Looking for Cover Art for new FREE E-Magazine

[jraynack]

Hey all,

Alea Publishing Group is starting a free bi-monthly magazine and though we have staff artists and plenty of images to use, we thought it would be good to showcase unknown artists.

The artwork needs to be in color, yours, fantasy, modern or science fiction, and submitted to us by September 20th via email to our Art Director at jraynack @ aleapublishing.com.

You retain all rights to the artwork.

Since the magazine is free (that means no one is getting paid . . . as a matter of fact we have to pay to make it free) this will not be a paid assignment. However, even though there is no monetary reward, we will provide a link to the artist's website as well as a complimentary copy of one of our PRODUCTS (http://www.rpgnow.com/default.php?manufacturers_id=464) of their choice. Our previous free products have had nearly a thousand downloads so the coverage of your art is great. It will also bring to light artistic talent for future PAID projects that we produce.

The image should be 300 .dpi. The size will eventually be 8 1/2 inches by 11 (a normal sheet of paper) so anything near to that will be great, however we have tools to stretch the picture to the size we need, so the higher the .dpi the farther it can be stretched. For example, a 4 x 4 inch picture can do the job we are looking for if it is 300 .dpi.

As for content - since this will be mainly a d20 magazine - we have to subscribe to the WOTC guidelines of no nudity and excessive gore - however, other than that we are open and submissive to your artistic talents.

So we hope to hear from you soon. If you have any questions or comments post them here.

Thanks!

[GreyT]

Jon's thread (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=144119)

Blobs' thread (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=145459)

don't mean to be brief, just don't have another round of this discussion in me

[Erik Roman]

Jon's thread (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=144119)

Blobs' thread (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=145459)

don't mean to be brief, just don't have another round of this discussion in me
People should read a few of the threads before they post here.

*sigh* Here we go again.

[Storn]

It is fine to ask for free art. We pros reserve the right to say no.

Getting good free art will be difficult here.

Not that it cannot happen, but once an amateur gets good enough that you want their art on a cover, they will be getting paid by someone else. You need to find those artists who are on the cusp of breaking into the pro ranks, need the exposure and have the time to produce something you need. This is a VERY small window. Trust me on this.

In terms of exposure, 1000s of downloads is kinda meaningless on our end. WOTC, Hero Games, AEG, Steve Jackson Games, White Wolf... their art directors? Are too busy to look/download a fanzine pdf. That sounds harsh and it is. I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, but I will not sugar coat this issue either. While getting a fan base is certainly gratifying, it is the art directors in this biz (and any publishing biz) that we need to make artwork that makes their jobs easier. I've been published over a hundred times. I don't have time to sift through this industry's products anywhere near what is produced. I don't even read my own books that I've been published in, I get so much product. And I'm a gamer of RPGs since 1978. And I know art directors get even more stuff that I do.

But best of luck. There are some damn talented newcomers and amateurs here on this board. I hope someone comes through for you.

[HinterWelt]

It is fine to ask for free art. We pros reserve the right to say no.

Getting good free art will be difficult here.

Not that it cannot happen, but once an amateur gets good enough that you want their art on a cover, they will be getting paid by someone else. You need to find those artists who are on the cusp of breaking into the pro ranks, need the exposure and have the time to produce something you need. This is a VERY small window. Trust me on this.

In terms of exposure, 1000s of downloads is kinda meaningless on our end. WOTC, Hero Games, AEG, Steve Jackson Games, White Wolf... their art directors? Are too busy to look/download a fanzine pdf. That sounds harsh and it is. I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, but I will not sugar coat this issue either. While getting a fan base is certainly gratifying, it is the art directors in this biz (and any publishing biz) that we need to make artwork that makes their jobs easier. I've been published over a hundred times. I don't have time to sift through this industry's products anywhere near what is produced. I don't even read my own books that I've been published in, I get so much product. And I'm a gamer of RPGs since 1978. And I know art directors get even more stuff that I do.

But best of luck. There are some damn talented newcomers and amateurs here on this board. I hope someone comes through for you.

Nicely said Storn.

