[Thank you for the big 100,000 reward!] 】

"This project focuses on cultivating the next generation of master artists who will lead the international art fashion trends, and will provide a full range of mentoring courses by the world's best professors, the Met, the Vatican, the Florence Art Museum...... Positions at the world's top art galleries are open to students who have earned a diploma from the program. Gu Weijing thought about it and said.

"It sounds quite draggy, it is said that these top art museum positions, even if you fish and paddle all day long, will not be fired, all of them are difficult to apply for."

Seeming to be a little fascinated, she tucked a lock of mischievous hair back into her helmet with her fingers, and asked, "What's the exact name of the project you just mentioned?" ”

"It sounds like it's because I just read the admissions slogan on the school's official website, but it's really quite powerful."

Some positions in art galleries abroad, like tenured professors at top universities, are well-paid and decent, and are almost never fired.

As long as you don't make mistakes of principle and are cheeky and go straight, you can be a salary thief with peace of mind.

It's one of the best places for ordinary art students.

Gu Weijing shrugged and said, "It should be called [Menzel· Turner - Master of Excellence Training Programme], if you are interested, you can go to the English homepage of the school's official website to take a look, which has a detailed introduction. ”

He was about to say something, when suddenly his phone vibrate.

Gu Weijing took out the message bar of his mobile phone and found that it was a message just sent by the agent, Mr. Sloth.

Click in,

There are two new pieces of content in the social software page.

One was forwarded to him by Mr. Sloth, a letter of decision that the marketing department of the publishing house would adjust the contract and would give the illustration art studio Willein Studio and Detective Cat to compete for the "Little Prince" project.

The other is a new tweet from Mr. Sloth's official account of Willein Studio 3 minutes ago, which was relayed from Twitter.

The official blue V note name of the Twitter account is [Scholastic Group Master Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing and Art, Illustrator Mr. Verlein]

The agent of Vellein published a new message under the account.

The background of the tweet is a live photo of the Scholastic Group's European building taken from the bottom up by the phone, accompanied by a tweet from Julius Caesar's famous quote "VENI VIDI VICI" (I come, I see, I conquer).

The official tweets of illustration studios are not like the official tweets of Hollywood stars in Europe and the United States, with millions of views at every turn, but the stickiness of fans is not low, and there are often readers who like to collect studios to share new illustration pictures from time to time, and they guard the tweets every day.

They're all big fans of the studio and they're well informed.

In the space of three minutes, fans have already left comments below speculating about the purpose of Villerhine's visit to the Scholastic Group.

"Painter, are you here this time for the group's "The Little Prince" project? I've heard rumors that you'll be writing for the group's new version of The Little Prince, and I'm looking forward to it. (By the way, your set of "Green Wilderness" illustration commemorative collection will be reprinted, it's so hard to buy, a thousand sets on Amazon were snatched up in half an hour.) ）”

"Shaded Wilderness" is a collection of illustrations compiled and published by the Scholastic Group for outstanding illustrators like Villerhine over the years, and the market response is very good.

Willein's account just replied to the message.

"It was meant to be a limited edition. If you can't buy it on Amazon, you can try your luck at a physical bookstore. As for the purpose of my visit to the publishing house this time, it is limited by the confidentiality clause, so it is inconvenient to say it here. But as you can guess, it's none of the studio's business. ”

Then the official tweeted a thumbs up for this fan message.

……

Scholastic Group, European headquarters building.

Illustrator Verlein stood in the VIP elevator, silently watching the floors beat on the elevator's digital display.

The appearance of Weillein is very similar to the image of high-end artists in the stereotype of Europeans and Americans.

He was not tall, but he was extremely thin.

It's like a long-term animal protection and vegetarian kind of skinny, a little bit of a skeleton, and you can see the bones under the skin.

All year round, in spring and autumn, he is dressed in the same way.

A handmade tailor-made suit by a Savile Row tailor without any brand logo, a pair of shiny Prada leather shoes on his feet, a pair of round, fine-rimmed gold-rimmed glasses on his face, and a Montblanc 18-carat rose gold Writers pen in his breast pocket.

With that, he speaks with a soft, feminine voice and a somewhat neurotic smile.

