Artists choose illustration tasks, and good illustration tasks will only choose the right owner for them.

Participated in the production of animated films and co-branded with trendy toy manufacturers.

It is almost the two most successful paths that the works of illustrators in this era have generated social popularity, broken the upper limit, and penetrated the hearts of big collectors.

These two paths require illustrators to have social visibility and a certain personal brand image in order to attract the favor of cooperative manufacturers.

The path must be accurate from the beginning.

For example, the brand tone of Disney means that they can't have any linkage with the artists in the book.

And if Takashi Murakami or KAWS had painted some very low works, fashion clothing companies such as Louis Vuitton and Uniqlo would not have selected their art and design elements for global promotion.

Of course

It must be noted that there is still an essential difference between the illustration task of romance and the book artist.

This illustration request from the Scholastic Group is not low on the outside. It's a lot more high-end than the Detective Cat's previous assignments on Fiverr.

But well.

Anna still doesn't like it a little bit, it's too unartistic.

Working with the Scholastic Group means a new start in a career, and "The Little Prince" has finally pulled the style up, and it is better not to drop it down easily.

It's just that she, as the agent of the detective cat carte blanche in the publishing house, Miss Elena can't refuse such a big contract on behalf of someone without consulting with her big sister.

"The subject matter is more exposed? Emmm…… I trust your judgment. ”

The Detective Cat Lady on the other side was quite persuasive, but she looked a little curious, "But, I heard that Vandoorne has also drawn a lot of content on this subject?" ”

"Madame de Pompadour and the street warbler in Paris are two different states of life, and the character of this book is not worth writing. In the strict sense of the word, Van Doorne has drawn countless erotic illustrations, but not a single erotic illustration. There are a lot of artists who have drawn revealing illustrations, and the difference in this is that Van Doorne is smarter than the others. ”

Anna explains to Detective Cat the slight but crucial difference between the two.

Again, that's the problem.

"Blue Moon" is not artistic enough, nor is it forced enough.

The lack of art is not actually a matter of scale, but of depth.

Scale has never been an obstacle to serious painting – from the perspective of Western aesthetic philosophy in ancient Greece, the body curves of a strong man and a charming woman are the most beautiful curvatures given by the gods.

In the past, there were great artists who painted naked women all their lives in the big official salons.

The scale of the works of Jérôme, Rubens, and the later Ray Noah is much more exaggerated than that of the average Internet color chart author today.

Klimt was even more proud of himself as an erotic painter.

But the problem of plot and writing style is fatal.

"I read some excerpts from the test drafts given to me by the Scholastic Group, and the gaudy lack of imagination, and even the lack of long-lasting sexual tension, but 'Playboy' for girls, and critics won't remember it."

"Do you need me to read two paragraphs to you? Let's see if you have a creative feeling. ”

Although it's a bit embarrassing to read this kind of book to Detective Cat Sister in the voice of Mr. Sloth,

But they are all girls, and Anna doesn't care about reading two small yellow texts to each other or something, but it's just like what she said.

The words were nothing but pale flesh collisions and empty bed depictions.

There are high and low levels of body writing.

A bestseller with Anna's literary accomplishment, which will not seduce her at all when read.

There is really no need for the detective cat to make an exception to transform.

"Excuse me."

It seems that the detective cat is more shy than her.

"Your sketching skills are good, and if you want to paint this kind of erotic subject, it's a good idea to expand your painting style." Anna is not shy about discussing the scale of her work, "The Scholastic Group is working on a large-scale re-translation of the famous book in public edition, and it will be the turn of the second half of this year to republish Marguerite Duras's Lovers and Hiroshima Love. I can take on both tasks for you, depending on the situation. ”

is the same as the publishing houses in Dongxia that like to make money by making money by making a famous translation series at every turn.

The strategic plan of the Scholastic Group includes Conan Doyle, Leo Tolstoy, and Marguerite Duras...... The works of these classic writers have entered the public domain and are republished.

It's called the "Wood Without Wither" program.

"The Little Prince" drawn by Detective Cat is a key sub-project of this strategy.

