Pricing

One of the most challenging tasks as an artist running a business is to set the right price, whether it be for a service, or an item for sale. Let's take this from the top, shall we?

As an artist, you have the choice to either create work for the pure pleasure of it, or to create work for profit as well as the (hopefully) pure pleasure of it.  Let's face it... in this day and age, we find ourselves short on time, so creating art for fun is something I for one can't find the time for... I have a hard enough time finding the time to do my paying work!  I have dozens of projects just waiting in the wings for some free time to show up... projects that I know I would enjoy doing, but, with bills to pay, simply can't justify spending the time on.  So I find artistic projects that I can enjoy doing and get paid for, from my freelancing work to my comics and artwork.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to brand myself as HappyGlyphs Comics, and somehow keep everything under one roof.  This leads to trouble, though, since branding becomes a business and business comes with lots of paperwork.  The good news is that if you truly have a business, many of your expenses are tax deductible, which helps justify doing that artwork we enjoy doing.

However, as I've discussed in an earlier post, you can't deduct the cost of your goods (artwork, books, etc) until you actually sell them.  So, we have a couple of things to address: the initial price of goods, and a later discount on those goods.

First of all, you technically sell things to make a profit.  Any artist out there who has tried this is smirking right now, because let's face it... to get anywhere in this biz, many of us have had to work for free, or give stuff away, to get our names out there.  Once established, you can then try for that 'profit' stuff we've all heard about.  Selling services is one thing we can do, and selling stuff is the other.  But selling stuff usually involves an initial buying of stuff, such as paying for our art to be made as prints or into books or on t-shirts.  "How hard can this be?" you ask me.  "Just add a little extra to what you paid for the t-shirts, and that's your profit."

Not that easy.  You have to remember that your audience has an idea of what things should cost. They are not going to pay ten dollars for your comic book, or thirty dollars for your t-shirt.  You have to price competitively, which is why it is very difficult to run a small business using sites like Cafe Press or Lulu, two of the sites that I like, or the many other similar companies out there.

Your first problem is that, unless you are buying hundreds or thousands of items, you are going to be paying premium prices, prices that may already rival what your competition is selling.  For example, have you priced out the cost of a color comic book? If you are going Print on Demand, the cost of a small comic can be 3 or 4 dollars, the price that Marvel sells Spiderman for.  (and yes, Marvel is your competitor!) To make a profit, you are now asking your audience to pay more for your comic than they would for an established favorite like Spiderman.  This can work if you have lots of people out there that love your work, but remember, they have to find it first, and if it's on the web, they may have to pay shipping on top of that.  You're off to a rocky start already.

Now let's say that you've gone to a real printer, and printed a hundred comics all at a decent price so that you can make a profit and keep your audience happy.  A year goes by and you have a box of 80 comics sitting around, and you can't even deduct the price of those books yet, since they haven't sold.  Now you have to think about a sale.

At which point do you decide to sacrifice a profit just to reduce inventory and get that Cost of Goods Sold back? Well, that's up to you.  If you have new books coming out, then selling the old one at discount may be a good way to build up an audience.  If those books have been in your closet a few years now, then it's definitely time to reduce the price.  It's painful, but that's reality.  Even Disney has bargain bins, and remember... people love a bargain.  You may go a long way to improving customer satisfaction if that customer feels good about getting a bargain from you.

If you're just starting out in a small business, or considering it, this post may be disturbing.  And that's the best gift I can give you.  I don't want to discourage anyone, and frankly, us artistic types do what we have to, not what people tell us, but I promise you that unless you are some kind of world wonder, you will not succeed if you don't work smart.  Think before you act, and research, and most of all, start small.  Build up that audience before you go and try selling stuff. Show us what you got, first, and if we like it, we'll ask for merchandise.

There's a lot more we can discuss on this topic, so if I haven't covered something, please ask.  I'm always happy to answer (most) questions. :0)

And since we're on the subject, have I mentioned that I've upgraded the shop, and have many fine items for sale?

