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I give up... X_X
5 years ago
Do you remember the sheltie science comic pages I did for a contest last year?
https://www.deviantart.com/dolphydo.....ge-1-790635855
Even though mine stood out and a lot of people liked it, it wasn't picked because it featured an animal protagonist ( one jury member thought kids needed kids to identifiy with ) and made place 6 of 90. The best 4 ones won.
My friend works at the insititute that hosted the contest, so I got some background information about what's going on there.
Anyway, the 4 comics they chose totally failed with children because they had the appeal of average schoolbook illustrations. So they organized another round, looking for better comics.
Because it was allowed I re-submitted mine with a slightly altered story.
This time they actually invited children to look at the comics and gave them stickers to mark the ones they liked most. My friend told me the kids who looked at my comic totally freaked out because they liked it so much and wanted to put all of the stickers on it. It was THE most popular comic of all.
The guy who's one of the bosses of the institute and hosted the contest liked it very much as well, because it stood out, was beautifully drawn, had a protagonist everyone loved. And exactly that's the problem.
He said it was, and I am not joking, TOO good. Everyone likes animals, him included, so because my comic featured a dog it had an unfair advantage over those who chose human characters. And it was so perfectly drawn that the other 3 winners would fail compared to it and mine would take the spotlight. Apparently that was one of the main reasons it hadn't won the first time either and if they hosted another contest again he would add that it had to feature human protagonists.
I've been hearing that my art is flawed, too Disney-ish, I didn't improve, etc. all my life, but that I lost a very profitable comic contest two times in a row because it was TOO perfect is something new.
Now 4 mediocre comics won because they want 4 on the same level. Because that's apparently better than choosing that one comic that children actually LIKED and WANTED to see more of.
Great message as well, don't be too good because that will be unfair towards the less talented participants. I mean, seriously, they are scientists, shouldn't they understand that the meaning of a contest is NOT searching for the SECOND best? :|
I really don't know what to think or do anymore...
https://www.deviantart.com/dolphydo.....ge-1-790635855
Even though mine stood out and a lot of people liked it, it wasn't picked because it featured an animal protagonist ( one jury member thought kids needed kids to identifiy with ) and made place 6 of 90. The best 4 ones won.
My friend works at the insititute that hosted the contest, so I got some background information about what's going on there.
Anyway, the 4 comics they chose totally failed with children because they had the appeal of average schoolbook illustrations. So they organized another round, looking for better comics.
Because it was allowed I re-submitted mine with a slightly altered story.
This time they actually invited children to look at the comics and gave them stickers to mark the ones they liked most. My friend told me the kids who looked at my comic totally freaked out because they liked it so much and wanted to put all of the stickers on it. It was THE most popular comic of all.
The guy who's one of the bosses of the institute and hosted the contest liked it very much as well, because it stood out, was beautifully drawn, had a protagonist everyone loved. And exactly that's the problem.
He said it was, and I am not joking, TOO good. Everyone likes animals, him included, so because my comic featured a dog it had an unfair advantage over those who chose human characters. And it was so perfectly drawn that the other 3 winners would fail compared to it and mine would take the spotlight. Apparently that was one of the main reasons it hadn't won the first time either and if they hosted another contest again he would add that it had to feature human protagonists.
I've been hearing that my art is flawed, too Disney-ish, I didn't improve, etc. all my life, but that I lost a very profitable comic contest two times in a row because it was TOO perfect is something new.
Now 4 mediocre comics won because they want 4 on the same level. Because that's apparently better than choosing that one comic that children actually LIKED and WANTED to see more of.
Great message as well, don't be too good because that will be unfair towards the less talented participants. I mean, seriously, they are scientists, shouldn't they understand that the meaning of a contest is NOT searching for the SECOND best? :|
I really don't know what to think or do anymore...
I third this,
I suggest you do a comic book series On amazon or something
Never give up!
This work is far too good to give up on.
The better option, to again I agree with WolfN85, is developing your book, checking with an editor or two, put in the time and effort to find a publisher who has good standing and good practice as a company, and go with them. It's worth it more to do it that way than through a 'big name brand name company' like Amazon. To be honest, that man doesn't need any more money while the world literally burns.
Other self-publishers deliver a box full of books to your door; it's up to you to find a vendor and with bookstores closing up everywhere, you'll resort to trying to sell online... So cut out the middleman and publish with someone who'll get your story directly to those who'll love it, someone with the experience and financial power to employ analysts and advanced algorithms to match books with readers every day, someone who rewards you for good sales, but also starts every new release with a fair chance by recommending them to new readers based on theme, style and age group: someone like Amazon.
Other publishers have to be picky with what they print. Every book is a risk, an investment. Amazon will publish pretty much anything because you deserve a fair chance and they can afford to take a lose.
Other publishers charge you a printing cost with a minimum order of usually 150 book; Amazon has no up front fee and no minimum order. They only take a cut when a book is ordered. They have enough money to give you the better deal.
Other publishers set the sales price; Amazon lets you choose and charges a flat rate not a percentage, so you profit from your work. They've made enough money to not have to set base limits.
Most importantly, other publishers buy your rights. You sell the book, the story, the characters. They're out of your hands; gone! Amazon hosts your work, but you still own it!
Whatever publisher you do side with, please, mind your rights! Don't get cheated; protect what's yours.
The comic is really cute, and if nothing else, try to find some enjoyment in the fact that the kids liked it. Wish that could make up for the adults around them of course, sorry that this happened to you. Your art really doesn't deserve that kind of treatment.
