I want to acknowledge that this question is generally well-intended, but also want to point out that artists are working just like anyone else. If you want good artwork, you should expect to compensate the artist for their time and expertise. I’m not an artist, but IMO paying someone on Fiverr values art more than looking for a free option. I think that’s probably your best bet for the criteria you have. Alternatively you might try to commission someone you find online. Hope you find what you’re looking for!
this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2023
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Thanks for the advice, you've hit the nail on the head.
I'm in an awkward position where I think I've got something that will make the kids happy, but I can only do part of it, and I don't want to take advantage of someone for the other part. I'm looking for something that can hopefully do both.
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Artists are people just like everyone else. Which means they are capable of consenting to giving away free work.
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This made me laugh, thank you :)
While I'm not averse to sailing the seas on occasion, this is one of those times where I should do everything by the book.
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Oh no. THAT was the bad thing...
@Tippon if you are going the traditional publishing route, publishers don't actually expect children's book authors to provide the illustrations necessarily.
If you are self-publishing, I suggest you reach out to the kidney transplant community (support groups etc) to see if anyone can volunteer.
There might be someone else in your shoes who can draw and not write, who would love to be part of this project.
That's a great idea, thanks :)
I've just mentioned in another reply that the book is currently a bit too personalised, so probably wouldn't appeal to other people. If I can rewrite it a bit to remove any personal details, that could work though :)
I think that might be a good thing to do if you can; there are probably others in your situation who would love to have a book like this.
You could even do something like donate proceeds to a kidney charity or hospital.
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Use a whiteboard notebook so the kids can do the drawings themselves?
That's a good idea, thanks :)
Now to see if any of the little buggers can draw :D
I'll double this, I've got a kid's game called CoraQuest where they got kids to make drawings/sketches of their ideas, and had an artist touch them up for production. The art in the game is great because of this.
Why would you do that to me! :o
CoraQuest looks amazing, but it's out of stock everywhere here :(
Use AI but lie to people about it.
Put a sepia filter on it if you want to get creative.^...or^hide^a^dickbutt
I like your style :D
Talk with people about the book until you find someone who’s excited, and who has some artistic skill. Then go halfsies with them in terms of the credit for the book.
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Well, here in Vietnam a lot of art students and graduates would probably be quite happy to take this on.
I recall RMIT has a local job forum, for small jobs for current students and alumni. The instruction is all in English, so communication should not be a problem. Maybe other universities have the same.
Or maybe an art school in the Philippines where English language instruction is also common? I bet they have job forums too.
In my workplace we've got a 3D designer or two, probably not ideal for your task though :(
BTW using AI to generate an image as an artistic brief is a great application that supports both human and machine artists. This is my biggest use of the tech in production so far -- really great especially when language barriers are present.
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You can use royalty free stock photos, like from https://unsplash.com
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Contact your local art college and see if there are any students looking for work experience and a bit of cash.
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Search for creative commons or public domain artwork - Wikimedia Commons is a good start, or a google image search (under the image search bar select tools -> usage rights -> creative commons rights)
Or don't worry about the copyright issues of AI and learn to use that to create things you want - I suggest SDXL is the best option
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making it into a picture story book
As in formally publishing it? Or just sending it to your family?
The only way copyright, especially around AI, could conceivably be a factor is if you intend to publish and sell it.
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Have you considered www.OpenClipArt.org ?
XOR, you can simply learn actual-drawing, which isn't difficult, it does require a kind of honesty/patience & the actually right instruction...
The book you'd need is "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, the 4th Definitive Edition", by Betty Edwards.
These drawing-pairs are from her 5-DAYS killer-class.
https://www.drawright.com/before-after
Unless you're autistic, like me, 5 days is possible.
_ /\ _
Can you help me understand what you mean by “ Unless you're autistic, like me, 5 days is possible”? Are you saying you think you can’t learn to draw in that time frame because of your autism?
not the OP you replied to, but someone else who loves the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain book.
I think 5 days is ambitious. but a lot of what the exercises are doing is training you to see a different way. so it's not impossible.
someone neurodivergent may struggle to get what the exercises are trying to teach or to reach the point they're aiming for, so it might take them longer. those more inclined to pick it up faster probably aren't going to need the exercises in the book; it's already natural to them.
as we grow up, we learn "this is what a tree looks like, this is a dog looks like, this is what a car looks like", etc etc. the way we see a new car then goes through that filter of "this is what a car looks like". those filters are great for quickly identifying things and generally being a human in the world, so you don't get hit by a car while you're still figuring out if it is a car.
but those filters get in the way of drawing accurately. your eyes aren't literally filtering anything; that's all in your brain. so you need to learn to stop that part of your brain when you draw. that's the biggest part of being able to draw decently. the rest is technical skill you get with practice.
