Greetings!

If you’ve been sent this page, I’m interested in working with you. I’m a first-time author seeking imagery to bring my book’s website to life. I also want to help artists make a little money and feed that creative need we share.

First off, I want to learn more about you! If I haven’t seen your full portfolio, please send me a link: FB, IG, Bluesky.

Here’s our hero in a nutshell: Tildy Silverleaf, Female, 13-14, appearance is Black/Middle Eastern. A neurodiverse teenage girl who struggles with her wayward shapeshifting abilities and unanswerable questions about her adoption. She loves fiercely, reads voraciously, and is more like Princess Leia than another damned damsel in distress. And she has magic wings that can take multiple forms.

She can look like anyone in the crowd yet never feel a part of it.

If this intrigues you – and I’m so glad it does – please read on!

MY ASK FOR THIS PROJECT

I’m looking for a full character sketch, though I don’t have a particular scene in mind. I’m interested in the kind of scene you might be interested in. Working with other illustrators, I’ve narrowed the options to four themes.

1. Solitude: Tildy perched impossibly upon a branch or elsewhere
2. Action: fighting some of the monsters in the book
3. Friendship: saving her friend Marklin
4. Family: gardening or traveling with her adoptive mother

If you provide a sense of which of those you would like to draw, I can send a couple scenes for inspiration, and then you have creative license. Honestly, I’m looking to give you as much freedom in choices as you like. I’ve worked with enough designers and writers in my day job to know when to butt out. I give some direction and stand back.

MY EXPECTATIONS

I’m a laid back client, having worked with creatives for nearly 20 years. I’ll be professional and expect the same. Here’s something I wrote up after a recent collab.

I’m looking for a low-stress but professional relationship with the artists I’m hiring.

I’m interested in using both roughs and the final work on the site. I would like to review roughs before finalization of the work.

We’ll agree on a fee before you start.

I do not have a preference on pencils, ink, or digital. Only that I receive the digital images when complete.

Beyond your fee, I will promote the final work and your portfolio at no cost to you. Examples:

• This website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• I’m also creating a specialized page to showcase all the work I’ve commissioned, once I have a few more works to add.

That’s it. Other details can be hashed out as we chat. Looking forward to inspiring each other!

Mike

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