I'm curious. Pls. make a video sharing to us your personal comic collection. Do you own key comic books, graded comic books, are you a comic collector yourself, who are you a fan of, etc.

thanks mate for your words!

That's amazing! Wishing you all the best on your journey!

Glad it was helpful!

Hey thanks for sticking with me for that long! And yes I do have a creator owned book, the comic I'm drawing in this video series is called Clear :)

Thanks so much for watching!

Glad this was helpful! These take forever to make but I really enjoy the process so definitely more to come!

Hey thanks! Yeah it took some time to ink from something so rough, and this is one of the benefits of working digital is that nothing is permanent.

Thanks! More to come!

Thanks so much!

My pleasure!

Thanks! Happy to help!

Hey thanks :) luckily the higher ups had faith in me past that book so it all turned out alright in the end 😀

Thanks so much! Hope you're still drawing even if for fun.

Thanks so much, Ryan! That means a lot!

Hey thanks so much for watching them!

Thanks again!

Thanks Jackson! Ironically enough making these videos are my break from the stress of the table :) But honestly on most days it's not that stressful. This series just happens to focus on a particularly tough deadline that thankfully I haven't had to repeat since then.

@@FrancisManapulArt your videos are your break from the drawing table like my drawing table is a break from touring and recording. Breaks are essential to a long career.

Hey thanks so much! Really appreciate you grabbing those books!

Thanks! I definitely aim to share more universal experiences and knowledge with these vids.

Thanks so much! You have a great outlook on it, and I share those thoughts with you! By the end of these projects you'd have learned and leveled up so much and I think that gets you one step closer to whatever or where ever your goals are. Best of luck!

No not trolling at all you have a very valid point. The rates I mention are pretty singular and based on my experience. I literally started my career during the crash of the post Image boom and i was fully expecting to always have a "real world" job and comics would always be a side gig since all my early work was for free. Ive been fortunate to have been able to get over that hump. That said from what I've learned, years sometimes don't affect peoples rates as much as value of the artist to the publisher. I have many contemporaries whose been around as long if not longer making less, and I know of others who have fewer years behind them who make more. Unfortunately you're correct there is no standard floor for rates and it has been on the decline as most publishers know there is always someone waiting in line. Its definitely a tough industry and rates rise as much as your valued by the publishers as a known quantity who can sell books. It's not unrealistic to be stuck at any of the stages I mention and be even lower as mentioned but it's not unrealistic either to be on the top tier and have your rates go even higher or fall. It's a very nuanced topic and I feel a longer form video would be beneficial but this particular one unfortunately just focuses on what I know. I hope to get back to the topic and delve in with a much more nuanced discussion.

@@FrancisManapulArt Cool I appreciate when creators open up about the financial aspect of the medium, and I really admire work and really like your videos 👍

Self publish!!!! Name your own rate! QUIT trying to work for a publisher. $20 a page, might as well just get a day job! Drive a bus! Make $5000 a week driving a bus!

Wow! You’re very talented, you shouldn’t accept $20/page! If those editors and publishers don’t value your work, why work for them?

@@rudak6718 Oh, I'm not accepting 20 dollar a page gigs, I'm just saying that I know some small press and independent publishers that has that as their page rate.

Thanks for the sub!

Good eye;) hope you and the fam are doing well!

So happy to hear that! These take forever to edit lol

Hey I hear ya. I love this industry, although I know how tough it can be.

Hey thanks for sharing! It's definitely tough out there all we can do is keep pushing our art and hopefully the rates come up with it.

Usually the cautionary tales are on the indy end of things since starting a company on a shoe string budget really just requires a will and a way along with creators looking for their first break. Luckily once you get to the established players the starting rates are more reasonable. I'm pretty fortunate to get to do what I love and be well compensated so no complaints on my end.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind words!

Happy to hear!

Hey thanks so much! Those guys do great work! Right now I make these just for fun since it's been difficult to balance these with my schedule. That said I LOVE filming and editing and it gives me the same butterflies as I did early in my comic career.

@@FrancisManapulArt acutally a simple talk over with just focus on you creating art and talking bout your inking techniques would be lovely. I do see your other videos so will check those out

@@cetriyasArtnComicsChannel thanks! I was thinking of doing that perhaps for longer simpler edit videos. Currently I'm kinda weird in that I enjoy editing the videos and find them somewhat relaxing to create.

Loved that show!

thanks again, Joe!

What’s your take on that AI in the entertainment industry?

