Art by Braden Hallett
What do you do when you can’t take on a project? How do you make sure you don’t burn bridges when you say no? This week, Jake Parker, Lee White, and Will Terry discuss saying no to projects, as well as graphic novels, comic books, and master studies.
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SHOW LINKS
Moebius/Jean Giraud wikipedia page
RATINGS AND REVIEWS
We begin with the guys discussing how many books they’ve published--about 50 between them--on Amazon. Then they discuss how the review system on Amazon is kinda messed up because people put one star reviews of products because the packaging was messed up when it arrived.
The shipping/packaging isn’t the product. If you’re going to review something you should match the stars to your view of the actual product.
They discuss rating systems and the ways they have come up with to rate the different things in their lives. Jake has a movie rating system where he awards full stars and half stars for things like writing, acting, and art (duh!). Lee has a ranking system for rest stop bathrooms.
Lee talks about how ranking systems and rubrics are useful, especially in the classroom, because they help define where something went wrong.
Will mentions how scales can differ and points out that he would rank really bad pain lower on a scale from one to ten than a doctor would. He talks about how he has to be reminded that if he lowballs his pain like that then he is not going to get treated.
Jake agrees that one to ten scales can be confusing and he says that his solution to the one to ten scale is to delete seven. Seven is too average and by deleting it you force people to make a decision as to what they are feeling is a more powerful eight or a lesser six.
Lee adds to this, noting that people aren’t judging things as average quite as much anymore. He’s noticed that with his students at least, judgments tend to be all or nothing- really great or really bad. He tries to pull his students out of that polarized way of thinking so they can see that life is chalk full of gray areas.
HOW TO TURN DOWN A PROJECT
Sabine asks “How do you decline a job offer? What are good reasons to do so?
Lee answers first, saying that it’s bound to happen that you can’t do a job due to time constraints, or current workload, etc. He likes having an agent for this so he doesn’t have to be the bad guy.
The general consensus between the three is that you should remain polite, engaging, and that you should be as honest as possible about why you’re saying no (e.g., too busy, the job doesn’t pay well enough).
You should identify the reason you’re turning the job down, and remember that it’s valid to say no to something you just don’t want to do. Jake mentions that if your response to a job isn’t ‘Hell, yes,’ you’re saying no. He’s learned over the years that you have to say no unless you’re really into the project. He makes sure to tell the people that are offering him a job that he’s honored to have been considered but that he’s trying to focus on doing fewer things with more intent.
In response to this Lee brings up opportunity cost, and that you have to weigh your priorities because saying ‘yes’ to one thing is ultimately saying ‘no’ to another.
Will always hedges his bets by telling employers that he loves working with them and asking them to consider him for future projects. Lee supplements this idea, adding that you shouldn’t wait for them to come to you. Be proactive and ask if you can contact them when your schedule frees up.
GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR BEGINNERS
Joseph asks “Where should I start?” He is new to the field and wants to work on graphic novels. Jake has done some work on graphic novels but took this question because it can be hard to know where to start on any project.
Before you start a project you should make sure you have at least a base level knowledge of certain drawing techniques, e.g., shading, perspective, color, etc. because having this understanding will help you not get frustrated at the art side of things and make it easier for you to focus on the storytelling aspect.
Jake started working with graphic short stories first and that helped him get a feel for what went into a comic on a smaller scale. It helped build his confidence before he took on an entire novel.
Lee said he did something similar when he started doing children's books, and that he also likes choosing a part of the finished product to really flesh out and to use that as inspiration for the rest.
Jake recommends starting with a 5-pager. A simple story that will introduce you to that world and make it easier to tackle bigger projects.
COMICS VS PICTURE BOOKS
Jim asks “Comics v. Picture Books? What are the main differences? Which one takes longer?”
Nate is a friend of Will’s who has done graphic novels but neither he nor Lee have done them.
Jake has done both and remarks that graphic novels are very time consuming, but because they are so much longer he believes that a better story can be developed.
He also mentions that the work-flow is similar (layout the story, do the line work, and then render it) but he has done fewer graphic novels because they take so much time.
MASTER STUDIES
Noah asks “What have you learned from ‘Master Studies’? What are your experiences and aha moments?”
(Master Studies/Master Copies: when you copy the work of another artist. Preferably one who has a different and/or better way of doing things than you do. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.)
Lee loves Master Copies. You can learn alot from the style and technique of others. He says that you are trying to imitate the artwork so well that you cannot tell which is the copy.
When he finishes a MS he likes to create a rubric of sorts of the techniques he used and then see if he can find them in not only the original piece but in that artist's other pieces as well.
Will talks about how doing MS’s can help you accumulate skills that can be used to define your own style.
Moebius/Jean Giraud wikipedia page
Jake did an MS where he copied Dr. Seuss’ characters/pieces in Moebius’ style.
LINKS
Jake Parker: mrjakeparker.com. Instagram: @jakeparker, Youtube: JakeParker44
Will Terry: willterry.com. Instagram: @willterryart, Youtube: WillTerryArt
Lee White: leewhiteillustration.com. Instagram: @leewhiteillo
Daniel Tu: danieltu.co.
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