When you walk down the street, people who don't know Villerhine will think that if this person is not an artist, he must be the kind of perverted murderer who likes to depict in the works of Toei detective Shoji Shimada.

however

In fact, Ville Lein is a rather old-fashioned person, without the usual prodigal and flashy nature of European and American artists.

This is not only reflected in the fact that he is not yet fifty years old, but he likes to have the hairdresser dye his hair gray and white, so that at first glance he gives the illusion that he looks like a young man in his sixties.

It is also reflected in the fact that even if it is only a marketing department investigation that is considered to be stable in the eyes of Charlie, the director of the art department, Welllein is willing to fly to the headquarters of the publishing house in a solemn manner and make a special trip to the scene.

"Detective Cat Lady? Why did you choose to paint such an unpopular painting with a knife and pen? ”

Wehrlein waited for the elevator to rise quickly, silently puzzled in his heart.

When he learns that his contract has been snatched away by the detective cat, Verlein doesn't act as furious as Charlie on the other end of the phone.

Instead, he immediately asked the assistant to find the detective cat's previous works.

Welllein doesn't go to YouTube, and he doesn't know the world's No. 1 Internet celebrity, Mr. Hyperion.

He is an "old-fashioned" person who believes that modern electronics will damage artistic inspiration, and people who hold such ideas are not uncommon in high-end art circles in Europe and the United States.

He rarely uses Internet products, and even today uses an old Nokia N91 button phone.

Official tweets and emails are also taken care of by assistants and agents with them.

When Verlein saw the photo of Batman's sketch that had been printed out by his assistant, he was immediately amazed by the delicate brushstrokes on it.

"It's so beautiful, it's very accurate with the pen, and it's really steady with the hand."

That was the first thought that crossed his mind.

"I ...... I probably can't do that to that extent. ”

It was the second thought that crossed his mind.

Wehrlein still insists on using traditional pen and paper instead of the more convenient Wacom or electronic tablet like the IPad, which has become mainstream in the industry.

In these years, high-end artists who still dare to draw illustrations with pen and paper that cannot be modified, and there are almost no weakness in sketching lines.

Wehrlein is by no means a weak sketcher.

Contrary

Although he prefers to use watercolor painting, the basic skills of sketching belong to the strongest group of people in the circle.

Even when I was a student at the Academy of Arts, almost all the prizes in the school's sketch competitions were won by Würlein.

It is precisely because he is a master.

He realized how terrible it was to paint at this level of being able to open a special exhibition of drawings.

Not to mention that Verlein himself can't reach it, in the entire circle, a big artist of this level is still alive, and he is very skeptical about whether he can make a slap.

"Do I really want to offend such a person?" Verlein was even a little hesitant in his heart.

Of course, he was unhappy to die when he was robbed of a large contract, but looking at this sketch illustration, Verlein actually had the idea of retreating in his mind.

The skill of the pen doesn't tell the whole story, and formal illustrations of serious subjects are definitely rare to draw with colored pencils.

But so what?

Sketching is the basis of almost all Western painting methods, not to mention water-soluble colored pencil drawings and watercolor paintings.

A person who is good at sketching is usually not bad at painting oil and gouache.

Sketch lines are equivalent to a martial artist's "internal strength" and "muscles".

Even if you give the sketcher a piece of chalk, someone can draw a flower on the blackboard.

Of course

On the other hand, the expressiveness of illustration is not entirely determined by the skill of the drawing.

Welllein believes that he has been engaged in the illustration industry for half his life, and the ability to read original works and create art is by no means comparable to that of a small online illustrator.

If you really conduct market research, you will probably be able to win.

Just, what if?

If you do lose to Detective Cat, it's fucking too much fun.

The money for the contract is still a trivial matter, and there are few secrets in the circle, mainly because he can't afford to lose this face.

No one else cares how well the detective cat is drawn.

People will only say that the winner of the dignified [Master Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing and Art] is not even comparable to a new online illustrator.

It's so ugly!

is already an accomplished artist.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars, it's not worth the risk of throwing his face on the ground and letting others step on the sky to compete for this contract.

If he really loses, don't talk about the rest, anyway, Verlein feels that there is a stain on his resume that he was defeated by the online painter detective cat.

The thought of the two highest honors, the [Master Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing and Art] and the [Hans Christian Andersen Award], he didn't think about it.

There is no first in the text, there is no second in the martial arts, it is an occasion like serious oil painting.

