Writer Seeks Artist for Collaboration/Submission Project
I?m looking for a manga artist to collaborate for character design/20-40 page illustration as a sample for an on-going series. While I am unable to pay at this point, the point of the collaboration is to submit to the companies. If the series was picked up, obviously royalties would be split.
The following is vague, for intellectual property protection (I am posting this online) and I would be happy to give more specific, less-cliched information over e-mail (see bottom of ad).
[B]Basic Blurb of Project[/B]
[center][center]Who is the Wanderlust?[/center][/center]
The whole world is holding its breath in fearful wait of the Wanderlust -- the hellspirit -- and the day it returns to devour humanity. But when the Sagashi, a Wanderlust-hunter, ONYX EYRE finds ANDRY, a girl with a tell-tale wound, a powder keg power, and intrusive memories that don?t belong to her, he can?t help but suspect that this peculiar girl is the Wanderlust herself. Can the otherworldly Lady GLORIA and curmudgeonly Elder BIEDINGER convince Onyx to betray the Sagashi and join forces with the one person he?s sworn to hunt down? Will Andry ever remember where she came from -- a world free from the Wanderlust? Can she atone for her shattered soul by uncovering the Palimpsests, remnants of the world she left behind? Or will this distorted rewrite of reality become irreversible?
And what if the one person who destroyed the world is the only person who can save it?
(NOTE: The book is inspired by the word PALIMPSEST, which originally refers to how ancient texts were often re-used and written over when papyrus/writing material was in short supply. However, the original writing begins to show through underneath the writing on top of it over time. The idea in this story is that Argia is a rewritten version of Andry?s world (due to something she did to cause the ?rewrite? ? no spoilers! ^^), but because the rewrite is imperfect (again due to something Andry does), traces of Andry?s world (a happier, more peaceful place) still exist. Andry hopes that by finding all these traces, somehow, she can restore the world and redeem herself for causing the rewrite in the first place)
[B]Writing Sample[/B]
If you are interested in this project, I?m happy to send over an excerpt from WANDERLUST. You can check it out, see if you like my writing, the story, and if it?s something you can get behind and believe in.
To date, I have written 275 pages of the script. Since this would be an unpaid collaboration, I don?t expect anyone to make such a huge commitment. The goal of this collaboration would be to find someone willing to do the first 20-40 pages so that I could submit to companies who accept unsolicited submissions (Dark House Manga, Del Rey, TokyoPop, etc).
The submission guidelines for these places typically ask for 1-2 chapters as a sample and highly recommend sending in a finished product (art and writing, not just one or the other). So, I?d like to have the first chapter or two penciled, inked, and lettered to completion so that rather than just receiving a script (which, let?s face it, never sounds as great as it looks when accompanied by the much-needed graphic component of a manga, which is so visually dependent). I plan to do digital lettering/text bubbles on my Manga Studio EX. If you pencil, but don?t ink, and are interested, (or vice versa)I wouldn?t mind making it a group effort.
[B]My Ideal Collaborator[/B]
I?m looking for a collaborator who is comfortable with drawing action sequences, landscapes, and architecture in addition to the typical character scenes. There is a lot of room to be creative with those elements of the story. I would also love to work with someone who is comfortable drawing scenes from unique camera angles in order to keep conversations/action fresh and inviting to the reader.
In terms of art direction: I can provide rough story boards for the pages, however I?d be more than happy and willing to let the artist determine panel layout/styling. Action sequences (a fight, for example) is another area where the artist is free to get creative and add to existing material. While I am not already wed to any particular character designs, I do have the character?s personalities and important features (e.g., scars, important objects) worked out and if the artist wants to design the characters, I?m all for it as long as we integrate the elements of the character essential to the storyline.
Also, if over the course of our work together, the artist wants to make story suggestions/contributions, I?m totally open to that. I would like to work with an artist who is willing to give me the final say on the script/writing component of the project. The first year or so of the project was solely devoted to fleshing out the story line (at least the major components), character evolution, and thematic elements ? so I?m a bit attached to it. It?s my baby. [FONT=Wingdings]J[/FONT]
[B]What Drawing Style Most Interests Me[/B]
As I mentioned above, this is an OEL manga so I?m looking for an artist who is knowledgeable about the conventions of manga. When I say manga, I don?t expect it to resemble someone else?s style or anything. I?d like an artist who could bring their own unique take on the art form. The manga is targeted at teen audiences/young adults. I view it as shonen project that could also potentially appeal to a shoujo audience (what? Too hopeful?) ? as it features a heroine who isn?t just there for eye candy. Also, genre-wise I think it touches on fantasy (in the sense that the physics of my story?s universe don?t follow reality)/adventure with a hint of comedy.
The story includes drama and action (combat, natural disasters, training sequences) so my ideal collaborator would be able to both draw action (captures movement, perspective, foreshortening, uncommon body poses, all in a 2-D, sequential medium) and drama (utilizes angles, close-ups, zooming out, tracking, panning, shading, tones, etc to heighten the dramatic quality of a scene).
[B]Contact Me[/B]
If this project sounds interesting, if you?d like to see excerpts from the script, or if you have any questions that were not answered here, please e-mail me at [EMAIL="ThePalimpsests@gmail.com"]ThePalimpsests@gmail.com[/EMAIL]
Most importantly, THANK YOU FOR READING!