Bill

[Amanda]

....ugh.

I'm not even going to bother chiming in this time.

[Storn]

Thanks Bill. Appreciate it.

[NPC Jeremy]

No offense, but there really isn't a need to jump on this guy. Clearly, he's not looking for a someone who is a top of the industry artist to illustate the thing for free. In fact, he's not looking for a pro at all. Just someone looking for a break. And he is offering a comp copy of one of their products, so it's not like it's completely free.

This is freelance forum of a general RPG website, catering to many many small and PDF only publishers, like the one in question. It's not like this is some professionals only art place...

The RPG industry is built on the backs of volunteers. This website, for instance, gets most of its contents by volunteers:

Reviews - most people who write them don't even get a free copy, and they take 5-10+ hours to write. ( And heck, if you give a product a bad score, you have to deal with angry mail from fans and often the publisher himself.)

Moderators. They spend lots and lots of time policing the boards, and generally get nothing but grief.

Heck, RPG.net didn't even support itself financially for a long time. So it's basically done for free.

Column writers - I don't think I've actually read a column here, but they do have them.

Heck, many RPG websites are coded by volunteers (Shannon here works for Skotos, but is very good at responding to requests for features and such from visitors). And databases are kept up to date by them.

So my point is - if they really bother you, just ignore them. But it's not really out of line from what others do for the industry. Yeah, it sucks that the RPG field isn't lucrative - I'd love to actually get paid for writing reviews, or heck, even snag the occasional review copy. But most companies/sites can't afford that.

[Magc8Ball]

One thing you might want to consider, J, is tracking down a company putting out a product in or around the timeframe that your mag will be debuting. Ask them if you can do a preview or review writeup on their game in exchange for them letting you use their cover art for that month's magazine. That way you save the money of having to buy a cover, you promote someone in the industry, and establish your mag as a decent place to go for information on new games.

If you weren't d20-centered, I'd offer Ætherverse's cover art up in exchange for a write-up, but alas, it's a miniatures game. :)

[Eric Lofgren]

No offense, but there really isn't a need to jump on this guy. Clearly, he's not looking for a someone who is a top of the industry artist to illustate the thing for free. In fact, he's not looking for a pro at all. Just someone looking for a break. And he is offering a comp copy of one of their products, so it's not like it's completely free.



Agreed. There's always room for this sort of thing when politley asked for. Although once again there are the hollow allusions to mass multitudes seeing your work when this is in no way any sort of practical compensation. But the offer of a link and a free product is agreeable and very practical. This would be a good situation for exisitng work.

But the thing is I don't see anyone really jumping on him. In fact I see nothing but restraint on all fronts.

[The Scribbler]

Although once again there are the hollow allusions to mass multitudes seeing your work when this is in no way any sort of practical compensation.

I think, likely, that in this case that 'promise' was brought up because it's something everyone working on the project is hoping is true for themselves. It is, after all, free. :)

Just a guess, though.

[GreyT]

But the thing is I don't see anyone really jumping on him. In fact I see nothing but restraint on all fronts.

I second that, Storn's post in particular was well thought, measured and friendly. If I was overly brief it's just because that issue's been getting alot of play lately, and I'm already well past my quota

NPC Jeremy made a good point that this isn't a professionals only forum, but it's still hopefully a professional environment. There are a lot of pros here who share their time and experience to make F&F just that; and to use NPC J's comment, it's built on their volunteering backs.

[JSpektr]

I agree, there was no jumping on of anyone. Mr. Raynack asked politely and in a reasonable fashion, and was responded to in kind.

Move along. There is nothing to see here.

[CarmonaBrothers]

Originally Posted by Eric Lofgren
Agreed. There's always room for this sort of thing when politley asked for. Although once again there are the hollow allusions to mass multitudes seeing your work when this is in no way any sort of practical compensation. But the offer of a link and a free product is agreeable and very practical. This would be a good situation for exisitng work.

But the thing is I don't see anyone really jumping on him. In fact I see nothing but restraint on all fronts.