It is also a large-scale illustration.

To paint "Blue Moon" is to show sensual coquettishness, and to illustrate the masterpiece of Marguerite Duras, winner of the Prix Prix Goncourt and a great master of body writing, is the artist's elegance and timelessness.

It's like the same stripping clip.

Whether an actress undresses in a literary film that wins the gold award at the film festival or in a live broadcast selling meat, the former is a goddess dedicated to art, and the latter is a slutty bitch, which is a completely different concept.

The detective cats of today have a problem with the real great painters.

From the previous "Batman" to the current "The Little Prince", her painting style is a bit too oriented to young readers.

Miss Elena does not want the public to completely equate the artistic image and painting style of the detective cat with a children's painter who can only draw children's illustrations.

Such an artistic route is too restrictive and young.

Maybe the upper limit is to cooperate with Disney or Nintendo, participate in the production of animated movies and cartoon characters.

There is already a fairy tale master Jane Arnaud in the world, and there is no need for a second replica.

When necessary, Miss Elena wants to ask the detective cat sister to draw something specifically "for adults" to attract more attention from the art collecting community.

Illustrating "Lover", if not as good as the sad flesh in a very obscure feature literary film, can at least be equivalent to the glamorous performance of drawing a blank sketch for Ruth in "Titanic".

Ultimately.

Such good painting skills, even if there is now pressure from Sir Brown and the "Oil Painting" magazine.

Anna still hopes that in the future, the work of Detective Cat Sister will go to art exhibitions and important awards in the art world.

Illustration is just a springboard, and the showcase of the art museum is the ultimate destination for great artists.

"I'll think about it, and I'll see when the time comes."

"Okay."

Interesting......

Anna raised an eyebrow slightly.

She keenly felt that in the face of this kind of topic, the detective cat on the other side seemed to be a little unable to let go.

It's not at all like the reaction of a big sister in her thirties who is at an age of meat and vegetarianism.

Of course, it doesn't look like an old painter in his 60s.

She remembered the old man named "Gu Tongxiang", the new agent of Maas Gallery, and shook her head slightly.

Strictly speaking.

It's also unlikely that a painter of this age will take orders on the Internet, and it's unlikely that they'll be called "The Detective Cat" by a more youthful and youthful screen name.

However, the group of painters is a botanical garden of all kinds of strange personalities.

Some painters are particularly good at self-promotion and rhetoric in front of the media, and some painters say a few words to outsiders, giving people the feeling that they will faint shyly at any time.

They can't be speculated by common sense.

"In that case, let's talk about it in the second half of the year. I dismissed the manuscript of "Blue Moon". Now this time...... You can take a look at this task. I think it's more appropriate than romance. ”

Anna opens an email on her computer.

This is another request from the Scholastic Group's Project No Dead Wood, and is a companion to a book called "Blazing World".

This book is extremely well-known, and to be honest, it doesn't read smoothly, but the advantage is that it is very forced.

The most famous science fiction in the world in the feudal era is Frankenstein, published by Mary Shelley in 1818.

But two centuries ago.

In 1666, Cavendis, Duchess of Newcastle, court lady and bridesmaid of Queen Charles I, published the world's first female science fiction book, The Blazing World.

Duchess Cavendish herself was much more scientifically literate than her contemporaries and was even one of the patrons of the newly formed Royal Scientific Society of England and France.

It is the world's first utopia, combining elements of fantasy, science fiction, romance, alternate political theory, and philosophical and theological debates.

A book that has such a high academic status is not known to outsiders.

The only reason is that this thing is really a high barrier to reading.

It's not as approachable as Shakespeare's plays, and some of the rhetoric has the pre-1453 Middle English way of word formation and a lot of foreign French vocabulary.

Anna felt that it was actually just right.

Miss Elena had read this book to her tutor when she was a child.

The fiery and magnificent, psychedelic style of writing, the vague and chaotic world view, and the rhetoric shrouded in clouds and fog are also very suitable for knife painting to express.