I'd still recommend the original OP look for an artist collaborator, since children's books need the illustrations to be as strong as the writing. there's no way to get there in just 5 days.
Someone neurodivergent might also see those things faster.
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Have you considered www.OpenClipArt.org ?
I hadn't, mainly because I hadn't heard of it before :D
It looks like a great resource though, so thank you :)
Unfortunately, the chances of me learning to draw are slim. I can draw a passable doodle if I can get my head in the right place, but as I said in the post, my imagination is awful. I can't picture things properly, so can't get a mental image of what I want the thing on the paper to look like. I'm waiting on a diagnosis of autism and ADHD and possibly aphantasia. Trying to get things down on paper is very difficult for me.
Before cheap, ubiquitous photographic reproduction, drawing was taught to people as a skill.
You might not be the next Gary Larsen (I'm no dillitente) but I bet if you tried you could become a good illustrator.
Having said that, you still have to learn inking, coloring, etc.
Just wanted to say I think most people can learn the skill in the same way most people can learn to write a rhetorical essay or do arithmetic.
Edit: not trivializing your issues, friend, just offering encouragment!
Becoming the next Gary Larson unfortunately does not equal being a good illustrator
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not trivializing your issues, friend, just offering encouragment!
Don't worry, that's how I took it :)
You make a good point. I need to try drawing and keep practising. Even if it does turn out to be useless for the book, I can still draw with the kids.
I might even make them feel good be being so much better than me! :D
Make a children’s book about practicing skills and getting better at them.
I helped a friend’s six year old daughter learn that by having her make the same paper airplane repeatedly until she mastered it.
Apparently nobody in school had yet taught her that one’s level of skill is not a fixed thing. Before that thing with the paper airplanes whenever she’d try something new she’d see her first failure and then exclaim “oh, I can’t do this!” and then give up.
Honestly nobody taught me about practice making skills better in school either. Not sure why such a fundamental part of using one’s brain is neglected in our schools but it is.
That's a very good point. I'm hopeless at practicing. I've got ADHD, so find it hard to do something that I don't want to do at the moment, and when I was younger I could pick up new skills fairly easily, so never bothered learning properly. I would do as much as it took to be ok at something, then usually stop there.
Yes, and even stuff you might not publish could show what you are looking for to an eventual illustrator you might work with.
Very true. I need to get my ideas across, and that's probably the best way :)
Another option is to shop it around agents and publishers and make the illustrations someone else's problem!
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Another option would be to hire an illustrator and draw up a contract where they may have a small upfront cost, and give them a cut of the sales.
Or you can contact a school and see if anyone would like to do it for ~~free~~ the experience
Thanks for the suggestions :)
It's not something that I'm planning on selling, hence the low budget and why I haven't gone down that route. If it did sell I'd be over the moon, as well as really shocked :D
When my dad made a book for me, he had me illustrate it. When I want cards for people I get the kids to illustrate it.
I think getting them together, telling the story, letting them draw them getting THAT bound and sending it to them would be better than ripping off an artist, the kids won't mind artless illustration if they created it and the story will have somewhere to land since they will have heard it.
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You can try Wikimedia Commons
That's a good idea, thanks :)
There aren't that many options. Either you commision it, or you learn to draw, or you use AI.
If you don't like Fiverr, maybe look for another platform. Or find someone by some other means. You could also use AI to draft it and then use that as a basis to start with the proper art.
I don't really understand the issue with copyright. Are you afraid of infringing on other people's copyright, or that you won't be able to protect your work if it's made by AI?
I don’t really understand the issue with copyright. Are you afraid of infringing on other people’s copyright, or that you won’t be able to protect your work if it’s made by AI?
A bit of both to be honest. With the current fuss around AI artwork, I don't want to either steal someone else's work, or in the very unlikely event that mine becomes popular, have mine taken. The second one is much less of a concern though.
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make shitty artwork on purpose, its cool
Then I might be the coolest person you've ever met :D
Start a GoFundMe for an art commission. It comes with a good story and your needs are modest, so a free lunch might actually be achievable.
Otherwise, just use AI. The court cases seem unlikely to succeed, if you know how AI works, and you know that a judge is unlikely to throw out an entire industry over a tiny, difficult to measure contamination with questionable training data. Some of the shit we in the West import is produced by crime more often than not, after all. Even if they do stick somehow, they're probably not coming after you specifically.
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