Agreed too.
This case is asking for free work for a free mag. It seems no lucrative points on this for any side. It sounds more like a way to promote artists no so established (let's say like my brother and me...in fact no established at all).
There are others magazines working on this basis too, like Deep Magic (http://www.deep-magic.net/) which uses to take covers of artists existing works, and no other compensation for it than to be interviewed inside that mag issue and keep the links to artists website.

[AndyHep]

Magic8ball's suggestion was excellent. As polite as it's been I just don't agree with the majority posters on this thread though. Bottom line is it's something for nothing. Still, enough said on this topic already. I'm off to self-flagellate. :D

Andy

[jraynack]

Thanks a bunch for the comments and advice. They are greatly appreciated.

First and foremost, I have read the other links that were previously posted. As an artist myself, I knew what I was asking when I posted here (I was even warned).

Second, NPC Jeremy has made a good point: we are looking for those that are not established and looking for a break into, at least, into the artistic realm of the .pdf publishing world. As a third party publisher, we know that there are .pdfs that rival the big companies on look and quality, and frankly, we know that there are better artists out there as well. As I stated before, we have artists that can do the job, however we, as a company, are looking for fresh talent that maybe other companies have yet to pick up on. The artists that have sent us stuff already, along with their galleries, have peaked our interest and when we have paid projects (which we do pay), they will be the first we look at.

Though a thousand downloads does not seem a lot in the major scheme of things, everyone has to begin somewhere. That was before we had a major advertising vehicle behind it. Now that we are more established, we are expecting more downloads, however we have yet nothing to compare it with save for our first free product.

I will say that the RPG third party industry is made a lot of volunteers. We, at Alea Publishing Group, that is to say the founders of the company, have yet to be paid for the work they do (the art director as well). The money goes back into the company to pay for advertisements, trips to conventions to promote our stuff, and the artists and writers we outsource. I was talking to Brian Snoddy, co-founder of Privateer Press (Iron Kingdoms), earlier this year at MegaCon in Florida and he told me that they just starting paying themselves a salary in August of 2003. The remarkably thing is that they had established themselves as a solid game company for three years before salaries we being paid.

As a side note, Magc8Ball, though the biggest crowd is d20, we will promote other non d20 companies wishing to display their products.

Lastly, thanks to all that did submit their galleries and artwork to grace the cover of our upcoming free magazine. We hope, when we post again for our December issue, that we get the turnout that we received this time. We will release the cover this week and the winning artist (in the end, though it still is not much, the cover artist chosen will receive three complimentary products). Thanks again to all that posted on your suggestions and comments.

[Magc8Ball]

As a side note, Magc8Ball, though the biggest crowd is d20, we will promote other non d20 companies wishing to display their products.

In that case, send me an email and let me know how to get set up for a review. :)

[RobHughes]

I had hoped this was the perfect place for me to launch myself as a professional. Taking free work for me looked like a good way of getting practice. It's a little patronising of established artists to crit someone for asking for free art on a free art forum. To some of us it's a viable option and an oppertunity to prove our merits. And dont belive we are all gullable fools.
Storms post while having the backing of many established posters was quite off-putting.

Rob Hughes

I know its past the deadline but please consider my work for future projects.

http://groups.msn.com/RobHughesArtist

[Reef]

I had hoped this was the perfect place for me to launch myself as a professional. Taking free work for me looked like a good way of getting practice. It's a little patronising of established artists to crit someone for asking for free art on a free art forum. To some of us it's a viable option and an oppertunity to prove our merits. And dont belive we are all gullable fools.
Storms post while having the backing of many established posters was quite off-putting.

Rob Hughes

I know its past the deadline but please consider my work for future projects.

http://groups.msn.com/RobHughesArtist

Hi Rob,

Just to clarify, I don't believe the Free Art Forum existed when most of the posts in this thread were made. Before, all requests for free art were in the same forum as the paid requests. There was a point when a number of requests came through in short order, which is why some of the professionals in this thread were a little short of the subject. The Free Art Forum was spun off soon after.

Sorry for the thread-jack.

[RobHughes]

Ah, thanks Reef.

just making an embarasment out of myself then. maybe mother was right...