Got Art to Submit? A Freelance Artist Resource

I'm a frustrated struggling artist that doesn't want to give up on doing what I love, and not having a paying outlet compounds my anxiety. So, like in all things that are worth having, you just have to change your attitude and put in the work. Over the past month and a half, I compiled a lengthy list of places where to submit my work (mainly fantasy and sci-fi magazines, but also contests, art annuals and game companies) and serve as a reference for creating future opportunities for myself and my peers should they find this resource helpful. This experience has definitely chiseled my PR skills, and I'll let you be the judge of how well or how poorly I represent myself. By my 30th or so submission I got it down to a quick succinct blurb  going something like this:


Hello (name of publication or art director if posted, personalize the message if you can, to sound more human),


I noticed on your website (insert website) that you are currently accepting art/looking for your (insert publication entity) and am interested in being a contributor/[candidate for the position]. Here's the link to my current work [with my bio and resume]*. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration and I look forward to hearing from you soon.


Sincerely,


Preston P. Jackson


For the ones that were open about it, I added footnotes to help jog my memory of what to expect, pay wise, submission fees(?), their response time/ time-line for submissions, and sometimes their preferred methods of receiving submissions. I'm not editing my notes for the sake of sharing the reality of a budding freelance artist trying to get noticed (plus I've already spent 2 hours editing this post). So I'm giving you the awareness of options to submit/not submit your art AND all ownership rights for the the price of a dinner out alone, not including tip. Where I am now (virtually unknown), I'll have to bite the bullet and take what I can get. Please feel free to contribute to further beef this up as a resource and reminder of your options!

http://www.5thplanetgames.com/ *july 15

http://www.thefarwilds.com/About_Us.html *8/14/2011

http://www.albedo1.com/guidelines.html *July 4, pays 20 pounds for covers

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/contact-2/#clean_contact pays $50 for reprint rights, only purchases pre-existing artwork. (quarterly magazine) *July 16

http://artistportfoliomagazine.com/

http://www.myartcontest.com/ holding contests for one thing or another entry fee is at least $35

http://www.alderac.com/career-opportunities/

http://www.analogsf.com/information/submissions.shtml (requires physical submissions) $1200 for color covers $125 for b&w interiors. 4-6 best samples.

http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/submissions/the-details/ (Australian publication, pays $100 in Aussie currency for color covers)  *july 15

http://aurealis.com.au/submissions.php $75 for covers (must be residing in Australia to submit)

http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/exotique_7/callforentries/ (art annuals accepting submissions for either d'artiste, expose, or exotique)

http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/contact.php buys artwork occasionally every year, submitted website for them to choose *July 16 *July 19 received reply, have been added to their database

http://www.blackgate.com/submission-guidelines/ line art, cartoons, b&w *july 6

http://www.bluecanvas.com/magazine/current-contest (quarterly?) *July 15 - October 15 2011 create optionally up to three pieces for the theme Invasion

http://www.catalystgamelabs.com/contact/  (all art is freelance based)

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/artguidelines/ pays $100 for life but rights retained to artist, able to remind them after two months have past. Monthly magazine, high image standard for covers. *July 16

http://darwinsevolutions.com/?page_id=4 pays $50-200 in advance, 20% in royalties after publisher makes back production costs. *july 15

http://www.edgewebsite.com/artwork.html *8/14/2011

http://www.enigmatigames.com/p/job.html *8/14/2011 (mobile game company)

http://www.electricspec.com/submissions/submitting-art/ pays $20, quarterly pub, buys first print rights then non-exclusive after 4 months. *July 15, 2011 *got reply for being on file on the 17th

http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/ (just covers) *july 6

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_contacto.asp  *submitted july 4

http://www.gudmagazine.com/user/login.do.php *8/16/11 not allowing submissions, might be a dead site

http://www.international-artist.com/ (people and figures) $9 per entry Sept. 14

http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=content&article=submitform_return *8/16/11, expect a response after three months. Pays $200 for b&w, $400 for color, purchases exclusive rights for one year, nonexclusive in perpetuity for anthologies etc. in which royalties will be paid bi annually. Needs to be pg-13 rating images.

http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/submit  *submitted july 4

http://ttapress.com/interzone/guidelines/ accepts interior and cover art illustrations. Unsure of submission as of early August, wait ‘til October.

http://www.onspec.ca/submissions/artwork

http://www.portiris.com/guidelines/ *8/18/11 negotiable, but probably low pay. Purchase first serial rights and distribution returns to artist after publication. Offers indefinite online gallery exposure. Does not have a practical system for art submissions.

http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/ only purchases pre-existing art for their 12 covers a year. *July 16

http://www.murkydepths.com/ *8/16/11 2-8 pounds, variable, purchase 1^st pub. Rights, all other rights reverted after 3 months.

http://www.rofmag.com/contact-us/ ([pays $200-650 depending on what your work is used for], competitive, prefers tangible mailing) expect a response within 90 days. *8/18/11

http://www.salonfutura.net/submissions/ *8/18/11 pay is not listed but negotiable.

http://www.sensesfive.com/submissions/ *8/18/11

http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/entry_info.php (art annual, pay to submit, worth it) sign up to newsletter to submit to Spectrum 19 call for entries.

