I have a question about developing a one off graphic novel?

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Bunker

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At this point these are purely hypothetical questions.

What is a rough per page estimate to offer an illustrator to help develop a graphic novel? To get a better idea just in case there are any price breaks for volume, let's say it's 200 pages?

Do you start with story boards, or does that end up doubling the workload for the illustrator and the budget, or does that depend on the level of detail that goes into the storyboards?

Do royalties usually factor into this price estimation?

When answering these questions I would like for it to be factored in that this would be an individual's self financed passion project to then be self published, so the budget would be limited.

At this point this question is just for exploratory purposes. If/when this moves to the next level, I don't want to be that guy that's throwing around crazy low wages for the privilege of working on a master piece that will never see any money.

I've worked in film for several years and have dealt with that guy many time.

I'm just trying to figure out a realistic budget to aim for.

Also there's a good chance that someone who actually understands the formatting of a graphic novel could probably cut the page count almost in half. I was just using the template in Final Draft when I was writing it.

Thanks in advance for any input.
 

Ron Maiden

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scripts for comics/GNs describe the pages in panels, which is basically the "storyboard". an artist might do thumbnails to confirm layout etc, the back-and-forth between you and him would be something for you to decide on. also, it depends on what you mean by illustrating to some degree. for a comic, you can have a penciller, inker, colourist and letterer, or you might just have one person doing it all.
 

Torgo

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Comic book art is ... expensive. It's very time-consuming and you often need three or four different people working on it (as per Ron above.)

I've seen rates quoted between $100 and $400 a page (or starting from $20 a panel) so for a 200pp GN you are probably looking at five figures.

(I've published a couple of graphic novels and the costs have varied most according to where the illustrator lived. The Japanese artist was about 3x the price of the guy who lives in Brazil - living costs, I guess.)

As to the formatting of the graphic novel: I think (unless you're working in a very Marvel way) your probably need to think much more carefully about the page layouts. A graphic novel script generally breaks down into pages and panels within pages. What kind of grid do you envisage? 6, 8, 9 panels? Splash pages, etc? There are quite a few comics scripts on the web to look at.
 

Bicyclefish

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What is a rough per page estimate to offer an illustrator to help develop a graphic novel?
Page rates are highly variable depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to: artist skill and experience, artist workload, cost of living where your artist lives, your deadline/timetable, etc. Admittedly, there are folk who accept grunt work rates of around $20-40/pg, but in the past couple years I've seen rates $70-150 regularly offered for indie or small press works. Remember, however, that if you're looking for an all in one artist (pencils, ink, toning/coloring), expect to pay more. Rates can easily go into the $200+ range, as Torgo mentioned. Furthermore, a $20 artist likely won't produce a product fit for print/sales.

But for the sake of a lowball estimate: At $50/page and 200 pages, you're looking into an investment of $10k and likely a few years to finish.

Do royalties usually factor into this price estimation?
Sometimes if the artists thinks the comic will sell, but it's a risk many experienced artists won't take.

I suggest digging around on sites like Digital Webbing, Penciljack, Gutterzombie, and Concept Art.org for a better idea of what other writers are offering and what kind of page rates pencilers, inkers and colorists accept.
 
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Bunker

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Thanks! The whole graphic novel thing is so far out of my wheelhouse it's nice to now have an idea what to expect.

The idea I have in mind would be a segment of a bigger project. If I wanted to put together a pitch package of sorts what would a reasonable offer be for very rough storyboards?
 

Sharii

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The idea I have in mind would be a segment of a bigger project. If I wanted to put together a pitch package of sorts what would a reasonable offer be for very rough storyboards?

Depends. What kind of pitch? Comic pitch? Movie pitch? Game pitch? Beyond that, each company has different requirements for a pitch and you may have to go for case by case basis.
 
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