My Artist is not meeting their deadlines and I'm at a loss what to do. (Help?!)

[Tadashi]

Actually I had considered doing a sort of prequel to my story that would be around 1 chapter long to sort of introduce/ draw attention to my comic but my artist originally shot down the idea stating no one would read nor work on a short comic but your suggestion has me thinking otherwise and I think I may go for it thanks

[Tadashi]

The artist was a mutual sort of friend of mine who I kicked the idea around with once and we agreed any pay we got from it we'd split 50/50. And I did indeed ask if I was stress them since we were mutual friends and they stated I didn't and I asked if there were any issues and they said no and would quickly change topics when I tried to discuss it with them. So I don't know really

[alaingrey]

I don't think there's any sane person in the world who would want to work on a 59 chapter project, especially if they're not being paid and I doubt that even most artists working on their own idea would want to commit to a 59 chapter project. If you're serious, I'd suggest making a muuuuch shorter story- something that you can take around to conventions to build your writing portfolio so that people will take an interest in you as a writer and you can start making money to pay artists and have deadlines done.

Basically I think your first warning about this artist being unprofessional was that they agreed to this project in the first place, and I think any fresh meat would be an equal pain in the ass.

[Michelle]

If you're working with unpaid artists, you're likely to run into this scenario a lot. I do agree that your artist sounds unprofessional and should have been more upfront about their ability to do the work, so it'd be in both of your best interests to break off the current agreement.

However, it's important to think of things realistically from the artist's side. Doing a 10 page one-shot for free is somewhat reasonable if someone has a lot of free time and wants to take on a fun collab. But a 59 chapter comic is an enormous undertaking for even a paid professional team, never mind an unpaid single artist. It's extremely likely that your unpaid artist will eventually need to drop the project in favour of higher priorities.

If you can't afford an artist but really want to do the comic, the best course of action is to build a relationship with a trusted peer and give them an equal stake in the project. This can be really hard with an already-established comic script. But usually an artist will be more involved if they feel like this is their story too, and aren't just a lackey who makes your dreams happen. Not to be rude, but no one is going to love your comic as much as you. This goes for most creators. So unless you can turn "my comic" into "our comic", it's gonna be really tricky finding a devoted volunteer artist.

One more suggestion-- if you're going to work with a new artist, paid or unpaid, it'd be smart to write out a contract. That way you and the artist both know what is expected of each party, and what will happen if either end fails to deliver on the agreement.

[Amymone]

59 chapters is pretty beastly

Yeah I was sorta thinking the same thing. How many pages are these chapters exactly?

Personally, It took me two-to-three years to complete an 84 chapter series and those chapters were about 12 pages each. But if one of your chapters is for example 20 pages then....that would be about 1,180 pages.... that's like... 172 pages more than where I ended...

and I doubt that even most artists working on their own idea would want to commit to a 59 chapter project.

//*laughs insanely*// ^^THIIIISSSS, I honestly wanted to stop at 30, but I just COULDN'T get it to end.

[TomSawyer]

@Tadashi

This situation is rather unfortunate
How developed is your story?

There is a guy that might work on it, but he is currently doing something

[Tadashi]

I have the whole first 6 chapters done completely. And I have the rest done in brainstorm. If he is intrested at all I'd be willing to email him about it. Thank you for telling me. And if he's not intrested in a longterm project I have a short story one deviced that's like one chapter long if you gave me his information I'd be very appreciative

[jessicasurline]

I agree with everyone's responses. It is clear this relationship needs to end, at least professionally. I do not know either of your levels of experience with collaboration comics but it sounds like a classic case of over sized project meets wishy-washy teammate. I had many projects like this in college. What you are need to do is decide whether to cancel the whole project and move on, or establish a contract where you pay them for the 2 pages they contributed but the rights are now yours to choose what to do with it. You can find comic artist contract templates online to help. This is just a precaution in case your work does start to make money, this person cannot take you to court over a verbal agreement years ago.
If you end up cutting your partner out. I recommend re evaluating your project. Break it down to its core and cut the fat. That way you can make it in bite sized chunks that won't overtake your life or your next artist's life. At they least you can add new story archs later if you want.

I wish you the best of luck with this! I know this situation is very difficult to deal with.