Take care,    JOHN :0)

A True Honor

I am honored to do a magazine cover twice a year for the same company for several years now, and each cover somehow turns out better than I imagined.  This shouldn't be a surprise, since a) I work my butt off spending usually three weeks on each cover, not counting research, and b) I try to top myself each time.  This may sound simple, but honestly, until the cover is done, I have no idea if the end result will be what I hope for.

Then again, I don't stop until I'm truly happy with a piece, and pray that this point will come BEFORE the art has to go to the printers!

With a magazine cover, a painting, a cartoon... I usually work until I feel the piece is 'alive'.  I juggle all the elements using whatever instincts and knowledge I have developed over the years about design and color theory, until the art is dynamic.  To me, fine art is something that captures your attention, and makes you take a second look, and pulls you in although you don't necessarily know why.

Anyhow, my latest cover was a special piece... a tribute to the fastest passenger ship known to man, the SS United States.  The ship was launched in the 1950's and was featured on many a travel poster. So, having a love of those glamorous old travel posters myself, I set out to design my own.  Sadly, when deadlines loom, it is possible for any artist to panic, and this I did.  I rushed a design, hoping it would turn into something, but a very important lesson for any designer is this:  think before you start.  It's always best to have a clear design in mind, and to work out the kinks in thumbnail sketches before you begin your final work.
If I had been working with real paint, like I originally intended, instead of digitally, I would have been in a lot of trouble. Fortunately, I was able to take a deep breath, admit my mistake, and scrapped it all to start over.
Not the best thing to do with a deadline looming and a week or two of work under your belt!

Fortunately, I was working digitally, and was creating a two page spread. By taking all of those elements and putting them together on one page, I had a much more exciting design.  I then changed the angles and viewpoint to make it much more dynamic and exciting... a true tribute to such a fascinating ship!

More fortunately, my clients loved the final image, enough to make posters of the work to give as gifts to their clients. 

Having someone give your art as a gift to someone else, especially on this scale, is a true honor, and one that makes all the struggle to be an artist worthwhile.  Of course, these moments are few and far between, but the next one keeps us working away, and doing our best.  And that is what we should always aim for; our best.
Cheers,    JOHN :0)

Photos: Above, the line art view of the illustration as seen in Adobe Illustrator. I usually work from scanned sketches, to Adobe Illustrator, and then finish in Adobe Photoshop.
Second, the final artwork as shown on the printed posters. Note that I 'aged' the illustration to make it look like a poster that's been around for the last 50 years.

New stuffs!

I haven't posted in a while because I have been extremely busy creating a lot of new material, preparing for the convention season, and arranging for tons of new merchandise and art for all of us HappyGlyphs Comics fans! In this blog post, we'll try to catch up on these things.

First off, for upcoming conventions I have a new comic book, and some awesome collectible pins!

The Inquiring Minds "Funny Pages" is a full color comic strip collection in standard comic book format. Like The Inquiring Minds #1, this book collects some of the best of The Inquiring Minds Sunday and daily strips, all in full color. The new book has a lot of the same material as the first book (which is being phased out... no new copies will be printed). The standard comic book format allows for a lot more comics in fewer pages, and also some taller strips and artwork.

The collectible pins speak for themselves! If you collect pins at Disney parks, then you'll know exactly what you're getting here; cool pins you can stick to your hat, your jacket, or even a comic con lanyard. And best of all, they're pretty cheap. :0)

I am also expanding to a new range of artwork that is more affordable, but just as nice. The new art prints are decent quality, but cheaper than our Fine Art prints. Sales will determine which direction we will pursue in the future, or perhaps we'll continue to offer both options as well as original art.

So a new book, new art, and new collectible pins! A nice start, eh?

All of these will be available at the Baltimore Comic Con, the Columbus Comic Con, and hopefully others soon. We will also offer these at the HappyGlyphs Comics Shop at HappyGlyphs.com after the next site upgrade.

Now, I'm off to put all these new items into inventory! Paperwork never ends, does it? :0)

All the best, JOHN :0)

PS And don't think I'm riding high on past laurels!  Check out HappyGlyphs.com for lots of new Knight and Day strips, including color Sunday strips. :0)