WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER SEE?

I'm thinking about adding new, free tutorials to my website, or doing some Youtube demos on cartooning techniques. I envision them at 5-7 minutes each. My recent Howcast videos, which are on Youtbe,  are only 2-3 minutes, and I think there's room for longer versions with less talk, and more drawing.

The free tutorials would feature more steps. The ones we have are cool, but I believe that some people would also like to see more steps and art instruction.

What would you like to see?

Chris Hart Books: DRAWING TIP OF THE DAY: Are You A Perfectionist?

Chris Hart Books: DRAWING TIP OF THE DAY: Are You A Perfectionist?: So ...  you've drawn something you like, well, pretty much,. But the thing is, you're ambitious - you set your sights high for yourself. And...

MY NEW BOOK IS NOW IN THE STORES!

Thanks, once again, to all of you who stop by to see what's going on, and to all who also send emails for recommendations, or simply, to get a little advice and encouragement.

My new book, "BASIC DRAWING MADE AMAZINGLY EASY" gives you the art background you may never had time to acquire. In a clear, accessible and gradual manner, the material covers contour, shading, perspective (yes, perspective without the struggle!), symmetry and more. The subjects range from cars and motorcycles to boats and yachts, houses, household objects, still life, and a section on heads and bodies. It's got lots of exercises throughout, so you can approach your drawings as projects.

I'd love to hear what you think of it. Thanks to those who have already purchased it, within the first week, it's risen to the number 25 book in the country in art. You guys are awesome. Thanks for inspiring me all along the way. This really is a two-way street.

Regards,

Chris

When to Erase, and When NOT To

It's been a whirlwind of a month -- I handed in a new book and got it approved. And my newest book is coming out on April 17 -- it's called "Basic Drawing Made Amazingly Easy." It cuts right to the chase for people who never really got an art education, and feel that they may be lacking in some of the basics, from perspective to still life and drawing people.

So my hint for the day is this: Erase, but not too soon. That doesn't mean you should stick to what you're drawing beyond the point where it looks good. It means that instead of erasing every time you make what you perceive as a mistake, draw "over" your work instead. While you're drawing, seek the right lines, until your image gets so messy, you can't tell one line from the other! Then erase. Why do I make this suggestion? Because you interrupt your rhythm every time you stop to erase. Get into a groove when you draw, and try to stay there as long as possible. That's how you break through the sticking points.

Chris

DRAWING & PERFECTIONISM

Just handed in a new book. Guess how many pages? All together, about 485 for this one, which will end up being designed into a standard page count. I worked so intensely...  7 days a week, long hours, for months, to get it just right. In fact, I had it all drawn, and then -- a sudden flash of inspiration and an improved approach flew into my mind -- so I decided to draw it all over again! I kept about 20 pages of the original book, but 465 pages of it are brand spanking new!

I'm not a perfectionist. A perfectionist is someone who never completes anything because he or she can't stand to do anything that isn't perfect - and nothing ever is. This is different. I finish lots of stuff and send it out into the world.

I live in a sort of a continuous creative flow. And when an idea pops into my brain, and gets me excited, I cannot - I simply cannot - ignore it. If I give my best effort, I have no regrets later. Plus, there are my readers. Yeah, you guys. I owe you something; that's how I figure it. If you're going to invest the time to read my books, I want the material to meet - and surpass - your expectations. That's no guarantee, of course, that everything I do will turn out as I envisioned it. But I've acquired a pretty good track record over my career; and I believe this is part of the reason.

So, my friends, if you're battling perfectionism, don't worry! It's not the bad character defect that everyone makes it out to be. Go ahead, be a perfectionist -- BUT -- finish your project, and submit it. What if you get rejected? Every successful writer and artist has been rejected numerous times. If it happens to you before you get an acceptance, then allow yourself to feel bad for a few moments. You're human. Then move onto the next project. But always answer the phone, even when you're feeling bad. You just might find that it's an interested editor on the other line, pouring over your submission.


Good luck in all of your creative endeavors!

Your Colleague in  Art,

Chris

Publishing Your Graphic Novel

ANNOUNCEMENT: You can NOW see 20 of my FREE drawing tutorials on Youtube. They were done for Howcast, a premier How-To portal on the web, which was voted one of the top 50 websites of 2011 by Time Magazine. 

Simply go to Youtube, and keyword in these words:

"Christopher Hart" draw manga

The tutorials will pop up. And you can choose the topic you want. If you like 'em, please post a comment. And thanks!

