

Ask HN: Would you pay for a graphic novel-like portrait avatar? - relaunched

I'm trying to help an amazingly talented digital artist monetize his works.  So, would you pay for a graphic novel-esque portrait for your twitter / facebook?  Maybe depicted as your favorite character?  If so, how much?  Depending on the response, my buddy wants to seed his work (for free) and see what happens.<p>As always, any thoughts / feedback / advice would be appreciated.<p>Check out the quality at chaunceypierce.weebly(dot)com
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michaelpinto
If you want to really help your friend don't give out his time for free:
Especially if it's for a commissioned based business. Also honestly with
something like that you're catering to fans who are super cheap, and your
competition is every other 15 year old on deviantART. Add to that the fact
that a generic graphic novel style won't even be popular. And if you want to
see something really pathetic just go to a comic book and watch seasonsed pros
do a little sketch for too little money.

If your friend wants to do that, then he should focus on doing caricature
sketches for kids parties for rich parents. But if that's the case your friend
needs to realize that said gig isn't about art but entertainment -- and then
focus on other things like the ability to make balloons in shapes and what
not.

Just so you know illustration is one of the harder ways to make a living as a
creative person. There's a ton of competition, and thanks to stock images very
little value. Your friend would be better off expanding his or her skill set
outside being just a pair of hands (example: an art director will always make
more than a storyboard artist).

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relaunched
Thanks for your insight. Not knowing the industry, and having no real artistic
ability myself, I think it's an amazing process to watch (and I like the
finished product). But, that's clearly not enough.

Artist, actress, singer...it sounds like talent isn't much of a
differentiator, and I wouldn't know the difference anyway. Guerrilla tactics
and a luck, but very low odds. I'm sure he'll figure out, on his own, where to
best apply his talents.

Thanks again!

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michaelpinto
You nailed it — talent is a good starting point, but it takes much more than
that!

