Trial of Socrates comic - Socrates and I need your input again...
POLIS: The Trial of Socrates
Almost two weeks ago, I made a post here asking for help in choosing an artist for my upcoming historical graphic novel. Down to the top four applicants, the response from the Steemit community was nearly unanimous. I agreed with your choice, though I had some waffling hesitation. While I don't doubt the artist's talent, part of me wondered if, down the road, I might think the grass could have been somewhat greener with a different choice.
I told Gian he was the perfect fit and I wanted to work with him. I paid to get started on some character sketches, and he sent some back, though they are not yet finished. (His speed is totally fine. I am not in a big rush.)
I informed the other artists that I had decided to go with someone else. One of these, Daniel Becker, asked if he could flesh out some characters and pages as a test-run, for free. If I liked what he did, we'd move forward. If not, no big deal.
Well, I figured why not?
First he sent some character sketches:
What I liked about these was Daniel's attempt to show these characters - not just what they look like, but what they look like in a range of emotions. Pretty cool!
Then he sent me several rough sketches for pages. Totally rough - and yet, I could easily visualize what's going on, and it looked pretty awesome. This one is a spread:
A couple days later, he sends me this nearly finished draft:
I've gotta say, I'm pretty blown away. (For any history buffs out there, this is a scene from Xenophon's Hellenica where Theramenes accuses Critias of improprieties... and Critias has him arrested.)
Maybe it's unfair to ask you to make a comparison between these two artists, since Daniel has gotten a lot further into the development than Gian. But talk to me! Should I go with Daniel instead? Or am I being blinded by something?
Here's the script page in case you want to see what he was working off of:
Thanks for your support and any feedback! I hope you'll stick around and watch it all come together.
First of all, I have to say that the splash page is very impressive; when it came up on my screen , I was silently going "WOW!". As for the artists, I think they are both great; and it is indeed a bit unfair to compare them since the 2nd one has much more work to show. I think the 1st one (Gian) uses more fine lines, delicate and detailed; while Daniel's art has a more "comic" feel to it. I can't really choose one, at least not before I see something more developed by Gian.
Maybe use both of them, for different storylines -- that is, if your comic will contain distinct storylines.
Thanks for taking a look. It won't have distinct storylines, unfortunately. I will say that the main figure in the splash panel feels a bit off to me. One of my notes would be to fine up the details on him. Ultimately I do want to have less of a "comic" feel to the art. Decisions, decisions. :)
You're so nice for commenting on this post. For that, I gave you a vote!
Well then, Gian's art is more realistic and should be a better fit for recounting a story based on historical facts -- especially since you deliberately want to avoid the "comic" feel. His characters are finely composed, I'd love to see how he renders buildings as well.
It all depends on the feel that you are going for.
Gain's example seems to look like it's going to be put in a handout at a museum. But is this his final look? Was he #2 on the previous post?
Daniel's version is definitely amazing and it seems like he knows what he's doing, and he's definitely putting in the effort to get the work. This would show me that he REALLY wants to work on this project. It also looks like he has a lot more experience.
From just the above images, I'd go with Daniel, (if the price is right) but I would also like to see what else Gain has to offer. maybe hold off on Daniel, and ask Gain to elaborate more, or to draw a scene for the same. Pay him to do it and see which you prefer.
You could always use both artist for different parts of the story if you are going to have multiple books.
Yeah, that's the trouble. I don't yet know what Gian's final look will be. He was artist #2 in the earlier post. My left-over hesitation there was whether or not his characters were expressive enough.
I agree that Daniel has kicked significant ass without a definitive promise of moving forward; so that in itself should mean something.
I guess for me, I'd rather have "realism" more than "comic" art; but if the choice is between expressive comic, and not-quite expressive realism, I'd choose the former.
I've asked Gian to add some expression samples along with his character designs. So I should get a good idea from that soon.
Thanks for the input!
If you'd ask me I'd choose Daniel without much thinking, his drawings feel alive and those are the kind you want to transmit emotions through images.
Now, of course with what we're seeing here, both artist are not in fair conditions, we have a full double page Inked by Daniel, and just some characters in standard generic poses by Gian.
If you really are undecided, pay both to make a single frame/scene fully coloured, where you can see emotion, action and ambience.
That should give you a real preview of what you would be getting.
It's important that this trial is a paid one, as both artists would be investing their time in doing the best they can do.
Just my two cents 😉
Thanks, @meloo182! I agree - emotions are the most important to communicate in the art. The one-to-one test is a smart idea. I think I have enough info to make a decision at this point though. Fingers crossed...
Yeah... I don’t think it’s the wrong choice, but Daniel is crushing it! That’s the kind of showing that has you start wondering what other projects you might have in the pipeline.
Hell, I’ll be keeping an eye on him with that thought in mind!
So, I asked Gian to do a couple of the character designs with a look at some emotion - one angry, one joyful. I have to say, I thought Socrates was a bit too subtle; but Aristocles looks great.
It is so close... they’re both exceptional. I think Gian’s work may rely more heavily on some great color work, while Daniel seems to have some great line weights & spotted blacks that add more dimension on their own.
Gian’s look still screams art/Indy comic while Daniel has a more mainstream feel.
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed no matter what.
Thanks for the input! I guess I'll have to see what Gian sends next. Honestly, my concern right now is expressiveness for the characters, I think. I feel like Daniel has the better handle on expressiveness. Or, in any event, I can't yet tell from Gian's character designs.
Daniel really have a good skills..both of them have their own strength. Ya! Its hard choose now.
Thanks for taking a look!