I feel like this is one of those situations where the judges' 'adult' sensibilities got in the way of recognizing something a child would actually enjoy. Sort of like that old anecdote of the parents who pay for a $100 educational toy, only to find their kid getting more enjoyment out of the box itself.
It's like you and Foxxz above said: It's totally possible to view this as free focus-testing for a future product. Hopefully, the contest doesn't discourage you! Your art is spectacular, and there will be many other competitions than I'm sure you will excel in! Putting your work out there to be measured and quantified by strangers is a harrowing thing! It might be a petty condolence, but hey - 6th of 90 entrants still means you ranked ahead of 93% of the pack.
I mean if that is true, then they can use yours seperately?
I wouldnt let it go to waste though
The comic page you posted is adorable. I'd have loved something like that as a kid. Heck, I'd read it today! I'm sorry people saw fit to treat you so shamefully, but please don't give up on getting your work out there. There's got to be someplace that would appreciate it, and it already sounds like you'd be a big hit with kids.
And obviously children can't identify with animals, anthropomorphied or not - Disney has shown that more often enough! Which kid could ever identify with the characters of Zootopia, Lion King, Robin Hood and the like?
And it's obviously your fault, that other entries didn't have the idea to make an animal character! why would you ever try, to make something different?
In all seriousness though, I liked it. It shows potential. I would suspect it encourages children to actually learn and it teaches them how exciting their school stuff can actually be. What do I know about that though?
But style being too flawless? Well it is cute and yes, one could say Disney-ish, but I fail to see why that is bad? Why would you change your style to something more ordinary? There's a reason, you have more than 40.000 people following your art, and it sure isn't mediocricy ;)
I really wish I could give you any real advice, other than that you just can't win with people like these.
Those are the true judges here and they obviously say you rock!
As others posted here, I think self-publishing is a great idea and your art's super appealing, friendly and cute. And since it already got good feedback from kids, you pretty much got all set in place!
Specifically Disney. They just puke rainbows and put big eyes on every character and that gets them money and a stupid fan base for every movie, meanwhile us classic Disney fans are over here like 🤬
Don't even get me STARTED on the 2019 TLK Movie.
Your art defintiely doesn't suck, the fact that there's almost 5000 of us here watching you is proof of that.
https://i.imgur.com/tJ8smuY.jpg
deswegen haben wir keine schönen dinge.
*knuddel*
Again human narow mindness and F* diploma from art school rules. We love your work ist just sad wider poblic can't apreciate it due theit too profesional aproach
If your comic was so good, they could just reject other 3 winners, and just commission you for draw 3 other comics in THE SAME AWESOME STYLE. Profit for you = $, profit for them = 4 amazing comics. (Did I understand correctly that 4 comics supposed to be selected, right?)
Anyway, some people already wrote this - go for kickstarter, host your own comic, ane become competive for them. They don't know what they lose ;)
And "kids don't identifiy with animal characters" - wtf? I work with children's products based on fairy tales every day. Do you know how MANY tales are about animal and animal-like characters? I'm not talking about big Disney, but about tones of other tales from other companies. This is insane. And those smart-head jury isn't so smart.
And if you still reading this - your style is amazing, and you see how many people think this. Disney-ish style? So what, Disney style is amazing, so it is a compliment. I think many artists feel like their style isn't satysfying - but so what? As long as people like it, don't worry about "defects" in your works, because those "defects" are noticable only for you, not for your audience :)
Head up, and don't worry! It is a waste of your nerves ;)
While making your own book and finding a publisher would be fantastic, doing it through Amazon, however, is not a good idea. Call me biased, and that's okay, but I don't think having anything you have made and got the copyright for should be utilized through a site like Amazon, considering how much Bezos makes hourly, mind you, but also the horrendous business practices they've allowed to happen on the regular, and even promote, throughout the company.
The better option, to again I agree with WolfN85, is developing your book, checking with an editor or two, put in the time and effort to find a publisher who has good standing and good practice as a company, and go with them. It's worth it more to do it that way than through a 'big name brand name company' like Amazon. To be honest, that man doesn't need any more money while the world literally burns.
Tell them to go suck eggs
Take this information and run with it. Get your art in front of people. You have a fantastic product that deserves attention. Like others have said, do self-publishing. You have a product with demand and huge mass appeal. These people are full of themselves and don't know what kids actually want-- which is YOU! If you do self publishing, I will pimp the crap out of your work.
People who publish things are their own worst enemies a lot of the time, I've noticed. I took a break from submitting short stories because I had too many editors who thought way too hard about details that weren't even relevant and sent rejections. They were asking story questions and guessing the right answers 100% of the time without me telling them the answers, but for some reason they were still confused even though I left them a Yellow Brick Road's worth of story bread crumbs. If they had taken a comprehension reading test, they would have gotten an A. Some people don't know what they have even if it's right in their faces.
Your work is astounding, you put so much effort into it and clearly care about it. If people aren't smart enough to take what you're offering, when they KNOW it's better than every other option they have, then sucks to be them. When you do publish and rocket to the best-sellers list, how cathartic would it feel to have a blurb in the back cover/s that talk about how it was shot down by "professionals" and "scientists" TWICE because it was "too good"? XD
I first found your art more than a decade ago, on some Lion King blog, back when I was lost somewhere in middle school or high school. You were one of the artists that inspired me to draw more and be more colorful and creative. Your art actually lead to me making art that convinced my friends to push me into getting online, going digital, making my own stories and comics ^^ Wouldn't it be great if more future artists could be inspired by your work too?
I say keep on going because YOU are a good artist!