Woman comes homes, eats salad, emails editor. Film at eleven.

[crowdog66]

Ah, a full day indeed. I succumbed to the seductive softness of my bed this morning and slept in disgracefully, but still managed to get up in time to meet a local Wiccan elder to discuss my upcoming initiation ritual into the Black Ring line. An enlightening conversation, topped off with a chicken curry and basmati rice from India Palace's cart in Old Market Square. Mmmmmm.

Then off to the Health Sciences Centre for my second DBT class. By now I was seriously feeling the lack of the Ritalin tablet I should have taken before I left the house and hadn't... yawn, yawn, aching tiredness, yawn some more. Still, on the way home I managed to walk 7 blocks, including a stop at the local Food Fare for some Winnipeg Old Country kielbasa sausage for George, as well as the ingredients for a delicious tuna salad for dinner: lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, and a green pepper. Slice/tear up into a bowl, add a can of tuna and a couple of tablespoons of light Ranch dressing, put a lid on the bowl and shake vigorously. Serve with a couple of slices of rye bread for carbs. *sigh* Happiness.

A few minutes ago, my editor on Hardy Boys sent me an email with a "color guide" that the book's artist had made up for one of the preview pages of the next issue. This both amused me greatly -- the level of rendering on the page is far beyond what they're paying for -- and annoyed me a little, since now I might have to follow that guide and this is, IMHO, infringing on my professional territory. Time to break out my DBT skills for interpersonal effectiveness and make my position clear to the editor in question...

The editor wrote:

Daniel also sent a "color guide" for one of the preview pages for you. As you can see, he is insane. Actually, he says he's trying for a darker, more monochromatic, spooky mood in general, and sent this to give us an idea of what he's going for. I think it looks good, so I'm passing it on to you.

I can't post the image because it involves art not yet published. However, this was my reply:

It looks very good. The question is not "can I do this kind of painting", which of course I can. The question is, do you have the budget for this kind of painting?

I've been following the examples laid down by Chris and Loverne as a style for the book: clear, graphic colors with very little k-tone in a simple manga style. Making the book more monochromatic isn't a problem within the current budget, nor making it more spooky and atmospheric in passages that warrant a spooky treatment. That just comes down to an intelligent use of color. However, the level of rendering here (in terms of the texture details in the screen, for example, and the use of color holds) is going to take more time and hence more money to execute.

Note that I did not ask him if he wants me to use the "color guide" as a hard-and-fast color guide for the page. That comes later, if he makes noises like he's willing to pay me twice my current rate to emulate this style of painting.

I now await his response with bated breath. Okay, not really. But it's still going to be interesting to see what comes out of this.

Comments

[lacontessamala.livejournal.com]

Good for you! If you don't ask for what you deserve, nobody else is gonna worry about it. Hope they decide to pay you better.

[crowdog66.livejournal.com]

*grin* Thanks. I'm actually content with what they're paying me now, because the style is so clean and simple that it takes almost no time at all to color.

*thinks*

No, on the other hand, more money is *always* good. ;-)