It sounds cliche but if you enjoy writing regardless of how old you are or whether you've "made it" you shouldn't let those metrics rob you of doing something you enjoy. I think most of us in the industry would probably still be drawing or writing on the side even if we hadn't made it. As for the reality of it, I also don't think there's an age expectation from publishers for new talent. That said I totally understand from a larger scheme of things as an adult planning a career it can feel like it's late. I've heard of artist and writers breaking in when they're in their 40's so I really don't feel it's a factor. I think your ability to make stuff that editors or fans want to read is really the larger metric to factor in.

My initial reaction is definitely a pessimistic one, but lately I've been trying to see how this will affect us moving forward as this technology isn't going away. My opinion is that I'm still processing it lol

Hey thanks for taking the time for this synopsis. Super helpful for anyone skimming through.

It's quite an expansive topic for sure. This one focuses on work for hire but definitely down the road I'll get into those.

This.

That said, your videos are as polished and professional as your artwork. It's a little depressing that you've only made 52 videos and you're already this great at it.

Hey thanks so much, I really appreciate that. Honestly I just try to apply the storytelling techniques I've learned through comics. As for your previous comment, I 100% agree with you. In my How to get a job in comics as well as my Corporate artist vs. Indy artist videos, I do mention the points you've made. I broke in by working for free with writers who were trying to break in as well, and together we had a portfolio we were able to bring around to publishers. As for creator owned stuff and having part ownership in lieu of payment or deferring payment down the road, I also agree with you as that's what I thought my creator owned journey would be but luckily we were able to secure financing. All this to actually say I agree with everything you've said LOL! Unfortunately this video had a narrower view point in that it mostly focused on the sole question of how much artists get paid. I do feel that a longer more nuanced version is on the horizon.

@@FrancisManapulArt Hey man, I'm never going to complain about an artist agreeing with me 100% ;) I was probably just trying to work it out in my own head but it's nice to get pro confirmation. I think you explained really well and I don't know if KZfaq is ready for more nuanced views, plus you have more info in other videos. I'm guessing those $400-$500 page rates (*gasp*) are reserved for when Alex Ross agrees to do interiors. I think it is a really great point of emphasis that, as you stated, rates don't simply rise with seniority or experience. It's very much a meritocracy of hotness (which of course, doesn't always or even often have much to do with quality). I'm just wondering if I can get a Barry Windsor Smith or Mike Kaluta ;)

Any idea of what sort of page rates comic writers get?

@@lordd794 Probably about $80-120 per pg for the Big Two. Search this Vice article from 2021 titled "It's Impossible To Make Money for Most Writers and Artists in Comics."

:)

hey thanks!

It's called a cintiq 27 qhd. I got it from a local computer store but you should be able to order it from anywhere.

I'm not fully sure I understand, but I guess if you need an assistant of quality level you'd have to hire and pay them. Searching on social media you should find a lot of talented young artists.

Totally agree. I remember going to the library back then and going to the section "C" to look for anything comic book related. I did find some books on older creators and I devoured their interviews looking for insight into how they broke in. From the hodge podge of information I gathered I figured it out. That said, having a community that shares this type of knowledge would have been invaluable, so I'm hoping to pay what I've learned forward.

It's definitely a tough business and the importance of trade sales and expanding in the book market is an important part of keeping it healthy.

Thanks!

Sounds about right for starting to mid. Covers are usually whatever your rate is plus 1/2.

thanks! Loved drawing that cover.

Totally. Always leave the door you walked through open behind you as they say.

USD.

@@FrancisManapulArt Thank you very much for the quick response!!!

Speaking only from my experience my rate bumped up with every contract extensions. But it is my understanding that starting rates unfortunately have remained relatively the same.

Hey thanks, Neil! Big fan of your work since the bazooka days!

Fortunately, yes. Comics is like other entertainment industries in which pay can vary wildly depending on your standing. That said from experience it's pretty easy to make 6 figures in comics contrary to the negative narrative.

Just keep at it! I'll see your work on the stands soon!

Yeah definitely depressing as hell to hear that. It was a real inflection point for me when the industry crashed as I was trying to break in. Stupidly I still wanted to do it even when the money left so this entire ride has been a happy and lucky surprise for me.

Whoa.. and 94 was during the boom right?

yeah, the top line are the price ranges per page and the second line was me adding up the total for 20 page books.

I agree, there is always someone faster, cheaper, and better. Or sometimes all three. This can be said of any and all professions. Comics is definitely a very competitive business. This video focuses on page rates to help give newer artist a guide to the industry rather than assign a value to the art itself and in most cases page rates are determined from the value you bring to the company as well as the creators ability to help sell books. We're not fine artist but commercial artist since our work's ultimate goal is to sell books and I've been fortunate enough to have helped move a few books for the companies I've worked for and in return they've compensated me for the value and sales I help bring in. It won't last forever, nothing does, but till then I'm happy to draw and keep telling stories.