For illustrations, don't make any excuses to cover up your shame, readers don't like it, and if you lose, you lose.

With Van Doorne's status, he wanted to kill the detective cat, and he made such a big joke and lost his face, and Villerhine didn't think that his connections were stronger than Van Doorne.

"You know, the detective cat uses a knife to draw." With just one sentence, Director Charlie succeeded in dispelling Vellein's concerns.

Sketching is the foundation of almost all Western painting methods, and it is the muscle and internal strength of the painter.

This is almost, but it really doesn't include knife and pen oil paintings.

"You don't need to have a basic sketching foundation to learn", this slogan is the main reason why there are so many scammers in the knife painting industry.

Verlein speculated that the detective cat lady is most likely a typical example of being deceived by a liar on an occasion far from modern art in Africa.

She chose the most wrong way to draw.

This is similar to the big shoulders and round waist you practice in the gym, and the shoulder muscles are thicker than other people's thighs, which does not mean that if you want to learn from kung fu superstar Bruce Lee to play a cold and unpopular nunchuck, you will not make the mistake of hitting yourself in the face with a stick and opening your nose.

Verlein didn't believe that the detective cat was so talented that he could play with the oil painting knife while sketching superbly.

"What a damn agent!" He complained silently.

The authorities are confused, and the bystanders are clear.

The little African painter can't figure out how many pounds and taels he has, and it's not surprising that others have deceived him.

Her agent really allowed him to use such a painting method, which is obviously unqualified garbage.

"Ding—"

The VIP elevator arrives on the floor where the marketing department is located and slowly opens to both sides.

Director Charlie was already waiting at the door, and when he saw that Vellein only said hello slightly, he motioned for the illustrator to come with him.

Entered the report observation room of the marketing department.

Director Charlie didn't look at Osborne on the side, but smiled at a short and wrinkled old gentleman with a white mustache next to the president, and introduced him to Verlein.

"The board of directors was very interested in our little competition, and Morgan Director personally flew in from the Scholastic Group's North American headquarters to London to oversee it. As soon as the director got off the plane in the morning, he came non-stop. Charlie pointed out the management's interest in the project to Welllein.

He pointed to the gray suit next to Morgan.

"Head of Marketing, you should have known each other before. According to the agreement, the winner of this mini-contest will issue a set of "The Little Prince" themed illustration album and related peripherals by the marketing department. ”

Verlein stretched out his hand and shook hands with the men one by one.

"When the time comes, the matter of publishing the collection album will be hard for you."

The marketing department was still in the volunteers, but Vellein was already smiling at the victory.

"Wishing you prosperity, this income is not much more than the quotation of the contract itself." The head of marketing responded with a smile.

The physical book market in Europe and the United States has also declined under the impact of mobile phones and e-readers such as Kindle.

It's just that Western e-books are also expensive,

A physical $20 long book costs more than $10 for an electronic version, so the overall royalty income doesn't change much.

There is only one exception, the collector's edition of the work gift box and the physical album peripherals.

This kind of thing with a collection attribute greater than a reading attribute is generally sold in limited quantities, and the sales volume is very stable, and the price is very high.

The more classic the work, the more so.

There is a point of view in the market, especially in the North American market, where the publishing house headquarters is located, because of the lack of historical precipitation, cultural and entertainment products such as collector's commemorative books, triple-a game gift boxes, and NBA championship rings have certain antique attributes.

Here's an example.

It is also a work published by the Scholastic Group.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was printed in the first edition in 1997 and is currently priced between $500 and $800 a copy on eBay.

Harry Potter is a commemorative gift box that the group decided to produce two years later, in 1999, when it discovered the potential for fire.

The box includes a set of illustrated postcards of the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione, and a redcover copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

The 99-edition hardcover gift box, which is currently well preserved and has no folded pages, costs between $5,000 and $8,000 second-hand.

If there is a J· The words of the signature of K Rowling herself.

A set of 20-year-old commemorative gift boxes on the market can sell for about 18,000 or even 20,000 dollars.

A gift box for a car is such an exaggeration.

Readers are very fond of collecting this kind of stuff.

Illustration is much more important to The Little Prince than to Harry Potter, and the award box illustrator for this kind of release is not only higher, but also has a much greater gain in fame.

Wehrlein is determined to do just that.

(End of chapter)