BLOG

A great many cartoonists, manga artists and illustrators dream of launching their own graphic novel. And why not? It can establish you, and your cartoon or manga character, and spin off a series and licensing opportunities.

One of the main considerations is pricing. Many first-time authors, without writing or illustration credits, are currently self-publishing .99 cent books. Let's suppose you just wrote and illustrated the great American graphic novel. And BAM! -  it takes off, at .99 cents, and rakes in an impressively big number of sales for a book in its class by a first time author: 25,000 copies. (To give you some idea of average sales: the average published novel, in print, sells 4,000 copies; and the average self-published novel, in print, sells around 175 copies.)

This many copies sold would invariably lead you to ask the following question (oh, come on, you know it would) --  What if your raised your prices?

You first have to ask yourself what is the elasticity of demand for a book by an unknoiwn author, priced at $9.99?  They key question is: Have you made enough of a name for yourself that you can raise your price ten fold on a self-published book, and still retain your readership?

At $9.99 it's quite doubtful that you will sell anywhere near 25,000 copies. Or 20,000. Or 10,000. Or 5,000. And that's because, for $9.99, the reader can buy the work of the best, established writers, with the pedigree of a publishing house, and with the confidence that they will come away with a reliable read - not something they might have to toss out. At record stores - when there were record stores - a consumer might buy an album from an unknown band because the album cover looked cool - IF it had a fire sale price, like ... .99 cents.  But not at the same price as other albums by your favorite groups.

Here's the thing: there is no impulse purchase at $9.99. People do not have it in their budgets to spend ten bucks a pop for the excitement of possibly discovering the next Sventlana Chmnakova (say that five times fast). But at a buck a pop, well, why not roll the literary dice?


Bringing our projections down to earth, let's see how much you might make at a $9.99 price, selling 1,500 copies in a year. That would probably yield you around $9,000; while 25,000 copies at .99 cents may yield around 8,750. Neither is going to make you rich.

So which way should you go?

There are many considerations, too many to list here, but money isn't the only one.  Exposing your work to the public, as a first time author, especially if you don't possess the writing credits to get an established publisher to consider your work, is another. Having earned some success as an author is important for a career. And whether you charge a buck or a hundred bucks, a sale is a sale. Authors with higher sales are more impressive to publishers, and to the public at large, than authors with small sales and greater profits for themselves. 

There are many other, legitimiate opinions on this topic - but that's the way I see it. I hope this has been helpful.


--Thanks for stopping by!

Chris

TO SELF-PUBLISH OR NOT TO SELF PUBLISH - CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE MANGA ARTIST AND GRAPHIC NOVELIST

Before I start the Blog, here's an update that might interest you:  I was just selected to be the host of 20 video tutorials from one of the leaders of How-To-Videos on the web: Howcast (howcast.com). Howcast was named one of the top 50 websites in 2011 by Time Magazine. These are free videos, which anyone can watch. To bring up my Howcast videos on a "search," it appears that you need to use the name "Chris Hart," and not "Christopher Hart." This is something I will bring to their attention. Meanwhile, here's the link. I hope you'll check it out:

http://www.howcast.com/videos/498757-How-to-Draw-Manga-How-to-Develop-Your-Own-Manga-Characters

 Okay, now on to the topic:

The term "Self-Publishing" brings with it negative connotations, most notably, the practice of "Vanity Publishing," in which an aspiring writer, unable to interest a publisher in his work, decides to take matters into his own hands, and manufactures the books himself. This requires self-funding; selecting editors, art directors and other support staff; shipping associated with both sales and returns; bill and accounting; storage and promotion. Foreign sales and special sales are often beyond the scope of self-publishing.


The result is often a book that instantly looks and feels "wrong" -- homespun and amateurish. The printing, the layout, the paper and the binding simply do not have the feel of a book from a legitimate publisher. Add to that the stigma associated with self-publishing, and the fact that most book retailers will not stock them, and what you are likely to end up with is, in this author's opinion, a lot of expense, effort, few actual sales, and a garage-full of unsold books.

Of course, there are exceptions. Some self-published books have become successful. But those are rare cases. Yes, the royalties are higher, since you do not have to split them with a publisher. But receiving a greater royalty on the sale of, for example, 500 books - which is far above average for a self-published author - is still tiny. Because of the reduced outlets which accept self-published books; the number of areas of expertise required to produce, sell and promote them; the poor quality of the production,;and the associated stigma, I recommend against it.

Self-publishing - specifically a graphic novel - is a different animal, and features a business model that is much more favorable. More on that next time! Stay tuned.