether she felt like it or not. Didnt make all that much money, either, btu I guess its all a matter of how you market and brand it. Maybe they should have been making merchandise, I dont know.
In any case, don't know how typical this scenario is... but have you considered maybe hiring a couple of artists? Say, hire someone to design the look, but get a couple artists to do the strips? Or are you thinking to try and get someone to work on spec? Unless you can pay an artist, youre going to have a hard time finding someone who is talented, dedicated and reliable.
Best of luck!
There's various online and print resources where you can post want-ads for artists. Just be specific about what you are seeking, and what you can offer for the work.
The strip creator owns the strip-especially if the artist is just hired as a-work for-hire. That kind of thing can, and should, be clearly established in any work agreement or contract.
Its depends on the arrangements with the publishing body and any partners in the endeavour.
An entertainment lawyer can answer this question far better though.
Irrc, there's several books on doing strips--that deal with the business aspect in a lot of respects. I think there's one by a Lee Nordling that a colleague of mine showed me at one time.
There's probably even some publications from a International Cartoonists Society ( or similar name) that cover some of this as well.
Some surfing on AWN and a few other sites should net you some good leads.
Hope that helps.
"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)
Thanks for the advice and insight.
Actually, I enrolled in the cartooning class offered at the Vancouver Film School that Ken taught several years ago. I had a great time, though it was obvious that my less than rudimentary drawing skills weren't suited to the level at which the rest of the class was drawing.