​@@FrancisManapulArt I've seen your work and you help to new artist is very appreciated, I was a little bit too salty cause these days i was lurking around the "worldbuilder and storyteller community" and I was a little bit upset to see the same picture every time: lot of creatives that can't afford to pay drawers cause price are unsustainable (and again, as someone who don't make art for work, there is also a very "confuse" pricing, that looks dictated in part by the same high standard pricing, but the most by the perceived quality of the work by the same artist that produce it), leaving writers with the choice of not create a comic or use sub-par cheap artist that doesn't do justice to their work. "why you writer don't use Kickstarter, why don't make an entire raw chapter as a pitch... like this things doesn't take lot of effort and money. This looks to me a double standard for artist, an elitist form of see and works in art. An artist who pretend to be paid and one that need to pay. And of course in this picture, the most of artist with drawing skills struggle to work cause the reasons we said, so don't get payed but they also can't create something interesting for them and for the audience. So, in the end we have a type of creatives (drawers, inkers, colorist) that have price set at a very high standard and cannot be afforded by other artists, whos works is lot of time underappreciated; "ideas doesn't worth a dime", "every artists have their own world to create" and in general looks to me there is a sense of "words doesn't value like other type of creative arts (and this reminds me the old "c'mon, my friend with drawing skills can do it the same" said time ago when was the visual art to be underappreciated e undervalued. Cycles). As a pure consumer I wish will be soon a way to meet supply and demand inside the creator community, cause this can lead to more art created and shared in the way the creator envisioned, leading to more "words creatives" and "paint creative" to collaborate in a more equal way for the better of the medium.

@@SilverHaze89 fair enough, I understand how that could be frustrating. As I've said in the past, I've worked for free for many years with other writers who were trying to break in and our plan was to team up so we could help each other out and it was a process that helped me break in.

A good number of artist still work traditionally. Digital is just very efficient. That said I've recently returned to working traditionally.

​@@FrancisManapulArt Can you tell us what work you are doing traditionally as opposed to digitally?

@@casey_lau These videos are still at my digital stage. I just switched back to traditional about a few months ago after trying it out on some covers and am doing an unannounced project traditionally.

@@FrancisManapulArt Thanks Francis - as you can imagine I am asking because I would love to own some of your original art and happy to hear you are returning to traditional.

@@casey_lau Ah thanks much appreciated. Kwan usually have any and all pages I part with.

It can be. It's not as linear of a progress. It's pretty similar to being a musician in that some could make it big and others continue as working musicians.

at least he can draw, lets hope he has a writer that can sell

Ah yeah, that annoys me too. I rotate the digital canvas a lot so I could keep my strokes somewhat horizontal since that's more natural for my hand to do. Unfortunately when the video is sped up, it becomes too apparent and jarring. I eventually figured out how to record the screen without the rotation, but not before I finished filming this entire series lol

Great points and I'm afraid you verbalized all my insecurities about this video lol I literally recall thinking I should have gotten additional footage in order to show not tell. I create these in my spare time and continue to learn this process so I'll definitely keep these in mind.

@@FrancisManapulArt I've watched a few videos after this one and they all seemed to be vlogs rather than videos about a specific topic. However, I also watched your decade old interview with Bobby Chiu and you were brutally honest, so I figured I could be also ;)

@dvhstudios hey wow! But yeah actually these are essentially vlogs with droplets of sharing bits of what I've learned. Unfortunately a straight up tutorial doesn't excite me to create although I know that's what people want. I literally described to someone today that my videos are kinda like my new version of LiveJournaling if you're old enough to remember that reference 😅

@@FrancisManapulArt unfortunately I am old enough :l Some of my criticisms aren't valid anymore given that you are going for a different type of video than I expected.

@@dvhstudios Still valid, and I can already see how editing the video to properly inform viewers what the format is could be helpful.

splatter brush from Kyle Webster.

@@FrancisManapulArt Legend. Thank you.

Fair point. I enjoy the music parts since I think the songs sounds great lol which I understand may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Strange. I haven't deleted any comments. I know there is a general filter on that i think automatically hides profanity or something along those lines. Feel free to comment again here. Always open to criticism.

Ah I think you misread 2.5K for $2.5 for 20 pages on the indy end of things.

@@FrancisManapulArt lol yes I see, had to watch again. thx for the reply, and awesome content

​@@lawrencetateartI would have jumped off a bridge if those were the rates 😂

Asian blood lol

@@FrancisManapulArt lol

Fair point. Not in a traditional sense but I did share my day at the studio from the beginning to the end of my day.