Advice on teaming up to make a writer/artist duo?

[kenzai]

I've recently started making a webcomic called Exploring the Dark, and I'm debating over if I should team up with an artist to help speed production up. If you click on the link, you can see that my artwork is pretty amateurish, so having someone else do it would be nice...

What are your guy's thoughts on teaming up to make a comic? Should I just buck up and do it myself since this is my first series? And to any writer/artist duos out there, how did you guys decide to start working together? Any advice in general? Thanks, any input is greatly appreciated!

[joannekwan]

If you can really avoid it, don't.

But if you do, have a good understanding of who does what, deadlines, how much of the profit goes to whom, etc. have everything clear cut. This is especially so if you don't know your collaborator prior to the project.

Also have an escape plan. Because if things fall apart or aren't going how you think they should, you need to leave without burning as many bridges as possible.

[kenzai]

Great advice, thanks! On a related topic, does anybody know any series that are created with a writer/artist duo? How common are these kinds of works?

[abbastudios]

You will run into copyright issues without a good contract about ownership.

[insomniumeye]

Be prepared to be willing to pay for the art. Artist's put alot of time and effort into their work, and asking for them to work for free will result in very long turn-over times. Depending on the artist's skill you can find yourself paying from $20 up to $200 per page, again, this depends on the artist, and the amount of detail you want in your comic.

[hushicho]

@joannekwan gave some excellent advice. I agree entirely.

Communication is supremely important between any people collaborating. You may also wish to draw out some simple contracts. There are some places online that will give you tips on how to do that.

But on contracts: don't be unwilling to amend your contracts. Likewise, never sign a contract that you aren't comfortable with. Let them know that you need some things negotiated or adjusted, and if they're unwilling...walk away. Contracts are about compromise, and you should never give someone legal justification for abusing you.

On relating to art as a writer: don't micro-manage the artist or the art. Don't be tempted to micro-manage; let them do their job and create and direct the visuals. It will almost always lead to a better final work.

But above all, I feel like it's a great idea to concentrate on open, honest, good communication between everyone participating in the project. So many problems could be avoided, in my experience, by people communicating clearly between themselves and being honest, and not drawing things out for lack of communication. It is usually much better to discuss a problem when it presents itself, and after leaving something unaddressed for a long time, it can make it so much harder to deal with.