Do any blank sketch collectors here have a sketch done by one artist and colored by another? 0

[Tailc]

Do any blank sketch collectors here have a sketch done by one artist and colored by another?

Hi! Am a Marvel and DC fan from the Philippines. I've recently fallen in love with blank cover commissions. (I only started collecting them last year.) I wanted to ask if what I had done by two different comics artists with my Avengers blank cover below, is an actual thing blank cover collectors around here do.

So November last year, I had a Captain America sketch done by Carlo Pagulayan, a Filipino artist who does work for Marvel. He did an amazing job, of course, for the very reasonable price of $10. The thing was, I felt Captain America needed some color to look more bad-. Fast-forward to June, today, when I had the same commission colored by a different artist, Peejay Catacutan. (He's a Filipino international comics artist who's simply amazing with copics markers!) From the final product you see below, I do not regret having both artists work on the blank cover.  

I talked to my friend about this commission, and, being a collector himself, he told me stuff. He said if collectors wanted colors on their blank cover commissions, they usually asked specific colorists associated with the pencilers or inkers to color the commissions (that is, if they did commission work at all). This supposedly boosts the resale value of the blank cover, since you know that the colorist and the penciler/inker did previous work together. In the case of Carlo Pagulayan, I could have asked maybe Rain Beredo, Rachelle Rosenberg, or other Marvel colorists who worked with him before, to color this Captain America sketch (if they did commission work, I'm not sure). To the best of my knowledge, Carlo Pagulayan and Peejay Catacutan have never done any work together.

The blank cover stays as it is, but I just want to ask other comic collectors here if I should heed my friend's advice and be more, erm, strategic with my artist choices? If I asked Penciler X to work on a blank cover and I wanted some colors on it, do I have to make sure Colorist Y used to work with Penciler X? Like, do I have to do my research first? Or is there like a golden rule here among collectors where you don't have a blank cover commission colored unless it's done by the same artist?

Or does any of this actually matter? Like, do other collectors here do what I just did? Currently, I'm just collecting these blank covers for fun. But I am asking all these questions because, to be honest, I am entertaining the prospect of having these graded later on. (And reselling them, if I don't want them anymore.) If it's true that other collectors put importance on who drew on the cover AND who colored it, and this affects that cover's resale value, then I want to be in the know. I don't want my artist choices to come as an afterthought.

Thanks for hearing me out!

[John E.]

First, when it comes to art that you own and possess, that you paid money for, or were given as a gift, there are no rules. You make the rules. I've had blank cover commissions colored by another artist that had nothing to do with the original penciler. I've also had pencil pieces inked by someone else (often industry professionals like Mick Gray or Derek Fridolfs, who make appearances at conventions).

When I decided to have a sketch cover colored I "shopped" around for the right colorist--someone who knew how to approach the piece. I went with an independent artist (one of the local artists here), someone who hasn't worked for the Big Two. I was really happy with his work.

If you're thinking of resale value, theoretically, adding color should increase the value of the sketch cover because more work has been put in and also money. However, it doesn't necessarily work out that way. You have to ask yourself honestly what's the market for that artist and piece? And ultimately, you have to find the right buyer. The "right buyer" might be someone willing to pay three figures for your sketch cover, but wants the "virgin" pencils only and is turned off by the ink and/or color on it. Or the "right buyer" might be someone who doesn't care and loves the piece as a whole and pays top dollar. Your best bet for value would be if you had a well-known penciler and inker team work on the blank and maybe the colorist of the book, or a name brand colorist. But those are going to be rare occasions.

At the end I sold those two blank covers that I had colored. One I made a little money on (I think; I got it in a trade deal so I don't know how much money I actually put in). But if I made a profit, it was between $10-$20 dollars. The second I broke even on, or maybe took a $2-$3 loss. Again, it takes more than color to add the kind of value that you're looking for. Buyers consider other factors. So if you color your stuff, do it because you love it, because you love the experience of engaging with multiple artists on one piece. Otherwise, expect to take losses on your pieces; if you do make a significant profit, then you are a very wise businessman.

 

[Tailc]

15 hours ago, Jay Olie Espy said:

First, when it comes to art that you own and possess, that you paid money for, or were given as a gift, there are no rules. You make the rules. I've had blank cover commissions colored by another artist that had nothing to do with the original penciler. I've also had pencil pieces inked by someone else (often industry professionals like Mick Gray or Derek Fridolfs, who make appearances at conventions).

When I decided to have a sketch cover colored I "shopped" around for the right colorist--someone who knew how to approach the piece. I went with an independent artist (one of the local artists here), someone who hasn't worked for the Big Two. I was really happy with his work.

If you're thinking of resale value, theoretically, adding color should increase the value of the sketch cover because more work has been put in and also money. However, it doesn't necessarily work out that way. You have to ask yourself honestly what's the market for that artist and piece? And ultimately, you have to find the right buyer. The "right buyer" might be someone willing to pay three figures for your sketch cover, but wants the "virgin" pencils only and is turned off by the ink and/or color on it. Or the "right buyer" might be someone who doesn't care and loves the piece as a whole and pays top dollar. Your best bet for value would be if you had a well-known penciler and inker team work on the blank and maybe the colorist of the book, or a name brand colorist. But those are going to be rare occasions.

