Zwol.org

This is an unpaid position. I have no money to pay anyone for any work at this point.

Hello,

My name's Jose and I'm a writer based in London. I'm looking for an artist to collaborate with on a graphic novel I'm currently developing.

The book will be a 12-issue re-imagining of Joan Of Arc's life where the focus is put on a quest Joan needs to complete in order to save the world from dark forces. In my version of events Joan is a sword-fighting bad-ass trying to keep Satan and his army from conquering Earth. Rest assured, she still dies on the pyre.
There's quite a few flashbacks in the first few issues to give a more complete picture of why Joan is the way she is but that'll stop once the main storyline gets going. Right now I'm done working on the finishing touches for issue #2, I've written a bit of issue #3 and what I need is someone to help me out with the art side of things. I'd like to get some character sketches going and then start working on issue #1 properly.

I want to submit the book to publishers but I also have a plan for low-cost, online publishing. I've recruited a small but dedicated group of friends that are helping me and all I need now is a great artist to help me make this book a reality.

I'm looking for realism with a punch. The book is set in France in the 1400s and I'd like it to look plausible but that doesn't mean everything has to be period accurate.
I have some specific ideas for certain scenes and characters but I'm very open to input on how to best bring this story to life. I aim to give the artist(s) full reign on how best to draw the story.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in being part of let me know and we'll take it from there.

Thanks,

Jose Pereira
hetfdex@gmail.com

I have to say I like your idea, but the problem is that it's nigh impossible to attract an artist to a singular long term project without paying him or her. Artists generally will only do one chapter for a comic pitch. It's just a LOT of work to draw a ten issue comic and the artist needs some compensation or guarantee before putting in so much effort. If you really want to work on comics I recommend suggesting multiple of ideas of various themes and genres, and don't be afraid to offer your skills to an artist. The latter plan is a VERY good idea because an artist will be passionate about their own project. The problem is that many artists simply drop out of projects due to real life issues, and you have the better chance of getting an artist if the artist him or herself has more of an emotional stake in the project.

My advice, make a choice. Abandon this project and advertise for shorter projects or recognize that you may not get beyond the first chapter. Or save up the money and pay an artist. It's a tough world out there for writers, they far outnumber artists in these dark days so we can't afford to be picky. We must strive to appeal to artists in anyway we can if we are limited by our paycheck (I know I am) and I know this from experience. I also have been passionate about a project many times, with my own ideas being passed over for other ideas of mine. But truthfully I LOVE to script, so it's all worthwhile. If you want to go through with this professionally you just have to pay. I have professional ranked artists who want to do graphic novels with me, but that's because I've worked for years as an amateur and have examples of my previous works.

I wish you all the best, I really like your idea. I had something similar once involving Amelia Earhart meeting people throughout history.

Sincerely,
Ruyei/Robert

In total agreement with you Robert. There seems to be a influx of people in the last month looking for free artists to work on long projects. I've spoken to some of them, some have been appreciative some have ignored me completely.

I was in their position once so I don't blame them, someone told me the same thing, that should shelve that big idea and work on something small. I saw their point but did I listen? No. I just came to the conclusion that I really believed in my project and I was confident that it was worth investing in. My out standing artist helped me with that, but I put aside the "looking for free artists" posts and started paying for it.

It has not been easy, it never will be, but that's half the game. Good professional art will not come for free.

A lot has already been said so I won't go over it again. I have to say your idea sounds very interesting and could be a kickass comic. But to make it kickass you need cash.

I think you live in London, am I right? I am in London also and the creator of my own series.

www.facebook.com/instruments.of.darkness.comic

My email is nrslack@googlemail.com

If you want to chat.

Nathan

I'm not saying that when looking for free artists that it's impossible, you just have to either have a VERY good pitch, experience, or the willingness to work with a less than professional artist. I use all three . I don't have the money to pay for artists, but I enjoy working on comics. At this point though I can attract quite a few high quality artists but that's because of my experience. My first projects involved working on someone else's projects though