[abbastudios]

Without paying an artist, you will find yourself in this situation over and over.

[Tadashi]

Thank you for wishing me luck. I will admit I'm young and inexperienced so this definatly a learning experience for me. So thanks for your advice.

[blackopsracing321]

IMO you should go with option 2. Sure drawing it yourself will be incredibly difficult but not more difficult than finding an artist willing to commit to a project of that magnitude for free (which I did the math and if a chapter is completed every month, it'll take roughly 5 years to complete the story). And so what if it's not pretty at the beginning,with time it'll get there and you won't have to deal with the crap you have been for the past 9 months.
Though all this depends on why you're creating this series. If it's for fame and fortune then finding an artist is probably the best course of action. If it's because you are TRULY passionate about the story (which it seems like you are), then draw it yourself. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing your own blood sweat and tears on a page.
Whatever you do though DON'T continue working with the artist you currently have (free or not, you shouldn't have to put up with that work environment).

Anyway that's my 2 cents.

[VermillionWorks]

Yeah, everyone pretty much gave great advice on this.
It's good you're willing to work closely with the artist, but this sounds....too close, and just like the person is taking advantage of you. Even if it's not a paid job, don't let this person completely alter your original vision to their own just because they're doing the drawing! Don't pretend to act fine with it just so they'll keep working with you! Or let them force you to meet deadlines and do work while they do next to nothing most of the time, for that matter.

I also recommend taking the time to learn to draw it yourself, sounds like it'd still be faster to take a year to get better at drawing than waiting what could be a hundred years for this person to get several chapters worth of comics out for you. XD

Either that or find a more reasonable artist and aim much, much shorter if you need to keep this an unpaid project.

[TomSawyer]

@Tadashi

I will mention you to him
See what he thinks

[Tadashi]

Thank you I appreciate it.

[AnnaLandin]

A few things:

1. If they've really only managed to complete two pages in nine months, and they keep changing things without consulting you, then I don't think you should continue this collaboration. It's obviously not a good fit for you.

2. Your suggested schedule was one complete chapter every two months. To my ears, that sounds a bit much, especially considering this is unpaid. How long is a chapter? What kind of artwork is it? Full colour or black and white? You'll find that most people around here who do full-colour comics average a single finished page a week - which in two months would be 8 pages.

3. 59 chapters is a lot of work, even if you DO manage to find an artist who is able to work with you at a faster pace. If we assume each chapter is at least 20 pages, that's 1180 pages. In unpaid webcomic-terms, you're looking at a time-investment of 5+ years to get that done at the very LEAST, assuming your artist works on nothing else in the meantime. Considering life getting in the way, the likelihood that each chapter is MORE than 20 pages, and the fact that they have to work to make a living on the side of this, you're gonna have to add a couple of more years on top of that.

4. What point 3 is getting at is that you might be best off practising and drawing this yourself, unless you can find some way to pay your artist. You say in your post that it will take you at least a year or two before you're at a good enough skill-level artistically to draw it yourself - well, you've already spent 9 months waiting for your artist. Invest that time in practise, and do it yourself. That way, it gets done the way YOU want, on a schedule YOU are in complete control of.

5. A further addition to point 3: you might want to seriously consider scaling down a bit. Not only does it sound like this is a massive project to take on, but it also sounds like it's your first attempt at a webcomic, and like you care about it an awful lot. I would recommend maybe setting this idea aside for a bit and working on something smaller for a while; heck, this ties in with point 4 as well - pick a smaller, more manageable project (say, less than 30 pages) and use that to practise your own art skills! It will give you a better grasp not only of your own artistic abilities, but will also give you some idea of the amount of time and effort an artist has to put into every page, and will leave you better equipped when/if you try to find a new artist!

[Mharz]

Finishing 2 pages in nine months is ridiculous so as 59-chapter unpaid project. It's true their behavior is absolutely intolerable. They could at least be honest with you that they can't do the project instead of putting it off, avoiding the topic, changing things without consent, and being blatantly rude.

In all seriousness 59 chapters is really long. In a perspective, why would a person be bothered to work on something really long that is unpaid and does not guarantee any profit in a long term. Unless of course if the artist likes your story then they'll be totally committed to it. Also, you have to expect that they'll put off your work (although 2 pages in nine months is insane) since it is an unpaid project so they have to do jobs that will guarantee to pay the bills.