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/feedback (quarterly) doesn’t tell you squat, looks legit

though *july 16

http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm (just for covers, must mail physical copy)

http://www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/art.shtml *7/4/11

http://www.totu-ink.com/guidelines.phtml (pays $25 tops) *8/18/11

http://www.trionworlds.com/en/careers/ (concept art job place)

http://www.tripleacegames.com/Home.php  *7/15/11

http://www.2dartistmag.com/contact.html (monthly) must be digital(?) *July 16 *July 18 got reply saying need higher quality, and not much to look at, contact in future after more work has been completed.

http://www.tor.com/page/faq#art

http://www.neo-opsis.ca/guidelines.htm *8/14/2011, ($100 CAD for covers)

http://privateerpress.com/no-quarter/submission-guidelines 

http://www.walrusmagazine.com/queries/ *8/14/2011 (not necessarily sci-fi or fantasy) can submit once a month.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/articleCategory.jsp?communityArticleCatId=2400001a&articleCatId=2400001a&catId=&section=community (warhammer)

http://www.white-wolf.com/submissions 

http://www.zahirtales.com/submissions.html *as of 8/18/11 they are not currently accepting art submissions. (low paying, $2.50 entry fee?)

Young Female Protagonists

I've been in a small artistic slump lately. My Griffin and OH_807 projects are going at a snail's pace and I'm getting job rejections left and right both art/non-art related, understandable right? I was perusing Craigslist, and I happened upon a Children's Illustration gig that was interesting and might be fun --- if I qualify of course. I hardly have any "finished" pieces of the sort, let alone single digit-aged female protagonists that engender an edifying narrative. To break my slump I tried using traditional media as a final means of execution as opposed to it be just being a preliminary step on my latest Griffin concept. Check it out if you haven't already, it's a bust of the Griffin in the story done in gouache, watercolor, ink, and pencil. There's something about sketching on paper that grounds your concepts better than on a screen.

For the sake of having a tangible original in case someone wants to buy it, I'm doing all of my work to a fairly polished degree on illustration board or paper. An unfortunate con in the market of digital image making is its value is reduced to almost nothing unless you only have a limited run of prints of the image.  If nothing comes from this 180* art direction, I'll have three cute images for a Children's Illustration portfolio. In the couple hours I was on a productive role, I came up with three types of girls; a tomboy (with the overalls and baseball and bat), a fun/energetic type (swim attire), and a sort of subdued type of protagonist where her problem is like losing their favorite ribbon. If my discipline holds out, I'll finish them sometime tomorrow, hold me to it! Until next time --- adieu!

Internship

Hey all, just a quick post to share my first day involving my internship under Peter Krebs who's currently working as a photographer here in Charlottesville, and is working on a large series (thus needing me to intern) involving the community and the people in it. I don't have a descriptive grasp on it, but I'm looking forward to helping him out! I'll be doing business type stuff for McGuffey Art Center like data entry and helping with exhibits as well as work Bridge Gallery, the gallery Peter will be showing his work.

Another treat to my soul, Peter introduced me to another studio artist at McGuffey, Arnaud Boudoiron, a graphic artist from France who was kind enough to let us take a peak at some of his work. Although the image below isn't the one I saw, it's the same character, I think he's called Steel Man, sorta riding off of you know who but from what I'm told the story isn't as super-hero-centric. His website is in French, but the joy of art is that it transcends language and culture barriers, I hope you think so to! Please check both artists out! That's it for now, back to making my own artwork!

Artwork created by Arnaud Boudoiron

Self_Portrait_Practice

Hey all, a small update to show I'm trying to practice anatomy every day. First one is from life, second is from photo reference from a self-assigned editorial Illustration I'm working on.

Phantom of the Opera! and other sketches

Thanks to a good friend of mine I was able to enjoy a Saturday night performance of Phantom of the Opera by students at Albemarle High School from where I graduated almost 5 years ago :uo! Yeah there were some definite outside and inside changes, but there was enough of the old place to still make the visit nostalgic. To make a long story short, the performance was epic, though you probably wouldn't think so from looking at me because I was drawing the whole time! PO snuck up on me, and I didn't get in the drawing I wanted done today, so I decided to do it there. Since there were over 300 costumes, it was information overload, and as you can see, I hardly drew any costumes, but I drew what I could, including the musicians and audience members. The likenesses got muddled since I could hardly see what I was doing, but it was fun and definitely wore me out in a good way. I also added some sketches that I did sometime last year too, sorry for my poor layout skills. Yadda yadda! Hope you enjoy :u)

Revival

Hey all. I keep forgetting I have this handy blerg at my disposal, so I'll use this as a means to let you know what I'm sketching in the book these days. Here's a small update for the anatomy studies I'm trying to do every day. The last one is one of John Singer Sargent's awesome paintings, my goal wasn't to exactly replicate it, but just to put down some juicy values. I hope you enjoy, I'll be posting again soon :u)