I really like the Octopus theme because you can get a lot of movement with the tentacles, and point to things of importance. Any critiques are welcome and appreciated. ~ Johanna

Here's my Old and New contribution, with my characters from last month's Octopus theme. This illustration had a lot of challenges but much thanks to the valuable feedback from @kevin-longueil @gary-wilkinson @jason-bowen @kathrynadebayo, it's one of my stronger efforts.

Johanna Kim

Time to let this one go...fly away little illo. Kudos to my fellow SVSLearners @Gary-Wilkinson @RHirsch @demotlj @Miriam @Sofie_designed @Adrian-K for helping me make this a better piece through their feedback and suggestions.

As usually happens, I revisited my illustration and felt compelled to make changes. Please excuse my re-submission.

@ShannonBiondi Thanks so much:) I wonder if you might suggest in your directions at top that in addition to uploading hi-res images to the Google folder, that we all share lo-res versions to this feed as well, as inspiration to each other.

Here's mine:)

Decided to do mine in ink this time. I imagined the following accompanying text:

With the Count's thick Transylvanian accent and obvious mirror challenges, his hair stylist never could understood what he wanted.

Hope you like it:)

Here's mine (2nd attempt to submit--funny how little mistakes suddenly become glaringly visible after I've deemed an illustration finished). Thanks to all the wonderful artists that gave me feedback throughout my process--always so helpful.

Hi All,

I think this is almost done, but have a nagging feeling that there's still room for improvement. Would love a fresh pair of eyes to tell me what it is. Meanwhile, I'm going to step away for a few hours and hope that whatever's bothering me will become obvious. Thank in advance for any feedback.

Johanna Kim

Hi All,
I would love some honest feedback on this illo for the February contest theme, Octopus. It's at a late stage, but I'm willing to start over if needed to get something good for my portfolio. Thanks in advance!

Johanna Kim
johannakim.com

@Phil-Cullen Thanks for sharing your thoughts and what you do in your business, which sounds very smart. I think I watched that SVS video a while back, but should probably revisit it. I'd like to share more about the project but it's probably prudent if I wait until the bidding process is done. This is an instance where I wish I had a savvy negotiating agent.

@Phil-Cullen Thanks for your question, Phil. Yes, I'm bidding for a project where the client prefers to own the final assets and copyright outright. They're an established well-respected client and I'd love to work with them, but I'm not comfortable with this arrangement, so I've been figuring out a nice and reasonable way to explain my rationale of why I prefer to retain the copyright and simply lease the artwork to them for their specific use. I think I should include a buy-out fee in my response, as well, letting them know how much it would cost for them to own the copyright in full. BUT doing so may mean jeopardizing my chances for getting the job.

Update: I went ahead and purchased a digital version of the book and I think it has the info I need.

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend a good reference, (online preferably, e-book is okay), for determining standard buy-out fees or rates for artwork and stories? Or is this just a personal thing?

Is it the Pricing and Ethical Guidelines book by the Graphic Arts Guild? Here's a link to the book: [https://graphicartistsguild.org//product/the-graphic-artists-guild-handbook-pricing-ethical-guidelines/](link url)

Thanks in advance for any info.

Best,
Johanna

That's amazing news and so well deserved. Congratulations! And thanks for sharing all your insights--very helpful and generous.

@Aleksey This is amazingly drawn with a killer concept, as usual. I'm a fan.

Hey Gary, gotta say I missed seeing your fabulous work in the forums. Welcome back! I like all your ideas, but I vote for #2 for its original concept and exciting and dynamic composition. Looking forward to seeing what you choose to develop.

@Braden-Hallett Super fantastic concept and execution! Coming late to this thread. I love everything about this, especially the composition, Godzilla in the background, and the robot design, and the industrious kids. So professional.

@nyrrylcadiz This turned out so awesome! Looking forward to seeing how this series progresses.

@lmrush I can totally empathize and love your idea. My initial drawings are usually straight on as well, but then I go through a "what if" exploration, both in my head and with really rough tiny thumbnails, and I imagine the viewer's eye being a movie camera. For example, what if I shot the scene from behind little toy Godzilla's head, and it's looking towards the boy and his cat? Or what if I shot the scene from the cat's point of view? The straight on view is a fine start in terms of getting all the information you want to show in the scene out of your head-- like the bedroom layout; the boy's, cat's and toy Godzilla's appearance; and the action you want to show. But then by going through an exploration of different camera angle views, you can bring more storytelling, emotion and playfulness to the scene. If you still have trouble imagining different angles, you might try buying some clay and creating a rough model of the scene, blocking out the different characters. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it will give you something physical to actually study from different angles. Lots of pro artists use this technique for tricky scenes.