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The trends that are around now
(2000-2001)-as published products- are: club retro, the Seventies, stripes,
pop art, girly faces, strong colours, huggy-kissy stuff (as part of the new
modern sentiment trend), inspirational words.
The treatment of the paper is
becoming increasingly important, as the finish or the effects, the whole touch
experience, so glitter, shine, see through holes (die cut) and so on. The
card's life is becoming shorter and shorter and illustrations are continuously
updated following the new trends dictated by the fashion/textile/furniture
world. Each card can become then stationery or other products, such as mugs,
toys etc.
There is lot of work around and
it goes to people who are innovative, fresh and original. Nowadays most companies
need a worldwide copyright from the illustrator because the UK market can't
grow anymore (it's saturated) and therefore companies look at exporting their
product.
When you meet new publishers
who asks you to do some artwork for them, make sure you put everything in
writing. Sometimes after doing lots of roughs the job vanishes because the
designers board decides that it doesn't fit the market. It is worth preparing
a licensing agreement and a written contract before starting any job, to avoid
working for free. Furthermore, it is important to have a product list of where
your illustration is going to be reproduced: the more items, the higher the
payment.
Make sure also that your name
appears on the product so that you become a known professional. Then if people
like your style they will ask for it and that will only be good for you! Ask
questions about royalties and copyright and check the contract; often you
will find a contract that states in small print that if for example WHS buy
your book from your publisher at less than 50% of the cover price, basically
your royalty will become next to nothing.
If a publisher wants the full
copyright (assignment) ask why they want it: you would make more money out
of it, so why should they do it instead of you? Don't sign any clause that
asks you to "do nothing similar to what you have sold to them". This means
that you can only work for them, as your style will show whatever you do!
But don't copy the item
that you sold to somebody and sell it to somebody else!
Before the product goes to print
make sure that you can see it for your approval, and that you get paid the
full amount at the signature. One college leaver was promised 7.500 £ upon
illustrating a board book for children, but in the contract she was offered
one pound for the work done until the very last day for the publication! (So
if the book didn't get published all her previous work wasn't going to be
paid!)
What is the warranty? It states
that you are the original author of the illustration and you guarantee that
it works or functions well, just like a washing machine! You can refuse to
copy somebody's style if asked. Regarding the indemnity, if the publisher
pays somebody a settlement for some reasons, make sure that you are informed
of what's going on.
In companies like Paper Rose
there are three main categories: everyday- birthday-blanks; spring season;
christmas and festivities. The most common sizes are 7X5, 9X6 and 8X4 although
they don;t exactly correspond to the inches mentioned. The size depends on
how many cards you can fit on a plate. The text in front on the card is called
caption and the text inside is called message.
At the moment Paper rose has
20 free lance illustrators and they are known to be very innovative. Christmas
is divided in two main categories: nice cars for your close friends and family;
cheap boxes for all the rest. The spring season lasts only 4 or 5 week, there
is no time to test them, so companies tend to use what we know that it will
sell.
When they see new work from an
illustrator, if they like his style they commission something in that style
to him. They might like it contemporary, not humourous, but fresh; your style
doesn't have to be the style that they have because they already have illustrators
that do it, so they might want something different. Some companies will put
your name on the card that you have created. Do not send over size samples
as it is difficult to file them in an A4 system. Don't send your C.V., people
only want your art and contact number.
Publishers see lots of illustrators,
so when you call don't just say your name and expect that they remember you
and your work immediately! Most of them rather don't look at web pages, and
prefer hard copies to keep on file for our future reference. If they are using
agents as well, just make sure that they will put you in contact with us directly
because it makes life easier when you are working on a project.
The inspiration comes from outside
the card market, from everywhere. If a company briefs you a card, please keep
in mind that the size of the card will vary depending of the shop that will
display it; keep the style that you are asked to use. A card will look different
in different shops and you need to be aware of the whole process when making
it.
Usually some companies pay a
flat rate to three artists to develop a rough for a new range; then they choose
one of them and go ahead with the project, and pay more. The focus of the
card is always on the top and it is important to remember that the envelope
will provide a frame, so consider it in your design. Some of the work is coloured
by traditional methods, some other is scanned when it is b/w and coloured
on the Mac.
Try to draw the original in
the final size or a bit bigger. A range of cards starts from 6 and can go
to 24 or more. So although cards aren't paid very well it is the volume that
pays. Publishers prepare a mock up card and present it to the client. A colour
proof is a chromaline, basically a large photograph containing all the cards
in colour. The wet proof is smaller.
There are three types of printing
that we use: first the CMYK, 4 colours optically mixed, where oranges and
greens don't look well; to avoid it we use the second method, the spot colours
(pre mixed inks), but you can't use more than 5 of them ad the 6th is used
already. The third way is hexachrome (6 colours) which is good for fluorescent
colours as well.
The finish of the card is very
important. Foiling gives a metallic look, can be holographic, pearly etc.
The flitter (from glitter) is what is says: spread glue, spread glitter on
top of it, blow and keep what stays there. There are many kinds of varnishes,
like spot varnish, gloss effect etc; we can use die cuts (wholes), thermography,
to bevel things and make them swell, etc.
Cats always sell well and are
a favourite, even if they are blue. Dogs aren't because everybody has a favourite
breed and they will only buy a card which reprsents that! When you send samples,
please send one piece for each style and many different styles, in separate
sheets, so that they can be filed in different areas for future reference
.
If you want you can invite publishers
to come to your College for the end of the year exhibition, they are usually
keen especially if you send some samples beforehand. An original piece of
artwork can be reused many times and paid for often, by manipulating it on
the computer to create objects, cards, wrap, etc. Wrap is usually paid 275£
plus 5% royalties.
Most companies will ask an illustrator
to have a distinctive look in his art, a professional attitude, a knowledge
about them as a company, and an awareness of the market. Until 5 years ago
the market in UK was very traditional, but now it's changing. The edges of
the drawings are loose, colours are brighter; cats are still best sellers,
but the designs are fresher.
An illustrator, even a beginner,
should approach the companies he likes and ask for suggestions on how to improve
his style; he needs to keep in mind the printing process when planning his
artwork; for example, in CMYK reds tend to look more like magentas unless
a very skilled technician is involved.
The above text summarises a few seminars on greetings cards held in London
in 2001.
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