It's almost the opposite of the blue moon and the volume, and the publisher came out with it just to improve the standard of the Dead Wood project.

This kind of stuff definitely didn't sell much better after it was published.

Similar to those small coffee shops like to put in the most eye-catching window of the storefront, it is very beautiful but almost no one will actually buy the fine bone china display tea set.

"It's just right for Detective Cat Sister to draw."

Miss Elena knew it perfectly.

The popularity of The Little Prince is now due to the fact that Saint-Exupéry's books have long been among the best-selling fairy tales in the world.

It has a large readership base, and it has encountered various pre-heated discussions formed by various coincidences on the Internet, and finally it is the miracle product of the detective cat's own painting strength and the addition of three factors.

It's hard to be reproducible.

There is only one copy of "The Little Prince" in the world.

So no matter what Detective Cat's next illustrated book is, it won't get the same amount of attention and sales.

The rest of Saint-Exupéry's masterpieces, such as "Wind and Sand Stars" and "Night Voyage", have a readership that is far inferior to "The Little Prince".

And as long as there is a decline in sales, it will give Sir Brown and others the opportunity to sing the detective cat.

Case

Simply abandon book sales altogether and go to a different track.

From best-selling fairy tales to serious literature, from commercial films to box office, to literary films, to see if you can pursue awards in the illustration industry or something.

In the field of literature and art, in order to reflect the difference between their own vision and that of ordinary audiences, unpopular sales are a plus point in the awards.

"Titanic", "Vulgar", "Truman's World", "The Pianist of the Sea", ...... These super blockbusters that can enter the top 100 or even the top 10 of film and television in both depth and box office were all born in the same year, which can be called a fight between gods.

As a result, at the Oscars in the same year, the competition for the Best Actor and Actress awards was all lost to a niche literary film called "Perfect".

"Blazing World" is Anna's selection of awards for Detective Cats.

"But you have to be a little prepared that the salary for this kind of work is not high, including the cover art, and the package price of the full set of the contract is ...... $2700. At most, I should be able to talk about a few more dividends, but in fact, thinking about sales, it doesn't make much sense. ”

Anna smiled wryly as she typed.

A high reading threshold and good sales are mutually exclusive options.

I want to have artistic depth, be able to award awards, and make a lot of money by selling well. Hehe, you're not the father of the publishing house, where in the world are there so many cheap pies to pick up.

The estimated sales of "Blue Moon" this year are also above 300,000 copies.

And "Blazing World"......

If 3,000 copies can be sold, the publishing house will burn high incense.

If it weren't for a giant publishing house like the Scholastic Group, it would be able to spread out a lot of the cost of warehouse storage, logistics and factory printing.

A small publishing house makes this kind of book, and there is no pants left for the loss.

Even if it's the Scholastic Group.

While ensuring good print quality, it can cost you a few pounds, or even a dozen pounds, for every book sold.

Originally, it was meant to embody the publishing house's "publishing responsibility to pay attention to the literary value of books" and "the social mission of discovering outstanding female writers who have not been known in history"—this kind of business and face project to win over politically correct voices and make money at a loss.

How is it possible to give a super high price for the manuscript?

The landlord's family has no surplus food.

The book was never a commercial project for an external illustrator, and the art department was planning to do it with its own full-time illustrator.

It was Anna who flipped through the huge list of publications given by the other party and found the name of the book.

She took the initiative to contact the other party, and the art department saw that the detective cat was in the limelight in the past two days and did not want to offend, so it symbolically gave a token offer of 2,700 US dollars.

If the price of the contract is not too low.

There's no need for Miss Elena to stay behind.

"Although the money is low, if we think about it differently, we will use it as a publishing house to publish a brochure for us for free. The painting opportunity is still good. Fantasy style, ancient history, high academic value, female power of female authors, you are still a girl as a painter. In addition to the absence of racial elements, the illustration judges' favorite publicity elements in recent years have all been put together. ”

"With so many buffs added to the body, even if there is such a thing as "Oil Painting", as long as the painting is good enough, you will have the opportunity to earn several big awards in the illustration industry."

(End of chapter)