First off, be honest with the artist, ask them what is the problem and if they're not willing to fulfill the deadlines just end it here and there.

If you can find a new artist that's cool. Like most people said here, create a contract and don't be afraid to check their progress and follow up when the deadline is near and let them go if they can't fulfill the work.

Personally I'd go with option 2. If you managed to wait that long for that two pages then you can invest the time to learn to draw. That way you won't have to deal with this kind of situation and the rules is your own.

Lastly, if you really want to get your story itself out there as fast as possible, then shoot for a novel instead. Well that's just my 2 cents. I'm gonna hide in my hole now.

[theawkwarddreamer]

Hello! I'm the guy TomSawyer mentioned. If you pm me about the comic and how fast you want pages (I will be leaving the country next month, but I absolutely wouldn't mind working on something fun before and after), I'll send you some examples of my art and we could work something out. I do think it's very long, so if you have that shorter project, that might be a good way for us to feel each other out and see if I want to stick it out for your massive project.

[tzuba12]

The artist sounds very unprofessional and I would drop them immediately. You can only do unpaid stuff like that with close friends who are also really passionate about doing it. Otherwise, it will just never work.

But if your story is good enough, you could draw it yourself. Ever heard of One Punch Man? I'm sure you have. It started off as a webcomic by the artist who goes my the name of "ONE". Long story short, he can't draw at all but his comic still became extremely popular online because the content and script was good enough that people could overlook the art.

Either way, you should drop the artist, period. If you can find someone who will do it for free, great. But don't get your hopes up too much for quality work when there is no pay incentive.

[hannahmcgill]

This seems like the most logical one till I think about that this is a long term non-profit. 59 chapter project.

Jesus. That's a gigantic and arduous first project to do with an artist you've never worked with before!

Completely beneficial collaborative relationships are really, really rare. I myself have only been able to complete short ones within a 72-hour timespan. I would recommend building your rep as a writer with zines that are less than 24 pages long and take less than 72 hours to complete...Try out lots of different artists, learn more about the craft and how a good artist will treat you when you're mindlessly collaborating over something with low stakes. Then when you have a budget for a 59 chapter project you already have a go-to connection who's worked with you previously. It's important for one person to own the project, heart and soul, so that's why money helps keep things from getting too headbutty.

If you still have a hankering to do a big meaty monster project -- consider pulling together an anthology of short stories. A lot of awesome small press publishers are getting their feet wet with those and part of the secret to their success is the artists involved will usually help with grass-roots promotion of the anthology. It's like an ourouboros of awesome.

Also, get rid of the artist you're currently working with, like, yesterday.

[ToonDoctor]

If it's your first comic, you should probably focus on a very short story or many of them to learn about your craft and how to collaborate with others. It is only much later as a professional that I have allowed myself to work on an open-ended project like Johnny Bullet. I would never had been able to pull that off when I was younger.

You're simply face with someone who over committed. By now, the relationship is so bad that you should just forget the two pages done and move on. It's only two pages and the script was altered. It is not your story anymore so don't focus on that. It's a waste of energy and time.

I think you also need to learn more about script writing. A three chapters long prologue is not a prologue. You need to pull off from the world building and focus on a tiny story in your universe and run with that. Go from point A to point B. Forget about the universe. You are still young and can comeback to it later. You may find that in five years, the whole universe that you created is not as interesting as you thought.

Also learn about spacing. It seems that you are writing the kind of story where you introduce things slowly. Don't. World builders always do this. Every one can create a world. But not everybody can tell a story.

You'll notice that here, I am focusing on you as opposed to the artist that you are "working with." I think that YOU have a lot of growing up to do. First you should have dumped this person months ago. Second, asking yourself whether you can salvage this at this point after the shouting and the curse means that there are self-esteem issues going on. It's bad a relationship, let it go. Get up again and focus.

There might also have been things that you set up which made the other person react this way. Now, you did not tell us what you said exactly. We only have your word. The other side of the story, if we asked the other person, it may seem very different. What you think was polite may not have been. Who knows.

The most important thing is write a short story first. This is the one advice always given to new creators. You are not ready yet to take on large projects. You are not a well-known writer, have no money and so on.

Is there a shorter story that you can focus on?