Trust people with your art?

[BeautifulDoubt]

I think I have issues working creatively with anyone I dont know pretty well.
maybe its a control thing? but its like I dont want to share if i dont know theyll value what i have to say? and I dont wanna just be like a grunt doing back work like lining and coloring.
I think about trying collabs but I dont want them to just take my ideas and go off. I guess would you recommend maybe some smallish projects I could use to kinda get used to working with other people? Something we can both shine in and none of this school yard BS where one person takes credit for doing nothing.
I know it improves your work time wise and maybe quality wise but...Q~Q Strangers??? gestures vaguely haha ._.;;;

[LostSpirit]

That's an interesting question. And trust is a tricky thing. I've collaborated on a couple of projects - not art, but for work. In a paid engagement, there's obviously no need to worry about credit stealing, or anything else around that topic for that matter. As long as you're protected by a tight contract. When it comes to creative endeavors close to heart, then yes, I do see your point. I would also hesitate sharing a lot with someone I don't know a lot about.

But I know people who've met online and made collaborative projects work. And I also know those with bad experiences around the subject.

TLDR: Do free work with people you trust. Do paid work with a strong contractual agreement on the terms.

My two cents.

[Kelheor]

Just don't do collabs lol

You can try and begin something simple with one person like you can make a fanart for series you both like. Maybe even 2, first you do line and they colour, then vice versa. Maybe 3 people, with additional someone making a sketch. It doesn't have to be something grand, just a portrait will do. Or maybe find someone (again, on the basis of common interests) and try to create a character together or something like that, discuss and both create the overall appearance together. Looks like a fun exercise to me, a bit of an out-going experience, but it could teach you something.
About taking credit... just don't post it anywhere, how about that

[LadyN]

I have never done a collab before.

Actually that’s a lie, let me rephrase that…

I have never done an art collab with someone. I have done writing collabs but the person usually lets me post and give credit. And I’m currently doing a writing collab with my friend, which isn’t going to be posted.

Anyways, original topic.

I haven’t been invited to do one and I never was chosen to do one either. I’m now making a comic myself so I don’t have time for it anymore.

[Darth_Biomech]

I am certainly quite possessive of my work. I always fell like I need to explain very thoroughly what i want from other, which in turn makes me fell like these weirdo creeps who give out lengthy overdetailed instructions on how people must draw something they ask for.
I try to let go, but it's darn impossible. so far my progress is only "commission some people to design minor stuff for my setting".
But like having somebody be involved in a daily comic production, like helping with the script, or coloring... This means they'll become co-authors, right? it meaning they will have right to insert their own ideas into my creation? It means that the comic will not be mine anymore?
I mean, yeah i could say, or force them to sign a contract, that they are there to just do their job and have zero input or credit to anything else, but that's a dick move, and I don't want to be a dick.

[Kelheor]

Oh boy, do I feel you =)
Although I'd say if you hire someone as a colorist, it doesn't mean they have the right to insert their own ideas into your creation (unless they are helping you with a script, but I guess you can control the process here too), but it still means the job will be done not the same as you would do it. So I sure understand the sentiment.

[darthmongoose]

There are really only two ways I can do this and be fairly confident I'll be happy:
1. Assume the collaborator is an art monkey and so do my pencils as tight as possible, make watertight model sheets and colour palettes for the characters, sketch out composition guides and generally handhold every step of the way. This approach is the one I'd take if the other artist was a less experienced person, like a student or relative newbie and being paid in money or teaching to be in an "assistant" role, maybe helping on things like flats, filling in backgrounds and the like to learn on the job.
2. (vastly preferred) Pick a fellow pro artist I know and have a good relationship of mutual respect for each others' skills with and feel comfortable with the fact that while their approach might be different, it certainly won't be objectively worse than my own work. In fact sometimes the more different the artist is from me, the easier it is, because I'm not expecting something that looks identical to my solo work, and that's not the aim.

So my advice is, get to know people and how they work and appreciate their different styles. Example, one of my best friends is Anna, who draws a Tapas comic called Alien Heart. Our approaches and styles are very different; she's very loose, expressive and puts in loads of background detail, while my work is tight, tense and more directly manga-esque with comparatively sparse backgrounds. We've worked on a (sadly cancelled) game project in the past with my characters on her backgrounds and it looked really good; we synced up our colour palettes to work together and respected each other's contributions and expertise. It worked because even though we're very different, we both admire each other's different work and what we do uniquely well and like each other as people. Because I don't think I'm a better artist than Anna, and I know she doesn't think that about me, and we've both worked to a professional capacity for years, there's never tension like "noooo she's gonna ruin my beautiful wooooork!"

[WOSTR]

Experience has given me trust issues!
Seriously, I forgot nothing and my distrust of others runs deep.

Age 8 a girl in class who was notorious for copying work looked at my poem then started writing, she read her poem out and got praised for the one line she stole off me.
A girl in secondary school badgered me for ages into sanding her small wooden sculpture in woodwork class, eventually I gave in and did it, only for her to get praised.
I remember an art site years back that would host competitions, they would offer a theme, you would have to post your work publicly and earn votes. Atleast twice a much better artist would ripoff my work, there was no way around it.

I'm a pushover in general, when people ask questions and express an interest in something I'm familiar in, I always find myself offering up too much information, not realising at the time that they're taking advantage.
Two former employers run with my ideas; one chatted with me in private wanting to hear 'ideas' regarding promotion in any and all areas, he applied everything I said and even had a staff briefing repeating word for word what I told him, down to terminology. The other (who had a habit of hiring and firing low paid staff, had his mother working there for free, who couldn't understand why 2 out of 3 essential, well paid staff walked out on him) applied my ideas of web design and promotion almost immediately after he "called it a day" on my job, the last day of work I thouraghly cleaned the premises alone, I was a receptionist.

My point being, I'll always think of where the wariness comes from, what questions to ask in the future and how could I protect myself.

[Darth_Biomech]

The irony is that flatting is just one step out of eight for each page, and I can do it relatively quickly, so bringing in another to do it for me won't even save me more than couple hours of work tops.

[Inspector_Spinda]

Collabs are hard and I don't think you should look to do a collab unless you already have someone in mind. The collabs are see work are two people who are already friends and oftentimes married doing a story together. Otherwise there are too many issues with trust and miscommunication. Why are you looking for a collab specifically? Is there an area of storytelling you feel you lack and are looking for someone to compensate?

[TAMAnnoying]

i have trust issues so i pretty much just don't do it anymore unless its a "no strings attached" kind of collab where i can do my part and then fall off the face of the earth 8)

Otherwise i only work with friends ive known for years or work with ideas that are really impressive/inspiring to me

[BeautifulDoubt]

I just thought it would be fun to mash up with another artist and see the things that could come from it.

Im very confident in my own abilities but networking and enjoying things is something i would like to improve but if Im just inheirently distrustful of people DX I'll never grow or be a real part of the community.
just a hermit thats like "psst hey kid...i got some stories. k bye i swearimnotaweirdo"
^^;
but I guess if its a bad idea I'll just...not lmao

[Inspector_Spinda]

No that's fine. Just be aware it's not your fault if it doesn't work out. These things are very tough. Maybe if you wanted to do something very lowkey like a joke a day comic or have a very short story to tell like 20-30 pages. you could adapt a story in the public domain? fairy tales or stories from mythology that aren't well known are a good place to start. or even well known fairy tales with a funny or dramatic twist. like having red riding hood be a werewolf. then if it works out you can use that as a jumping off point for a bigger project.

[system]

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