At the end I sold those two blank covers that I had colored. One I made a little money on (I think; I got it in a trade deal so I don't know how much money I actually put in). But if I made a profit, it was between $10-$20 dollars. The second I broke even on, or maybe took a $2-$3 loss. Again, it takes more than color to add the kind of value that you're looking for. Buyers consider other factors. So if you color your stuff, do it because you love it, because you love the experience of engaging with multiple artists on one piece. Otherwise, expect to take losses on your pieces; if you do make a significant profit, then you are a very wise businessman.

 

Thanks, buddy! That's a relief to hear. There's this Red Hood sketch I also got that I am dying to have colored by another artist. (I'm not yet sure if the penciler has already worked with this artist I have in mind.) I also might keep doing this, then, for other blank covers.

Purely for my enjoyment, though. I'm a long ways off from selling any of these babies anytime soon.

[eewwnuk]

IMO there is always a risk to adding another party into what is already a nice piece of artwork.   I wouldn't have someone that no ones ever heard of work ontop of a well known artist.  I'd stick with a pro.  and if you are concerned about the value then I would stick with a pro that someone has heard of and has desirability.   ultimately however its your art and if you are keeping it forever, it doesn't really matter what you do with it. 

[John E.]

1 minute ago, eewwnuk said:

IMO there is always a risk to adding another party into what is already a nice piece of artwork.   I wouldn't have someone that no ones ever heard of work ontop of a well known artist.  I'd stick with a pro.  and if you are concerned about the value then I would stick with a pro that someone has heard of and has desirability.   ultimately however its your art and if you are keeping it forever, it doesn't really matter what you do with it. 

Yes +1

The art I colored were quickie sketches, not fully rendered. If they were fully rendered, then I would've left them alone. I would also let be quickie sketches from Superstar artists too. And finally, there are some indie creators that publish in black-and-white and I wouldn't color those either.

[Tailc]

On 6/5/2017 at 8:46 AM, Jay Olie Espy said:

Yes +1

The art I colored were quickie sketches, not fully rendered. If they were fully rendered, then I would've left them alone. I would also let be quickie sketches from Superstar artists too. And finally, there are some indie creators that publish in black-and-white and I wouldn't color those either.

This Captain America sketch was also just a quick sketch and not fully rendered. (The artist did it in about 30 minutes.) If it were fully rendered I would'nt have had it colored either.

Anyway, I just experimented this one time to see how it'd go. I prolly won't do it anymore for future blank cover sketches or commissions, for sake of resale value.

 

On 6/5/2017 at 8:42 AM, eewwnuk said:

IMO there is always a risk to adding another party into what is already a nice piece of artwork.   I wouldn't have someone that no ones ever heard of work ontop of a well known artist.  I'd stick with a pro.  and if you are concerned about the value then I would stick with a pro that someone has heard of and has desirability.   ultimately however its your art and if you are keeping it forever, it doesn't really matter what you do with it. 

Ah, thanks man.

[rtecbot]

Did not get around to getting some of my blanks colored however I did get some paper pieces done and still have some in progress. Always ran into an issue with if the blank would hold inks well or if it would take colors in the early blanks. Also with graded sketchcovers you have to crack them out each time with paper you just scan in the piece to the next artist  or mail it

Example of a paper piece pencils by David Finch, inks by Mark Morales, & colors by Rachelle Rosenberg. Took a couple of years to get done but the end result is good. 

 

[PokerKid]

I have not had the original colored by another artist, but have had them color a copy. In one case, the artist liked to color on a computer, so it was the only option. (Actually, he had found the sketches and colored them on his own without my knowledge as he was practicing his coloring skills). Another was an amateur who was offering a bargain price. Those turned out great. 
If I had the right art with the right colorist, I would now be willing to trust them with the original if I wanted a specific display piece. 

 

 

 

 

[Nino_013]

Definitely do your homework. And just because theyre a professionals, doesn't necessarily mean theyre the right person to do it.

Choosing the right colourist, can only help improve a piece. This ones probably been my favourite collab: Bob Layton w/Laura Martin colours..

[Nino_013]

These ASM blanks are synonymous for not taking copics well, so I had Nei Ruffino do the colours (as she does them in pencils)

[Nino_013]

Heres one I wish id kept just inked. A lot of the lines were lost..

[Nino_013]

This one however was done by an amateur at a local con. As you can see there was already existing 'colours' which id imagine would make it harder.

But imo she ended up doing a phenomenal job finishing it off..

[PhilipB2k17]

3 hours ago, Nino_013 said:

Definitely do your homework. And just because theyre a professionals, doesn't necessarily mean theyre the right person to do it.

Choosing the right colourist, can only help improve a piece. This ones probably been my favourite collab: Bob Layton w/Laura Martin colours..

Laura Martin is one of the best colorists in the world. So, naturally, that looks fantastic. I should think a coloring job by her would not in any way detract from the value of a a sketch cover. Not with anyone sane, anyway.

[HCE]

I had a Harvey Tolibao sketch colored by Laura Martin: